Life These Days

Life is a whirlwind, which is why you don't see me writing on the blog too much lately! But I wanted to write a post on what our life is like these days.


* We've been home with Lia Kate for over eight months now! When we first came home and times were hard, I would say to myself, "if we can just make it through the first six months ... if we can just make it through the first six months..." And, we made it, and then some. And things are SO much better! She has turned from a sad, little, insecure babe into a happy, spunky girl! The difference is dramatic. For example, in January, she was the size of a U.S. nine-month-old and now she is looking more and more like the two-year-old that she is. Sleep-wise, in January, nighttime and naps were a battle and she was sleeping in our bed. And now, she is sleeping in her own room and goes down fairly easily most nights. She even sleeps all the way through the night on her own most nights now. This is a HUGE accomplishment. Even after she moved to her own room a few months ago she would still wake up once or twice during the night. But it looks like we've turned a corner in the last month. And, boy, are we grateful! She still has lots of insecurity (understandably) and this is normal for a previously institutionalized child, and we are working through it and reminding her that we are aren't going anywhere ... that she is stuck with us ... forever. ;o)


* She is taking baby steps on independence. She still prefers to be in the same room as me nearly all the time, but she is also very comfortable with Danny taking her somewhere. She'll gladly say "bye bye" to me and walk out the door with him. She has definitely attached to him, but for the most part prefers me ... and I am usually the one who has to hold her when she's upset or when she goes to sleep. That evens things out around here, since Britton has always preferred Danny! Truly, though, she has definitely formed great attachments with both of us, and we are so very thankful.

* As of July 31, we've had 2 crazy two-year-olds running around here! Danny was asked recently if our kids were twins (????!!!!!). Danny responded, "I guess you could call them Irish twins." ;o) Um ... yeah ... something like that.


My two little chowhounds eating their "2" cookies.

* In other news, both kiddos started two-year-old preschool a few weeks ago (just two mornings a week), and they are doing great! Lia Kate loves going to school and uses the words "school" "fun" and "play" together all the time. She has two sweet teachers who have made the adjustment for her very easy. She hasn't even shed a tear yet when I've dropped her off. This is another HUGE accomplishment. A few months ago this would have resulted in a major meltdown. Britton loves school as well, and is doing great! His teachers say he always has a smile on his face. They told us a sweet story about him the other day. The kiddos were doing a handprint craft and Britton was the first to go. After he was done, he stood by the teacher and "helped" each child as they came up and told them "good" when they were done. Melt. My. Heart. Another cute story ... Britton and Lia Kate's classes bump into each other on the playground. On one of the first days of school, Lia Kate came running up to him yelling, "Britty! Britty!" And very nonchalantly, he said "hey."


Another first-day-of-preschool picture. They were a little unsure of what this lunchbox-photo-op business was all about.

* Speaking of having 2 two-year-olds, Britton and Lia Kate get along well ... some days. ;o) We've learned that virtual twinning (when you have children 7 months or less apart in age) is not easy ... especially when you bring a walking, talking, active child into the life of a previously only child. But it's part of adoption ... and we wouldn't have it any other way ... so we are working through it. Some days are great and some days not so great. I know a lot of the issues just boil down to sibling rivalry ... and you would probably find this same behavior in a million different households.

A typical Lia Kate face. She has so many funny expressions.

* Part of the beauty of having two kids nearly the same age is that we are learning how well these kids even each other out. For example, in the areas that Britton is difficult (i.e. getting along with his sister, behavior in public, at times), Lia Kate is a breeze. And the areas that Lia Kate is more difficult (sleep and independence), Britton is a breeze. Lia Kate is also doing really well with her language development (lately her favorite things to say are "i love it" and "happy" and "hot dog!"), and she is pushing Britton with his speech development, too. He has come a long way since we've had her.







I have lots of videos and pictures to post from the past few weeks. Hoping to get to that in the next week or so. Check back in...