Hope: One Less: Day 4

This morning she woke up a little after 8:00. I'm sure some of you parents with little ones are jealous:) She wanted scrambled eggs for breakfast with soy sauce (yuck!). Everytime she eats, she goes to the fridge and pulls out something to add to her meal. Soy sauce is the most common, but chili sauce is a close second. Don't worry, I just add a couple small drops. After getting dressed in one of her new outfits, we played school for a while. We worked with some flashcards with colors and animals. For some of the animals, she covers her eyes with her hands to show she is scared or doesn't like them. She traced some letters in one of her workbooks. Her favorite part is messing up so she can use the eraser. We also did a dinosaur puzzle and worked on the alphabet. We also made a new bracelet (to match her outfit, of course) with some foam beads. She nearly begged for a ring but I didn't think the foam beads would work to well for that. We practiced counting as we were putting the foam beads back in the bag. We played Barbies for a little bit. I was sitting on the floor rocking back and forth and she started mimicking me. Then we mixed up our sugar cookie dough so later we can make Christmas cutouts with icing and sprinkles. The noise from the mixer scared her a little. Lunch was the last of the leftover spaghetti and oh yeah, with soy sauce. She also likes to pretend to feed Anna and Elsa on her Frozen cup. We tried grapes again and were more successful this time. She wanted the skin peeled off but instead I just sliced them longways and once she got the hang of it, she would eat a whole grape without being sliced. Glad that she is finally eating some fruit. She also got up from the table and went to the bathroom by herself to potty. This is huge since the dog was in the basement and she didn't make anyone walk with her. We made a pretty big deal out of her independence since usually she wants assistance. She also keeps picking up her picture from her visit with Santa or any Christmas book, and she knows he says "ho, ho, ho." She is really getting our routine down and immediately asked to take a nap. She picked out 3-4 books to read just like before bed. After nap, we went to the GMM office for a visit. She walked (and/or ran) around like she owned the place, told everyone hi and bye, and even got on Renee's lap. So glad that she is social and does not know a stranger. She came home with a swinging snowman and some chocolate candy which she has already eaten and seemed to like (that's my girl!). After the visit, we went for her child wellness check at Dr. Amy Leifheit's office. She colored a Christmas tree that she got to hang on the wall while we waited. She did terrific during the exam and everything looked really good. She had a lot of fun playing with the mirror in the exam room. We already knew that she was small for her age (32 pounds, 40.75"); i.e. not even on the charts for height, weight, or BMI for her age. She has a heart murmur which we knew about from reading her medical history. They cleaned out some significant wax build-up in her ears so she can probably hear us better now. She was a trooper. They pricked her finger and her hemoglobin came back normal. She loved having a bandaid on her finger and did not want to use it. They tested her urine and we need to try to have her drink more. This is difficult because she only drinks water and a lot of times when we offer, she says "no." As we were leaving, she was telling everyone bye and even gave one of the nurses her last chocolate candy. She also got a couple of trinkets/prizes for being such a good girl. We tried to look at the fish tank, but she acted terrified of those as well. We went through the Christmas lights at Peterson Park but she was somewhat disinterested. Dinner was her choice of Chinese noodles with cut-up hot dog, soy sauce, and ketchup - all mixed together. Her consumption has slowed down dramatically yesterday and today. I assume that is attributable to her catching up and realizing we are not going to starve her. We Facetimed with Brooke and Kinsley. She showed off her prizes from the doctor's office and we told them how we are learning to count in English. We again tried to introduce her to the dog by being in the same room, but the blood-curdling screams/reaction remained. We had bathtime and then Facetimed with my mom. She was showing her books with Santa and saying "ho, ho, ho." I need to get it on video because it is too cute. She started calling me "mama" yesterday. We had no idea what she would call us, but I feel pretty honored that she has given me the title, albeit temporary. We read a few books and went to sleep.