Here are some things Willow does lately...
-She sat side saddle on her little push car all the way down the hall.
-She says 'cold' if our hands are cold or there is wind blowing.
-She grabs the side of the bathtub to brace herself when we are washing her hair.
-She doesn't prefer to sit but to stand when placed in the car seat. She also doesn't want to get out of the bathtub. :)
-The day she learned how to 'blubber' us might have been a favorite of mine. (That's what we always called giving raspberries growing up.)
-She pooped in the tub. It was accompanied with a terrified child, big tears and big eyed! (Kyle, you're my hero.)
-She has started saying 'thank you' all the time! It sounds like 'day dou!'
-Anytime we enter her bedroom, she greets all of the fisher price little people with 'hi!' or 'hey, little people!'
-She often tells us what to do. :)
-We've all been a little sick, and anytime I sneeze or cough, she mimics it. When she had the sneezes, she figured out I'd say bless you and check on her. So, the girl started fake sneezing out of nowhere, and it sounded pretty believable!
-She lets us hold the drink (milk) she has for her consistently, like a bottle. This hasn't been without effort and feels like a sign of trust to me. We don't always hold it of course, but it's nice to know we can connect with her like that when we are able! She allows it now! :)
-She has started asking for 'bao bao'. Bao bao means baby in Mandarin, so Kyle started this little pet name for Willow a while back. We always said it to her after bath when wrapping her up in a towel, so now she has started asking for it after bath. She also asks us to 'bao bao' her stuffed animals and babies so she can hold them in the same way.
-She is starting to memorize really easy, one word books. The first one I noticed it with was a book called 'My Day.' It goes like this-- Eat. Blocks. (It really says Build.) Play. Ride. Hug.
-At bedtime, Kyle typically sings Willow either Christmas songs (Silent Night) or As the Deer. I usually sing Twinkle, Twinkle, ABC's, I Love You So Much, Good Night Sweetheart, or Sweet Baby James.
-Today Kyle took Willow after work while I went to get a pedicure which was so nice! I called them on the way home, and I got to hear that tiny, adorable voice on the phone for the first time!! Be still, my heart.
-Willow rocked at her first dental appointment!!
We went out to lunch to celebrate Kyle's job change at work, and our waitress was of a different culture, English being her second language. She asked us many questions that felt uncomfortable, not that unusual, but the one that stuck with me was when she asked if Willow's family cried when we adopted her. I guess I had wrongly assumed that all people would understand the extensive process that is adoption, both for us as a couple and to confirm Willow's need for a family. It was a difficult moment to think about how to respond in love and at the same time to educate the kind lady about the ethical process. Just because they always take me by surprise, I am very thankful Willow can't understand these comments yet. However, she does pick up on a lot. I have some time to figure out how to respond when she comprehends more and people ask us in front of her.
We have an early appointment this coming Tuesday for Willow's cardiac cath. Please pray for things to go smoothly and for the doctors to find her heart functioning better than expected.
Here are some recent pictures of our growing girl!!
More bubbles please!
Rocking her fork... Haha..
First indoor play area...
First firepit! What an awesome evening this was.
Grapefest, family night!
We saw a huge inflatable shark, so we did 'shark teeth'.
She put her glasses up like this after watching me do it. Crazy how much she imitates us!
We've been thinking about how it is like we have a three month old who happens to be two. That is the best way to describe how a toddler adoption feels. So if I have a hard time letting her do things that most toddlers do, please be patient with me! We are such a new family and are finding ourselves full of gratitude and joy, pinching ourselves often.
