8 weeks home!

It's hard to believe. 8 weeks! But, you know what? It feels like Ava has always been with us.
I think back to the day, the moment, when we met her. In a cold room with a white floor, white walls and a white ceiling. A couple sofas. Four families waiting. Then, in walks a nanny carrying a baby. You couldn't see the baby for all the layers of clothes so I couldn't tell she was ours until the woman announced "Feng Ling Xiu". She handed her to me and ran out the door. I remember feeling only a bundle of warmth. Surely, there was a child in there. Then I saw her face. The rest is a little blurry.
But what I recall the most: she was afraid of her Daddy. Ava didn't see men in the orphanage.

Fast forward 8 weeks. When she hears Baba (aka Dada) come home, she squeals. She runs. She can't wait to give him a hug. And, it's not just her Baba - she loves all the boys in her life. Her big brother. Her uncles. Her Poppy (Grandpa and Papa John will get their due soon enough). But, there's something about her Uncle David. Boy, does she LOVE him!

Ava has changed so much since we came home. No longer the shy, quiet baby who would hide her face in my shoulder and hold onto my car keys for some sort of comfort. Today, she is happy, lively, LOUD (just ask the people who work at Walgreen's).
One of her favorite things to do is pick up her brother and sister from school. She loves seeing all the other kids and really loves for Jackson to carry her to the car.

He has become quite the big brother. So patient, so helpful, so caring. I knew that about him all along but it's so special to see him with Ava. He changed her diaper the other day - I didn't even ask him to do it. He noticed his baby sister was wet and just took care of her.

Molly is embracing her role as a big sister. She wants to help so much but her fervor is sometimes a little too much. She's getting better, though. Molly and calm are two words that have never really gone together. But she can be so sweet with Ava.

I am so proud of Molly and Jackson. They couldn't love another sister any more than they love Ava.

It's not all perfect, though. Yes, Molly has hit her sister with her DS. Jackson often tells me what to do (and, I think, tells Grammy when I don't listen), and Kevin and I aren't getting a ton of rest. At the orphanage, Ava never had to sleep in a room alone. She has her own room now and falls asleep with Kevin or me there with her. We leave after she's sleeping. It used to take an hour or two to get her to sleep. Now, it's more like 10-20 minutes. During the night, she'll wake up alone and scared so one of us takes her to the extra bedroom and she falls right back to sleep. There have been rough nights, though. I'll tell you: you haven't LIVED until you've spent the night with a toddler in a toddler bed.

Ava no longer eats everything - she's become quite the picky eater. She does have a particular love for rice. Fried rice, red rice, plain white rice, any kind of rice. Her appetite has calmed down quite a bit. She now eats a normal toddler-size serving. Finally, she's realized food will always be there when she wants it.

She came to us speaking only the mandarin words for mama, daddy and big brother. Today, her vocabulary is growing all the time. She can say:

Mama and Mommy
Dada (though she mostly calls Kevin Baba)
Jackson
Molly
Ava
no (often no, no, no!)
go
yes
bye-bye
up
shoes
thank you
eat
water
milk
apple
banana
OK
book
buckle
Elmo
Barney
phone
baby
I you (I love you)
D (Uncle David)
night-night

Tomorrow is Mother's Day. Jackson has taken my order for breakfast in bed. Molly can't wait to help him. Ava might sleep past 6:00. Whatever the day brings, I know I am truly blessed.