Seven Months

It has been seven months.

Seven months since we met this girl for the first time...

I see very little of that girl we see above, seven months later..........

 

 



Except maybe the eye contact thing.  :)

On this cold and snowy day- we headed out for a quick photo shoot.  She picked a dress to wear today- like she always tries to do when she's allowed.   Usually she tries for the sleeveless Ariel outfit.  She's usually not successful.

We had a little bit of time where she insisted she had a 'boo boo'.  Kept pulling down her pants to point to where her underwear rested on her leg.  Her 'boo boo' is the result, it seems.. of a little girl who's belly is getting quite big & her underwear is getting quite snug.

After we dressed, we did her hair.  Hair that is long enough to put in two pigtails.  Or one pony that doesn't stick up.  Hair that looks like a little girl.  And not like an orphanage baby.   No, no more orphanage baby.  Never again an orphanage baby.  Now, OUR baby. 

We headed out & she was in a good mood.  Despite the cold.  And despite the remenants of her breakfast that mommy forgot to wipe off her face for the photo shoot.  Oh well.  Character.

And we had some great fast pictures.  Muffins on the face and all.   And then we went in and had a great day.   Together.  

I think back 7 months ago..and I am amazed how far she has come.  In the trenches, in the day to day- it seems like sometimes we have made no progress...and we are so easily frustrated.  But when you take the time to really think back.... well, the progress is huge.  And is still coming.

After last months post we had a backslide a bit.   While frustrating to live through- it's not uncommon as older adopted children forge through new emotions and attachments to have steps backwards.  And we did.   Today, at the end of this month- we seem to be moving back forward.     We had some fits return, big ones!   We had sleep regress.  We suddenly started wetting the bed at night every once in a while after not doing it at all for 6 months.   And we saw some rocking/self-soothing come back into play.

But, BUT... we had two AMAZING milestones we reached this month.  AMAZING.  The first is we moved her to a different room and got her a new bedspread.  (well, big sister's old bedspread) which had princesses on it.  That very night in her new bedroom, she agreed to sleep UNDER the blankets.  If you all recall the GIGANTIC fear of blankets she had the previous 6 months.  Panic.   And now, she is sleeping under a blanket for most of the night. 

The bigger one.  The best one ever... so far... is this girl gave me her first unprompted  "Mama, I wub you" this month.  Out of the blue & not in response to me.  So incredibly awesome!  And she does it FREQUENTLY now.   Nothing brings a smile faster to my face than hearing "Mama, I wub you". 

With a child you raise from an infant/womb- these words come naturally.  Easily.  Ingrained in their being.  With an older child, these words are words that earned.  Worked for, HARD, every hour of every day.  And so to hear them is such a sweet, sweet reward.   These children never knew love.  And to be able to feel it & express it.... it's just... WOW.   No other words.

It may be this very act that set off the regression as well.  But like they say- two steps forward, one step back.  Doing the math- we are still moving forward!!!

Cheesy grin face!

Let's see.. oh, she had her first 'shower' at home (vs a bath) and liked it.   She has eaten more new things- like zuchinni and ice-cream.    I got her to watch a wee bit of Sophia the first on TV.  She showed a bit of memory  also when she saw a neighborhood child and said "Hi Kate".  Kate is her cousin she met a whole month before.  (same age & height as little girl in neighborhood).  I was impressed.    

She still asks for me to carry her a lot and will now run to wrap herself around my legs...

I asked her how old she was.  I got this..........

Try again.

Ok.  We'll work on that.

Speaking of- she randomly counts now.  Not always in order.  For instance, today in the car she counted 1, 2, 6, 7, 10, 15, 16, 19.     Colors- we still can't seem to get red.  Maybe she can't see that color?  She gets pink though. 

We are working on small motor skills like cutting and drawing. 

Everytime one of her pictures or project makes it up in the classroom at school she shows me right away which one is hers from all of them.  She always has it right too!  She knows her work & she's proud of it. 

She is getting more confident in her surroundings, exploring more.  Taking more risks & enjoying herself more.  

