Has it really only been 8 weeks since we came home from China?? It seems like such a long time ago, but 8 weeks is really not that long. Lily is doing great! Her adjustment really has been relatively "easy", and I don't use the word "easy" lightly. She has been through a very traumatic experience. She was pulled away from her country, her language, her food, and most importantly, the people who loved her. She was given to complete strangers and told that we were her family. She didn't even understand what a real family was. But, after all of that, she is one of the happiest children I have ever met. She is constantly smiling and giggling. She has a very good disposition and is very playful. She's easy going and very easily adjusts to our ever changing schedule. She's had her moments, and there's been times she's woken up in the middle of the night crying but overall, she really is doing great.
The big news is, Lily has finally started talking!! For the first 6 weeks home, she was very silent, saying only a few Chinese words. Days would go by where we wouldn't hear anything. I used to tickle her to make her laugh, just so I could hear her make a sound. Although we could tell that she understood a lot of what was said, she was not interested in talking. She would point to items and wait for me to name them, and then just nod. If she wanted my attention, she would say "uh, uh". Then, at that 6 week mark she said "pumpkin" and "school bus", followed quickly by "baby" and "puppy". Of course she only said these words on her terms and would not say them if asked. But, over the last 2 weeks, things have really started to change. When we are out and about, she points to items and names them......"Hello Kitty", "Dora", Princess", Scooby", "Sponge-ja Bob". When I ask her if she wants to go to Publix, she will say "cookie". (love those free cookies!) Some of the other words she says spontaneously (without copying one of us) are, "flower, fireman, tunnel, minnie mouse, pretzel, water, elephant, horse, monkey, apple, banana, Santa, snowman, choo-choo train, Thomas (the train), Curious Georgie, dinosaur, yogurt, and concrete mixer (that one's for you Uncle Bill). Some phrases she's learned from her brothers are, "now me", "here you go" "what dat or what dese", "where day go?". She also put her first 2 word sentence together, "Michael funny". Actually, saying our names has been the big news of this week. When I started writing this post on Sunday, she had not yet said any of our names. She would just point, or say "uh uh". On Wednesday, I was in the car running errands with Lily and Michael, when Lily started to say her brother's names, and then she said "Mommy"!!! (good thing I was stopped at a light!) I kept having her repeat them over and over........I couldn't believe she was finally saying them! By the end of the day, she was using her brother's names to call them, although she didn't use Mommy to actually get my attention until the next day. The only sad thing was, she wouldn't say "daddy". Finally, 2 days later, I got her to say daddy!!! She hasn't said it often, and still won't say it in front of Ruben, but I'm hopeful for this weekend! I think she really just needed to feel comfortable with us before she said our names. I hope she's now starting to realize how much we love her and that we're her family....forever.
Another thing I've heard her do is mouth the words to the alphabet song, and have heard her sing parts of it while in the car. She does a lot of talking, babbling, and chanting while in the car. I've also seen her mouth one of the prayers we sing at dinner. She can now count to 5 and show you on her fingers. I've also seen her count items. She's working on counting to 10 now. She's learning her letters, her favorite one being "O". She gets very excited when we're out and she sees one in a sign. She knows that L is for Lily and M is for Michael. She's also learning her colors. She definitely knows what pink is! It's really amazing how she is just soaking everything up.
She is really starting to warm up to Daddy. Every night Ruben reads her a book, and I leave the room. She is now getting more animated with him and pointing to the animals in the book, and sometimes talking. She's still very shy with him when he gets home from work, and at dinner, but we've definitely seen huge improvements in that area.
Things we have learned about Lily..................
She loves to be silly. She started showing this side about the same time she started talking. One day we had been to the Pumpkin Patch and Lily had a little round pumpkin sticker on her shirt. I was in the kitchen when I heard her say, "hmmm-hmmmm-hmmm". That was unusual as she usually calls me with an "uh-uh". I turned to look at her, and saw she had put the sticker on her mouth and she had the most mischievous look in her eyes. She now loves to do silly things to make us laugh.
She likes to have her picture taken and thinks it's fun to make silly faces. (as you can see below)
She loves to go to Target and Publix. She will squeal and clap when we pull into the parking lot.
She hates to have a blanket on at night. She will wake up mad and kicking if we put a blanket on her, and it can take some time to calm her. We will definitely be layering rather than using a blanket this winter! (I did read somewhere that because of the lack of heat in most orphanages in China, some orphanages actually put a strap around the child and the bed at night to hold the blankets on. I do not know if this is what Lily experienced, but it would certainly explain why she doesn't like blankets.)
The report from China said she likes toys that make noises. We're finding that to be true. She loves the cash register and any of the Leap Frog toys that make noises. She also loves playing with her kitchen.
She loves to have books read to her, and will keep bringing them over as long as you're willing to read.
She can be possessive with toys she feels are "hers". If one of her brothers takes a toy she's playing with, or one that's near her, she will cry like her heart is breaking. It hasn't happened very often, but it's sad to hear.
She likes to tattle on her brothers!
If one of her brothers (especially Michael), is doing something with me, she tries to get in on the action. If I'm snuggling with Michael on the couch, she will climb up on my lap. If I'm reading one of the boys a book, she will again crawl onto my lap. She will take turns though. If I'm tossing Michael around, she runs over for a turn, but once she's done, she will stand back and point to Michael for his turn.
I know there's probably a lot more to say, but it's already been a week, so I'd better get this posted!
Here's some pictures.
With cousin Amy
Both very excited about their pockets
