Happy 2013!

 We have so many things to be thankful for and to look forward to in 2013, I have a good feeling that this is going to be a great year for the Reain family. We all enjoyed an amazing Christmas break. Lots of quiet family time, tons of outdoor play at the rink, on the toboggan hills, skiing in Collingwood and just playing in the snow. Tatum got a new sled from Santa so she too was able to enjoy some great outdoor time. On top of all of our fun, we managed to get most of Tatum's program done most days! Victory for Mom!

 On a typical day, we have patterning volunteers come to the house at 10am and then again at 2:30pm. Over the holidays, we scaled back the volunteers to just once a day to try to minimize the chaos around the house. When you've got 3 adult patterers, our 3 kids and sometimes 6 other kids in a narrow Toronto home, it can feel a bit overwhelming... for me at least! Our 'once a day' patterning sessions provided Tatum with great programming, Riley and Peyton with daily playdates and Chris and I with great visits with friends and neighbours. We even served up cocktails for our New Year's Eve patterning session!

 Tatum is getting so big and strong. Every day it seems as though her mind is becoming more connected to her body and the world around her. Numerous people have commented that she looks so different these days. The consensus is that her eyes are brighter, her facial expressions are more diverse, her behaviour is more and more typical and she is generally more present.

In the past few weeks we've seen so many victories with Tatum... she is biting, starting to chew, sticking her tongue out and giving 'zerberts'. She is starting to use inflection when she speaks and has become quite vocal and even boisterous on occasion. Her favourite sounds is still Ba but she can also say Ma, Da and Wa and on occasion says 'ba-doe' which clearly means bottle! I'm almost certain that she said Mama two nights ago... I still have chills!

Tatum's overall body strength and coordination improves every day. She is standing quite solidly with very little support and can even stand while leaning on our ottoman for a few seconds at a time. Tatum is sitting for longer periods without toppling over and is beginning to get tricky while she is sitting by moving her feet around and exploring her body and toys with her hands.

We are seeing great victories on the incline plane these days as well. Tatum is frequently moving herself down her ramp with her hands apart and is actively using her upper body, arms, hands and her feet to move herself to the bottom. Just this week, once Tatum reached the bottom of the incline, she reached out with her right hand and pulled herself forward on the flat surface! Yay Tatum!

Tatum's appetite and enjoyment of food is amazing. She loves her 'perfect diet' and so does her body! This winter has been crazy so far for flu bugs, stomach viruses and colds in our house... for all of us except Tatum that is. She has gotten sick, but not like the rest of us. Her illnesses are milder and short lived, a testament to the strength of her immune system. We've had some eating victories in the past week too: Tatum has grabbed her spoon and put it in her mouth and just yesterday, grabbed Riley's apple, put it to her mouth and started chewing and sucking!

Riley, Peyton and Tatum love each other so much. Both Riley and Peyton love helping Tatum, cheering her on and getting and giving sloppy kisses and hugs. We are all so fortunate to have one another. Happy New Year to all.