We still have lots of paper hoarding & sensory seeking things (like paper crinkle & bag crinkle).  It's ok.  They are her comfort.  Things like that is probably all she had for 4 years.   She is quickly reactive to critism.. it's really hard for her to hear 'no' and not be scared or react by just dropping things.    An example she walked in the room I was painting today (her new room) and she got close to the wet paint.  I yelled 'stop'  She panic'd and jumped....right into the paint I was trying to keep her away from.  :)    Then she got quiet & had silent tears.  Mama yelled at her.  (didn't mean to, it was implulse of being near the paint).  Stuff like that....

She has moved back to her "Pig Kahuna" as favorite book.  I miss Munch.  It was shorter.  And I'm sick of surfing pigs.    We are getting ready to go to Arizona for Spring Break and I told her we were going on vacation.  Every morning she says "Mama and Charlie go on bacation"  Even though she has no idea what a 'bacation' is.  All she knows is she has new sandals ready to wear for it & she wants to go!!!! 

Eye contact is still an issue although she's getting better (so, so slowly). 

Her newest thing is declaring EVERYTHING an owie.  Also a big deal since before she wouldn't awknowledge anything as a hurt.  Now everything is..  she really likes those princess bandages. 

Language.  It's still coming along.  She chatters a lot.  She's trying out more and more sentances.  She's getting more concepts.  We still work on conversation (Who, Why, What).  We'll get there.  She gets her point across well enough. 

I have been writing down snippets of what she has been saying just in the last 10 minutes as I finish this up.  To get an idea of her 'chatter'. 

"All done" (her juice).  "Time for night night" (it is actually).  "Tissue".   "Don't touch it, I will put it up here. OK?" (her pet shops toys).  "Be careful".   "Night Night".  Humming randomly.  Laughing randomly.  "I want to sit on your lap" (as she crawls on my legs in front of my computer).   "Hi".   "Oh no, don't fall, don't fall" (as she falls through my legs).  "Be careful, oh no don't fall.. I got you".  "Swimming Pool, yhea right" (yhea, I have no idea?).  "Mama, boo boo" (Pointing to a pimple).  "Mama working" (since I'm on the computer).  "Fishes" (eating goldfish) "What color is it? (asking herself as she looks at the fish".. "Orange" (answering herself).   "This is green" (pointing to her doll house roof).   "This is my book". (holding Sarah's book).  "No Sarah" (as Sarah got too close to her pet shop pile).   "Look at it" (holding up a bag).  "Shh, Daddy sleeping" (he's not).  "What?"  "Ok".  "Charlie's baggie".  

This girl has come FAR in 7 months.  I'm so amazed by her.  And I'm so proud to call her my baby. 

Happy 7 months sweet pea!

Six Months

Half a year.  Milestone in the adoption world with adjustments (or so they say)

6 months.  Wow.

On a hot Beijing Summer Day, we got this skinny, pale, scared as heck little gal.....

Now, on this cold winter Chicago Day, we have this girl with color on her face, a big smile, hair that's growing & a belly that is also growing.

I like to say "Look at that Budda belly!"  And Charlie likes to respond "Mama Budda belly".  Well, can't argue that one! :)

So 6 months is the magical 'adjustment' number in adoption land where things start to feel somewhat normal.  Do I feel like we are there?  Yhea, probably.

The fits like they used to be, for the most part, are long gone.  We still have fits, but they are more 'normal' fits.  Fits like you would see with a kid who lives in your home and doesn't get their way.  Where as before she went blank, checked out...... now she just says "NO" and usually throws something nearby.

Speaking of- No is absolutely her favorite word.  As I've said before, developementally she's about a late 2 to early 3.   That is the classic stage of 'NO' in normal development.  And my friends, we are there.  She REALLY likes that word.  

She has totally picked up some attitude too & she makes me laugh when she yells out in an exasperated voice 'STOP' when you tickle her or try to make her blow her nose or chase her down.  I'm pretty sure she got that from her sissies....

