Sunday, September 8, 2013

One Month In




The internet myth we perpetuate
The reality

It’s hard to believe one month has gone by so quickly. In the same thought, it seems like years since we endured that flight home. I look at those pictures of the exhausted family and I can see how far we’ve come.

We’ve had our rough spots. But I still have to say that it’s been easier than we both thought. Nights are still the toughest time. Some nights we take a bath, put on our PJ’s and in 10 minutes we’re out. In fact, I missed the Broncos game Monday night because she fell asleep too quickly. Yep, it was all her fault I missed the game. Not the fact that my bed’s too comfy and I was tired. I planned on a good half hour to hour of crying while I waited for her to fall asleep, then I’d go back down and watch the game. She fell asleep almost immediately and so did I. Next thing I knew, I was reading about the great game the next morning. Ann and I are both a bit sleep deprived. Though she falls asleep much easier now, she doesn’t tend to stay asleep. She’ll wake up 2-3 times a night, cry then fall back to sleep in 5-10 minutes. It’s good for her, but for us it takes a while to get back to sleep again. We each took a night this weekend and slept downstairs. That full night of rest helped both of us.

Right now she’s sleeping in the daybed in our room. We want to transition her over to her room, but I don’t think she’s ready for that yet. She woke up the other night after we went downstairs. She lost her mind and her pants, neither of which is a good thing. We found our pantless crying daughter unhappily demanding our presence and it was a good hour before she nodded off again.  So we’ll get that transition started soon, but not just yet.

As you can tell from the movies, she loves to dance. Ann had to tell me to stop posting dance videos. I’ve got another, and it’s really cute. But perhaps she’s right and I need to branch out a little. She’s also thinned out a bit since she’s come home. We attribute that to no more formula and increased activity. The doctor says she’s at the 98th percentile with regards to height. Perhaps basketball or pro wrestling is in our future? Regina at our adoption agency says I can’t refer to her as a beast anymore.

Other than that she’s healthy as a horse. And she can eat like one too. I though you had to coax kids into eating their food. Not Avi. I’ve got to block her from eating my food. She tries everything easily. She will still not eat a vegetable but Ann thinks she has the trick with some veggie smoothie recipes we found.

Language is coming along. We now know how to say book, uh-oh, mamma and papa, please, no thank you, up, Gali, Sophie, meow, woof, bye-bye, and most importantly, Avi. She understands quite a bit more than that as well. Everything from let’s go, to pick that up, put it away, eating, bathing, car and stroller rides. I’d like her to learn “go the hell to sleep”, but we haven’t started that one yet. Check with me after month two.  

I enjoy the small victories immensely. Avi and I took a bike ride to the park yesterday. Originally that Chariot would send her into a screaming fit. Now she just happily sat back there humming and singing to herself. She still has a slight preference for Ann when we’re all together, but will allow me to hold her hand while walking and even ask for me to pick her up. That balance has made Ann’s job much easier, and mine much more enjoyable.
Another small victory. Farley, our chicken dog, has
come around and decided Avi is not out to kill him.
The cat is another story.

Last night though was the biggest victory of all. Bedtime was upon us and Ann was reading the Dr. Seuss alphabet book. That’s her favorite right now. Each night at the end we turn off the lights and each kiss her goodnight. Last night she decided it was time to start giving out hugs and kisses of her own. I’ve never received a hug or kiss from my daughter before. Never. And last night the flood gates opened. We actually didn’t want her to go to sleep. I know I missed a lot while she was in Korea. First steps, teeth and words will never be memories we have. But that beautiful little girl, smiling from ear to ear while doling out kisses and hugs will forever be one of my most cherished experiences.  And yes I’m a big softie because I’m tearing up now too. 

Now go the hell to sleep. 

                                                          (Oh, and here's another dancing video:)

Papa Gene and Avi mocking
the camera person.
Papa Gene and Avi reading together


2 comments:

  1. OMG, I love the story!! She is beautiful, and you guys are amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love! It's the little things that matter :-)

    ReplyDelete