Three Cities in Two Days

We are home from our big trip to Shriner's. Victoria is an old pro at flying. The only problem is, she never sleeps on the plane. She likes to be entertained, preferably with Skittles.  

Once we arrived in Philly, we had over three hours until our appointment, so we went to the Philadelphia zoo. Victoria had never seen animals like this before!

My little monkey! 

I got in trouble for taking this picture of Victoria's physical therapy. I guess I should have read the privacy signs posted everywhere. We got some really good news from PT though. They think Victoria is really, really close to walking alone! She barely needs to hang on to something for support anymore. The PT thinks she doesn't quite have the confidence just yet, but considering she was in a body cast four months ago, I think she is doing really well!

Victoria also got a new walker, which is much lighter. With her other walker, she never wanted to be put down outside, but with this one, she is zooming everywhere!

We didn't get very good news from the doctor at Shriner's. He said she needs another hip surgery. In about a year, she will need to have the plates removed from her femur and he wants to cut some more of her femur and also her hip and make a kind of shelf for her hip joint to rest in. Otherwise, he said she might have arthritis in the future. So, that would mean another 6 weeks of casts and another major surgery. I am not sure if we will do this surgery. She is doing so well right now and there is not definite reason. Luckily, we have quite a while to decide. He also said she will need 6 different casts for her feet, followed by more surgery. Then, she will have to be in AFO's (ankle, foot orthodics) for 24 hours a day for many months. We want to do what's best for her and give her the best chance, but we also want her to be able to enjoy her life. She seems to be adapting well so far, so we will see.

There is a pizza place right next to Shriner's that has absolutely the best pizza I have ever tasted! This is my dear friend, Catherine, with her kids, Julianna and Zach. Believe it or not, Catherine and I met at the embassy in Ukraine when we were adopting. We ended up on the same plane going to Frankfort and we have been fast friends ever since.

Guess what we decided to do on Saturday! Go to New York City! I have always wanted to go and it is only 2 hours away from Philly. We drove to Trenton, NJ and then took the train to New York.  As you can see, Victoria was really excited!

I got in trouble to taking this picture too. He wanted money for the picture and he wanted it now, so we had to make a quick getaway.

Victoria sure has come a long way! From an orphan who never left her crib to the big apple! She really loved it!

We went to Ground Zero, which was really sad. This picture lists all the names of the people who died. 

The only difficulty we faced was the never ending stairs for the subway. Poor Catherine had to carry the stroller up and down a million times.

We had to visit Grand Central Station, of course! What an amazing place. 

I loved Times Square! There was a guy in the middle of the street, wearing only his underwear and an indian headdress. He was playing the guitar.

We had pizza in Time Square. The cheesecake was so yummy.

I really, really wanted to find this statue of Balto. He was a sled dog who delivered medicine to children. I am still amazed that Catherine was able to find it!

This was the "Survivor Tree" at Ground Zero. This tree was the only tree to live after September 11th. It was moved to another park and then it was knocked over in a storm, but it still managed to survive!

This is one of the fountains that is in the exact location of one of the twin towers.

I loved all the unusual people in New York! We would all fit right in! 

A 15 minute ride on the horse drawn carriage was $50! This was the first time Victoria had ever seen a real horse. Pretty funny that she had to come to another city to see one! 

We are very glad to be home, but I sure hope we can visit again soon!