New words

Tonight I was playing on the computer when Kate insisted that she sit in my lap. I put the computer aside, and when she climbed up and got situated, she pulled the computer up on her lap. This girl loves electronics. She cracks me up. More than once she has fooled around with my computer or camera until I had to figure out how to fix what she did.

Anyway, tonight Tim grabbed the camera (after he wiped the drool off) and got some video of her playing and saying her extensive list of spoken words. She loves this game, which our favorite speech therapist (hi Jennifer!) says will make her a great learner when the time comes.

(Please ignore the laundry piled behind me waiting to be folded. I can't even remember how long it has been there... did I tell you that I am a lazy slob who is tired of housework?) (Also, "hau-la" sp? is Chinese for "that's enough". The sign we are doing is for "stop". She sometimes gives this sign to her brothers or other children and says a hearty "hau-ma!" when somebody is bugging her. It's very funny.)

I can't even imagine what my life would be like without her at this point. I love to watch her grow and learn new things. She is amazing.

One thing that we have been working with her on is how to play with toys. She just hasn't had a lot of experience with toys, and so Will has taken it on as part of his job. The other day I went in her room and Will was "reading" to her on her bed and showing her how to hold baby dolls. I told our early intervention people that evidently I don't need developmental intervention - I have Will! Ben has also been reading to her. Last night she brought me her doll and a book that Ben has been reading about the Christmas story. She did the sign for "baby doll", and wanted me to hold the baby and read the book to them. When I got to the picture of baby Jesus, I pointed it out to her and did the sign for baby. She then did the sign for Jesus! I can't get over how quickly she is picking things up. And what a wonderful sign to learn!

On Sunday we all went to Ben and Will's Christmas program at church. They "sang" two songs. I put that in quotation marks because they were much more interested in making eyes at Kate and waving to her from the stage. I'm not sure how much singing they actually did. As we were leaving to go to the program I told her that we were going to see the boys. We were going to go in the car and hear her brothers sing. While I was talking, she did the signs for boys, car, brothers, and sing. Smart as a tack, I tell you.

Anyway, I am blessed beyond measure. Do we still struggle with bedtime attachment issues? Yes. Are we making big time progress? Yes again. I can't believe how blessed we are with this child. As we work through our relationship, I am learning more about myself and my other two children. For those of you who are seriously considering adoption (I know you are out there), do your research and educate yourself on attachment issues. (Read Attaching in Adoption, or Toddler Adoption: The Weaver's Craft - I will loan them to you:) One of the blogs I follow is by a former orphanage volunteer. She occassionally has parents write in, and she then shares these stories on her blog. They are often heartbreaking. The most recent parent's story is a tough read that talks about severe attachment issues, but her faith and persistence are amazing. So is God's healing power.

As an end note, I am actually getting excited about Christmas this year. I am usually quite Bah Humbug as I feel the holiday is too much about presents and logging miles on my odometer rather than love and peace. But this year, we are cutting down on our traveling, and we are scaling back the gifts, so I have high hopes of celebrating Christ's birth instead of my VISA card.