Uh-ohs and Firsts

I wrapped Neah in a blanket and rocked her while we both watched the flames of the fire in the fireplace. That was a first for her, I'm sure. But, there's been so many firsts. Most of her life, right now, is brand new and wondrous.

This is the most rewarding and joyful part of adoption, watching a child with so little life experience discover family, love, safety, food, and the world around them. Every day is a string of adventures and delights for Neah, and in turn, they are delights and adventures for us as we watch her observe, discern, and discover.

I can't imagine our life without her; it seems as though she's always been here, and I swear that if I could just think hard enough, I would remember giving birth to her. She just belongs here, and it's our delight, blessing, and pleasure that she is here.

She's a lot of fun. Alan says that she's just like the rest of the adopted kids---she loves the refrigerator! She has discovered that she loves chips, she LOVES tuna fish sandwiches, and she is loving all of the attention she is getting. She and Sayer are buddies and play well together most of the time. Every single day she asks about going in a car, because she so loves to ride in the car. And, we've discovered her talent---she LOVES the Wii game "Just Dance" and is very good at it! This is the one skill that she is far better at than Sayer is! But, if you can imagine a child who has almost been locked in a closet, but now is free, that's what her life is like right now. She has a curious twinkle in her eye at all times. Car rides, water dispensers, shopping carts, and jumping on the bed are all exuberant thrills to Neah.

She has begun Music Therapy and loves it so much. The therapist says that she is very smart and was so surprised at how well she did. We continue to learn that she is, indeed, very smart, but her speech is very, very bad. She also is just so behind on life experiences! But, she is just blooming and blossoming in front of our very eyes! She is learning to understand some English. A very remarkable thing is that she has turned into a chatterbox! We don't know what she is saying, but she just chatters on! The orphanage had said that she almost NEVER talked before we came, and she has multiplied her talking 100 times over since being home!

She is such a sweet girl! I've heard of other people talk about the honeymoon stage, but I don't think I've ever gone through it before. Usually, things are kind of tough at first, but having Neah has been so, so pleasant and easy. Maybe it's a honeymoon, maybe it's just Neah. She is extremely pleasant. Our first weeks at home have been so very wonderful. All of us have just been going through that wonderful falling-in-love stage; and, really, things couldn't be better right now. She does have significant delays and speech problems, and is indiscriminate with her love and hugs (that bad ole RAD, again!) but she is just a little princess. I can't believe God has blessed us with such an awesome child.


Since she is behind in motor skills, she is much like a toddler and has so many little accidents. My kids say, "She has too many uh-oh's in her day! Like a baby, "uh-oh" was the first English word that she learned to say, and she has occasion to say it every few minutes! We all get a kick out of it!

HOWEVER, there's one discovery and uh-oh she made that broke my heart! She went into the bathroom with hair, she came out of the bathroom with very little hair. Somehow, she found hair-cutting scissors and decided to do her own hair. There was nothing left to do but to just shave it all off.
Well, it's a memory we'll always have! Alan says that she really is extra beautiful because she's still beautiful, even with no hair! Here are a few pictures of how she cut her own hair. These aren't great pictures (one of my kids took them) but you'll get the point! Prepare to cry!

Big, Heavy, Deep Sigh!!! These pictures don't really show how bad it really was. The beauty salon said it's one of the worst cases they've had! Soon, I'll post another picture of her buzz!

Well, my life has been a blaze of happy and crazy 'going-ness' and 'doing-ness.' Today I had a really sweet moment during one of my running-to-Wal-mart errands. I pushed the cadillac shopping cart that has room for two bodies to be strapped onto a big, blue plastic double seat---right between the handle and the cart. As I pushed through produce I looked down and grinned at the hot pink crocheted hat bobbing next to the midnight black head of Sayer. They are quite the pair, those two, and just the same size, too! Just as I was glancing at their darling heads, Sayer leaned over in silence and gave Neah a big, unexpected hug.

Oh, what did we ever do without her?