For anyone out there still wanting to follow the blog, sorry it has been so long since an update. Elora has been doing well and there have been many events since the last post. First of all, a medical update. Elora had her echo and thankfully that came back normal so there is no more follow-up on that topic. She also had her first dental appointment. She has some teeth coming in pretty crazy, and before it is said and done there may be some mouthwork to be done. But for now, the dentist is just going to keep an eye on things before pulling anything. She had additional blood drawn to check again on possible hyperthyroidism and possible anemia. The bloodwork again indicated those conditions are likely for her. We have appointments scheduled with both hematology and endocrinology in the near future. We believe most of that can be controlled with medicine and/or diet so we aren't overly concerned about those issues, but it will be nice to get more educated at the upcoming appointments.
Elora is really adapting well to family life and American life. We were at a restaurant recently and she finished her drink and raised her glass and started yelling for a server to get her more to drink. How interesting it is to go from an orphan's life where one can only imagine she didn't have much, to now having a life of plenty where she can already act as entitled as the rest of these spoiled children. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it is a good thing, but it is interesting to watch.
Ms. Elora was finally able to meet Uncle Steve and Aunt Shannon and some cousins. We met them at a restaurant on Mother's Day. She has also gotten to see our great friend Jenny a few times. It is always wonderful to see her meeting more of her new people :).
We also took her to Six Flags with us and Jenny for a little while. We were reluctant to go, because there are many people there and we knew it would be a lot for her. She didn't cry and hate it, but she didn't really seem to love it either. It was kind of how she was when we went to the Safari Park in China. She is like that with a lot of things, though, like new foods and drinks. I certainly couldn't blame her. I think she does better with all of it than most would.
We do notice, though, that in crowds and busy restaurants her streak of mean comes out. It must be her defense mechanism for her anxiety about things. She starts being very difficult and pushes and smacks. It is really an unattractive thing, but we sense it and try and be as patient as we can with her when she gets like that. We just have to be cognizant of how it affects her and limit those kind of environments as she slowly becomes acclimated. Overall this is a small struggle in the bigger picture of how well she is doing.
Heidi and I both are often amazed at how she seems genuinely happy to spend time with us and her siblings. We know that there could be changes as time goes on, but right now she really seems to like her family. It is so awesome to see her with everyone. She is still so busy, and really likes to be the boss. She gets to laughing about a lot of things, and really cracks herself up. She still is kind of mean and a stinker with Lane, but there are glimpses of hope even in that relationship. We are hopeful she'll continue to really settle in with all of us.
There is a lot going on around here...piano recital for Lane and Madeline, dance recital for Asher and Madeline, baseball games and practice for Lane, Tori moved out, I'm back to work, etc. That keeps us all busy, but Elora seems to be rolling with things pretty good. Heidi took Elora to school and did some paperwork to help get her set up to go to summer school with Asher. We still aren't certain what grade we'll put her in for the fall.
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