Hope. And blueberries. --UPDATED

Hope is one of the most powerful, uplifting feelings. This week, we are buoyed by hope, and are going to ride that high and assume we're not going to have to stop. Sometimes I am frustrated by what we do know about the physical differences in Addy's brain, and the possibility that it is making me see everything through tinted glasses. We are quick to jump to being concerned, to wonder if a something is related to the vascular anomalies. But I'm getting better at not letting the "I wonder"s creep into my mind. And this week, we celebrated a major milestone that's going to have me riding high for the foreseeable future. My baby is a toddler. My baby is walking. Staggering around the house while she giggles and claps; it's as if she knows it's been an agonizing wait for us. And it's exactly how everyone reassured us it would happen - once it clicks, it clicks, and all of a sudden she's walking everywhere. Monday, she was a crawler. Today, my girl is walking around the whole house.

We went blueberry picking this week. It a bit hotter than we expected, and it was hard work.

UPDATE-- We're excited to go again once Chloe is home - I know she'll be a good, dedicated picker, and she calls Addy her "little blueberry (nose)" because her nose is the exact same color as a blueberry. Chloe is wonderful at reminding me to embrace what makes Addy uniquely her, instead of worrying about it. And one of our virtual friends, who also has a daughter with complex vascular malformations and lives in Maine wrote to me about the "strength of the blueberry." In Maine, they are overrun with blueberries, and many up there spend a lot of time trying to get rid of them - mowing, burning, stamping - yet every year, they return. Her message had me reflecting on our own inner blueberries, and how special it is that I can see my own daughter's strength - literally, as plain as the nose on her face.

But having a bounty of fresh blueberries to create delicious treats with? Totally worth all the hard work.

We did Livvy's 11 month photo shoot this week too.

And, finally, I have to quickly share that I was contacted by a family who has a daughter with SP. Did you forget what that is? OK, click here. Although they don't live locally, they travel up to Boston to be seen by the same team that follows Addy, and we are hoping to spend some time with them when they come up next month. I'm ecstatic.