Snowballs and Sandals

This was the first time we ever met Avi.  I remember entering the room and seeing a little girl who was not our own.  She was not speaking Korean or English.  She was on a diet of milk and formula and sleeping with a bottle. She was most definitely  less than thrilled to see us.
Fast forward seven months and this dynamic, talkative little person is the best part of our day. When we pick her up from preschool she smiles and runs to give us a big hug. She eats almost everything (except veggies and cherry pie) and she's now decided posing for her monthly photos is crucial. She's come a long way, and she is our daughter. 

Our week has been a combination of different seasons. On Wednesday we were sledding. 

Biggest revelation so far, snow is edible. 

By Saturday, the snow was gone.  We got to hang around outside and make screen doors for the house. 

Avi hung out with her friend Lucy from down the street. 

Avi's favorite cartoon is Pororo.  We ordered this little guy from Seoul and they were instantly good friends. Pororo is the Mickey Mouse of Korea.  If you look up his cartoons on youtube, you learn about everything from being nice to your friends to intellectual property rights. I'm not sure why he's so popular. 

He's considered the kid's president. If mom and dad tell you to do something, nobody listens. If Pororo says to do it, it get's done. 

Avi, Pororo say brush your teeth. DONE! Avi, Pororo say don't hit the dog. DONE! We all love that little character. 

And, should Avi or I ever have any questions on patent infringement, he's a good resource. 

Avi and I took our first long bike ride. We ended up at a great park and she learned how to yell "ON YOUR LEFT" when passing other bikers and runners. After an hour in that thing, she was still singing to herself and laughing.  She even had her own book to read. Now if only we could figure out that strider bike.

This little person has come so far. She's potty training now and has made it full days with a dry diaper and requesting the potty. She's getting to be such a big girl. Her first months were more difficult than we expected. There's no way I'd want to go back there. Even now there are times we get exhausted. But it's the exasperation any two year old will gladly provide. Much more common are the time she makes us laugh and smile.

My favorite experience of the month happened just this week. The best things are unscripted and spontaneous. They tend to jump up at you when you least expect them.  Avi says new words every day and surprises us with the things she knows. As I was getting ready to leave for work, Avi was being very huggy.  Most days we get a hug or a kiss goodbye and off I go. This day, as I was leaving we all stood in a little group of three for a "huddle". We both hold Avi and do a 3 way hug.  And as I squeezed my arms around both Ann and Avi, Avi pulled back and paused.  She smiled big,  looked at both of us, and said a word we'd never heard her say before.  Then she buried herself into another big hug.

"Happy"

I was late for work that day.