Life just got a whole lot easier

Drew can touch, and as you can see, even ride on the the dogs now!  Of course, she still screams blood curdling screams when you least expect it at the mere sight of one of the poor beasts....but when the mood is right, she tolerates them.  Thank goodness, as the whole "are the dogs in? -Please grab the child with I feed the dogs. -Dogs, stop tearing up the door to get in" -thing was getting really old and very tiring.  And the dogs were depressed from being banished.  Whew...it is the day to day stuff that wears you out! 

  Drew can now say: "Hi", "Byebye", "Ni-ni" "Up" and as of today, "uh oh" and "mo" for more...  And she makes noise all the time now, a far (very far) cry from the silent child we first met.  Ron introduced her to the joys of belly razzberries, which she has taken to with glee.  Eating is still her first activity of choice.  Her meltdowns are far shorter (mostly) and far fewer, thank goodness.  Her joy in the little things like sitting in the swing, feeling the rain come down, or hearing Kelly roar like a lion is wonderful to see, and surprising to hear the deep belly laugh that comes out of her..who would've guessed?  Between she and the dogs, I'm not sure who's happier these days!

Blooming

  Drew continues to thrive and grow.  We are done with the dreadful medicine to cure her Giardia, she has leveled out her none-stop eating, and regular excercise is helping her gross motor skills.  She is learning some Sign Language and even has a few words now, so there is a hint of communication..which makes her very happy.  We all get regular kisses now, and she can even see the dogs (thru the glass door) without screaming!  It all sound like small steps, but to her they are mountains climbed.  Our days are quiet, limited, but very productive.  And as you can see by the picture, our beautiful flower is blooming.

better late than never

Well I've finally have gotten around to posting our Christmas pictures.  We spent the evening at my parents with Shirley and Brooke and Steve and family.  It was a great celebration (happened on New Year's Day) but by the end we were done and as you can see by the attempted family photo, Drew was DONE.  But we did get a lot of smiles from her that night and the 3 sillies were hamming it up as usual.  Still can't believe we are a family of 6!

Need I say more?

Amazing progress

Well, we survived our "Christmas" here at home.  Had  a great morning seeing what Santa brought, then went to my parents and spent the evening with lots of family.  We were concerned that Drew would be more than overwhelmed, and meltdown, but she loved it all, and only had one bad crying fit, understandable for ANY 2 year old by Christmas night.  The rest of the week has been filled with trying to get a glimpse of the "new normal" and struggling to get over jet lag.  With 6 people severely off schedule, seems someone is always awake here, but it's getting better. 

   Drew has amazed us by making great progress in bonding, adjusting and learning.  Compared to the little girl who, 18 days ago, was only either furiously angry, or completely indifferent, we now have a cuddly, giggling, curious dynamo.  She spends the day following her sister, getting into cupboards, and eating, and eating and eating.  She gleefully attacks her food and constantly asks for more.  All food, any food.  She is still very frightened of the dogs, but with all the other adjustments these last few days (one week home today) I assume that will come with time.  

  So my great husband gave me this really cute little video camera for Christmas, and I finally figured out (with his help) how to use it and upload.  Hopefully I'll remember how and will do this often!  This video is a little long, but I was so excited to have done it, and it shows how well Drew is doing, I couldn't wait, you can fast forward if you want...I will work on the editing stuff later!