Six Months

Amazing.....together six months. I truly never thought I'd get to write those words. I savor them now. Knowing that I am on the other side of the journey to adoption and living the journey of an adoptive family.
On Tuesday night at church we will baptize E. and Mike has asked me to share about what God has taught me on this journey. To prepare I've spent time going back through my blogs and my journal to remember all that God has done. It truly was an encouraging endeavor.
E. you have been prayed for since before you were born. God clearly intended for us to be a family and I feel so grateful.
Happy six months together! Whee! What an amazing ride!

E's Mommy

E. is very adamant that I am HER mommy - as opposed to anyone else's, I suppose. My friend Becky watched E. for me on Sunday and she mentioned that after I left E. told her over and over again that I am her mommy. Today, when I dropped her off at Emily's, I heard her telling the other kids and Emily - "E.'s Mommy" multiple times.
I have to wonder if she isn't just so thrilled to have her own mommy - she doesn't have to share. I wonder if she is reminding herself when she says it over and over again - "that's my mom....mine!" What must it have been like to spend her first almost three years without this? Oh, how I wish I could have brought you home forever the day you were born.
Yes, E., I am YOUR forever mommy. Forever! And I'm mighty proud of it.

Words That End in "A" and Other Such Silliness

Where does the time go? Tomorrow E. and I have been together 5 months! Crazy how the time flies.
She is learning so much - this morning while I was getting breakfast ready she started counting....she has not done this before at all...two, three, four, five....funny that she starts at two - I think that is her favorite number. She is always telling me "Look-a mama, two..." and she holds up two fingers and shows me two dogs, two balloons, two crackers, two whatever.
E. adds the letter "A" to many of the words she knows...she uses the short "a" sound. I want to remember this so I'm sharing it here. It's really very cute.
Look-a
Hot-a
Cold-a
There-a
Stop-a
Wait-a
It really is added to so many of her words...too cute.
We have also been on a progression from using the word "Da" (Russian for Yes) to "Yes" - just this weekend she started saying "Yes" very emphatically. She definitely was only using Da when she was first home, and then for quite awhile she was saying "Yah" for yes...natural progression. I have to admit it's kind of sad to say goodbye to "Da" in her vocabulary.
There are a couple of Russian words (or at least E's Russian) she still uses - "sheesa" for bath and "adoot-koo" for excuse me. It cracks me up when she tells Cleo or Lucy (my furry children) "adoot-koo Cleo" or "adoot-koo Lucy" when she wants them to get out of her way.
Here are a few pictures from a day at the children's museum with Emily.

So high!

My little flower...

Composing a master piece, of course :)

I Know

On Friday E. and I were in the car. I told her, in Russian, "I love you". She got this big grin on her face and she said, "I know!"
Warms my heart!
Yesterday, also in the car, she spontaneously told me, "Mama, I love you" in English. That's the first time she has said it first :)
Life is good!

Happy 14 weeks home....and 4th of July

Sigh...where does the time go? I can't believe Miss E has been home for 14 weeks - over three months.
Right now she is laying on her bed next to me fighting going to sleep...so she is making her mama a bit crazy! Oh those busy hands and toes - even when there is nothing in your bed but a pillow and some soft blankies you can find ways to entertain yourself with fingers and toes. Sweet girl - I know that is leftover from nights in the baby house, and partly it's just being three, so I try to stay patient and compassionate about it.
It is amazing how many new words she has and how strong she is getting - hanging from anything that will hold her weight (and some things that won't, ha!)jumping like crazy, riding her tricycle (I wish I could write out how she says this word it's really cute, but I'm not sure what letters to use.) When we went to Child Find (Colorado's early intervention program) back in late April, two of the skills they wanted her to work on were jumping and riding a tricycle - she has both of those down! Our dear friend, Kelly, fixed up her trike with pink streamers and a Princess water bottle holder - she is just tickled with the results.
E. enjoyed her first home-made vanilla ice cream yesterday along with some BBQ ribs - I think she is officially "American". We talked quite a bit about how it was America's birthday and we were celebrating. My sister is quite the "pyro" so we had a bit of our own fireworks extravaganza in the front yard - E. was pretty nervous about the loud sounds. But the firework in the shape of a chicken that blew a balloon out it's butt was a big hit - I don't know how to explain it better than that.
Swimming continues to be a favorite for the little Pixie - in fact tonight she was pretending that mama's bed and bedroom were the swimming pool and she was making all her best swimming motions including counting to jump off the side. Too cute.
Some of the latest photos...
"Really, Mom?"
Happiness is being outside, hanging around in your swimsuit.
Watching the sea lions at the zoo.
Cheese....she finally smiles both spontaneously and for photos!
On your mark, get set.....
Holding hands with friends....so sweet.
Jumping on the trampoline....with water! What more could a girl ask for?
Maybe a sprinkler, too? Emily, you rock!

Eleven Weeks

Home eleven weeks....how is that even possible? Summer is full swing around here and we've enjoyed a day at the zoo, days at the pool, lots of water play. E. loves to be outside so rainy days are tricky. Thankfully we've had some more sunny days this past week. One day it was raining and she told me - "all done rain" Too funny. She is learning tons of new words, understanding more each day, she is just a delightful little girl. I'm so grateful I get to be her mom!
I love this photo - it really shows what a joyful little heart she has.

Her little legs are getting so strong - she can actually ride the trike! Love the ladybug glasses too - Auntie bought those.

My little water baby.

This bird cracked her up. Silly bird!

Fun at the zoo - she loved the zebras - they are way in the background.

The carousel was a big hit - she's looking back at Becky and Kelly in this one.

More fun on the carousel

Cheese!

Sleepy

I have so many things I'd like to share about here on E.'s blog, but I have to admit to being pooped by the time I get her into bed at night. Whew! I often find myself feeling as sleepy as she looks in the picture above. This was taken after a wonderful day at the zoo with Syd and friends Becky and Kelly. We really had a blast, but she was out for the car ride home. I promise to catch up more soon with lots of pictures.