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!
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