Tuesday, March 17, 2009

we're finally through the tough part!

Tomorrow it will be 3 weeks since Sophie had her palatoplasty and I can finally say that she is back to her old self. She's beginning to drink milk from a cup normally now. She totally gave up the bottle and anything to do with sippy cups. I've had to spoon feed her her liquids and use a syringe to dribble some squirts in her mouth, always worried that she wasn't getting enough fluids. It's been trying to say the least.


She has slept through the night 2 nights in a row now. That is something she did since we first got her so it's been difficult for all of us. I'm feeling much better now that I have had my sleep too!


Sophie has wanted me to hold her all the time, so much so that my back was beginning to ache. I haven't had a chance to get my normal housework done and a cluttered house drives me batty. So now I don't have an excuse, hee hee!


I'm so anxious to get back to my weekly bible study on Daniel, take daily walks, and enjoy my sweet little angel's dynamic, happy-go-lucky personality.


Did you know Asians naturally squat a lot to play? A physical therapist told me that she has seen this phenomenom a lot but only in Asians. Caucasians don't squat to play. Sophie can play for at least 5 minutes in a squatting position. It's adorable! She's just like her great-grandpa...but we called it Filipino style.


Tuesday, March 3, 2009

I'm So Proud of My Baby



I've been teaching Sophie baby sign language since we got her on Dec. 8, 2008 and has learned words at an incredible rate! So far she can use 25 different words. Here's the list of words in the order that she learned them. Notice the food words are the ones she learned first!

milk
banana
eat
all gone
book
duck
bird
dog
love
sleep
in
out
water
cat
cow
hat
fish
hurt
toothbrush
stars
bath
no
yes
go
hungry

I'm currently working on teaching her juice, want, gentle, cereal, mama, and daddy. She's right on target for language production! Now all we have to do is work on getting her lips and tongue to do their job. With her palate repaired and the goop drained out of her ears, she should be on the road to speaking and hearing better. Please pray that she learns quickly!

Another thing that we are so proud of Sophie for is her large motor skills. She started taking steps on January 10th and learned to crawl on January 15th, but it wasn't until February 23rd that she actually started taking off everywhere. She walked from the kitchen to the bathroom and back again. She was 15 months when that happened, within the normal limits according her pediatrician.

When we first brought her home she was delayed in everything and qualified for Tri County Regional services for physical and speech therapies. But because she is soooo smart and very capable, they have told me that she doesn't need early intervention or physical therapy anymore. She'll just be monitored monthly to make sure everything is going smoothly. The therapists said that all she needed was the opportunity to do these normal activitites-like crawling on the floor, standing up, sitting and playing-to catch up with her peers. It's amazing to see her grow and learn new things every day!

Even though it's only been a week since the doctors closed her palate, I can hear her making new sounds. She makes a modification of "N" and "Y". Yippee! We love those consonant sounds! Before she only made the "M" sound. She LOVES learning, practicing her new skills, and entertaining her family. God is such a compassionate, loving God who loves nothing more than providing for all of her needs.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Yah, Can You Believe It?



Licking the last drop of yummy tapioca pudding off the spoon!

Dear God, Thank you for everything...my family...my doggy and my shape sorting can of blocks.


When you ask her to give you eyebrows, this is what she does...raises them up and down, up and down. It's the absolutely cutest thing I've ever seen!

Aunt Sog gave her a mohawk hairstyle which Sophie thought was a blast!

Grandma loves getting kisses, even though they are sloppy, wet, full on open mouth kisses from her little angel.


Sophie enjoys playing in places that have bright, colorful balls.

I can't believe the gift I have been given. I stand constantly amazed how much I love this little girl! I am so in love with my 18 pound little package of sweetness. Sophie has warmed my heart to the very soul. I can't believe what a privilege it is for me to be called her mama. Every single day, I see her grow, change, do something simply adorable, or revel in her 10 perfect little toes. How much can one person love another? I can't believe that I ever doubted if I could love someone as much as my other two bio kids, but she is proof that anything is possible in God's economy. God has given me an amazing adventure to be part of. Sophie is everything I had hoped for, but so much more. All of us love her incredibly. It's hard to believe it's possible how much joy she brings all of us. People always ask if she's mine, doubting if a 40's-something mom like me could have such a small baby. Well, the answer's always an amazingly contented resounding, "Yah, can you believe it? I'm the luckiest mommie in the world!"