Medical wise- she's put on about 7 pounds & grew about 2-3 inches.  She's growing right out of her 4T's. She came home in 2T's.   Brittle hair is being replaced by new layers of thick silky hair... I often find her stroking her hair as if discovering it on her head.   We are having some eye issues again & so we are trying to pinpoint what is happening there.  One eye cleared up and now is clouding over again.  So, we are trying to elminate some possibilities to figure out more what is happening. 

A lot of these pictures she's kinda squinting because she had her eyes dilated the day before. 

Language.  We'll she's getting there.   She has single words pretty much down.  We are working on constructing sentences and incorporating more complex language skills.   It will take time.  But she's doing ok.  She can get her point across for the most part.   She LOVES to chatter.  And chatter she does.

In the course of this update she has informed "Momma cuddle CharChar",  "Momma cooking dinner", "Momma shoes on- Yes",  "I want a tissue".  "Charlie pee, Mama poop" (yhea, honestly I'm not writing this on the toilet so I have no idea why she's spouting that off).  "Mama turn it on (her leappad).  "Daddy fart".  I'm not even halfway done yet too! ;)

We are working on conversational skills as well.  Instead of just repeating- answering questions & identifying things.   Also slow coming.. BUT...coming....

She knows most of her colors (she struggles with identifying yellow and red although yellow is by far her FAVORITE color) and she knows her shapes.   Her pre-K teachers are very impressed with how fast she's picking up.  They also put her on an early 3 level and feel she will be late 3 by year end.  That would put her about a year behind.  Which is good stuff! 

Playing- she's playing more.  She really enjoys playing Pet Shops with her sisters.  She continues to LOVE to write, draw & color.  We are working on making anything other than lines & circles.  And we are working on coloring in the lines.   Still have a ways to go on that.   She also LOVES reading & being read to.   Her favorite book is now "What do Fish Eat for Lunch".   We read it EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT.   As she runs in to her bed she declares....... "MUNCH BOOK!"   Okay.  What do fish eat for lunch?  Wiggly, wiggly worms- of course!

She still loves her food.  'MUNCH' is her favorite time of day! Girl can pack it away.  And it's showing in her belly! :)

Bedtime.  Well.  The BIGGEST accomplishment is that we got her to GET OF HER BED in the mornings.  This is huge.  She would just sit there and wait & wait & wait till she got permission.  Now she will get out.  We worked a lot on that this month.   "What do you do when you wake up Charlie?"  She answers "Get out of Bed.  Go find Mama"  (with a tone of DUH....)  Finally, it worked and she will get out in the mornings.  But.....mornings only.  Night wakings are still trance like.  And still, no blankets (although she will go under blankets on the couch). 

Only Mama can put her to bed.  "Mama put night night".  Big tears if Daddy tries.  We have a good routine & she likes it.   She will reassure herself over the course of the day.  Like after breakfast she makes sure to tell me "Mama put night night".   Yes, Mama will put you night night! :)

Attachment continues to grow in the right direction.   We had a big CNY party and she did good with NOT working the room.   Also, she seeks me out and asks (a lot) for cuddles and hugs.   She prefers me over Daddy (although she does love him a lot).   And on drop off at school she will frequently run up to me to get her hugs several times (where when we first started it was like she just walked off).  I do feel we are getting there very well........   6 months in & I'd say about 60-65% attached.  I'm good with that!

We see more and more of her personality.  Which is silly and sweet.  She loves to laugh.  And smile.  The girl has a killer smile & she uses it.

She likes to shop.  Tells her daddy EVERY DAY on pick up "Go shopping".   She likes her baths.  She likes to run after her sisters.  And she likes to still hoard papers and baggies.   :)  That is one habit that is HARD to break!

She just fits in here... like she belongs.  Like she always has.  Like our life always had our Char Char in it.   I saw her rocking the other day.  Only she was doing it in response to music.  It was similar to her early days of rocking for comfort and I could only smile thinking how far she's come in that she's using that rock to DANCE now... to live her life in her family that loves her...and not using it to comfort herself alone in grey sterile world.

Yup.  Things are pretty good here.   6 months in.

Can't wait to see what happens in the next 6 months! 

Five Months

Five Months.

From this........

