I've been thinking about this photo since it showed up in my Facebook feed this morning. It was taken seven years ago, and Sofia was just about one and a half years old. At the time of this photo, she was not yet diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. That would come two weeks later.

I used to think about this in terms of our 'before'. In the early days following her diagnosis, as I would lie awake going through the list of questions I had for the neurologist and her physical therapist, I'd find myself reflecting on the time before I knew she had CP with a wistful notion of "ignorance is bliss".

But, of course it's not. Because you can't go back and not know something once it's out there. Have you ever tried? It doesn't work. And, not knowing something that unquestionably is, means not being able to plan to meet the challenge. Talking through those feelings with my husband Jeremiah made all the difference in moving through that period and getting to action.

Sofia has grown and changed a lot in the past seven years. She continues with her ballet, takes swimming and enjoys cooking. She's made incredible progress, undergone difficult surgeries and met her physical therapy exercises with determination and a beautiful spirit.

I've come to see her, and our journey as a family, not in terms of 'before her diagnosis' and 'after her diagnosis', but just as our 'now.' Sofia is not the only one who has done some growing and changing.