Ashlyn's Ears Part Two

OK...so we had yet another hearing test done with Ashlyn (this makes 4 total). The results were still not good with her left ear. Not the results the new pediatric ENT we are taking her to wanted to see. We have a catscan set up for December 23rd to see what could be causing it and we have an appointment with the ENT on January 19th to see if she's a candidate for a hearing aide in that ear.

My gut feeling tells me that since she was never diagnosed with the submucous cleft palate, she's had so much fluid build-up in her ears over the last 7 years, and it has caused permanent damage. I'm only hoping that the her ear drum can get the amplification needed to be able to hear better with a hearing aide. I can only imagine that this would probably help some with her speech also in the long run.

Sitting with Santa at the Mall & CCA Christmas Program

Here's some more pictures of the girls with Santa at the mall from our camera on December 5th.

Then on Tuesday December 7th, the girls had their Christmas program for school. Each grade did two songs. 1st grade sang two songs and 3rd grade played one song on the recorder and sang another. They were so cute. I will post video of each of them when we finally get our cable to connect the camera to our computer. Wai-po & Wai-gong came and got to enjoy the show. The girls were really happy they could come. Ashlyn's making some pretty interesting face expressions in her picture!

Downtown Disney, Children's Choir Program, & Hair Cuts

On Sunday November 28th, 2010, we met my friend Sundi, her husband Eric, and her mom Charlene at Downtown Disney. We walked around, ate lunch at Earl of Sandwich, and got pictures with Santa. It was nice seeing my friends and hanging out with them!

On Saturday December 4, 2010, the PB&J Kid's Choir performed their GPS Program. Both Kaylyn & Ashlyn had solos in the program. They both were so cute. When we download the video to the computer, which requires us purchasing a cable to be able to do so, I will download some footage of their solos. Everyone was so proud of Ashlyn and how far she'd come! She is such a ham with her dancing.

After the show, we went up to Viera to the Avenues and got the girls hair cut at Snip Its. They always love getting their hair cut there. We get it trimmed every few months to keep it growing as healthy as we can. Their hair is getting longer. Plus we are getting our family pictures done tomorrow.

Thanksgiving, Teeth Pulled, & Christmas Tree

We first went to mamaw's house for Thanksgiving. Wai-gong, Uncle Josh, Uncle Steven, Aunt Amy, and cousin Tyler were there. It was a very nice visit with them. Then we drove over to Wai-po & Wai-gong's house for Thanksgiving dinner with the rest of the family. Aunt Kara & Uncle Chris, Mamaw & Papaw, Grandma & Grandpa Drago, Aunt Arrietta with Riley & Ellie, & Uncle Tim & Aunt Demi with Taylor were all there. We found out that Aunt Kara was ~ 13 weeks pregnant! It was a very pleasant shock. The shock was more for her keeping it secret and running a half marathon only a few weeks ago. We all told what we were thankful for, and when it was Wai-po's turn, she cried while telling what she was thankful for, including her newer granddaughter Ashlyn. Ashlyn saw Wai-po crying, and she looked so sad, she almost cried then. But instead, she waited till it was her turn and just started full out balling her eyes out. She was so emotionally upset, we had to calm her down, and we reassured her that everything was alright and we loved her. It was so sweet & sad. The food was so yummy!








So Ashlyn finally got her two teeth pulled this morning. Gave her some valium this morning, an hour before "surgery". Then we went in, they gassed her with nitrous oxide, which made her think everything was funny until the novacaine shots came. After the numbing was complete, it literally took 2 seconds per tooth to pull out. Then they gave her oxygen to get the nitrous oxide out of her system and she was ready to go. The teeth are still bleeding a little, but nothing too serious. She keeps wanting to eat things she shouldn't be eating and I'm afraid she'll get something stuck in one of the "holes". Both teeth had cavities that the dentist didn't even know about. I'll have to show Dr. Tuttle the next visit so she can start getting x-rays done to see if there are any more.
After awhile, Jason got the Christmas tree out of the attic and we set it up. Then the girls put the ornaments on the tree. They had fun, even through the arguing about whose turn it was. Here's some pictures.

Happy Gotcha Day

Tuesday November 23rd was the one year anniversary of Gotcha day! Ashlyn had a Thanksgiving play at school and she was so adorable. Later that night, we went to dinner at Fujiyama's with wai-po and wai-gong (wai-po shared in our journey in China a year ago). It's amazing how far Ashlyn has come from the scared little girl that did not know any English to the beautiful extraverted, loving girl that is surprising everyone that she meets at how much English she knows for only being here a year. She has grown more than 3 inches and has gained more than 8 pounds in the last year. She's gone through surgery, sicknesses, & has overcome. She knows how to read and is getting help for her speech impediment (submucous cleft palate). She loves to learn and loves to love. She is our little girl that is growing up already too fast, but with innocence. We love you Ashlyn...happy Gotcha Day!