 

to this.......

 

 

Oh, this little girl... what a hold she has on us.

 

When I think back to this very day- five months ago- I remember the fear in all of us.... now- I can't remember life without our Char Char. 

 

Five months.  They say 'in adoption land' that the magic number is 6.  The first six months are heck.  And then it's like magically- things are right......  I feel like we are trending right towards that.  I can tell even between months four and five, that the pieces are starting to fall into place better.

 



 

Little Miss is developing her own personality.  Her own likes and dislikes.  Her own opinions.  From the little girl who wouldn't even pick her own toy to play with when we first got her...... the little girl who never was given a chance to form her personality... this is so amazing to watch.  To see who she is.  What this little girl is made of!  (Defenitly lots of sugar and spice!!!!).  

 

Take for instance, this outfit.  This sweater is her FAVORITE shirt of all times.  Given the choice she will ALWAYS pick this shirt.  She loves it.   She also has a favorite pair of PJ's she will always pick.  They are kitty cats that Gram got her for Christmas.  She asks every night.. Kitty Cat jammies clean?

 

Favorite book.  Oh heck yhea.  For months it was Pig Kahuna.  But...but...AJ got her a book about favorite lunches of different animals for Christmas.  And since this girl loves her 'munch'- she has moved past the pigs...and on to the lunch.  She loves Worms for Lunch.  "Munch Book" she declares EVERY night.   She also adds... 'MY BOOK' lest I try to make off with the ""Munch Book" in the night for my own reading pleasures.    

 

Lordy, I love this girl's smile & giggle.  Best. Ever. 



 

 

 

So let's chit chat sleep.  It's ok.  She goes to bed relatively easily.  But still will wake.  Some nights are better than others.  And she still wakes in a trance.  And she will not get out of bed on her own accord- choosing to wait until permission is given.   Even though we have gone over this EVERY NIGHT... "Charlie, what do you do when you wake up?"  She replies "Get out of bed" in a tone that implies... 'duh'.   Only.  She doesn't.  We'll get there.   Still no blankets either.  Not sure we'll ever 'get there' though.  That fear seems deeply rooted.  Whatever did they do to her with a blanket?  

 

 

 

So let's talk language.  She's coming.... We are firmly in the place where she can identify & use single words for most objects and actions.  Pronunciation is slightly improving.  She will easily string 2-3 words together all the time.  Things like Mama Put Bed.  Charlie eat munch.   Pronouns are non-existant at this point (me, I, we, you) as are the fillers (the, a, is).   But we started working on it.  And in the past week or so, we've accomplished full sentenances with wants.   Such as "I want you to carry me"  or "I want to get down".    She's trying REALLY hard.  She is.  She just has a lot of missed skills to make up for thanks to no communication in the orphanage.  

 

Our super huge big accomplishment this month is FINALLY answering questions with a no and a yes.  Yes, A YES!!!!  For five months we dealt with "Charlie you want to eat?" "Eat" (as her answer).  Now she will answer 'yes' to questions like the above.  I worked hard with her to get this concept with Sarah's help.  And we succeeded!!  And she is using the 'yes' lots and lots and lots now.  Yhea!!! 

 

So we continue to see improvements & that's all that matters!  She had four years of language deprevation...she will most likely take four years to 'catch up'. 

 

Seriously, this girl.. does it get any cuter?

 

 

Missy started pre-K in December.  And loves it.  I think she is learning lots as well - mostly how to act like a kid.  And also things like.. using scissors.  And counting.  We 'kinda' have 1-10 down.  Meaning somedays she gets most of it..in order.   

 

We are also working on colors.  And she's got the basics down there too.  So progress.  Progress.  Progress.



 

 

Attachment.  Well, now.  We have seen definite improvement here.  I'd say, as of today.  She's attached anywhere between 30-50% depending on the day.  Considering we are about 1/2 a year..and they say attachment takes AT LEAST a year... we are on track, I guess.   

 

She shows preference to me for doing certain activities (putting her to bed, giving her a bath, holding my hand when out).   She has on several occasions over the month stuck close to Kurt and me at bigger events/parties vs. working the room (although several times she has worked the rooms as well). 

