I've begun to know her faces and what they mean. There's one that says, "I know exactly what you are saying, but I'm going to pretend I don't so that I don't have to do what you are telling me to do."
And one that says, "This is the greatest thing ever and I want you to make this face, too, so that I know you know it's the greatest thing ever!"
Then there's the face that says, "I will win this battle. Yeah. I'm not losing." That face makes me want to explode.
Until the face that says, "I'm tired and ready to snuggle in deep," melts me.
Our girl has made such huge strides over the last 6 months. From the outside, it may seem small, but every day I watch her grow and I think, "Wow! She couldn't do that yesterday! Now she can!"
- climbing up on the swing all by herself
- pointing correctly when I ask where her body parts are (eyes, mouth, nose, ears, etc)
- eating a bowl of peanuts without choking or stuffing her mouth too full
- fully potty trained during the day!!
- answering "John!" when I point to him and ask her "Who's that?"
- pointing to what she wants and saying, "That!"
- correctly using phrases like, "Here, Mommy," "There you go," "All done," "All gone," "Thank you, Daddy," "On," "Down," and so many more.
- answering questions by shaking her head and saying, "No" or nodding and saying "Yes."
- eating with a spoon and fork almost completely on her own, all the time.
- eating whatever we are eating without much modification.
- sitting and looking at a book right side up 90% of the time, rather than upside down.
- sitting through my reading a WHOLE book, beginning to end, once or twice a day (all other attempts throughout the day end after the first page or two).
- feeding our dog by taking the cup of food, walking to the bowl down the hall, pouring, then returning the cup to the bin of food.
Sadie is even in the beginning stages of learning colors, animal names and sounds, and how to count. She can't do any of those well or correctly yet, but I'm beginning to see little flashes of understanding and recognition that I'm hoping will lead to comprehension.
She's also bonded really well with her brothers. John and Joseph adore her! They smother her with kisses, play with her, and teach her. I often hear, "You're so cute, Sadie, I just can't stand it!!"
Luke currently has a love/hate relationship with Sadie. The other day I was asking him all kinds of "What's your favorite..." questions. I asked, "Who's your best friend?" and he immediately replied, "Sadie!" He loves her. But, he gets SOOOO frustrated with her for taking his toys, for not understanding how to play his games, for messing up his duplo creations. And, most importantly, for taking Mommy and Daddy's attention away from him. We are trying so, so hard to spread our attention evenly among all of the kids. But, I think Luke still feels slighted and overlooked. Of all the kids, this adoption has been the hardest on him. Any chance I get, I scoop him in my arms and read to him or snuggle him or play with him. He needs that desperately right now. And, as his mama, I desperately want to soak in this stage of his. He is so cute I want to eat him up and I don't want to miss that with all the work I'm doing with Sadie.
Sadie's also working on bonding with Andrew and me. She is learning to love us and learning that we are here to stay. She's also realizing that we expect her to follow the same rules that the boys follow and we aren't going to treat her differently from them simply because she has Down Syndrome. We love on her all the time, give her lots of kisses, but also expect obedience and respect. This is a new concept for her. I'm not sure how much she was expected to follow rules in the past, to share, to follow instructions, to sit and listen to a story, to behave correctly at the table, to engage in learning. We are expecting her to do all of those things and are working to teach her and train her up in a way that glorifies God. Unfortunately, it's a lot for a 3 year old child to take in when the concepts are all new. We get that, we really do, but we also have to keep training in love so that she will learn. It is hard, and there are lots of tears (hers and mine). Tears when she doesn't want to obey, yet we walk her through the steps anyway. Tears when she doesn't want to wait her turn for a toy, yet we make her wait. Tears when she doesn't want to swallow her food before getting down from the table, yet we don't allow her to go until she has swallowed. The days are filled with battles, small battles all day long. God is stretching our patience in ways that we never knew it needed to be stretched!
On the flip side, our days are also filled with many moments of joy! The joy of watching Sadie twirl around in circles when I turn on the music. Joy when I lay on my back, put her on my legs and let her fly like superwoman - her face lights up the room! Joy when Andrew gets her giggling and cackling as he tickles and wrestles with her and the boys. Joy when we tell her "I love you!" and she responds, "Luf you." Joy when she goes to tell Luke good-night and the two hug tight, kiss, and he says, "I love you, Sadie, so much." Joy when I look out the window and see John pushing Sadie on the swing, her grinning huge.
