Meet My Kids: Dinah

This little beauty is Dinah.

At 5 years old, she is the youngest of my girls.

She has been diagnosed with Diplegic Cerebral Palsy, roving eyes and and an incurable case of cuteness! :)

She is our little ray of sunshine and one of the sweetest little girls I have ever met.

When her laugh rings through the apartment, I can't help but smile.  Even when I'm having a rough day, a few moments with her will almost surely make me feel better.

These past few weeks have been great for Dinah.  She is making so much progress and growing in so many different areas.  It seems like every day I see a new breakthrough or some sort of progress - it is so encouraging and makes me so excited to see what this girl is capable of!

Her biggest new accomplishment is beginning to stand on her own!

When I arrived, she could hold the standing position for only a few seconds before she lost her balance and wasn't trying to regain it on her own once it was lost.

A few days later, after months of seemingly little progress, it finally clicked and she began to shift her weight and try to keep her balance on her own.

When foster moms Nikki and Sarah left, she was standing for 6-8 seconds pretty consistently.

Over the past few weeks she has gotten better and better and is now standing consistently for 10-15 seconds and has a top time of 20!

Besides standing, Dinah is also beginning to interact with her siblings and the other people around her more, play with toys, and focus on things - all of which are huge steps for her.

Because of her roving eyes, she rarely seems to be looking at or focusing on anything.

We do some eye exercises with her every day and they really seem to be doing her a lot of good.  She is starting to look at things and follow them, seems to be more aware of her surroundings, and is now beginning to make eye contact.  I also think it is helping with her balance while standing.

One of my favorite moments demonstrating these new improvements was when we were decorating Christmas stockings last week.

I wasn't sure how involved Dinah would be with this activity and although she much preferred holding and playing with the stickers than putting them on, she chose which tree she wanted and was looking at it and would giggle each time I helped her let go of and place the sticker she had chosen.

She was fully engaged and enjoying the activity.  It may not sound like a big deal, but for her it was huge and so beautiful to see.

Every single day it seems there is a new moment like that one - Dinah surprising me in learning something new or engaging in an activity or toy like she never has before.

My favorite part of the day with Dinah though is when I tuck her in at night.

It has kind of become a tradition that when I cover her with the blanket, I cover her face as well and pretend I can't find her.  She waits a little while, giggling under the blanket and eventually pulls it off to show me she is right there in front of me.  I act really surprised to see her and she just laughs and laughs.

It is the cutest thing in the world and it never gets old!  She expects it now and a little grin spreads across her face when I pull out the blanket :)

I love my little Dinah so much and can't imagine our home without her.  I can't wait to see what she'll surprise me by accomplishing next!

Please pray that Dinah will continue to grow and progress.  That she would interact with those around her more and become more and more curious to explore her world.

Dinah, I love you so much!  You truly are one special little girl.