Ella’s parent-teachers conference a couple of weeks ago went well. We were very pleased to hear just about everything that was said. A couple of physical therapy goals have turned out to be unrealistic (“high-kneeling” for long periods of time comes to mind) but everything else was good. Some of her goals she has surpassed — for example, potty skills and also using utensils for eating. The best thing of course was how positively everyone feels about Ella and especially, Kim mentioned that she is the most popular girl in the class! So, in short, Etan and I were happy parents. Some other things that I still remember include the great relationship that Ella has with one of the aides: Amy. She is using the comunication board consistently, especially during meals. We asked about toys that Ella likes that could be challenging for her and they showed us a couple of ideas. One was an animal puzzle that makes noise when the peices are put in. I bought that the next day and Ella loves it. In a way, it is one of those noisy, annoying toys but I’ve noticed that it has convinced Ella that puzzles are worth doing so that she’ll even do the ones that don’t make noises now. Regarding her play– while we are still challenged to find the right toys for her, she is branching out now. She’ll kiss stuffed animals that she likes and also in the bath tub we have this Winnie the Pooh toy with little figures that go down a slide. She consistently puts the figures at the top of the slide to watch them slide down. Ella’s doing more standing all the time. She’s still suppporting herself on something but at least she is able to stand with nothing around her. Now I put her on the outside of the laundry-basket stander and she holds on for almost a whole Seasame St. movie. Everything is set for next week when Ella will have another plastic surgery in Chicago on Tuesday. We’re just hoping there are no cold symptoms, snow storms or cancellations on their part! On Monday, Gaul, Ella and I will fly to Chicago.