Unlocking this precious one....

Gracie has changed so much since she came home Christmas Eve.....When we visited her in July last year she was a wall hugger- always on the perimeter of the room we were in. She had a difficult time concentrating or she would fixate on an object and flick it with her finger. She has always eaten well and slept well from the beginning. She was in pull ups at first but only for a short time because of all the new things in her life. She did not want much physical contact from Paul or me during our visits and often would ignore us and just watch or throw objects out the open window if we let her ( Toni had to park her wheelchair in front of the window to block this activity). It was to hot to shut the window because they did not have ac at this orphanage. When she first came home she was very sensory overload. We could not take her out for long because she would have a meltdown and just cry and want to go home. She and Andrew would stay home together when we went to church because she just could not last for 2 hrs even with Paul or I in our class or church.

This summer we have seen so much of her sweet personality come out. She loves and I mean loves to swim. She can swim without arm bands... look at her in the pictures and her smile. She is affectionate and loves to cuddle and be held. She loves to hum and hums lots of the Christian songs she hears daily at our home. She listens well for the most part and she can go out with us for outings and be content. She is inappropriately affectionate with everyone... she will hug anyone and everyone who visits us - even strangers but slowly she is learning. She will now watch a movie or have a longer attention span than she did before- the first picture. She loves Winnie the Pooh. In the second picture she is doing her "stretches" just like everyone else for our soccer playing last Friday. She desires to fit in and tries to please. She is still prefering not to talk but knows some sign language and when she wants something she does her best to convey it with signs or motions ( her hearing is fine ). She has gotten taller and has gained weight. She loves to sit in the kitchen when we are preparing food... begging for a taste :) Her favorite is to lick the beaters when we make a cake- just like all the other kids.

We have done some school work with her but she has trouble concentrating... I am thinking she has AD but it is to early to say. The biggest thing she has done in the past 2 weeks is she is now going to Sunday school in Mya's class without us. She is doing wonderful and Mya is a super sister all the teachers say... They can't get over how well Gracie responds to Mya and how well Mya helps her ( remember yesterday's post ?) I am very proud of Gracie and how much she has changed from the quiet , little mouse who was in her on world... Her world has opened up and she is one happy little girl now.