3 Months Home

Yesterday marked three months since we arrived home with our little girl. I thought this would be a good time for a little update on her.

She started going to physical and occupational therapy at the end of April. For the past month she has been going twice a week to therapy. We love her therapists and it has been awesome to see how much she has developed in the past month. Physically she is getting much stronger. Her balance has improved significantly. When she first came home she was falling at least 10 times a day. I was very concerned about how much she was tripping, running into things, etc. Now she rarely falls and I have seen her on more than one occasion catch herself if she is slipping. She is able to walk up stairs alternating feet  and can now ride a tricycle with only a little help. Her therapist said she can throw and catch a ball on a four year old level.  In OT she has gone from being able to stack 3 blocks to now consistently stacking 7 or 8. She can also string fruit loops all by herself. Her fine motor skills are getting so much better. These things may not seem like a big deal, but for us they are reasons to celebrate.

She was afraid to sit on the swing in therapy until her brothers came one week and showed her how fun it is. Now she loves it! She is not afraid of many things these days.

This month Mia met some of her family members for the first time. She also took her first overnight trip. We went to my parents' house for 4 nights. I was a little worried about how she would do being away from home, but she did great.

 While we were there we went to a state park with a beach and a sprayground.  Mia loved every minute of this outing. She had so much fun playing in the sand, finding shells, and playing in the water.

She loves to be outside. She would play outside all day if I let her. I wish we had a swimming pool because it is hot outside in Louisiana. Her favorite thing to do when we go to the park is swing. She loves, loves, loves, to swing!

On the way home from my parents' house we made a stop to visit some very special friends. Mia and Eve Meaza had a little reunion. It took just a minute for them to warm up to each other and then they were playing just like old times. We couldn't get them to pose together, but I did capture a few pics of them playing.

 Eve Meaza is telling Mia how it is. I love how she is pointing that little finger. She is such a cutie!!

I am so thankful our dear friends live only a couple of hours away. Hopefully this is just the first of many reunions. 

So for the most part we are now out of our cocoon. We are doing lots of fun things and life is pretty normal. We even went to VBS some last week. I try to be really sensitive to her when we are away from home and if we need to leave because she is overwhelmed or tired we do. She is attached to me and Justin and clearly knows we are her parents. We still don't like for others to hold her or hug her too much. Although, she knows who mommy and daddy is we know that attachment is a process and we still have a ways to go. 

Mia is enjoying having her brothers home for the summer for the most part. They constantly make her laugh and she just adores them. It has been a bit of an adjustment though, as she has to learn to take turns and share her toys and her mommy's attention. 

 These two are either best buddies or worst enemies. They love each other very much, but they also both like to get their way. It can be tough on this mama at times. They are both such passionate kids. When they are happy they are oh so happy, but when they are upset they know how to show it.

One thing she is still struggling with is the tantrums. Some days she only has one or two and other days it is much more than that. I know it is somewhat normal for a toddlers to throw fits, but I have never heard a child scream the way she does when she does not get her way. It can be so hard to watch and listen to at times. I would really appreciate your prayers for this. I want to always respond in love and grace, but sometimes it's hard.

These three months home have been wonderful, even with the tough moments. The Lord is healing her body and her heart and I can see growth every day. We are so glad the Lord chose us to be this precious girl's parents. 

So, this ended up being much more than a little update. I guess I am making up for all the time that I haven't blogged in the past month. 

Summer is Here

Summer break is here and in full swing. We have been very busy as evident by my lack of posts. I want to post some pictures of Sawyer's Kindergarten graduation.

He was happy to pose for us before the ceremony.

 I am so proud of my big Kindergarten grad!! He has had a great year! I was tearing up this day, because I just can't believe my first born baby is so big. Where did the time go?

 Mia and Daddy at the greduation.

 So far we are enjoying summer. We have been swimming, eating lots of frozen treats, spending time
with family.
                    
Jax is my little fish.

We introduced Miss Mia to the big pool on Memorial Day. She had so much fun playing and splashing in the water. She even decided to be brave and jump off the diving board.

