This has been a relatively calm, fun year of watching Cassidy grow and blossom into her own little person! Thankfully, we had no surgeries or big medical scares this year although she keeps Mom busy with appts., therapies and small medical issues here and there.

Cassidy's legs are getting stronger and she's able to stand for longer periods of time, walk along furniture, climb onto chairs and walk with her walker (not for long distances, but she's getting better!). She still wears DAFO's and twister cables (which help her feet straighten out so she's not tripping over them). She has a little wheelchair that we'll begin to use for walks, field trips, long distances, and trips to the store as she expresses the desire to get around on her own and not be pushed in a stroller. Her preferred mode of transportation is still crawling around the house! We go to speech therapy and physical therapy once a week each. And Cassidy just started preschool two mornings a week! She enjoys it, but she and mom are still adjusting to being apart for 3 hours!! We're still struggling with frequent UTI's and trying to avoid these with cathing and antibiotics.

Cassidy has made some incredible progress with her speech in the last 3-4 months finally! She is beginning to mimic what we say and starting to put her own little sentences together. It's wonderful to see her try so hard to communicate and be able to finally tell us what she wants and needs. Her favorite phrases are: Happy Day, Hurry Up, All Right, Oh My Doodness!, Yucky Poopies Adin (again), Oh Man!, No Ni-Night Two Minutes, Otay, Ready-Het-Go, ABCD-Eight,Night,Tent, No More Ni-Night Right Now, Ohhhhhhh Honey Mommy, You-Da-Man Daddy, Me Toot, Two Stop Signs (this kid loves spotting stop signs while we're driving!), Pretty Tamie (Jamie) , Moto-Toss Dosh (for Josh 's dirt bike/motocross) and 'Two Babies, Two Puppies, Two Kitties, Two Bears ' (her roll call at night in her bed to make sure all her friends are sleeping with her).

We have tried to make Cassie's life as typical and fun as possible. One of our children has commented...." Boy, I wonder how many other kids with spina bifida love to go camping and play in the ocean and ride motorboats, four-wheelers, motorcycles, bikes, alpine slides, and sleds, like Cassie does!!"

One of the things about this year that stands out most in my mind is an incredible moment in time over Memorial Day Weekend, 2001. We were camping as a family and riding in our little motorboat across a beautiful mountain lake. Cassie was insisting on standing on my legs with her head peeking over the windshield of the boat. Her long, blonde hair was whipping in the wind and she was saying "WEEEEEE" and had a huge smile on her face!! I looked over at my husband and said......."Boy, I wish we had a snapshot of this, three years ago, as we sat in that dark, scary ultrasound room and heard the "worst case scenario" speech from our doctors. I wish I could have known then, what we know now. I wish I could have had a glimpse of her perfect little sweet face and heard her whisper 'Hold me Mommy' as she squeezes my neck tight. The journey of that scary, unknown territory was necessary though to strengthen us and help us truly appreciate all the good that has come out of the tough times. The journey has been hard at times, but the lessons learned are priceless.

I have to admit that I have dealt with some difficult emotions this year as Cassie's "differences" have become more apparent. Every once in a while, when I see a child her age (or even much younger) running and jumping and talking in complete sentences, it hits me hard and I feel like a dagger is piercing my heart. Those are the days that I get a little concerned about what the future holds and the struggles that are ahead with her education, bowel/bladder issues, mobility and so much more. I get worried about the questions someday she'll ask about why she's different from her friends and her siblings. Sometimes these thoughts and worries are just fleeting, other times the sadness lasts for a few days. It really does help to have a good cry, say some long, honest prayers and slowly, the strength to go on returns. God has been so faithful to lead us and hold us each step of the way. Most of the time, life is really good and Cassie is just Cassie and we love her to pieces!! Thanks for letting us share her third year with you! The adventure continues........