I don’t know how she does it… But Jordan will play outside in the snow forever if I let her. She spent almost an hour during a snowstorm yesterday. When she got inside she demanded hot chocolate. Classic kid.

It is one of those little concerns that make you think back to high school prom. You worry you might have the same dress as some other girl. I kind of worried about that when I bought Jordan’s Easter dress on the sales rack. That fear sort of came true — but it came true in a very cute way. There were two sisters wearing the same dress as Jordan — but in different colors. I had to take a picture of three little girls being super cute.

That same night we watched the 60 Minutes package about Dean Kamen’s work on prosthetics with the U.S. military. The DEKA project was presented in a really fantastic way. Jordan got to watch it twice… And she desperately wanted to see the prosthetics and people with limb differences. Since then, she’s talked more about how people have two arms and she has one arm. She’s just ingesting that difference in that bright and cheerful mind of hers. It is just another step in growing up in a world where there aren’t that many limb differences.

So… I’m thinking about figuring out a way to fund an opportunity for our family to attend Camp No Limits. The group is bringing a camp to St. Louis for the first time this summer. I realize Jordan is only 3… but I think it would be so cool for our whole family to have more time with other families of limb different kids. I built this page because I’m hungry for that connection. But this summer connection would cost $1,000 to attend. I’m pretty heart broken that this organization charges so much for families that just want to connect. I realize running a camp can be expensive… but we’re also families that spend a lot of money on therapies, extra doctors appointments and for some families there’s cost of prosthetic and orthotics.

I do have two other small, less expensive meetings planned in the coming months. In two weekends, we’re going to meet up with a couple of families while we’re in St. Louis. (I’m speaking at a conference and taking the whole family along) There’s also a summer meeting planned through another mom who lives near us. It’s excited to know we’re going to meet a few more families. It’s comforting and a chance to celebrate our kids and the amazing connections we make through them!

I swear there’s something about a bit of pink, a wand and butterfly wings that can let any little girl feel special. That’s exactly how Jordan felt when she put this on. We’re pretty behind on Jordan stories – we’ve been without an Internet connection at home since Saturday. That made it pretty tough to update the good stories about the girl. But this picture was a highlight of the weekend. Jordan spent most of Sunday dressing up and having fun pretending to be super dooper extra pretty. She even took a nap wearing her dance outfit. I don’t know how she did that with that scratchy tutu skirt!

I’m happy to introduce Jordan’s new and improved blog to the 5 Minutes for Special Needs crowd. I’m proud of how I can offer extra ways to reach out to other moms and families. Anyway — Here’s a great picture of Jordan on the top of playground equipment last Friday. She’s getting SO brave and finding her balance to climb a lot of things lately.

I’m so proud of how big Jordan is getting… She’s decided she will only swing on her brother’s swing. And what’s even cooler – she let him push her a little over the weekend. She’s been so skittish about swings, I was really excited to watch this little moment!

Jordan is periodically interested in hair bows… But during the football game last weekend she decided her bow was more interesting in dad or mom’s hair. I caught a moment between Jordan and her dad that is worth sharing.

This is my favorite moment at the water spray park on Labor Day. She is SO dang funny.
Nothing is going to stop her and I’m pretty certain she’ll figure out a way to do a head stand.

I mentioned I took the kids hiking this past weekend… This was the first time I really let Jordan hike along with her brother an I. We started with her in the backpack, but she didn’t stay in there for long. She really held her own and I was very proud. The trail was really bumpy and she never fell down. We even climbed into a cave. That’s when I took this picture. She’s standing on a rock even though you can’t really see any proof that she’s in a cave!

I mentioned in an earlier post, but I wanted to share Jordan’s happiness while she danced during a school event this past weekend. She is so into music and dancing… The joy in her eyes is so worth the knowledge that I will have years of buying dance recital outfits and expensive classes.