Way over due!

Sorry it's taken so long to update. We have had so many doctor and therapy appts!  Shi Yu has settled in so well. The inky sign of home sickness I see is if I have to wake her up. I think she expects to see the orphanage and it's surprised when she sees where she is at. She cries fir a long time. Actually she ends up dining sadly. It breaks my heart. Luckily she doesn't have to be written up very often. Other then that she is adjusting wonderfully! She is such a happy little girl. We changed the place where she had all of her therapy. I took it for granted that the original place was good (I had nothing to compare it to). When an organization called Help Me Grow (works with children with disabilities), came to the house and I saw the therapy they did I was blown away and knew I had to change. So far I really like the new place. They are lively, aggressive, and I am seeing better results. Shi Yu has just started in a walker. We were given a loner until the one that was ordered comes in. It is such a joy to see her standing upright! At this point she is just getting used to it and it will be a bit before she can actually walk alone in it. The therapists are amazed at how quickly she catches on so I don't think it will take to long. The walker is made to change over time using less and less support until it is stripped down to just a walker (frame). Hopefully eventually she won't even need that. She attend physical therapy twice a week, occupational therapy piece a week, and is starting aqua therapy next week. Shi Yu had to have a swallow study because she chokes very easily when she drinks. It showed that she was aspirating everything she swallowed. It also showed that she sometimes cleared it. That part amazed them because they couldn't figure out how she did that. They were also amazed that she had lived from birth having this issue. Most babies would due without immediate surgery. We were referred to an ENT doctor who put a score down her nose and into her throat. With this procedure he can only go so far without putting her to sleep. Based on what he could see, he could find no reason for the aspirating. He suggested the next procedure of putting her to sleep. We are still debating that one since she has been ok all this time. She is still dealing with the rash she brought back from China. Doctors say it can take more then a year, even up to 5 years to go away. Urgh! She is going for her second speech therapy evaluation in Saturday (since we changed places it needs to be done again). After that she will begin having speech therapy once a week. She currently says almost 30 words which is great considering she came from China less then 5 months ago. It's especially great because we were originally told she didn't speak at all and didn't make sound when she laughed!  She adores watching sesame street. She had learned so much from it! She lives Elmo and of course that is one of the words she says. She says cookie too. She also loves mini mouse. Elmo and Mini are her 2 favorite characters. She adores books and will spend a great deal of time looking at the pictures. She likes to point to the pictures and have you tell her what they are, over and over again. I would live to go on a book buying spree with her! She loves the bookstore! She would rather look at books then play with toys! I show her YouTube videos of guitar and piano playing just to broaden her horizons. She is like a little sponge right now just soaking everything up. She is still a major daddy's girl and squeals when he comes home from work. He is such a wonderful daddy. He will get up with her at night, change diapers, give her a bath, anything she needs. He is trying his hardest to learn even the most basic children's songs lol. Shi Yu is getting much better with people she doesn't know. She warns up to them much quicker now. Her first Christmas was wonderful! If course she enjoyed the gift wrap and boxes the most.  She loved the new clothes she got. It's funny to see one so young appreciate and be so proud of the clothes she gets. I know she never had her own in the orphanage but I would think she was too young to understand. Who knows, maybe she just has an eye for pretty clothes.