Life with the little one

Everything is great here in Pavlodar. Our paperwork is all coming in right on time (so far) and we are also adjusting well to life with our little one. We still feel like we are living in a dream having her here with us. It is pure joy 100% of the time, even in the midst of exhaustion or temper tantrums (I'm sure most of you parents are rolling your eyes thinking...that wont last long!)
We do have some fun photos of our last two days together. After our photos I would like to take some time to update everyone on Ava's progress. We are so used to her that sometimes we forget to share the reality of having a child with special needs. Since in her pictures you would never know she had a disability I think it's important to explain exactly where she's at before you all meet her so you know a little of what to expect :-) James and I are both positive people in general and are so encouraged by how far she has come that it's hard to even point out her "weaknesses" as weaknesses.
Anyways, it's been a really exciting few days and here are our photos!     

Wednesday & Thursday:
  

Ava is still really loving the kitchen.  She sits by the window and observes while we prepare our meal in the world tiniest kitchen.  Three people (well, two and a half people) is way too much for that small space huh Emma?

Cute PJ alert!  I love this nightgown on her.  Yea, I think I'm having a little too much fun dressing her up!  She's like my little doll. 

Being cooped up inside all day gets a little boring for us all.  We decided to clear out some space and have a little tumbling lesson.  She was really into exercising and did a great job engaging both arms :-)

Later that day we did some water coloring.  Ava painted some Easter paintings of eggs and a cross saying "New Life in Jesus"!  

Friday:

Today we went to this amazing indoor playground.  We met Belinda and her four year old daughter Elizabeth there to play.  Ava was in Heaven.

Is this MY daughter on a trampoline?  The same daughter that couldn't take a step on her own just one year ago has the balance to jump on a trampoline.  Can you say miraculous?

The face on the left is her, "I'm so excited I can't stand it" face.

What fun!

Taking it all in.  I think she could live at this place.  We will hopefully go back soon.  It was only $2.00 for an hour of play.

Ava and Elizabeth had a lot of fun together. Elizabeth was not used to sharing James and my attention so that was a switch for her.  She is about one month younger than Ava and is clearly much taller.  She is also very small for her age.   Being with Belinda and Elizabeth was great!  Belinda was able to confirm a few things that we have always said about Ava...she has a strong desire to learn and do everything that all the other children are doing. 

Ava's Progess:

Physical:
We'll start with her strongest point,...walking! We are so pleased with Ava's walking ability!  When she is walking slowly you can hardly notice her limp at all.  When she runs or walks fast it is a bit more apparent.  She stands flat footed very often but still walks on her right tip toe every now and then.  She can even walk up stairs if she is holding onto a rail. 
She is using her right arm more and more too.  In many photos you can see that it is tight but it is also very often relaxed and open.  Even when it is relaxed, she prefers to use her left hand for everything.  If there is ever an activities that she wants to do that requires two hands, she finds a way to engage the right hand just enough to make it work.  She rarely gives up or avoids activities that requires both hands which is very encouraging.    

Speech:
This is going to be Ava's biggest struggle.  She is still not saying full words yet but we are encouraged by the different sounds she is putting together.  She is great at open mouth sounds and has more trouble with closed mouth sounds.  She is great at sounds like "D" and "A".  Today she said her name which has the "V" sound. This was the hardest letter that she has said yet!  We were very excited.  Also, when there is something she wants to communicate to us she always tries to form the word whether it sounds like that word or not.  This is also very encouraging.  It is typical for children with CP to have trouble swallowing since the muscles in their mouth have a much higher tone than that of the average child (imagine what CP does to Ava's hand, similar things may happen with the muscles in her mouth).  She is getting better at swallowing (even in the last few days).  I imagine that meals at the orphanage were very rushed and very distracting.  During meal time at home we take our time to really make sure she is chewing well and swallowing properly.  This will also be something that a speech therapist can help us with.  When she is excited or over stimulated she produces excess saliva and has trouble swallowing it all.  Again, SPEECH THERAPY! 

Communication:
Despite not being able to speak, I feel that we understand her needs and wants very well.  She is great at pointing, shaking her head yes or no, and expressing emotion on her face.  She is also very affectionate which communicates a lot to us about how she is feeling.   

Cognitive Development:
This is where James and I have been so impressed.  She is picking up on English quicker than we thought.  Today for example I was zipping up her coat and asked her to put her head up and didn't use any gestures.  She raised both hands in the air.  Head and Hands sound pretty similar and she new I was asking her to raise them up.  She also recognizes many shapes, numbers, and letters.  Today we noticed that she is recognizing simple words.  James wrote Mama on a piece of paper and Ava pointed to me.  He wrote Dada and she pointed to him.  He wrote Ava and she pointed to herself.  She knows how to write her name and is very proud of that I must say!
Her interests also show us that she is pretty on track.  She likes dancing, princesses, art, etc.  We have seen her interests change from very very basic and "baby like" to toddler appropriate in this past year.   
        
Well, there are the basics.  Again, I hate to even highlight these things b/c to us she is just Ava, but I do think it's important for our family and friends to have a little heads up.  Research says that for every year a child is in the orphanage they are six months behind developmentally.  I would say this is pretty accurate.  And on top of that Ava has special needs and was never given individual attention for those needs.  It's crazy how much progress we have already seen just in the few days she's been with us at home.  We are confident that she will continue to catch up.   

When James and I left for Kaz a year ago I would have never dreamed we would be bringing home a child with special needs.  Among other things, we have learned this year that God's plans are always bigger, higher, and better than our own.  If we had listened to our own plan, we would have missed this precious gift, this child whom we wouldn't trade for the world.  People have expressed their admiration for us in adopting a child with these needs but in our hearts we truly truly feel that we have been the blessed ones.  We can't believe that God chose us to raise this amazing child that he created.  He created her perfectly and with a purpose.  Thank you Lord for letting us be a part of your purpose for Ava.

We wish you all a very Happy Easter.  Family, we are sorry to be missing the second Easter in a row :-(  Just like Ava's craft this week remember that in Jesus their is new life!