Happy 4th Birthday!!!!
Maria is 4 years old now!! As you know, we were at the Hydrocephalus Conference all weekend, so her first birthday surprise was that Mommy’s home!! We went to the IMAX in Tempe and saw the 3D show on Whales & Dolphins. It was pretty cool. Maria was engrossed for about half of it. I tried to put the 3D glasses on her, but I think it was too overwhelming. It is pretty scary when a gray whale is coming out of the screen at you…but awesome at the same time. I was impressed at how interested she was.
She also seemed to like the mall. She was looking up at the tall ceilings, and down at the tile, and she even frequently sat up and forward, looking around–you know, like other kids–rather than her usual thumb-sucking fetal position.
We ate at the Rainforest Cafe. They had a couple “rainstorms”. The first one went by unnoticed, but she reacted to the 2nd one. They dim the lights, then you hear thunder and see flashes of lightning. She jumped when she heard the thunder. Pretty cool!!
We got home at 6 or so. She ate her chocolate cupcake before dinner (gasp!), so I could be sure to get some pictures. I think I took 50-60 photos, we’ll see if any of them turned out. She can be a challenge to get a good photo of at times. She really enjoyed her cupcake! First birthday where she ate it all by herself, I think (well, the floor did get its fare share..).
I enjoyed the Hydrocephalus Conference. Park City is a beautiful setting! The hotel was nice. I reconnected with a couple people from last time and met a few new ones. I was disappointed that they split the moms of 3-5 yr olds with hydrocephalus into 2 groups. Our group was fairly small and I don’t think a few more people would have been bad. Like last time, they gave me a few new things to worry about; but I was amazed and encouraged by the emerging research, increase in funding by National Institutes of Health, start of research database/network thing (HCRN, I think), etc. Next time should be even better! We’re really hoping to bring Maria to the next one. Boston or Cleveland are the locations I heard tossed around. In hindsight, the thing I wish I’d gotten out of it was tips, tools, and techniques for dealing with our challenges–like vision and hearing issues, walking, getting equipment from the state, swallowing and feeding, what type of shoes fit over the AFOs that look halfway decent. That type of thing. Maybe I’ll suggest it… It’s good to hear others’ stories, but I’d also like to walk away with some practical things to try.
4 years old! Can you believe it??