Well, long time no post I guess.  I hadn't intended to wait so long between posts but I wanted to post some updated hair pictures and it takes so long to load pictures onto my computer that I just procrastinated.  But alas, I got off my busy, but somewhat lazy behind and took an hour off of my life to load the pictures.  Sadly, I'm not joking, as my computer is old and slow.  I swear it has windows 1812 on it. 

So here are some pictures of  Grace's hair since I took her to an African-American salon a few weeks ago.  



This is here hair after we visited the hair stylist.  Her pony tails are much smoother than I was ever able to make them.



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This was taken after her first shampoo with the new products.  Her hair is much, much softer and fluffier than before and far easier to manage.

Another view of her fluffy hair



My first attempt at styling by myself.  I did pony tails and then braided the ponytails.  This was quite an accomplishment for me as I have no hair styling skills what so ever.

Little Braids.  I know my sister Amy would never  believe I did this without proof.

My first attempt went so well that I decided to get fancy.  Clearly, this didn't work out as well.  Have you ever tried to get a wiggly 17 month old to sit still while you tried to create a straight part?  If you have, then God Bless you because it's no easy feat.

My top ponytails were OK but the bottom two are wacky. 

 All in all, I am very happy with her hair.  I still need a lot more time to experiment but I am thrilled with the Moroccan oil.  Our hair routine is much shorter these days but the results are so much better.  Once I comb it the curls just come back to life.  I could not be happier. 

Life in general at our house is good.  We met with Grace's nutritionist two weeks ago and we had a great appointment.  She gained 1 1/4 pounds in four weeks which is the most she has gained in one month in the almost 10 months she has been home.  She is now 17 pounds, 2 oz.  The GI doctor put her on an appetite stimulant about a month ago to see if that would help her put on weight.  It seems like it's helping.  She is getting to the point where she is recognizing she is hungry and she is telling me (she knows the sign for eat).  She doesn't eat huge quantities but she is eating more and more often.  She is still on pediasure but she is drinking more than she was and that's really helping to to put on the extra calories.  She's still petite but I feel really positive that we're moving in a positive direction.

She is starting to talk up a storm.  Her favorite new words are Goo Gurl (Good Girl), Un-Koooool (Uncle), Yep (Yes), and Un-dan (understand).  She can point to all of the parts of her face except for the eyes.  I have no idea why but she always points to her nose when you say eyes.  If you ask her what a dogie says she pants and for a kitty she says mow, which really sounds adorable.  She also can make monkey, duck and cow sounds.  I know, she's a genius, don't be jealous. 

She is very affectionate and loves to snuggle into her mommy.  She loves to sing and laugh and read books. Her current favorite is called snuggle puppy by Sandra Boynton.  We read it about 37 times a day and no, I'm not exaggerating.  She can't get enough of it.  She now sits down with books and reads them to herself.  OK, well not really reading, but babbling and turning the pages as if she is.  It's so cute.  She loves to dance.  There is a music channel through our cable company that plays toddler tunes.  She loves that channel and she loves to dance to it.  When she wants to dance she will stand in front of the t.v. and will bounce up and down until I turn it on.  She is just so much fun.  She has developed this annoying toddler scream that she releases for no apparent reason.  I don't love that but we're working on it. 

Here are some recent pictures of her:



She loves to suck on her three fingers. 

I bought her a new hat for the winter and she wanted to wear it today.  However, she wouldn't wait for me to take off the tags or the mittens so she walked around the house like this. 

Guess she was worn out by her new hat and just had to stop and take a rest.