Goodbye Pre-K

Jaxon's first year of big school is officially over. He had his circus program today. All of the children looked so cute in their shirts and did a great job. 

 Jax is really going to miss his teacher, Mrs. Book! We all love her so much. She was Sawyer's teacher last year. Thankfully, we see her at church every week.

 I am so proud of my big kindergarten boy!!

 Yesterday, Mia and I went to his water day at school.

 He was so good with Mia taking her around to the water slides and pools. He really is so sweet with her (most of the time).

Sawyer has Kindergarten graduation on Monday and then our summer officially begins. Yay!!

My Mother's Day

Wow! May is a busy month. We have been celebrating lots of fun things like Mother's Day, the end of school, and my birthday. So, I am just now getting around to posting about Mother's Day. We started thinking and praying about our daughter in Africa over 2 years ago, so I am beyond thankful that she was home this year to celebrate with us. This Mother's Day was extra special because my daughter was finally home. It was also a little bittersweet as I think about the woman who first loved her, her birthmother. I have also been praying for this woman for over 2 years. I have never met her and probably never will this side of Heaven, but she is very much a part of my life. I wish I could hug her and tell her how much I love our girl.

 I have some pretty amazing and silly kids. I'm so glad I get to be their mommy.

This was also an extra special weekend because I got to spend it with my mom and grandma. They came for a visit to celebrate my 32nd birthday and to watch Mia Grace be dedicated at church. 

 Here was our best attempt at a 4 generation picture of all the girls on Sunday morning.

 Six years ago, we dedicated Sawyer on my first Mother's Day. It was such a special day with my then 6 week old baby and I will never forget it. This year we dedicated our three year old daughter to the Lord. We committed before our church to tell her about Jesus, raise her in church, and pray continuously for her.

 It was a special day and I'm so glad my family was there to be a part of it.

I am thankful for all of the amazing mothers in my life and I pray that I will follow their examples as I raise our three children in the Lord.

2 Months Home

Yesterday marked 2 months since we arrived home with Mia Grace. We have been a family of 5 for 2 months now! Things have really started to feel " normal". 

 When I watch my 3 children play I have such a feeling that this was meant to be. She fits in our family so well. She adores Sawyer and looks to him as her protector. He is so good at his role of big brother to a precious little sister. She and Jax are so much alike. I have even had so many people tell me they look a like. He teaches her things like how to do somersaults and crazy dances and she thinks he is hilarious. Even when he's not here she will mimic his dances and faces and say "Jaxon" to let me know she is thinking of him.

 We visited mother's day out this week. I am planning to teach again next year (2 days a week) and have Mia in my class. She had so much fun playing with the other kids and eating a popsicle. I think it will be a great fit for her next year.

In the last 2 months she has learned so much. Her therapy is coming along well and we are seeing improvement in several areas already.
It's fun to experience so many firsts with her as we introduce her to her new world. Happy 2 months home baby girl! We love you!

Busy Week

I can't believe it is only Wednesday. This week has been jam packed. Monday we had Mia's PT and OT eval all morning. She was so exhausted that she fell asleep as soon as we got in the car.

Tuesday, we stayed home all morning and worked on some of the things the therapists suggested. I try to work with her most mornings when we are home anyway. This week I let her play with shaving cream for the first time and she loves it. We practiced throwing and catching a ball and she learned to catch her ball. Yay Mia! I was so excited when she first did it and she was pretty proud of herself too. 

Tuesday afternoon I took all three kids to the dentist. Thankfully, my grandma helped me out and took Jaxon for the first half and then stayed with us in the waiting room until they were all finished. Mia did well and her teeth looked good. Unfortunately, her brothers had one cavity each so we will be back to the dentist next week to have those taken care of.

Mia had so many firsts this week. We didn't have any appointments today, but we joined Sawyer for his last field trip of the year, and Mia went to the zoo for the first time. I didn't capture many of Mia's firsts on camera this week, but I did take a few pictures at the zoo today. 

