Yesterday was the 6 month anniversary of our Gotcha Day! I can't believe that we have had Natalie for half a year already. I also can't believe I have not blogged since May!! A reflection on Gotcha Day:
Natalie has been pretty easy from the start, but once school started and my schedule got back to normal, I feel like we are in a really good routine. She has started to attend Mom's Day Out two days a week, and seems to love being around the other kids. She loves to go places and pretty much cries every time someone walks out the door without her. She hates it if I go to the store and don't bring her with me, she is always grabbing her shoes and my shoes and pulling me toward the door. It's a good thing she likes to be out and about, because some days we spend several hours in the car driving kids around and attending their events. She takes all of this in stride.
Just in the last month she has finally started to talk more. She has always babbled and probably was speaking in Mandarin, but lately she has just exploded with little sentences and funny things to say. Her most common words are "yeah" and "no". Especially no. She often says "no mommy" when I tell her it's bedtime or something she doesn't want to do. Her newest phrase is "me too!" Everything is me too, me too. Probably because I laugh every time she says it and she knows she is funny. In the car I will say "Mommy needs a pop" and she will respond, "me too pop." Or "mommy is tired I want to go to bed" and she says "me too tired want go bed." I LOVE this phase and even though I am somewhat anxious for her to get older and be able to do more things for herself, I want to enjoy every minute of the 2 year old cuteness. The other day Jenna came home from school and yelled up the stairs that she wanted ice cream. Natalie has been with us long enough to know WELL what ice cream is, and cake, and cookies.....unfortunately. She turned to me and said "I want ice cream too!" Well how do you say no to that?
She still loves to play outside and climb on anything she possibly can. I had her in the kitchen at church recently and I turned my back to do something, in a matter of seconds she had climbed up on a cart and was standing on the counter with a big smile on her face. It will be a miracle if this child does not break a bone! She has not climbed out of her crib since the first month she was home so that is a huge positive. One of my favorite things is to go in her room at night and watch her sleep. I love to see her in her beautiful crib with her cute jammies and blankets and stuffed animals. She has her music playing and night light on and she just looks so cozy in there. I thank God every night that she is in her own room in our house with a family who adores her, rather than in a yucky orphanage bed. I also can't help but think of the millions of orphans who would thrive and grow in a home with a family of their own. I pray for more families to explore the miracle of adoption and consider adding a child who desperately needs them to their family.
Words cannot express how much we love this child. Of course I love all of my 4 children the same, but there is something very unique and special about this journey of adoption that we have been on and I have to say I think it has been the highlight of my life. The way that Luke and Logan and Jenna love Natalie is absolutely beautiful. I am a very blessed mommy and I have never felt that more than right now.
The blogging really slows down after bringing your child home from China! I have intended to update for weeks but it's a little harder to get done with an active 2 year old around. I feel like I have so much I want to say, as a way of journaling my thoughts at this point in our adoption process. I know someday I will look back and forget a lot of things and this blog is such a great way to remember details and let Natalie read it for herself when she is old enough.
We have now had our little girl for over 2 months. I had no idea what to expect at this point other than we would still be adjusting and to just continue to be patient. I am sure that she is still going through a transition, but honestly I feel like I've had this child forever. I felt like she was my own as soon as I saw her and that hasn't changed at all. Here are some of my reflections that have been rolling through my mind:
*Wow a 2 year old is exhausting and a lot of work!
*I love her and enjoy her so much that the blessing of having her far outweighs the extra time and energy that I have to give out each day.
*I laugh and smile about 100x more in a day than I did before.
*I love to pick her up from the gym or church and have her come running to me with her arms up and a huge smile on her face. My older kids sure don't greet me like that anymore. :)
*I love saying that I have 4 kids. I love even numbers and the fact that I now have 2 boys and 2 girls.
*I don't see Natalie as "Chinese." She is just ours.
*I love to watch Luke and Logan and Jenna with her. All three of them are amazing and love her so much. They haven't complained much at all about the extra things they have to help with now, and I couldn't do this without them!
*Although I love all of the responsibilities that I had before (teaching math and volunteering at church), taking care of this child and being home is far more rewarding.
*Even though 4 kids is a lot, it has crossed my mind to adopt again. For someone who loves to be by herself this seems crazy I know, but it is such an amazing experience to bring a child into your home and give them a family. I have learned to never say never.
As far as Natalie goes, here are some details about her developments and how she is doing:
*She is now sleeping by herself and taking a good 2-3 hour nap and sleeping for about 12 hours at night. She cries when we put her down and sometimes during the night, but gets herself back to sleep pretty quickly.
*She has 3-4 poopy diapers a day which is probably a good thing but I don't especially love it.
*She prefers almond milk to cow's milk. Yay!
*She is small but she is STRONG. She is pretty fearless too and will climb up big ladders and go down big slides. She likes to be active and one of her favorite activities is for someone to chase her around the house.
*She is going to the gym several times a week and to the church nursery on Sundays. She has been crying when dropped off but just this week she has gone in twice without any tears.
*She sings Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Jesus Love Me. We usually sing those before she goes down to sleep.
*When we are around my whole family, she wants grandpa over anyone else. She actually cried when I took her away from him.
*She prefers to play with anything in the house besides her own toys.
*She hates it when everyone else goes outside and she has to stay in. *She went to the pool for the first time and happily went right in.
*Besides a little temper here and there, she is an easy child. So happy and smiles often. We get many comments a day when we are out, about how cute she is. Well of course.
Chad's mom came to visit and meet Natalie, and since she is a fantastic photographer, we got so many cute pictures of the kids all together having fun. Natalie is fitting right in! She has the absolute funniest personality....she loves to make people laugh and be goofy. She laughs so hard sometimes she can barely breathe. We adore our new little daughter! She is sleeping all night now, with Jenna right next to her crib. If she wakes, Jenna can usually get her to go back to sleep which is AWESOME. Makes mommy much happier!
