Happy Fall!

We've been busy enjoying all the activities of fall here in the midwest.  We took Amelia for her first trip to the apple orchard, and she had a great time.  It didn't take long for her to figure out what to do!  She had fun picking apples and carrying them carefully to the bag.

Amelia still hasn't picked up much English -- just a few words that come and go.  We decided to go ahead and have a speech evaluation done.  She's only heard English since June and she communicates well by signing and gestures and her few words, so we thought about holding off.  A speech pathologist friend of mine noticed that the sounds Amelia makes are mostly in her throat.  She doesn't have a "b" or "p" sound at all, so she might really benefit from some speech therapy.  We decided that if she needs some help, there's no reason to put it off.  So tomorrow we have a meeting to fill out paperwork, and then we'll have an assessment done.  Hoping they will be able to help her and give us some guidance in working with her!

We are still feeling so blessed by our sweet girl.  She has such a fun, jolly personality!  She loves to tease us.  For example, when Mark or I wash our hands in our guest bath, she runs in laughing, grabs the hand towel, and runs away with it!  She then brings it back, just grinning from ear to ear.  She is also very concerned about others.  If one of the other kids is hurt, she will go over to them, look carefully at their face, and rub their back with her little hands.  She is sweet, silly, and fun, and we are so thankful to be her forever family!