The past few days have found Ella in a really good mood. She is very smiley, playful and cooperative (well, that is her usual state of being but now, even more so). She got a bouncy chair that hangs from a doorway and that has been a surprise success. The only parts that are painful are getting her in and out of the contraption. Once she is in, she is happy as a clam (are they really that happy?), she bounces herself around, enjoys the freedom of movement and rotates herself. It is wonderful to see her little feet meet the floor. It makes it possible to imagine her standing one day, though we are very far away from that moment. Waving and saying ‘hi’ to Ella now brings (not always but almost) a response. She opens and closes her hand and sometimes raises it. Pretty clear she is trying to imitate our motions. We had a meeting with a cranio facial plastic surgeon yesterday, trying to understand what could be the plan for treating the overgrowth of the right side of her face. We came away with no better understanding but, since her condition is so rare, the doctor asked to study up on it and maybe then he would have better answers. We’ll see. One thing that has repeated itself many times now with Ella is this. Whenever there is a situation that involves many new people, she will go into a subdued mode. Glancing about and studying the people but not interacting in her normal way. I don’t think it is a question of noise. The train, plane or airport didn’t have that same effect on her. It has to do with new people entering her space en mass.