11 weeks ago. . . .

I met the tiniest, most beautiful, 18 month old baby girl I had ever seen. Her eyes danced, her legs were stiff, her size 3 sandals too big. She didn't cry, she actually had a tiny smile on her face when I held her. Her ears were draining, her chest rattling, her fever high. I covered her in my mom's jacket, and she fell asleep.



She had very little head control, her back was so stiff I couldn't put her in sitting position, she cried every time my mom even looked at her!!!

Now, just 11 weeks later, she's such a different baby!! She smiles all the time, and has a new "I'm so cute" smile!



She's doing so much I never would have thought she could do!!

She can:

Sit and play without support

Put her entire body weight on her legs

Point to her nose, belly, and tongue all the time, usually point to her ears, mouth, and hands

Call the Hogs WOO PIG SOOIE!!!

Do the hand motions for Itsy bitsy spider, God made the big round sun, Soy rana mediana, Fuzzy caterpillar, This little light of mine, I'm all wrapped up, all tied up (and others she has learned this week at school)

Recognize cat, dog, baby, car, ball in her favorite book

Her favorite word is "da?" (What's that?) She has learned everything has a name, and wants to know the name of everything!

She loves watching lights turn on and off (and, thanks to her pappaw, she thinks lights are to be turned on and off all the time, whenever she wants to see them go on and off!)

She's gone from throwing all toys to stacking blocks, feeding baby dolls, and putting things in and dumping them out of containers

She interacts with people she knows now, though she prefers to have mommy close by

She loves her Nana, she smiles instead of cries when she sees her!


Our biggest challenge--

FOOD!!!!

It's a challenge to get her to take 24 oz of pediasure everyday, and getting her to eat anything else is so hard! She does like guacamole and refried beans, sometimes yogurt, and carrots, potatoes, and tomato sauce with berbere. Loves ice cream and chocolate.
Though hair cream, she'll eat that!!




She sleeps pretty well, much better this week after starting school! I think she would sleep all night if I could ever get her to eat enough!!!


This week, she started therapy school. I'm part time still until November so she can ease into the change. She gets LOTS of therapy everyday. And they all love her!! Her director came to me today and said after meeting her, there are several people who work with her who have started thinking about adopting a baby with physical challenges.

I am so very amazed at how many lives she has already touched in the short time I have known her! I'm so thankful God placed her in my life!