The day was a beautiful fall day, cool and crisp and thankfully sunny. Well over a thousand gathered at 101st Street in Riverside Park to march the 3 miles together in solidarity. What is most amazing to us about the day is that in the New York area, there are many places children can receive speech therapy and other services (and Hannah has been to a number of them), so it's great to see all the families come together as one. It gives the chance for the kiddos to see each other and the parents to reconnect after a busy summer.
Personally for Michael and I, it was just amazing to see how much Hannah has grown in the year since we walked with everyone last year. In 2011, when Hannah was only about 4 months old, we were so new to the deaf and hard of hearing community. We heard about the walk about a week prior and went not knowing what to expect. We clung to Laurie Hanin, the director of the Center for Hearing and Communication, who guided us through and showed us all the possibilities Hannah had in her future. We met MJ and his mom Eileen -- and saw how easily MJ could hear in all the noise. We saw lots of children with various hearing technologies charging up the path, excited to be part of the walk. This year, we're so proud of how much our little girl has grown. She was just one of the little kids skipping along the walk, enjoying her day in the sun with her friends and family. We ran into her little friends along the way and it was just amazing.
We also talked about how many words Hannah can now say.
Hi
Bye Bye
Aa-rrrraaa....Around
Oooh-pin....Open
Up
Down
Dada
Mama
Sammy
Paaa...Grandpa
P p p...Please
I waaa...I want
Ufff....Off
Uh...Open
Pupu....Push
Baba...Bubbles
Shhh...Whenever she sees anyone sleeping
Ma....More
BoopBooo...Beep Beep
Meow
Ooof....Woof
Aaah...ppul...Apple
Bana...Banana
Hooo-raa...Hooray
WoooHooo...Her version of the siren
In addition, Hannah is a little songstress and can hum along to a variety of tunes and even fill in the words at times. The Itsy Bitsy Spider, The Wheels on the Bus, Twinkle Twinkle as well as Hello Hannah will elicit a huge smile followed by some Hannah singing and hand gesturing.
Here are some photos from the day Grandpa took. They do an amazing job capturing the day. Enjoy!
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| Michael, Hannah, me and Steph along the walk |
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| As if the walk wasn't enough, Hannah played a little pickup hockey |
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| Hannah and Daddy |
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| Team Hannah |
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| Our girl |
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| Hannah and me |
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| Team Hannah |
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| Give me an H |
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| Grooowl |
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| She didn't like his driving so she's going to push her way through the finish line |
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for your support and generosity!
Much love,
Jen, Michael and Hannah
