Adopting a child is fraught with unknowns. I find that unknowns can cause a HUGE amount of anxiety. I also find, though, that once there are too many unknowns to count there is an eerie calm that spread over the situation pretty quickly. I don't care for surprises, as a rule, and I certainly don't like all that much change and/or unknown quantities. I'm sure I'm the poster child for some sort of disorder in which a person would prefer a pretty routine existences with only occasional punctuations of excitement.
Adopting, though, is not something for the faint of heart. Or weak in will. And, it certainly isn't something to be entered into lightly. Because once you seem to be on an even keel, something else is bound to pop up and say, "Hello!" and you think to yourself--seriously?!
Right now, I could not be enjoying M3 more. She is helpful and joyful. Her "noise for noise's sake" activities have calmed considerably and she seems much more at ease with her surroundings and the fact that we are in this together from now until forever.
Watching her learn is like watching a toddler in fast forward. This past month, we have gone from one word communication to multi-word phrases including things like "please" and "thank you." One of my favorite things she is saying right now is, "See you in the morning!" I say this to her at night as I'm leaving her room after tucking her into bed. She says it anytime she is saying goodbye to me. She and my husband just left the house to take some paperwork to his employer and she said, "See you in the morning!" as she raced out the door. So funny.
She and her sisters are getting along much better too. Everyone is finding their spot. They spent a nearly silent hour together last night (meaning I didn't hear a peep) stringing bead necklaces and
earrings in one of their rooms.
We are looking forward to the arrival of the bunk beds for the little girls (which will be situated as two, individual twin beds because of M2's broken leg) and the completion of the move of M2 and M3 into the bigger of the girls' bedrooms and M1 into her own room again.
We found this particular model on ebay and with free shipping and the double drawer option, we couldn't pass it up.
I think the girls will really like setting up their room and having these new beds too. I've had their nice bedding sets ready for two twin beds for a LONG time--way before M3 ever came home--and I'm looking forward to putting them on the beds.
Sometime very soon the adoption announcements will be completed. I finally was able to snap a
decent photo of the girls together in their traditional Ethiopian clothing that was presented to us at M3's goodbye ceremony at her care center.
Absolutely beautiful things and they all looked lovely.
It is not the easiest to have all eyes open and all faces smiling when you have a little one who finds everything hysterical and another who is on crutches. Luckily, I can always count on M1 to turn in a picture perfect performance and rarely have a photo of her that goes in the 'goof' pile.
May will be a busy month for us. M3 has another visit with the medical professionals at the International Adoption Center. They called today to share more lab results with us.
M3 will be treated for a bug she picked up from soil--not sure when or how as she is still fastidious about wearing shoes ALWAYS. We also have to conduct some tests to see if her recent treatment for other intestinal bugs worked. And, her recent blood work sent to the CDC shows that at some point, she has had malaria. Not sure where she is in all that right now, but that's what follow-up appointments are for anyway.
We also received a call from the girls' school that they wish to screen M3 for kindergarten in a little over a week. Kind of nervous for that, but hoping she will be in a good mood and show them all her skills and talents. I find, though, that teachers are sometimes really good at seeing through walls little ones put up and finding their skill sets. How is it I'm more nervous about the school tests than I am about the medical ones? Brother.
M3 went to the primaries with my husband today and received the "I voted!" sticker they give out to little kids. She was very excited about the sticker. I was excited that she had the chance to do something that the other two girls did when smaller. I can only imagine what kinds of questions she'll have come November. She'll know so many more words then and her curiosity is sure to produce some good ones.
We're ticking things off the eviction list for M3--goodbye intestinal bugs! Goodbye other things in there that we can't see but shouldn't be riding inside a little person's body! At least nothing has affected her appetite or sleep or play schedule so far.
We will keep you posted about our coming adventures!
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