Time to read!

School started back last week and you are a different student this year! You are on FIRE to learn. You've learned so much English, that you're ready to READ. So thrilled for you. Your words you are learning are I, A, the, pop, can, am, look and we. You are doing fantastic sitting still, too. What a difference a year makes. 

I am so proud of you and your ambition! 

We had a little fun with our first day of school. We found some pink spray from Halloween that I bought for a quarter on clearance and thought we could use it (and other colors) for some fun! We sprayed a pink strip in your hair (it washes out) and you had a blast with that ! 

We also got you a hair trim after this photo. It looks so much thicker and pretty. You found a shower cap and proceeded to wear it after your trim. Your desire is to have LONNNG hair. You put the cap on yo "protest my hair and to keep it healthy from dead ends." You eat dinner in this shower cap, play in it and SLEEP in it. You also sneak to our bed at 3 am and when you toss, all I hear is crinkles. 

You do take it off to leave the house - praise the Lord!  You are your own person. That's for sure. I have told you a zillion times that the cap isn't necessary and explained why, but you think this will help it to not have to be trimmed and to grow faster- whatever Joy! Lol

You are healing nicely from your bone graft. A sliver of bone worked its way out of your mouth yesterday. That was a shocker.  We are heading back Wednesday for a check up. Your hip looks awesome. Such a rockstar you are! 

You took these photos as I drove to show me the sliver of bone working its way out. You can see the stitches in the back palate and stitches everywhere in the front. Many at elsewhere that you can't see from this photo. If you could've seen your mouth after surgery, you wouldn't believe this was three weeks ago! You're amazing! You know that braces are next (January) and you're so pumped. Mommy, however, is NOT. :-(   We drive 2.5 hours to the orthodontist, but with every trip I drive, I pray a prayer of Thanksgiving that I have the ability to send you to the beat dentist and orthodontist for cleft patients (and non-cleft affected patients!!!). So, when your birth family didn't have these opportunities, I'm reminded in my weariness. How grateful I am.

You teach us so much, Joy... So, so much. 

          I love you always, 

                 Mommy