she can walk!!!! baby's first steps!!!!

three cheers for dr. merk, our new favorite orthopedic doctor who has given me the green light on weight-bearing! the light is so green, in fact, that he had me stand up and take my very first steps right there in the doctor's office. steps! little happy baby steps from my wheelchair to the door. me! steps! walking! yayayayay! YAYAYAYAYAYAY! celebration on earth! celebration in the heavens! she can walk! she's a walkin', yes indeed! but, "wait," you say. "what of that dr. karakovich who said you couldn't walk for another three to four months?" dr. kraaazyface, you mean? yeah...one look on the dr. merk's face about that diagnosis, and we knew what a whackjob he was. so! i'm weight-bearing! it's off to physical therapy for me on monday. let the progress continue!

here is a photo documentation of my standing up for the folks back home...

ho hum, another boring day in the wheelchair...

what's this? trying to get OUT of the wheelchair?!? absurd!!!

pulling up the pants!

TA DA! Success!

and my reward? cookie dough! well-deserved.

bored as a gourd

aaaaaaaaaaaaah! boredboredboredboredboredboredboredboredbored! and also bored. that is me. me = bored. i have watched too many movies. i have stalked too many facebook profiles. i have swallowed too many pills. i have seen too many project runway reruns. when i posted that entry about waiting a couple months ago, i thought i was being soooo virtuous and insightful. but now that i am at the pinnacle waiting (hopefully?), i feel silly for having presumed that my journey into open-ended anticipation had somehow plateaued in july. even now i fear concluding that it couldn't get any more "waitful." and so i shall stop panicking and start savoring the now.

ok. so. despite the monotony of my days, there are so many good things. like my many wisits. as much as i would like to poo poo the automobile for its environmental destruction etc., i must say that every time a friend pulls into my driveway and whisks me away to chipotle or forever 21 or any other transgressive pleasure of our irresistibly commercial society, i cannot help but whisper a prayer of thanks. don't get me wrong, i love sitting in my living room all day long, marveling at daytime television...just love it. but sometimes a girl needs a bigger world! so three cheers for friends and family with sedans! hoorah! hoorah! hoorah! additionally, i have been knitting...a lot. observe!

hats for family and friends!

and a very mommy shawl for mommy.

there is a cowl on the way as well. i tell you, nothing gets you stash-busting like wheelchair confinement! additionally, movies. sooo many movies. new ones that i have enjoyed: waitress, the departed, and burn after reading. ones that are a waaaste of time? bull durham, tropic thunder, and maybe that's it?

and just in case you were wondering about my health, i still haven't a clue as to when i'll be weight-bearing. the last doctor visit was a strike out, as she was not qualified to clear me for therapy, so we're on our way to doctor number four here in chicago. fantastic. but every day i am a little more mobile, a little more independent. i can basically do my morning routine without any help, and it looks like mom will be moving back upstairs to her bed tonight. what a trooper. morale is good; i'd say i'm not too discouraged about all the waiting...just bored. and no, i'm not reading yet. i keep trying, but it just gives me headaches or puts me to sleep. so as much as i love all the book recommendations, please stop teasing me! i have a delicious pile of pages tempting me, but my little eyes just can't take the strain.

and that's it i guess. wow, it's amazing how much i can blabber given how little is going on. thanks for listening!