In happier news.....guess who's walking??
and by walking I mean, holding my 2 hands and walking.....Dionisio. He was just 5 months when I arrived. He was so sick and near death and in and out of the hospital for his first 10 months of life. He lived with me for about 6 weeks and had a feeding tube for about a month during the time he decided he hated life enough he didn't want to be fed. When he finally moved into the Bercario at 10 months, we were able to confirm our makeshift diagnosis of failure to thrive. He just took off from such a small quiet environment. He was really able to attach to other people besides me and started gaining weight and just being healthy. Since November he has not been sick 1 day (teething excluded). He went from barely being able to sit up on his own for more than 30 seconds to the short video below in just 6 months. He is gaining wt, eating lumpyish foods and starting to put apple pieces into his mouth (eating them is the next step...but he's biting off pieces before he spits them out...baby steps). He's crawling (well, swimming), butt scooching, pulling up to standing, sitting, rolling over, getting into everything, grazing when he can hold onto things, standing and playing with toys, and walking when you help him. Oh and he's talking too....well, babbling, but still, mimicking speech, and saying a few words like.....aqua (water), boca (mouth), da (give me), vai (go), tchao (goodbye), olah (hello), nao (no), and his favorite....oh (oh). He can da cinco (give me 5, like high 5) and bata palmas (clap your hands) on demand. He's now sitting at a table in a chair and using a sippy cup...we're working on him feeding himself. slowly, slowly. We started unofficially giving him afternoon supervised playtime at the BH for 30 min-1 hr this wk. Next week it's official. He's a different kid there cause it's loud, and noisy, and there are so many kids, and he just morphs immediately into quiet, unresponsive, no eye contact, old Dionisio. But this week I got him to interact a little with the other toddlers that used to be in his room when he lived in the BH. He gave them 5 and clapped his hands when they asked. He let them give him hugs and kisses and squeeze his fat little cheeks. He talked to me a little. He even rode the baby motorcycles and rocked on the rocking horse a little. Not too bad for the first week. It'll take time and we know he can't just be quickly reintegrated, so this is the slow process. We don't want to undo what we've worked so hard to do in the last 6 months, but he will have to live back in the BH sometime. He just needs to learn to attach more and interact with kids his age more. 
correct sippy cup usage demonstration
Yes, there are tears...big ones. Cause erin said no more play time, time for dinner. he didn't agree. he'd rather play with me. but look at that two-handed spoon demo. :) and that's lumpy food too....
The kids are too cute with him. They recognize him and get excited and shout his name and run over to him. He gets a little overwhelmed at times. But they love him and it's neat to see. He's as tall as them. Alirio especially was just hugging on him this week. He kept kissing him and hugging him and helping him clap his hands and teaching him to give 5 it was insanely sweet. Mindah kept getting in his face and talking baby to "Baby Dionisio." Then when I took him back to the Bercario he threw a baby fit in the floor. I calmed him down and then Lucia tried to crawl up in his lap and he started laughing and smiling and hugging and kissing her. Then he grabbed her hands and demonstrated how to clap hands. It was hysterical. He was totally mimicking what Alirio had been doing to him. Stinky boy. I need to try to get pics this week, but for some reason I've barely taken out my camera since I've been back. Wow. anyway, enjoy a few pictures and video for such a grownup little boy. Praise God!
Dionisio esta quasi andar (Dionisio is kinda walking). from Erin Welton on Vimeo.
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