One Year Later

My life was completely changed on May 25, 2011. A man in Nanchang, China handed me a baby and suddenly my dreams of becoming a mother had come true.

I can't believe it's been a year since I met my daughter. I remember that day like it was yesterday. And yet, it feels like Mia has been with me forever. Such a strange contradiction.

You always hear adoptive families say that somehow a perfect match was made and I am no different. She is my perfect daughter. Perfectly matched to me. We are so much alike. Which is sometimes good and sometimes bad. 

This last year has been full of new experiences for the both of us as we've grown into our roles as mother and daughter. It wasn't always easy. But I can honestly say that now , a year later, we're two peas in a pod. She knows me as well as I know her.

I'm a much more comfortable, relaxed and confident mom than I was a year ago. And Mia... wow. She's amazing. Every day she changes. She's so incredibly smart. She's happy, warm and affectionate. She's stubborn and strong willed. She's the sunshine in my life. 

I loved her the moment I made the decision to adopt. I loved her when I first saw her photo. I loved her on the day she was finally placed in my arms. After a year with this wonderful, beautiful girl... that love has grown and blossomed and wound it's way into every ounce of my being. I can't imagine a life without her.

Every day together is a blessing. Even the tough ones. I can't wait to see what this next year brings.

Happy Mother's Day!

Today marks the seventh Mother's Day since I started out on the long and winding road to motherhood. I finally reached the destination.... my beautiful daughter. She's the only gift I'll ever need.

And Speaking of ... Speaking

As I mentioned, Mia's speech has really taken off. She's in a huge repeating stage right now. But these are the words she knows and uses consistently all on her own. Feel free to scroll down. This is just for me to look back on and remember some day.
puppy
goggy = doggy
bir = bird
book
mommy
momma
bubble
ot = hot
peas = please
anchoo = thank you
dink = drink
mulk = milk
wa wa = water
jew = juice
cracka = cracker
nana = banana
chee = cheese
bed = bread
more
elp = help
teev = teeth
no and shakes her head "no"
bus
nigh-night
bah = ball
Melmo = Elmo
mingk = bink (pacifier)
sooz = shoes
at = hat
ewww = at appropriately icky things
ow = when she bumps her head or gets some other boo boo
pull
die = dry
hi
bye bye
no = nose
eye
cuck cuck = what a chicken says
kack kack = what a duck says
awf awf = what a dog says
mmmm = what a cow says
Nita = Anita (her babysitter)
Nattie = Maddie (Anita's daughter)
Mo-Mo = Morgan (Mia's daycare BFF)
mm mm mm = kinda like the Campbell's soup slogan. Used when she's enjoying something tasty. And it comes with it's own sassy little slow head shake back and forth for emphasis. LOL!

This one technically doesn't count yet cuz she just repeated me. But earlier this week as I was putting her in her car seat to go to the sitter's I said "I love you" and got "mulm oo" as a response. My heart melted into a puddle right there in the driveway. :)

The signing really helps me understand her better. Cuz just like you'll see in this video, I may not catch what she's saying. But when she combines it with a sign... I usually get it. I was desperately trying to get her to do the "mmmm" cow noise she does. Cuz it's so dang adorable. And I accidentally and unexpectedly got her speaking and signing "help" for the very first time. I didn't even know she knew either one.

Her toys are in that trunk and she wanted them. When she gets frustrated because she can't do something I'm always asking her "Do you need help? Do you want momma to help you?" and I sign help. I guess she listened... cuz on this day (which was back in mid-March) she actually gave it back to me. Although she didn't get the sign just right but I figured it out regardless. I love how when I finally understand what she's saying she signs "thank you". Like she's acknowledging "yes momma I need help."

Have I mentioned how much I love the Baby Signing Times DVD's? Only a thousand times, you say? LOL! 

One of the things she does now is to raise her arms in the "I don't know" fashion, furrow her brow quizzically and ask "go?" which is her shortened version of "where did he/she/it go?". And she does it All The Time. When the dog leaves the room, when whoever is near her walks away, when a bird flies by, when she drops her cup, when a school bus passes us in the car. 

Her receptive language is amazing. She really understands so much and it baffles me.

I tell her to go find her sippy cup and she starts looking for it.

I tell her to pick a book for me to read her at night and she goes right to the bookshelf, gets a book... or three, walks over to me sitting in the big upholstered chair and lifts her arms so I can scoop her up into my lap.

I keep her bib draped over the back of her high chair. Recently, a few bites into dinner I said to myself, but out loud, that "momma should have put a bib on her". Mia turned and started reaching for the bib on the back of her chair. But it wasn't there. She spotted it on the counter and started pointing at it.

I tell her it's time to get ready for bed and she starts heading for the stairs. Or time to brush her teeth and she makes a beeline for the bathroom.

I'm constantly amazed at how smart she is, how much she understands, and how well she communicates. And I'm one proud momma...

Mia at 18 mths

Mia hit 18 mths old on April 9th. It's hard to believe that we're already on the downhill to 2. Guess we're overdue for a progress report.

