It has been over a month already!

Well the 2nd of March was the offical one month mark of our new journey with Baelin. It has been miraculous to see her change so much right before our very eyes. Since we have been home she has seemed to take this shell of uncertainty and lay it aside for a more founded realization of family. I had my moments during the past month and a half where I wondered if we did the right thing by her. Then I would catch a smile on that beautiful face of hers and at that moment you could see it in her eyes that she knew she was in a better place.
Baelin would hardly leave mommy's side for the first few weeks and if I picked her up to hold her she would come unglued. That was hard to get use to over time. Then when I least expected it she walked across the room held her hands up and wanted me to pick her up. She layed back against me and fell asleep in my arms. That sealed the deal....... My daughter was with me. Know I can hardly remember a time without her. It is wierd and hard to explain but it feels like she has been with us her entire life. She loves to play with her sisters, and she doesn't mind me loving on her anymore. Now, looking back on the transgormation she went through I would say it happened overnight, but I know it did not. Each day brought a new milestone and then there were those days where we seemed to take a step back, but she has pushed on and made our family what we knew it would be.

Baxley and Blaise love thier new baby sister and love getting in to see her every morning. If we did not pull them back Baelin would never get any sleep. They can not stand her not being up when they are. They have been absolutely wonderful with her and are not jealous or anything. I am very proud of them. They waited as long as we did for her to get here and they have been just as nervous, excited, exhausted, and enlightened as we have.

Although we feel like we are getting a good grip on a lot of Baelin's habits and attitudes there are a few things that we still don't know about her. She makes hand jesters when she wants something or when she gets aggrevated and it could be the same hand jesters for both or different ones, she has about 3 distinct jesters in all. It is almost like she is signing but how would she know how to do that? Then there are her few word like sounds that she makes for everything that we have come to conclude is just her way of cussing us in chinese! She has started blowing kisses, playing peeka boo, saying thank you, and just recently pointing at nose when we say it. I did get her to say Dadda the other day several times but she has not put the connection on me yet. Hearing her say Dadda though was enough, I promise you. Oh, the other strange thing is she only poops at night. Sometime during the night she will fill that diaper to the breaking point! You don't need the morning coffee any longer I assure you. This wakes you up just fine! I am talking break out the fire hose and get to cleaning. LOL

I will have to tell on myself though. Tonight I was getting her ready for bed and had went to change her into her jammies. She had so much fun getting her clothes off and playing I decieded to let her run around for a little bit in her Hiney Suit. She took off across the house just babbling and laughing and it was amusing for a while, that is until she got tired, looked up at mommy while rubbing her eyes and the poop hit the tile floor. Yep, I was in trouble....my idea....my mess to clean. ......Yeah! So I did what any loving parent would do....I rubbed her nose in it and then told her bad girl and put her outside. Just kidding...I ran her to the bathroom for a little bit earlier than planned on bath. Then back to the clean up on isle 5. So needless to say that eveyday is an adventure, and I look forward to the next one.

On another thought while I am babbling. I have already been asked if we regret taking her from her home and making her adjust to our lives. As if? I told them that she was being forced to live a life that wasn't hers before we got to her. We went and brought her back to the home God intended for her to be in. People who don't understand the reasons behind adoption, or international adoption are missing out on the bigger picture of what giving a life to a child is. The absolute difference you can make in the life of a child and consequently the life of you and your family is far worth the small sacrifices you may face in the process. If you are conseidering adoption in the future my advice is to jump in head first and offer your family to a child who does not have one.