The SFCV Journal

Truth be told, two-year-old Rae Anne used to be a bit of a grouch.  If anyone entered her House of Peace living room that she didn’t approve of, she’d start glaring and whining to her nanny.  But, it wasn’t a fearful cry as much as it was an annoyed cry.  When she was moved to House of Love last fall with her nanny, Rae Anne’s grouchy little personality was transformed, and in its place is a good-tempered little girl with a strong dose of silliness. And while she still doesn’t like visitors, she is curious about them.  She’ll wander up behind them, trying to appear uninterested, and if they look at her, she’ll keep walking by.  But if they don’t notice her, she’ll stand by them for awhile, as if she’s trying to figure them out.  If you can catch on to her little game, you’ll be rewarded with a huge smile and infectious giggle.

I love Mariah’s story, too, because visiting her today, you would not recognize the desperately sad little girl that arrived last summer.  For days after arriving, she would make no eye contact, letting the nannies dress her and just sitting quietly on her own, staring down at the floor.  Though we knew about her heart condition and had been told she was deaf, we were a little surprised to find she also had a cleft palate and rotted out teeth.  After a week, three-year-old Mariah was looking up more and engaging her nannies and housemates.  And in that week, the nannies were surprised to discover that she was not deaf: she had no problem hearing when lunch was called or when the nannies said her name.   And they say her name a lot, as this bundle of energy and smiles is prone to becoming super excited and running around like a crazy girl. In the best possible way.  : )

Dawn has spunk, and nearly as much as the women she was named for.  At eight months old, she loves the bouncy chair and being sung to while bouncing in her nanny’s lap.  Her cleft lip has been fixed, and hopefully sometime this summer, we can move to repairing her cleft palate.