Bittersweet Achievements

Normally we are a "finger food" family. We often leave snacks on the table so Ellie can eat any time the urge strikes her- goldfish, cheerios, puree pouches, etc. She has been flying through the pouches though so the other day I sat her down and fed her an actual toddler meal (Gerber, ravioli and mixed veggies). I even gave her a fork and spoon. She downed the food and used the spoon and fork correctly! I'm such a proud mama. Now I don't know if daycare has been teaching her utensil use, or if she could have done it sooner if I hadn't been so focused on just getting her to eat all the time but all the same, she did it. My big girl! We've also switched her to big girl cups. She doesn't seem to care too much for them, though. The services coordinator called, because Ellie is turning 2 soon (*sniff, sniff*). She's still not talking, so next Tuesday we're going to discuss a speech therapy regimen. During the talk Susan mentioned how she remembered how tiny Ellie was when I had just brought her home and said how it just seemed like yesterday. It reminded me of when I was at the pediatrician w/Ellie at one of her first appointments, and the kid in the next room was 2 or 3. The pedi said, "before you know it, that will be you." And he was right. At the time, of course, I was like "impossible. I'll never get through all this PRS crap." But then you lose the apnea monitor, or feeding tube, and have the cleft surgery (and ear tubes) and complete physical therapy, and it suddenly seems to calm down a bit.