Comments on our Belated One Year Adoption Anniversary

This is way overdue, since our Adoption Day anniversary was actually August 30, and Sept. 11 was the celebration of being home in Canada for a year.  I wanted to share some pics to compare, and talk a bit about how Evie has progressed.

From the photos, you can see the physical changes, and of course how well she has settled into being a member of our family.

She has added so much to our family.  It hasn't always been an easy year, what with the natural demands of a baby and now toddler, but the good times definitely outweigh the harder moments.

Our little girl is a talker.  Even though it isn't always intelligible, she loves to chat and try out new words.  She has started putting three words together in a sentence, things like "Eeegie go too".  Besides "No", the word "too" has become a word of power for her.  Evie too.  Include me along with those boys please.  I want to have what they're having, do what they're doing, go where they're going.  I don't care that there's dangers, I have to try it too. And I don't understand when Mommy says No!

I don't know her exact weight, but a couple of weeks ago it was about 24 lb, 11.2 kg, I think.  We were at the vet's to pick up Lola's toothpaste and I plopped Evie on the handy scale in the waiting room!  She's about 84 - 85 cm, 33 -  33 1/2", (she wiggles around a fair bit, so it's hard to get an accurate dimension), and I am pleased to see her outgrowing clothes and shoes.  She's not chubby, but has a nice, sturdy figure. 

Eating is sporadic; a toddler's palate.  She eats what we eat, and I have taken to sneaking good foods into my cooking, a la Jessica Seinfeld.  She has a great cookbook out, called Deceptively Delicious, and I find it very handy.  Evie cannot tolerate dairy, which isn't a bad thing really, since Sean can't either, so I'm used to dealing with that.  No ear infections, or chronic snotty noses either.  So far anyways.

Loves her brothers, for the most part anyhow.  Sean still wants to touch her eyelids and do things to irritate her, like put her toys up high out of reach, but he also will do things for her.  Yesterday, for instance, at a school meeting, he got out a box of plastic shapes for her to play with, and when it was time to go, put her socks and shoes on, and got her into her coat.  She will give him hugs and blow kisses.  Skyler is who she will run to when she needs respite from Sean's teasing.  He can get her to sleep, deal with her crankiness and loves to take her along to do his newspapers, or shopping.  She will happily sit with him on the couch to watch the teen TV shows, and let Mummy get dinner ready in peace.  He is very good with children, and we are fortunate to have his help.

Now, she is "helping" me as I sit and write, by bringing me bits of hair and dirt (I don't know from where, honestly!!), saying "dirty, dirty".  She loves to clean, but makes up for it in spades with her other antics that can leave a formerly clean room in a shambles!  She has taken to picking off leaves of plants, which definitely does not make Mummy happy!!  She loves to water them too, so I give her a bit of H20 in a watering can and let her go to town (then generally follow with a ShamWow).  Ya, she is a handful at times, but it's very interesting to watch her patterns of play, compared to the boys.  Sean of course, had very eccentric play at this age, sliding papers in and out of a crack for ages at a time, carefully placing items on each corner of a table, flicking lights on and off forever.  It was unique and interesting to observe.  But it is a relief for me to see Evie doing the typical developmental things, such as stacking blocks and playing with cars and dolls in a conventional manner.  She is like Skyler was, in that there's always a running dialogue going, either humming or babbling, or trying out new words.  I always know where she is in the house, and if she's quiet, well then I know there's trouble!!

She is showing more and more love for us, coming specifically to cuddle and snuggles right in.  She seems to have attached very well.  At night she still prefers to roll away and be by herself, but always needs early morning snuggles (sometimes a little too early for Mommy) to start her day.

"Boof" (the taggy blanket) is still very important.  She uses Boof to get to sleep, and as a general comfort tool, although I don't encourage Boof to leave the bed (I'm deathly afraid of losing it!).  I don't know the implications of having a toddler sucking on cloth tags, but it's got to be better for their teeth than a soother.  I am very glad that those are not popular in China, and our girls never grew attached to them.

So all in all, she is growing up, and is a happy, contented girl.  Everyone says I'll pay later, when she's about 13, but I've got 11 good years in front of me to enjoy first!

Anne.