Week two August 18-24
Kailyn continues to adjust very well-I would say, she is pretty much adjusted to us and our home, with the exception of sleeping alone in her room. This is a pretty normal adjustment to go through from all we’ve read and heard. She doesn’t want to be alone in the room, and if she wakes up, we have to go up to the room and sit with her or lie in the twin bed that is in there until she goes to sleep. She has given us a couple of rough nights this week, but Andrew and I are thinking that we may use some melatonin for a while to help her sleep more soundly, and maybe even shorten her daytime nap to see if that helps. Aside from that, Kailyn is just precious and such a joy! We truly cannot imagine our family without her now.
She has the most delightful smile and laugh, and she squeals when we are outside and she is allowed to run freely! And that is what she does-she just runs with those little arms waving and cackling the whole time! Love it! We are trying to get some good video of this. Other favorite activities are playing upstairs in the playroom when we are all up there together. That is where we have the geotrax train and even though we have to keep her from taking it a part (this is the boys special toy that they work hard to build and design), she loves carrying around the trains and just watching it go. She also still loves playing in the bathtub, and also when Joseph gives her a very slow ride in his razor go-cart around the cul de sac. She would stay on this all day with him I think. As far as luvees go- we have caught her sleeping a few times now snuggling the blanket that is in her bed- the one we sent in her care package and Andrew said he saw her sleeping holding the pink bear we had sent! She is also starting to carry around the musical wind up giraffe we gave to her in China. In China she didn’t want anything to do with blankets or stuffed animals. I think it is a healthy development that she is warming up to them. We have also made a couple of trips to the grocery store this week-one short one to Publix with me, and one to Wal-Mart with both daddy and I. She really does well riding in the buggy and seems to enjoy it but I would never take her, at least not yet, on one of my stock up trips.
She also does very well with teeth brushing now. Pretty much after I wrote the last journal she decided that it wasn’t worth the fussing anymore when we brush her teeth and she opens her mouth readily. Yeah! Also, I can’t say enough how smart Kailyn is. We were told that we would be amazed at how quickly she picks up on the English language, and they were right! She understands several words that are obvious to us (maybe more that we just can’t tell). She definitely knows –no no, come here Kailyn, bring that to mommy please (this came about to teach her not to throw objects), puppy dog, apple juice, milk, outside, all done (and the sign we made up:), want down (and she points down from her booster seat). We also think she has a great memory. Not only does she mimic things that we do-once we have done something together, she remembers what to do the next time. For example, I let her “help” me do laundry by letting her push the wet clothes into the dryer. We did it one time, and the next time I didn’t even need to show her. She has also mimicked washing her face in the tub with water after she watched me wash mine in the sink a few times-but then she also does this with foodJ I saw her also one day take the napkin I had given her (she likes to wipe her own hands and mouth-another things she has picked up) and she reached the kitchen table and started trying to wipe it up. I guess she has seen me do that a few times. It is so fun and I am excited to teach her so many things that she’ll need in life!
One thing that Andrew and I have realized this week though-this baby cannot crawl. She walks great and loves to climb –though she cannot climb up or over anything on her hands and knees. I don’t think this will be a big deal for her, and we will see and occupational therapist on Monday, but it does give us further insight into her past environment (which we were not able to see). She must have not had much opportunity to explore. The likelihood is that she spent much of her time in a bed where she learned to pull up and stand, but never crawl at the younger age. This just makes me more convinced that the “foster” home she was in was just that she was put in a room with one of the residents at the SWI. I am definitely happier she had the attention of one caregiver for 16 months, and I think it has helped her with emotional development and attachment to us for sure! But, I would have thought in a true foster home she would have been able to explore a little bit more.
Lastly, maybe the thing we are most thankful for at this point, is that we see her attachment to us (at least as far as Andrew and I can tell) developing beautifully. We have had several visitors this week in and out, bringing us food and helping in other ways, and with the exception of children, she hasn’t reached for anyone, and really is clingy to me when other adults are around! Yeah!! We are so happy!
Amy
