Our Little Super Star

This little girl is just too much!!  3 years in an orphanage has not taken away her laugh - she is all too happy to giggle and giggle!!  I watched these several times when we get home from our afternoon visit and just cry - the happiest tears - she is so Strong, Beautiful and full of Love and Laughter!!!  She didn't let her surroundings take her down - Oh No - our little Super Star is a fighter - it is all too obvious!!!  I am so grateful that we were called for her!!!  Isabelle is beyond Special - she is Heaven Sent and we are all so Proud to be a part of her life.  Thank GOD!!!!  Oh and the orphanage Doctor told us she was the only one in her groupa that didn't get the flu recently - I so get it now!!!

Right before this video was taken she had so much to say, she was telling us all kinds of stories.  We were a little too late starting the video so we missed her intense story telling.

Can this girl laugh or what?  Oh my - she is so funny!  She loves being tickled, well I hope she does because we sure did a lot of it.  I think it might have had something to do with her still napping at 5pm when we went for our afternoon visit, you think?  Laughing is serious excercise for one sweet little girl.

Still just laughing away - I just want to eat her right up!!!!

Isabelle can sit by her self for the most part I think.  We haven't tried putting her on the couch to sit by her self yet.  We are still very much enjoying holding her.  But we did try and have her stand this evening.  Her little tiny skinny legs are very weak.  She can only stand up while being assited for 15 seconds.  Nothing some PT wont fix - we will get right on that when home.  We will also be seing the eye doctor ASAP - that poor little Left eye.  We finally realized it's the flash of the camera that makes her eye squint - it must hurt her!  Poor Princess!!!  We do believe she can see a little out of her left eye as she followed our hands with both eyes - but again not positive just hopeful!!!!  Oh - Great News - she did have heart surgery a year ago - we checked for the scar to make sure and yep it's there.  This is such wonderful news!!!  Her little arms are very skinny too but she is very strong - she has very good arm strength in my opinon.  Isabelle is pretty tall, when we try and get her to stand it is amazing how long she is!!  Pretty skinny all around - her little spine sticks out as do her ribs.  I am confident this will not be a problem once home for awhile - or atleast I hope she will fatten up a little.  I think she might have some trouble with hearing too.  Nothing was mentioned by anyone but I have a strong suspicion something is not working so well with hearing - we will see.  Her care givers seem to love her very much - they call her "Masha".  They kiss her and hold her - it is so wonderful to see.  I hope this is all the time and not just a show for "mama" and "papa" but it sure makes us feel a whole heck of a lot better when we leaver her. 

Well that's a lot of info for one post!! 

I am wishing all of you the Merriest of Christmas's!!!  My Christmas couldn't be any better - well, yes -to be with the other children too would make it the most perfect!!!  We do miss them so very much, it can be very painful but then we look at a picture of our princess here and we are reminded of why we are so far away!!