“An invisible red thread connects those who

are destined to meet, regardless of time,

place, or circumstance. The thread may

stretch or tangle, but will never break.”

An ancient Chinese belief


Our family made the decision to adopt in June 2009. We pursued a special needs adoption, and we were blessed with a referral of the most beautiful girl on May 21, 2010. We originally started this website to fundraise for our adoption expenses by selling tutus and hair bows. Our fundraising efforts coupled with a grant from Lifesong for Orphans were a tremendous financial blessing. We traveled to China in late October 2010 to meet our daughter. Now, Emma Grace is home... forever.




Saturday, February 26, 2011

Emma Grace Update

We have been busy! I have been wanting to do a post for awhile, but the days keep slipping away from me. Emma Grace is doing great. She had her 18 month well checkup the other day (she was 19 months old, but that's the way we roll around here- about a month late on everything...) She weighed in at 18 lbs 10 ozs and was 29.25 inches. So, she has gained 1.5 pounds and grew 1/2 inch. I guess I will take it! They tested her for TB (we forgot to do that when we got home) and thankfully, it was negative. She eats like a little piggy and will pretty much eat anything she can chew up and put in her mouth. We were relieved to find a sippy cup she can actually use, so no more cleft palate bottles that we have to squeeze. For those cl/cp parents reading this- the soft nipple NUBY works great for Emma. She actually bites it to open up the spout and get the milk out. Unfortunately, she can't suck because of the huge gap in her mouth, so this is the only cup that works for her. She continues to have OT and PT once a week. She is getting stronger with her hands but is easily frustrated with fine motor skill activities. She gives her OT an ATTITUDE every week. It is really quite ridiculous the way she acts. She is better with the PT because I think walking is something that she is starting to feel more comfortable with. She will take up to 10 steps, but prefers to walk on her knees. She is starting to "start/stop" with her walking and also turning while she walks, so she has come a long way in the last 4 months. She can say mama, dog-dog, uh-oh, no (she only says this to her OT!) and "moe" for more, and she uses the sign with this. When we ask her where Timmy is, she will look all over the room and point him out immediately. She LOVES to be sung to and her favorite is the itsy bitsy spider and the wheels on the bus. She will do all the hand motions for both of them. She loves to climb into our lap and she starts dancing with her arms- that is her sign to tell us she wants to hear a song :) Enjoy the pictures!
Walking in her new big girl shoes
It looks like she is giving me attitude, but she was doing the motions to "wash the spider out" while I was singing :)

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