We're Home
May 28, 2009  |  June 19, 2009  |  September 8, 2009  |  October 18, 2009  |  January 3, 2010  |  April 12, 2010  |  June 6, 2010

Tuesday, September 8, 2009 It’s truly hard to believe that we have been home with Lilli now for a little over 3 months. She has transformed from a scared, sick little girl to a bubbly, loving, energetic and healthy little girl. We have been amazed at her adjustment and resiliency. We have been so blessed that she sleeps in her own bed, eats almost anything put in front of her, and is happy most of the time. Her language development has been remarkable, and her vocabulary is growing by the day. A few days ago, we put groups of 3 flashcards down in front of her and asked her to identify the object, like where’s the dog…Amazingly, she got 20 words in a row correct. This is just one example of how strong her language is becoming. While she may not be able to verbalize everything, she definitely is learning. We taught her the signs for “more, eat, please, thank you, help, potty, and all done”. She not only uses them all, but now is saying, “Mo Peas” for “More Please” and “Eat”. Her beloved blanket that we took to China has become “B”. “M’s” have been hard for her, but she finally can say “Mama” easily and clearly. It is such a beautiful sound! Her new phrase is “Nigh-Nigh Mama (or Baba)” right before bedtime—it’s enough to melt our hearts. She also loves to say “D-d-d-d-Dora” and “Backpack, Backpack” (all of you Dora fans will understand!). We celebrated her 2nd birthday on Sunday, August 30th. She was a little under the weather, but overall did great. She danced back and forth in her chair as we all sang happy birthday to her. We weren’t sure how eating her first piece of cake would go, as she doesn’t like messes and anything on her fingers when she is eating, as she says “Eeewww”. Well, when she drilled her finger right into the frosting after attempting to blow out the candles, we had our answer. She loved the cake! When it came time for presents, she tore right into them. It was so fun to see her excitement. She even loved the clothes, as she would hold them up to herself like she was modeling. Yes, we could be in very big trouble when she becomes a teenager! While most kids toss aside the clothes, she didn’t—it’s almost like she was so happy and proud that these were HERS. Her behavior made us wonder if she didn’t have many clothes in China or didn’t get changed often…she seemed genuinely happy. It is still surreal that we went half way around the world to build our family. For any of you who are still patiently waiting…when your time comes, you are going to look back and wonder how it happened so quickly—that is, from the time you travel to getting home and looking at your beautiful child. Sometimes in the quiet moments, we look at her and it hits us how blessed we are to have Lilli as our daughter. It’s in those moments that we are so thankful to her birth mother to giving her a chance at life. We just hope that in the years to come through open dialogue with Lilli, we can provide her with the love, support, and faith she needs to give her heart peace in knowing that she is with the family she was always destined to be with--that from before her existence, God had a plan to unite the most beautiful little girl to a couple patiently waiting and praying for their daughter. We love you Lilli, more than you know.

Loving bath time Happy Birthday Lilli How sweet am I?! Play'n in Mama's Shoes

My 1st ice cream sandwich--Yummy!


Painting with Baba


Stylin in my Panda glasses


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