My B'Elanna,
You have had a very hard month. This month, you moved from your foster home back to the Zhengzhou CWI and then a week later, you were brought to me... a tall white woman with brown hair who couldn't stop hugging and kissing you. You just took it all in, watched and analyzed everything. You cried hard for a couple of minutes, but mostly just watched.
Our first day together, you showed me how smart and meticulous you are. I had to go to a paperwork meeting soon after we got back to the hotel after Gotcha Day... and you WOULD NOT stay with Grammy in the hotel room. So, you went with me. To keep you entertained, I pulled out some sticky notes I had and you grabbed one of the bald-point pens and started drawing and writing on one piece after the other. The thing that amazed most of us in the room was that you were holding the pen like an adult would and would draw VERY precisly on the papers and then move them into a very specific stack. Later, as we were walking around the hotel and we were climbing stairs, you showed us that as long as one of us is holding your hand (or you have a railing) you can climb stairs one foot over the other.... just like an adult does!!! Some other things we found out right away is that you were VERY attached to your shoes... in fact, you would not be without them. When you took a bath, they had to be sitting on the toilet where you could see them and then they were on your feet waking AND sleeping. A couple of days later, we were on a tour that took us to a Souvenir place and you IMMEDIATELY found these blue Bug Crocks. You carried them around the store and when the assistant tried to take them and hold them for us until I could pay for them.... you threw a fit. When we got to Guangzhou and were at Shamain Island (Souvenir shopping again), we went into another store with some squeaky shoes.... you, of course, immediately chose the very cute pink one's that you wanted. We started calling you Imelda Marcos.
Your favorite foods have been Watermelon and Yogurt. You will try almost anything, and you are very clear when you DO NOT like something and when you are Done Eating. This is VERY Unusual in Internationally Adopted kids, usually you guys eat until you get sick. Obviously, your foster mother did a very good job of feeding you and teaching you that you will always have food available.
This month, you have also met a lot of family members and done Wonderfully... didn't go Mommy Shopping once. You met Grammy on Gotcha Day... but didn't really want her to do much with you for the first 5 days or so. She could be nearby, and you would sit at the table with her when I went to get you food at the buffets... but you wouldn't stay in the room alone or on her lap. That all changed on our plane ride to Guangzhou. That is when you found out how FUN Grammy can be... and then she became one of your favorite people in the World. When we arrived at SEATAC... after a horrible 14 hour flight... you met Auntie Bobbie (who you call Nai Nai since her son, my cousin and his wife are going your designated guardians if something happens to me) and Pam Andrews (a very close family friend who you call Auntie Pam). You immediately took to Pam... before we even left the airport. And you were in Nai Nai's lap as soon as we got to Grammy's house. Infact, you call out Nai Nai ALL THE TIME... and love to go visit her. When we got to Missoula... and your new home... you met your Tanta Noonie and Uncle Daryl. You were a bit cautious at first, but you got over that VERY quickly... especially since you had a bunch of toys to play with and a yard to explore! Lastly, you met our dog, Posideon!!! I was very concerned that you would be terrified of him, especially since that was your reaction to Grammy's dog Charlie... and he is a Pug. Posideon is a big black lab. We picked him up on our road trip from Tacoma to Missoula. You didn't scream and holler like we were expecting... instead, you watched and observed him and then you pet him. By now, you pet and hug on him A LOT... especially when you are supposed to be going to sleep at night. I forsee a long and happy friendship!
You came to me knowing the works Momma, Hello and Bye-Bye. Your first understandable English word was Shoes... not surprising! From there you learned socks and milk and Grammy. You have been picking up words left and right AND learning some of the signs. Right now, you mostly just parrot the words I say to you... but once in awhile... you use the correct English word. I can't wait to see what the next few months will bring. I imagine by Christmas, you will be talking up a storm... and I CAN'T WAIT!!!!
You are just AMAZING. I believe you Attached to me almost immediately... now we are working on Bonding. You and I are both very stubborn and there are just some rules that you HAVE to learn... whether you want to or not. So we have butted heads a few times.... but we will get there.
I LOVE YOU!!
Mommy
