Yesterday Brooke took 12 steps by herself.  Remember, prior to stem cells, it was 2 steps.  Her record is still 26 independent steps.  She continues to use her canes.  Her Physical Therapist mentioned again today the amount of stability Brooke shows in different activities.  (Bending, standing)  We need to keep her heel cords stretched though, her smo's may be a little small, we will be getting her re-fitted soon.  Her speech continues to improve.  At school last week she said, "I want a book."  She then reached for a notebook and said "pen."  There have been many, many instances I could describe where Brooke is initiating conversation.  This is something she'd never really done before, she would answer "hi" when greeted or "I love Mom" when I would tell her first, but now she is consistently the first to speak.  The ideas are hers!!  She is using her Dynavox "V" at school.  This is her new communication device.  Her Speech Pathologist is thrilled with how quickly Brooke is picking up on how to navigate through it.  We leave at the end of the month for Grand Rapids.  We will attend Conductive Education there, which we have participated in before and believe in.  (To find out more on CE, you can check their website, www.aquinas.edu  I think that's it, if not you can search conductive education grand rapids.  Anyway, it is a wonderful program of Conductors from Hungary who have an incredible ability to motivate the kids and bring out the best in them.  It will be exciting to have them see Brooke's improvements so far.  They have known her approx. 4 years.  Looking back, I am glad we went to China.  It gave Brooke a little "jump" on her abilities and allowed her to master skills that would have taken her years to accomplish.  There is no quick fix, or cure for glut-1 or other related brain disorders, but if we can provide her an opportunity to improve her quality of life, we do so and ask God for guidance in our decision making.  Thank you all for caring.