Heidi has learned to take her diapers to the trash. She can bring me a clean diaper to put on her. She even recognized a clean diaper on the floor to bring me. As I came into the living room one day she was sitting up on an armchair and I playfully said, “what are you doing?” She waved her arm in front of her face like we do when she has a dirty diaper. Sure enough, she was stinky.
Heidi enjoyed her first camping trip. It started out a little rough, she didn’t want to be put down and didn’t sleep well.
(At least 1 of us is comfortable)
But by the end she was sleeping well and was walking in the dirt, throwing leaves, playing in the creek, laughing, manipulating Uncle Ramon to get her out of the playpen, following Matteo everywhere, mimicking her cousin Wally by repeating his two favorite words “Duck” and “dog”. She hasn’t said those words since coming home but we’re sure they are tucked away in her mind.
Heidi was pushing a doll stroller! This seems small, but using a toy appropriately is a big step for her.
She also learned to stomp and it’s amazing how cute it is.
She was loving Grandma!
Heidi has now knows several signs:
1. More
2. All Done
3. Yogurt
4. Apple
5. Jump
6. Help me
7. Milk
She can combine more with the food words and jump.
Heidi can point to four body parts when asked:
1. Head
2. Eyes
3. Nose
4. Belly
Adding to her cool factor, in addition to high-5 she can also fist bump. It’s super adorable.
Carrie was playing with her near the baby pool and as Caroline started spraying the hose she stuck her finger toward it. Carrie then sprayed her finger. Miraculously, Heidi laughed. It was such a surprise. Then Caroline dipped her head in the pool and Heidi plunked her little face down in and popped back up, even popping her lips to blow the water off exactly as Caroline did. I couldn’t believe it!
Heidi has another visit to the eye Dr. He was very pleased with how cooperative she was. Her prescription is now -1.5 and -2.0. He still didn’t feel like it was necessary for her to wear glasses but wanted to see her back in 8-9 months. She has been totally desensitized to wearing glasses so we are prepared for when the day comes!
(Daddy’s sunglasses)
(Heidi’s sunglasses)
We have continued to struggle on with Heidi’s resistance to feed herself. One evening when it was just the two of us (so, no audience, no pressure from siblings) I asked her if she wanted ice cream. The neat thing was she understood what it was, got excited and ran to the fridge. I hand-over-hand fed her the first bite but felt that she should have the motivation to feed herself. Unfortunately, it went poorly. Sometimes if I walk out of her view she will do things on her own. Sadly, she started hitting herself on the head and getting very upset.
As I talked with her Occupational Therapist just today she decided to try something new. Heidi really likes a dolly that the OT uses, so she had the doll in the high chair and acted like the doll was feeding herself, then we said, “Heidi’s a big girl like the baby. Heidi can feed herself.” With initial prompting she fed herself 6 bites. Then I fed her some. Then with encouragement from the doll baby she fed herself 15 bites in a row (with me scooping the yogurt onto her spoon).
This was a huge accomplishment but it left her very upset. I had to get her out of her seat, apply pressure to her palms, deep pressure down her spine, and bear hugs, all calming techniques that we have learned from our amazing OT.
Her therapist believes that Heidi is cognitively and physically capable of feeding herself (great news!), but has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from her feeding experience in her orphanage in China. We are so grateful she has learned to trust us and since we are her “safe” people, she wants us to feed her as it makes her feel safe. We did not discuss how to further her progress to make her feel safe and also establish independence in this area. I’m sure that will be on our agenda for next week.
Heidi also sometimes grinds her teeth when she is uncomfortable or stressed. This week I took just her in the car to do our curbside library pickup. She was grinding her teeth the drive there and back. As soon as we started to pull into our driveway she literally started clapping and cheering. Usually the only time it’s just the two of us in the car is when we’re going to doctor appointments so maybe that’s where she thought we were going so cheered when we went right back home. It was also awesome to see her recognize we were home. It was extra adorable that when we went inside she ran to her biggest sister, Anne, and hugged her.
I’m so grateful to my family and friends who are always so supportive of us and Heidi and understanding of her needs and that, just because she’s been home for nearly a year, all her difficulties don’t just “go away”. We are grateful to God that we are still seeing miracles and we fully anticipate seeing them for the rest of her life.
We even ate out and, after initially being unhappy, she ate a great meal sitting on daddy’s lap.
Happy 11 months home, Heidi the Brave! We love you and are so proud of you.
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