Wednesday's visits

More of the same. It is difficult to give her back when it is nap time and feeding time which are our exit times. We get to see/play with her from about 12 - 2 when she naps. Then we get to see/play with her when she wakes up about 4:15 until feeding time at 5:00. Not nearly long enough for us but that is the way it goes.

She was cooing a little bit more. She smiles a lot but we got her to giggle for the first time. Got her second giggle on video I believe. If any of you watch the TV show Bones, we used the dancing phalanges (moving fingers) to get her to smile a lot. The books that I have read said to make contact through a lot of skin to skin contact. We weren't sure how she would reacted but she likes when we touch her chubby cheeks. We are quite lucky she is such a happy baby. We try to read to her little books but she just wants to put them in her mouth. As most of you parents probably know, and doctors too, it apparently helps with the teething process to chew on things. (Kelly explained the evolution/science of this to me. We always knew she was the smarter one). It does not matter whether it is our fingers, hard toys, stuff animals, or books, in the mouth it goes. Although she like our fingers the most. I guess they are easier to chew without hurting her gums as much as plastic might. With her two bottom teeth showing, she can actually do some damage with them.

We hold her and try to get her to crawl. She tries pretty well. The little legs kick out while her arms hold her up. She just does not get anywhere yet. With the minimal attention she does get, the ability to be held or even tempted to crawl to toys or things is difficult to come by. So while she will be ten months old on Christmas day, her motor skills are a little behind. We knew this would be the case though. It is common. We have read that experts say the delay is about 1 month for every 3 months in an orphanage. So combining the 3-4 months at the time we take her home, plus the fact she was 3-4 weeks premature (out doctor hit this nail right on the head from the video and birth data), she will be about the equivalent age of a 6-7 month old.

This will be made up quickly once she gets all of our attention at home. We are a bit jealous of the families we have seen in our hotel that are able to bring their little ones home in the next day or two. I think one of them flies out today to Ohio.