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Sunday, October 3, 2005

It has been just over four months since we first met our daughter in the Civil Affairs Office in Nanjing. Looking back I can see how terrified she was, completely expressionless. It is bittersweet to look at pictures and see her so frightened and emotionally guarded. Sad to imagine what she must have been going through with no one she trusted or knew to comfort her. But blissfully happy to see how she has changed! Just today she was holding my face in her hands, puckering her sweet lips and leaning in to give me a big kiss. Priceless!! When we first met she used to try to hit my face to see my reaction. I discouraged this by holding her hand and telling her "love mama" and showing her how to stroke my cheek instead. Now when I tell her I love her she strokes my cheek just like I showed her many weeks ago, except now she is doing in on her own. Such a gift I feel undeserving to receive. On a lighter note, at least one that doesn't make me cry, she continues to keep me busy trying to keep her out of mischief. The dog no longer has a water bowl inside, much less a food bowl. The cabinet to her bottle supplies is hopelessly baby proofed. The cabinet with the pyrex bowls is constantly propped shut by our kitchen stool. The baby bag stays zipped so she can't dump it's contents, one by one, onto the floor. The bathroom door only occasionally is left open to offer her any sort of fun. Today I found her in the middle of the staircase, oblivious to the pain that could have been inflicted if she had fallen. That was a heart stopping few seconds until I had her safely in my arms. The one place she's happy to just hang out without getting into anything is outside. She loves to be outside now and if she's fussy, a trip outside for a little while usually does the trick. She usually finds a stick to her liking and carries around as if she is a conducting her very own orchestra. She is learning to walk on the brick path with it's dips and uneven pavers and is quite serious as she attempts to master it. She is still not fond of the feeling of grass on her feet, but she will occasionally venture off the cement. She enjoys being outside so much she actually runs AWAY from me. I think she's afraid I'm going to make her go back inside if she comes to me. Now inside is another matter all together. She is fine when she's playing with her brothers and I am out of sight, but as soon as she sees me she wants up NOW! Of course, once I pick her up she wants to lean out of my arms and into whatever I happen to be working on at the moment...washing dishes, fixing dinner, well, you get the picture. One thing she enjoys besides getting into trouble and being toted around by yours truly is watching Sesame Street, Teletubbies and Clifford. She doesn't usually watch more than a few minutes at a time, but she'll hang around the TV with her toys and play contentedly. She loves the theme songs to her fave shows and if we sing them for her, she starts to dance. The jury is still out if this kid has any kind of rhythm, but for now there's not much cuter than watching her shake her tiny groove thing. She is also showing a lot of interest in talking and being talked to. She really watches when I do a sign and she is wonderful at imitation. I will often hear her babbling in her own sweet language. She sounds like she's carrying on a conversation with someone only I have no idea what she's saying. I'm still waiting on the magical word "mama". She is starting to use the m sound, but no confirmed "mama" heard quite yet. She'll even sit quietly for a little while and let me read her ! a board book. At our well-baby appointment on the 27th of September, the doctor was quite impressed that she had caught up so much in her expressive language. When we first tested her three months ago she tested at an 8 month old level. Now she tests at a 15 - 18 month level! Go girl! In fact, across the board she tested almost at age level. She is also growing at an impressive rate. She has gained 4 pounds since June, bringing her up to a whopping 20 pounds 3 ounces. And she has grown from 28" to 29 1/2"...you know your kid is small when you're still using ounces and fractions as measurements. But she is actually ON the growth chart now at a staggering 10th percentile. Yea! Such incredible strides for the little girl with the big hole in her heart that we met only four months ago. Praise God. Dr. visit

Gettin' chubbier
Big smiles Riding in the wagon Going to church

Our beautiful China girl

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