 

Her eye contact- while still lagging CONSIDERBLY- is improving.  I work with touching her chin and forcing eye contact when she's in a good mood.   If I don't force it, it's rare.  Sometimes it's there..but it's rare. 



 

 

 

Health wise- she's growing.  Proof is in the budda belly.  Belly growing.  Legs growing.  Hair growing.  Yup.  Growing. 

 

She's had more shots (She hates the doc now).  And a few sniffles.  One fever. She seems, for the most part, to have a hardy immune system just like my other two. 

 

Her eyes seem to have regressed a bit.  Not sure why.  But we've seen more closing of one eye to squint out of the other one lately . We go back to the eye doc next month.  It's possible they have changed.....

 

The famous squint..................

 

 

Fits have diminished.  I think this comes with more language.  And more comfortability.  And more feelings of stability.  She can still show some crocodile tears when she doesn't get her way.  But they are fewer and father in between.

 

Talking hurts... we are making small progress here too.  She has started to come to us with some owies.  Not always.  But sometimes.   She also really, really likes band-aids. 



 

 

Back to personality.  She's funny.  Oh.  So Funny.  She loves to laugh.  This girl always smiles.  Seriously . Really almost always has a smile. 

 

She loves to talk too.  Even if it's jibberish.  Sounds are always coming out of her mouth.  Non-stop.  Giving Becca a run for her money. 

 

She still likes to hoard papers.  She loves, loves, loves paper.  She also likes ziploc baggies.   And books.  And her toy kitchen.   And playing pet shops with her sisters.  And Minnie Mouse.  And Princesses.   And baths.   And dancing.  And did I mention Paper? (Right. I did.  Let me emphasize that.  It's her favorite).  

 

Oh. And Necklaces.  And bracelets.  And nail polish on her fingers. 

 

What an amazing 5 months.  This little spunky, oh-so-sweet little imp is rocking our world.  And we are so, so, so blessed to get to be her family.  

 



 

 

Every day I say "You know what?"  And she giggles and laughs and says "You know what?".  I say.. "No, you know what?  I love you!"  And I squeeze her..and she smiles her great smile and laughs her great laugh and says "You know what?  I lub you".  

 

And my day is complete.  I lub you Char Char.  More than words can say.

 

Happy 5 months girl! 

Four Months

Four Months.   Hard to believe it.

 

But here we are....

 

Four months ago- this.........

 

 



 

 

Now, this..............

 

We had a less than stellar photo shoot this AM- so forgive us.  She doesn't care to have her picture taken solo.  She prefers to join in on any other picture being taken!  :)

The last month has been a whirlwind of activities- from Thankgiving to the Christmas festivities.  She's loving every minute of it, as she discovers it for the first time.

Vocabulary continues to blossom.  I do believe that language may be the area she lags behind most in as she works to catch up to her peers- and I believe that this is a result of lack of stimulation in the orpahange setting.  She was kept in a baby room with little chance to develop the necessary skills to communicate. 

Her word vocab is growing and continues to grow- but she has problems connecting it all together in the art of language.   For example- answering questions.  Although we did finally break through with her answering NO around the 2 month mark- she is still unable to answer YES to a question.  Instead she will repeat the word back to you if the answer is yes... Such as.....  "Do you want to eat?"  "EAT" (instead of yes).    There are many other similar instances like this that lead me to believe that her language/speech will perhaps be our greatest hurdle to overcome.  

However, she is determined & very focused.  So I believe she'll prevail over time!  And we'll do what we can to help her.

She has shown more 'play' this month vs 'collecting'.  (although she still does her very LARGE share of collecting still).    But will now play for short periods of time with Sarah in petshops or dolls or cooking in the play kitchen.   By far, her favorite activity is to hoard papers/treasures.  And to help me with all chores (can't complain too much about that!!)  Particular favorites are folding laundry, wiping up messes with Clorox Wipes & putting the silverwear away.   When I say favorites, I mean she gets ANGRY if I am doing them and I won't let her help.  So, I give up... help me girl!  I'll take it!  And teach your sisters while you are at it......

