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Downtown Disney Trips

Tonight at Downtown Disney, Evangeline watched fireworks for the first time. Granted, she was fussing and getting bored for most of it, but I still loved knowing this was a first for her. Before being all into Disney became a hipster thing to do, I was a huge fan of Disney...why? Because I'm Anaheim-born, baby! I grew up in Anaheim and have very vivid memories of climbing a ladder onto my roof with my dad and little brother Billy, and watching fireworks together. The car alarm was still pretty new back then, so all the fireworks would set off all the cars in our neighborhood. And at the time, we had a rough collie named Estee who was always so scared of the fireworks. If I wasn't on the roof watching fireworks, I was behind the trash bin holding Estee to comfort him.

I was looking down at Evangeline, pointing at the fireworks and trying to explain them to her. I don't know how much she understands, but I do know a lot goes on in that little mind of hers. Her occupational therapist, who visits us every Friday, says Evangeline is progressing nicely! One of the best decisions we ever made was to teach her sign language through her Baby Signing Time DVD's. Evangeline can sign up to 20 words and her sign language lexicon continually grows. She's about 18 months-old and can communicate with us very well, and that helps us to know a lot about what she's really absorbing. We sent her OT a video of her signing and with our permission, her OT is going to show it to other parents with whom she is working with for their babies with special needs. She says she hasn't seen a child as early as Evangeline doing sign language, and she wants to encourage other parents to teach their babies as well. I found that very encouraging. Also, her OT is always so affirming of Evangeline's progress and even my skills as a mother. I always say, “You're too kind.” Really, she is. Any of the helpful skills I have as a mom and teacher to Evangeline, are honestly gifts from God.

I know the day is coming when Evangeline won't need her occupational therapist anymore, and that makes me glad and sad. Her OT has become like family to us! From having tummy time to learning how to bite into her food effectively, the OT has seen so much of Evangeline's development! Evangeline has already said buh-bye to her cardiologist. Her EKG's have been spot on and the Holter Monitor which was on her for 24 hours a few weeks ago showed no irregular heartbeats. I remember shaking the cardiologist's hand as he said, “You no longer have to see us anymore. At the very worst, when Evangeline hits puberty and all her hormones act up and she starts to get chest pains, you may need to see us again. But that's a long way off.” I know it's a long time from now, but considering how fast the time has gone, I know it will be here before we know it.

As Kevin and Evangeline and I wandered around Downtown Disney, we discussed where we would like to go in the future. When Evangeline turns 2, we can finally bring her to Disneyland! I'm so excited for that! And we hope one day to go on a Disney cruise, and go to Florida to Disney World (and Harry Potter Land, hehe!) By the time we do all those things, hopefully she will have a sibling or two to enjoy those memories with. Sometimes while I was walking around Downtown Disney, I would notice little girls hanging out with each other or even young women in their 20's giggling and all dolled up. I would tell Kevin, “I remember being like that!” I have memories of hanging out with all my girlfriends, in junior high, high school, and college! All the bonding, all the stories and late night girl-talks of what we hoped for our future...I can't imagine how many times I would talk about how I would dream of being a wife and a mother. I looked at Kevin and Evangeline and realized, “I'm living out the dream and hopes I had as a young girl.” I silently thanked God as we continued walking around Downtown Disney with Evangeline in her stroller. These sweet moments really pass by so fast. 



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