The paper was available first thing Sunday morning and we just happened to be at the grocery store just after they opened and that is when the first person approached us to talk about Ali. Since then there have been many phone calls of support for Ali, many offers to help and many people coming up to us and wanting to talk to Ali and ask questions or offer best wishes. Ali loves it! She loves to meet new people and she greets every single person with a huge smile.

Ali is an amazing little girl and we love her for exactly who she is but having a child that is so obviously different can be a very lonely feeling for a parent. You love this child so much and it hurts when people stare or look away from that tiny little toddler that takes up so much of your heart! But this week things are different, people are not turning away from her but instead they’re saying, “Hi Ali!” and they’re stopping to talk to her and instead of wondering what the heck is wrong with her, people are actually asking questions and giving us the opportunity to explain exactly who she is and how great she’s doing.

So I want to thank our dear friends at RE/MAX , one week into “Pennies for Ali” they’ve already made a huge difference and we are very, very grateful.

Ali had a repeat hearing test a few weeks ago and it was determined that her hearing is not a huge concern right now. The test showed some minor problems with hearing but we will repeat in 6 months and decide at that time if we are going to do further testing.

Ali has been working hard on sitting independently and is now getting quite good at it. She can sit for longer periods of time and is now working on pulling her knees up underneath her while on her tummy so that perhaps one day she might crawl.

Ali’s favourite new skill is shaking her head for “no”. To be honest, I’m not sure if she knows what it means but she sure loves to do it! She is officially a toddler because she now says “no” to everything!

Thanks for reading!