The biggie this month has been attachment steps.  Meaning we are finally taking steps in the right direction with this.  I felt it coming & indeed, this month it did.    She firmly knows that I am Mommy now.  And that Daddy is Daddy.  And who Sarah & Becca are...and how the 5 of us all fit together....within the word Family & Home.   Both in her vocab & using properly.  

She has started to look to me to fill her needs.  And want me in her times of conflict.  There is more being upset when either Kurt or I leave...and less of going to and running to others when they come into our house.   Instead, staying by me (but not always... this is just beginning). 

All in all, the steps she's taken are VERY positive and the moves in the right direction.  Finally!  (Many of the steps she's JUST taking, others were taking IN China).    Another good thing is she has formed an attachment to 2 items.  This is important in development & she was uniterested in this for much of the previous 4 months.  But this month she found two things that she loves.  And sleeps with & travels with..... every day.

They are a small Minnie Mouse and a very ugly stuffed Turkey that was not even meant to  be hers.... I bought it for Sarah because it was a Beanie Boo & she collects them.  However, Charlie attached and now it's hers!  This attachment to these two objects are good things in the path we still walk.

The two issues I want to continue to work on next with attachment is looking to me when HURT (like falls, trips, ect.)  When we first got her, she would hurt herself...and then laugh.  Clearly, no one cared before & so either she hurt herself for attention & it was percieved as 'funny' or she used laughter becasue she didn't know how to place the proper emotion for hurt.    I'm talking major owies were met with laughter.    That has moved into her getting hurt, stopping.. NOT laughing.  BUT physically taking effort to remove herself FROM ME when I got to help her.  Telling me NO.  So she is still not trusting to me to help her hurts- still relying on herself.  But at least not laughing anymore.

The other issues is night wakings.  We have an excellent bonding nighttime routine before bed.  She and I both enjoy it & I have little issues GETTING her to bed.  It's the night wakings.  Which are frequent still.   She wakes up in an almost primative state (similiar to what she displayed A LOT in all actions back in China & those first few months).   Almost trance like...she chants as she ferciously rocks herself back and forth.   No loud cries, no calling out... just chants & rocks.  If I got to her, she pulls away from me & my touch.   She continues to chant...and rock...till she puts herself back to sleep. But if she wakes with this cycle once during a night- it tends to repeat itself MANY times in one night.  It's hard....   and I'm not sure how to break it. 

Food is fine.  I figued out how to hid veggies in her Mac and Cheese and Noodles.  Still won't touch milk or fruits or veggies by themselves.  Favorite still is Pasta.

She's funny.  Often blaming her farts on who ever is sitting next to her.  Example... we hear a fart.... we know it came from her... "Charlie did you fart?".  No.  Daddy fart...and point to Daddy. 

She loves to be tickled and her baths.  To be chased by daddy to run into my arms saying 'up, up' as she giggles uncontrolably.   She likes to read her book "Pig Kahuna" every night.  I think she has it memorized. 

She's interested in everything we do.  Every day the girls come home with homework & she pulls out her beloved "Kindergarten Journal", asks for a pencil & and says "homework" and does her self imposed homework along with them.   

We baked cookies & she decorated them gleefully.  Then even though she didn't like the taste- she sat there and looked at her cookies for HOURS- so proud of her work.

   

She's come so far.  So, so far.   She's such an amazing little imp who has brought much joy & laughter to our lives.

As Kurt said the other day.. as she layed snuggled in his arms, laughing away at something... "Can you believe just a few months ago neither she nor us had this?"

Nope, I can't... but I'm so glad we have each other now.

Happy 4 months Charlie Meifang. 

Three Months

Today marks three months.  Three months of togetherness.  I sit in disbelief.  Not so much because it's gone so fast- but it honestly seems like she's just always been here.   It's more of a disbelief of 'only' three months. 

Little Miss has made her mark firmly on all our hearts.  

Three months Gotcha!

That little girl- so scared on her first day in our arms.   Skinny.  Pale.  Unsure of what was happening to her.   She's coming so far.  She's COME so far.  



