Yellow Blue Tibia

Baby girl has been home three months today. It has been a whirlwind of delight.

The journey to her was a long and arduous process, but she has been so worth the wait.

I wake every morning to a happy, smiling baby girl. And I mean not one morning has she not looked me in the eye, lifted her arms and smiled from ear to ear.

I am so proud to be her mother. We call her "Little Mighty" and she lives up to her name.

She is tough as nails and sweet as sugar. I often wonder what she will grow up to be and do.

When I first met Sophie (then called Sasha), in the office of the orphanage director in Achinsk, Sibera, she was weak, but spirited. She couldn't walk yet and wasn't talking. She babbled a little and the few sounds she did make we captured on videotape. And they are faint little whispers. She checked me out. I checked her out. We looked at each other. We played. We laughed.

The time from then to know seems a lifetime, but it's been less than half a year.

The course of action in adoptin is hurry up and wait.....then rush, rush, rush to get this and that paperwork.....then hurry up and wait again. Then one day, you get this phone call and BAM....three months later there is a baby from half way across the world sleeping in her new bedroom and calling you Mama.

Glory.

Let me tell you how blessed I am. From day one of our life at home, Sophie has slept through the night for 12 hours. In her own bed and with little to no crying. She takes a 2 to 3 hour nap everyday and rarely fusses about going to sleep. If she wakes before I come to get her, she plays with her stuffed animals and waits for me. I'm sure she'll figure out that crying and calling for Mama gets her attention. But for now, that is our routine.

She is a very healthy eater. After a few initial diaper blow-outs, she and I became aware of how much to eat and how much to present on the smorsgasboard of the high chair dining table. I quickly learned that Sophie would eat ALL of whatever I put on her plate. I learned to only put the portion amount she needed to eat. She was taught in the orphanage to eat with a spoon and drink from a cup. We had to teach her to use a sippy cup and how to drink with a straw. Her favorite food is oatmeal or mashed potatos. She eats almost anything though. I don't think there is anything she has refused to eat.....but she does like everything warmed or mashed up. But she's getting less picky about that.

She is not verbal yet, but she is working on it. She says "Mama" ALOT. And I love it. She has said "Night, Night", "Bye-Bye" and "Hi", but the rest is babble and baby talk. The good news is that she does understand our commands and is making word associations.

Her Tricks:

Kisses

Hugs

Throws Kisses

Points to light, nose, ear, toes, fingers and belly

Flips and somersaults - must have had gymnastics at her orphanage

Flexibility - I think she's double jointed but extremely flexible to say the least

What she likes the most:

Outside!!!!!

Shoes - mine and hers

A warm bath

lotion and powder

My iPhone

The TV Remote

Puppies

What she's not too keen on:

Grass

Glo-Worm

Vacuum Cleaner

Hair Dryer

Television (Thank the Lord)

Diaper Changes

It's been a glorious three months so far. We're also excited about her Second Birthday on Monday (June 22nd). Our first party, first birthday cake, first candles, first wishes.