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Tuesday, February 17, 2009
HOME FOR THREE MONTHS

Maili came home with us exactly three months ago yesterday, and what a three months it has been! Over the past month she has had many more firsts- her first Chinese New Year celebrated in America, her first Cub Scout pinewood derby, her first baby shower, her first horseback ride, and her first Valentine’s Day. January and February have been very busy months for us and Maili has enjoyed being part of the action every step of the way!

Holt’s pinewood derby for scouts was the same day as the Chinese New Year celebration in Marietta, so that turned out to be a really busy day for us trying to make it to both. We met some other adoptive families at a local Chinese restaurant and took pictures of the kids in their traditional Chinese outfits. Aren’t they adorable?

Later in the month we attended a baby shower for Jamie’s cousin, where Maili sat with the other little girls and practiced her best table manners. It’s amazing how far she’s come; a couple of months ago she would not have been able to sit quietly at a table in a restaurant for that amount of time. After that we went out to Jamie’s uncle’s farm, where Maili got her first ride on a horse. She was very excited and kept hugging the horse while she was trying to ride him.

Another first for her this month was Valentine’s day. I don’t think she understood why she was getting gifts of candy, money, and stuffed animals but she thoroughly enjoyed herself while she figured it out. Her sweetheart this year was definitely her PaPa; she didn’t want to let go of his hand long enough to even eat lunch that day!

Now that all of Maili’s medical evaluations are behind us the past month has been pretty uneventful as far as doctor appointments, thank goodness. She has been very healthy and her ears have remained clear after the last round of antibiotics. She has gained 6 pounds since she’s been home and she is beginning to lose the gaunt look she’s had since she came home. She has adjusted very well to preschool and looks forward to seeing her friends and her teachers each day, although she has had trouble keeping up with the class due to her language issues. We met with the school system last week and finalized her eligibility for services through the school system to help her catch up to her peers and we were excited to find a smaller preschool class where she will receive more individual attention. She will be moving to that program next week and I think she will do very well there.

Her speech has really improved and she is putting words together to make sentences now and making her wants and needs known. For example, she will now say “Mei Mei no want hot dog, want chicken” when a couple of months ago she would have just said NO WANT and pushed it away. She is not where she needs to be but she has come so far in such a short period of time that we are excited to see what the future will hold for her. And we have discovered that this girl loves to SING! Constantly. Unfortunately her newest obsession is the ABC song, which she sings over and over and OVER until we all want to scream. But the good news is the more she practices the clearer her speech gets. When she first learned the song it sounded like she was singing it in Chinese but now she is very clear except for the fact that she says “Q , R , SHHHHH, T, U, V… I have no idea why she refuses to say “S” but I know she knows better because she put her finger to her lips and giggles every time she does it.

This little girl has come so far in only three months; we are looking forward to seeing what the next three months will bring. Every day she is learning new things and deepening her bond with us and there are so many little signs of progress that we notice. Before when we would carry her she would not make any attempt to hold on at all, now she clings to our necks as if her life depends on it and lays her head on our shoulders. She approaches us with spontaneous hugs and kisses rather than waiting for us to initiate them and clings to us in crowds rather than trying to run off with random strangers. Pulling in the driveway after a long drive home from South GA last night she got a big smile on her face, sighed contentedly and said Mei Mei HOME. I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Hanging with Holt at the Pinewood Derby

Chinese New Year 2009

Celebrating Chinese New Year

Maili and MeMe

First Horseback Ride

Maili seems to be having more fun than Lola here

PaPa's Princess

Our family, complete at last

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