Do we have regrets? Do we wish we had chosen the easier path...the path of least resistance? I'd be lying if I sat here and told you tonight that I've never thought, "Life would be so much easier if we hadn't said, 'Yes.'" I have been guilty of thinking that many, many times over the last 6 months. But, two days ago I heard about a little 5 year old girl, weighing 10lbs in a Bulgarian orphanage who died from starvation. She had Down Syndrome and a family racing to bring her home. Sadie was one of the "lucky" ones who was in a good orphanage and then lived with a great foster mom. Yet she has scars and is struggling to adapt to a new life. It's hard. We are exhausted physically and mentally. But, do we regret saying, "Yes?" Never in a million years. The "hard" that we are experiencing now while we are in the trenches of adjustment is nothing compared to what an orphan goes through, starving in a crib.
I'm so very thankful that God gave us the gift of this beautiful little girl. I'm thankful that she makes me see my weaknesses and plead with the Father to grow me into a better Mama than I was the day before. I'm thankful for her hugs, her kisses, her grins, and her baby babble. I'm beyond thankful that she calls me, "Mama" and that we get to go through this beautiful, messy life together, hand in hand!
**A million thanks to Helen Joy George for the gorgeous pictures. This talented lady captured the personality of all of our kids and the truths of our lives right now - tears and all. Be sure to check out her blog! Thank you, sweet friend, for sharing your talents with our family!!
Luke currently has a love/hate relationship with Sadie. The other day I was asking him all kinds of "What's your favorite..." questions. I asked, "Who's your best friend?" and he immediately replied, "Sadie!" He loves her. But, he gets SOOOO frustrated with her for taking his toys, for not understanding how to play his games, for messing up his duplo creations. And, most importantly, for taking Mommy and Daddy's attention away from him. We are trying so, so hard to spread our attention evenly among all of the kids. But, I think Luke still feels slighted and overlooked. Of all the kids, this adoption has been the hardest on him. Any chance I get, I scoop him in my arms and read to him or snuggle him or play with him. He needs that desperately right now. And, as his mama, I desperately want to soak in this stage of his. He is so cute I want to eat him up and I don't want to miss that with all the work I'm doing with Sadie.
Sadie's also working on bonding with Andrew and me. She is learning to love us and learning that we are here to stay. She's also realizing that we expect her to follow the same rules that the boys follow and we aren't going to treat her differently from them simply because she has Down Syndrome. We love on her all the time, give her lots of kisses, but also expect obedience and respect. This is a new concept for her. I'm not sure how much she was expected to follow rules in the past, to share, to follow instructions, to sit and listen to a story, to behave correctly at the table, to engage in learning. We are expecting her to do all of those things and are working to teach her and train her up in a way that glorifies God. Unfortunately, it's a lot for a 3 year old child to take in when the concepts are all new. We get that, we really do, but we also have to keep training in love so that she will learn. It is hard, and there are lots of tears (hers and mine). Tears when she doesn't want to obey, yet we walk her through the steps anyway. Tears when she doesn't want to wait her turn for a toy, yet we make her wait. Tears when she doesn't want to swallow her food before getting down from the table, yet we don't allow her to go until she has swallowed. The days are filled with battles, small battles all day long. God is stretching our patience in ways that we never knew it needed to be stretched!
On the flip side, our days are also filled with many moments of joy! The joy of watching Sadie twirl around in circles when I turn on the music. Joy when I lay on my back, put her on my legs and let her fly like superwoman - her face lights up the room! Joy when Andrew gets her giggling and cackling as he tickles and wrestles with her and the boys. Joy when we tell her "I love you!" and she responds, "Luf you." Joy when she goes to tell Luke good-night and the two hug tight, kiss, and he says, "I love you, Sadie, so much." Joy when I look out the window and see John pushing Sadie on the swing, her grinning huge.
Do we have regrets? Do we wish we had chosen the easier path...the path of least resistance? I'd be lying if I sat here and told you tonight that I've never thought, "Life would be so much easier if we hadn't said, 'Yes.'" I have been guilty of thinking that many, many times over the last 6 months. But, two days ago I heard about a little 5 year old girl, weighing 10lbs in a Bulgarian orphanage who died from starvation. She had Down Syndrome and a family racing to bring her home. Sadie was one of the "lucky" ones who was in a good orphanage and then lived with a great foster mom. Yet she has scars and is struggling to adapt to a new life. It's hard. We are exhausted physically and mentally. But, do we regret saying, "Yes?" Never in a million years. The "hard" that we are experiencing now while we are in the trenches of adjustment is nothing compared to what an orphan goes through, starving in a crib.
I'm so very thankful that God gave us the gift of this beautiful little girl. I'm thankful that she makes me see my weaknesses and plead with the Father to grow me into a better Mama than I was the day before. I'm thankful for her hugs, her kisses, her grins, and her baby babble. I'm beyond thankful that she calls me, "Mama" and that we get to go through this beautiful, messy life together, hand in hand!
**A million thanks to Helen Joy George for the gorgeous pictures. This talented lady captured the personality of all of our kids and the truths of our lives right now - tears and all. Be sure to check out her blog! Thank you, sweet friend, for sharing your talents with our family!!
