11 Days Home…

Okay so I’m not blogging religiously now that we are home, partly because we were in survival mode there for the first few days and partly because there is so much to say and I don’t really want to say any of it. My other adoptive mom’s can back me up on this, it’s just so draining to consider all that has transpired in the past 3 weeks. It’s good, but it is emotionally draining. But in an effort to preserve for Hope and for Noah and Eden what it was like to expand our family to five, I will try to collect some thoughts here and now. I also will start adding in things about Noah and Eden as well. Let’s start with some lists, I just saw another adoptive mom do this and I am totally borrowing her idea!

What Hope Likes:

• Her bottles: and it doesn’t matter what we put in them…different flavored rice cereals, baby food, vitamins, melatonin…
• Her Daddy
• Her Mommy
• Her Brother
• Her Sister
• Her Grandma & Grandpa Pierce
• Walking, walking, walking
• Her thumb
• Her stacking cups
• The Bath or any kind of water play
• Her Daddy
• Outside
• Escalators
• The mall
• Little People Farm
• Exploring
• Cuddles and kisses from Mommy, Daddy and Brother (Eden is not interested in doing this)
• Back and head scratches
• The color red (she is a true Chinese girl)
• Peek-a-boo
• Itsy-bitsy Spider
• Music
• Clapping puzzle pieces with knobs on them together
• Marbles (DHR don’t kill me…she puts nothing near her mouth except her thumb)
• Pictures of herself and Eden
• Did I mention HER DADDY

What Hope Dosen’t Like

• Anything soft, fluffy, or fuzzy, all blankets and stuffed animals are out
• Anyone new touching her
• A blanket over her at nap/bedtime…a big no-no
• Going down for nap or bedtime (but only for a few minutes)
• Leaving the bath
• Us messing with her lips (scab duty)
• Staying in one place
• Occasionally putting clothes on her or taking off her shoes will upset her

What Hope Can Say (which really is impressive if you saw her palate.)

• Out
• Up
• Uh-oh
• Off
• Uh-huh

That’s about it. Seeing as you really don’t need a palate to produce those sounds.

What Hope Can Sign

• Shoes (her favorite sign)
• Bed
• Mommy
• Daddy
• Tree
• Milk
• Thirsty
• Rhinoceros (don’t ask, just go with it)
• Turtle
• Finished

She can’t sign “No” but she knows what it means if directed towards her. She is learning “water”, “bath time”, “play”, “diaper change”, and “light”. She mostly knows them when they are signed to her but doesn’t produce them yet. Not bad for a child who is developmentally an 18th month old and only been with us for about 21 days.