Celebrating 2 Milestones

We have 2 more milestones to celebrate. First, last Wednesday Alice GAVE a HUG! We were at church for a girls' activity when she saw one of her new friends. On her own initiative, Alice greeted her friend with a hug. That is a big deal. Physical affection is not common in Chinese culture and even less so for orphans. Alice has received hugs from well intentioned friends (mostly adults) and her response has always been that it was something to be endured, but definitely not enjoyed.
Our second milestone celebration is ....

DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!!!

She can ride a bicycle on her own!! Something she desperately wanted to master. All "normal" kids can ride a bike, and she was determined to be just like everyone else. She has spent considerable time coasting up and down our street on her bike, without peddles, trying to get the hang of balancing. She resisted the peddle removal at first and we've had requests to put them back on several times. We gave her what she wanted, only to have her ask for them to be removed again when she got tired of whacking her shins.

Now if we can just get her to learn how to stop using the brakes!!  Her preferred method is coasting into immovable objects such as the curb or parked cars. Yikes!