Everything Becomes a Therapy Tool

Olivia stood for 2 seconds yesterday and for 6 seconds today, barefooted.  She's 18 months old. 

She's fascinated by the open dishwasher.  When I'm loading it, I have to be very careful of where she's at - she'll hear it and crawl to it as fast as her legs can carry her.  Yesterday I had a blast watching her have fun pulling the clean dishes out of the bottom rack - they were simple plastic things like strainers, measuring cups, etc.  and laughing.

I know I should have stopped her, but I kept thinking, "THIS is GREAT therapy!!!"  She would pull herself to stand, reach inside and grab something with one hand, while barely holding on with the other.  She was shifting her weight from side to side and balancing her core.  The bottom rack would slide in as she leaned forward, so she had to figure out how to simultaneously pull it out, hold her balance and grab.  She reached for a whisk she really wanted and stood for two seconds putting both hands on the whisk before plopping down.  Today she grabbed the same whisk again and managed to balance herself while holding it for six seconds. 

Yes, I stood there and counted and waited for her to fall. 

It's amazing the development I took for granted in Amelia comes in so many tiny steps when you see it in slow motion, as I do with Olivia.