Bathtub fun!

"The duck is stuck in the cup."

We have lots of opportunities to learn about Nathan's new world while he's in the tub. We also play with the foam numbers in the tub. He can now count to 11 by himself and we are working on colors...he still doesn't quite understand that concept yet, which is fine. We'll just keep playing with it.

His English is coming along nicely. He accidentally bumped me a little while ago and said, "Oh, sorry!" And, he was playing with a little toy dog that speaks when you push his tummy...he said, "How you do that?" So, I showed him how to push the puppy's tummy. The idea that this child's new language has come so far in such a short period of time just amazes me.

I also wanted to mention that I love having two 8 year-old girls to help with Nathan. Anna loves to take him out in the backyard and play. And Lilly is such a good sister too. She offers to help him dress, she gets his breakfast every once in a while, and since he sleeps in her room at night, she will take him to the potty if he wakes up and needs to go. She is always very kind and sweet to him in the middle of the night. I admire her for that.

So, our big news this week is that Anna went to see Dr. Boyd and she will be getting her palate expander appliance, braces, and head gear next week. Bless her heart...they had quite an ordeal getting a tray small enough for her mouth when they were taking impressions on Monday. She is such a tough little girl...I knew from the few tears she shed during the process that she was scared and that it hurt. The good news is that the spacers are still in place and her teeth were not hurting when she headed off to school this morning...so we're making progress. Someday we will probably not even remember that she ever had a cleft lip and palate. I love her smile now, but when treatment is complete, she will shine even brighter. (Not that she doesn't shine now.)

Brian and I are looking forward to attending Idea Camp this Friday and Saturday. We have several others from our church who will also be attending. I'm excited to hear what Tom Davis, along with many other national and local leaders, have to say about orphan care. I hope to share more about it next week.

Blessings to all,
Deb