Lots has happened since last month.  First- her language is exploding.   This little girl- who we were told 'had slow language development' in China- only knowing basic words, phrases.... well... this little girl is learning a completely NEW language- quick.  I said she probably knew 45-50 words last month.   Well I wrote out a list today to count words she uses frequently & correctly.  That list is over 180 words.  And I know I'm forgetting some..    

She's also putting together small sentences.  (2-3 words).   Yep.  She's getting this English thing down pack!     The biggest problem is (and will be) pronounciation.   She started Speech Therapy so we'll see if that helps.

Girl learned some shapes- in English.   She can quite easily (and very happily) identify Circles, Squares, Triangles, Rectangles, Hearts & Ovals.  She loves finding shapes in everything she explores. 

Her favorite things to do - baths remain top of list.  She just loves her 'splish splash'!  She loves to color and will get out her paper and crayons and 'color' every single day while the girls do their homework.  

Likes her dollies.  Likes her princesses.  Likes to collect 'treasures' in baggies.  Ziplocs are her favorite.  Girl finds & hoardes paper trash like there is no tomorrow.  We've had problems with disappearing doctor scripts, checks & homework.   Oh, and socks. 

She still enjoys 'chores' and will happily wash things and fold laundry.   She's a great helper. 

Could care less about TV (except for a few things- baby Einstien shape DVD and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse). 

Loves books and her favorite - that we read every night - is Pig Kahuna.  Yes.  It's about Pigs surfing.  Oh, she looooves it.  She pics it without fault every single night when given a choice.

That's a new thing this month too.  Choices.  Making them.  Choosing.   When we got her, she picked nothing.  Identified nothing.  Showed no preference.  Why would she?  She never had a say in anything.  She was expected to do what she was told with what she was given.   Choices don't exist in institutions.   So she didn't know how to make one. 

This month she's CHOOSING.  Everything!  She wants her say heard.  From what she eats, to what she wears, to what she reads, to what toys she plays with to what activity she chooses to do.   What a great step forward. 

And let's talk the biggie one.  Attachment.  Well, eye contact is still poor- very poor.  But there is (itty bitty tiny) progress  there.   But we have very far to go on this. 

But.  BUT... this month little girl FINALLY recognized that names belong to people.  And that my name is Mommy.  And Kurt's name is Daddy.  And Becca and Sarah have names.  She uses them.  Mostly to identify possesions.  "Sarah's book",  "Becca's socks",  "Mommy's paper".   She has not yet called out to make a request.   As in like.... Mommy, come help me.     But we are working on it. 

She has not recognized and does not understand what mommy and daddy's are there for.  And so we continue to walk that road of attachment.  But I don't expect that to be quick.  I expect it to more about a year till we see solid progress in this.

There are three small steps she did make that are signs that she's STARTING to form the beginnings of attachment.   THe first is she's gotten extremely picky with food (trusting more will come).   The second is whining. (trusting she has a voice/say in this world) and sparadiocally she has become upset when we leave her.   This has been a few occasions and we need to see this increase to indicate she's moving forward. 

Like I said, we are getting there.  One very small, slow step at a time.

Physically she's gaining weight and height.  Her hair is growing.  New hair is coming in thick and strong.

She's stopped closing one eye to see meaning she's adjusting to her glasses. 

Her bed is better.  We have a great routine at night.  And she falls alseep quickly.  Her night wakings are diminishing.

She still can eat pretty good.  But she's picky with what she will eat.  Mommy is getting creative with hiding brocolli in her favorites.  :)   Her favorites include noodles, cheese, muffins, juice, bananas & chips!  (Oh, and candy..thanks to Halloween!).

She's loving exploring her life.  Her surroundings.  She's starting to learn what a family means.   She's walking those first tentative steps of learning to trust.  And to love.    Every day, is a step forward (even if maybe we have a few steps back).

Her laugh is contagious.  She cracks us up with her expressions (tone especially).   She loves to dance.  She loves music. 

And we love all she's brought into our lives.  Happy three months little girl!