 Monkeys are her favorite animal and she kept making monkey sounds all day. Monkeys are Sawyer's favorite animals, too.

 She really liked looking at all of the animals. She also learned some new words. Today she said alligator, wallaby, kangaroo, and warthog for the first time. It was fun to be able to teach her some new words.

 Sawyer was so happy to have his sister with him on his field trip. He is such a good big brother. He even shared some of his lunch with her after she ate all of hers.

I'm glad I got to spend the day with my oldest and youngest babies.

Tomorrow Mia has a hearing recheck appointment. She had fluid in her hears last time, so it was hard for the doctor to get an accurate result. I am praying her ears are cleared up and that Mia will pass this time. Then, she will have her first therapy appointment. I'm hoping we can stay home and rest on Friday! 

Adjustment

The question we get most often since Mia has been home is how is she adjusting. So, I thought it would be good to write a post about how things are going with all of us.

First, a little update. Mia had her PT and OT evaluation today. Things went well and I am really glad we are about to get started. She basically has very low muscle tone all over her whole body (hypotonia), so we will be working to help her strengthen her muscles. I have to say it was a bit of a reality check for me to see all of the things that she needs help with. We have been focusing on all that she can do, but we still have a long way to go. Thankfully, she is home now and we can begin to help her little body heal.

So, as far as how she is adjusting, I would say she is doing really well for a child whose world has been completely turned upside down. She is doing much better than I expected her to be doing at this point.
She is a great sleeper and has been from the start. I think she goes so much all day that she is just exhausted and ready for nap and bed time each day. She is also a pretty good eater. When she first came home she would eat everything we put in front of her, but she has become a picky eater in the last couple of weeks. She will now only eat her favorite things and turns her nose up at everything else. Hopefully this won't last long.

Attachment and bonding is going well. She is affectionate with Justin and I and loves to be held. When we go somewhere she sticks close to us and looks to us for approval before she tries something new. We have started to venture out of our little "cocoon" and she seems to be doing really well. She loves to go to the park and play on the playground at church. She enjoys being around other children. I always stay close by while she plays and she will check with me every few minutes to get a hug or a word of affirmation. She still seems to be somewhat uncomfortable when adults come to our house. Our home is her safe place and I think she feels somewhat threatened when new people come into her space, so we are still limiting visitors. We just try to be sensitive to her signals as much as possible.

She gets along well with her brothers, but they do aggravate each other sometimes. They are brothers and sister after all. She adores Sawyer and he pretty much lets her do whatever she wants. She thinks Jaxon is hilarious and they play and fight like they have known each other forever. She also loves her daddy! She gets so excited when he gets home from work. She makes sure we all stop whatever we are doing to greet him with hugs and kisses. She will seriously make the boys stop playing their video games to go and greet daddy. Justin has been helping out so much especially with the boys in the evenings and I am so thankful for him.

I feel like my life has changed more than I expected it too. I have been a stay at home mom for almost 5 years now, but I was a stay at home mom who taught mother's day out, went to Bible study, taught Sunday school, and served with our church preschool ministry. I was a stay at home mom who was rarely at home. Now, I am home all the time. It has been great and I'm so thankful for the time alone with my girl, but it has also been lonely and isolating at times. Mia is a toddler who is learning language and learning about her world, so our everyday life is not always easy. She throws tantrums daily and I am trying to show mercy and grace while teaching boundaries at the same time. It's not always easy, but it is worth it. She is such a blessing to us and we are thankful she is doing so well.

Here are some recent pictures of what we have been up to.

 Mia and Jaxon at Sawyer's first t-ball game of the season.

 Justin didn't have to work last Thursday, so we picked up the boys from school early to have some fun family time. We had pizza and icees at the mall and then played at a playground by our house. Mia loved her first icee!

 She loves to swing with mommy.

 Here is a picture of a crazy moment just so you know we are not always smiling and happy. Jax was bugging Mia and she was trying to get out of his grasp. I was just trying to hold on to her so she didn't hurt herself.

 Sweet girl with her daddy.

We love our little Ethiopian princess!!!