On March 2nd we had a well check visit with the doc. Mia is now 27.5 lbs and 30.5 inches tall. She's still in some of her 18 mth size clothes but we're transitioning to mostly all 24 mth. She wears a size 5 shoe. She's getting leaner but still a chunky monkey hitting the 99th percentile again on the American growth chart for her weight and 85% for height.

Speaking of the doc, she went all disapproving on me when I told her Mia was not only still taking a bottle at bedtime but also waking about halfway through the night for another. She gave me a good lecture on orthodontia and the damage milk does to teeth... blahblahblah. The doc said if I stopped giving her a bottle midway through the night then she'd stop waking up. I thought "Pshaw! What does SHE know?". LOL!

So a couple weeks later, Mia accidentally slept through the night. Since we were coming into a 3-days-off-for-momma weekend I decided to stop the middle of the night bottles. The next night when she woke, I changed her diaper, rocked her for a couple minutes, put her back in her crib, told her "nigh-night" and walked out. I got a little whimper but she laid down and went back to sleep.

And that was it. She's slept through the night ever since. Except for an occasional bad dream or upset tummy. I know it wasn't supposed to be that easy .... but somehow it was. She was just ready. Or maybe the damn doctor was right.

Another couple weeks went by and my girl came down with that wicked stomach flu. It was AWFUL. We avoided milk and dairy because we had no choice. Her poor little belly couldn't handle it. But it solved the bedtime bottle issue.

So doc, we are now completely bottle free. Only sippy cups from here on out. And no more milk after our bedtime teeth brushing. Happy?

My girl who used to eat everything and anything has become a little picky. It's all hit or miss, too. Today she'll like carrots. Tomorrow...not.

She's also developed a really bad habit of taking the food she doesn't wanna eat... sometimes right out of her mouth... and dropping it on the floor. My smart girl knows the dog is hovering there ready to scarf on her discards. Except she hasn't yet realized that dog is not always there. Like... at a restaurant or someone's house. Then she just looks like a rude kid throwing food on the floor. LOL!

Her speech and receptive language. Wow! That probably needs it's own post. We've run through another big developmental explosion.  I'm amazed at how much her brain can process and understand.

Mia also seems to get more comfortable in her personality every single day. She's stubborn as a mule and isn't afraid to voice her opinion when she disagrees. Unfortunately, she has the stamina of a marathon runner when it comes to making her opinions heard. Which has made for some interesting battles in our house.

She's absolutely hit that moody toddler meltdown stage. We're talking throw yourself on the floor, bury your head in your hands, wail at the top of your lungs, kick your feet and cry big crocodile tears kind of Oscar worthy performances. Luckily, only the sitter and I have witnessed those. For now. I'm sure one will come right in the middle of grocery shopping or at some other very public venue some day. And then I'll have to rescind all the judgement I ever cast on "those" parents who couldn't control their kid since I'll have joined their ranks.      
But on the flip side, Mia can be a ton of fun. She loves to laugh and be silly. I can already see her sense of humor emerging.

She's become very affectionate and will often lift her arms for me to pick her up so she can lay her head on my shoulder and nuzzle into my neck. I absolutely live for those moments. She still likes to snuggle and we rock together for a few minutes every night.

Every day she shows me something new. I can't believe how far she's come in just 11 mths.

The Scary Bunny

I figured the bunny wouldn't go over real well after she had such a bad reaction to Santa. Mia was fine waving to him (or her, I guess) from the safety of her stroller while a few feet away in line. But when I tried to hand her over, she was having no such thing.

She looked like one of those cartoon characters suspended in mid-air in a full run. Her little legs and arms flailing wildly as she pathetically whimpered "momma momma momma". She was terrified.

I felt awful.

I was about to call it quits when the camera person suggested I sit down next to the bunny with her on my lap. This was the first shot.

A millisecond later she glanced to her right, saw the big scary furball and literally climbed my chest and was working her way over my shoulder to get away from him

Unfortunately, momma wasn't prepared for the camera to snap so quickly hence the cropping out of the goofy look on her face. 

So here is our one and only first Easter Bunny photo. At a cost of $38 dollars. Don't even get me started.

Maybe next year....

Hunting for Eggs

For so many years I imagined the day that Mia would join her cousins on the annual Easter Egg Hunt in my sister's big backyard. 

She didn't quite have the hang of it this first go 'round. As you can see by the very visible eggs right in front of her that she's ignoring.

Uncle Bobby tried to give her some pointers. 

But she preferred to just take off her shoes and run in the grass.

Or swing and watch her cousins hunting like crazy.

Maybe next year she'll get the hang of it.

Eventually, cousin Tess came over to sort her haul and swing awhile, too.

This adorable little dress was a gift from my friend, Lisa, right after we got home from China. When I stumbled across the basket liner made out of the same fabric I knew Mia had to wear it for the hunt.

She finally decided to check out the five eggs she found (or that were maybe just tossed in her basket while she wasn't looking).

Tatum came over to help.

And Mia discovered what the hunt was all about.... the candy inside those eggs!

It makes my heart so happy to see our girls all together. Finally.

Travis snuck into this photo. But as usual, Tanner avoided the camera.

Even Teagan shared a little candy with his favorite Chinese cousin.

Another dream realized. My girl hunted Easter eggs for the very first time.

The Bunny Left What?