Settling In

It's been such an amazing week.

Danielle has settled into the family as though she has always been here. It is almost surreal - I have to remind myself that she has only been with us a few short weeks.

She has adjusted from the jet lag. She is sleeping with no problems all night, in her own room, and wakes up with a smile and a hug for each of us. She is very loving and has a ton of energy! She is not speaking much English yet, but seems to understand almost everything we say. She still babbles on and on in Chinese, with big expressive eyes, and just giggles when we say "Right!" to everything she says. Eating was becoming a bit of struggle, but we have managed to find some basics for each meal that Danielle will gobble down. She loves fruit, any kind, so that is easy. It is the protein that we are always searching for a winning recipe. She is doing well, regardless of her palate preferences.

She is having a great time playing with her brothers, with her sister, with all of their friends (who have been wonderful with her). She is loving swinging on the swings, jumping on the trampoline and playing with all our various ride on toys! She definately likes to be outside as much as possible, despite the cold air.

Unlike Avery, Danielle likes to play with baby dolls. She lines them up for feeding and sleeping, taking care to talk to each one and snuggle a blanket around them. She clearly has a loving heart. Slowly, she is making her way through all of the dress up clothes in the "dress up closet", and all of the toys and dolls in the toy chests in the basement. It is nice to see the excitement in Danielle playing with toys that the older kids disguarded years ago. She is just so happy.

Another fun part of her day is picking out what she is wearing! She likes to wear skirts and tights....and the SHOES! Like Mom, like daughter.... a pair to match each outfit!

One funny thing is her rotating toothbrush. She did not know what to make of this thing at first. It is the Hello Kitty version, so it is pretty kid friendly, but it makes a noise and you are suppose to put it in your mouth? She did not think this was going to end on a good note... but now that she has tried it a couple of times, she rushes in to brush 2, 3 sometimes 4 times a day!! Bonus!

Greg and I have had more than a few conversations this week about how lucky we are. Danielle has really surpassed our dreams. She is perfect in every way and it feels so natural and right to have her with us. When you embark on this journey of adoption, and you are "matched" with a child, you go with your instincts (and a lot of prayers). When we first saw Danielle's face, we knew. She was our daughter. I don't know how to describe it exactly, but there was not even a second of hesitation. We could have said no, we could have tried again and gotten matched differently, but there was just no doubt. We looked at her file, we looked at her face and we said "when can we get her home?" Now she is here, and it is as though all is now right in the world... at least at our home.

On a final note today, I need to say thank you to many, many, many people. I have received emails, calls, letters, gifts, hugs, an overwhelming amount of congratulations and supportive comments, all amounting to a lot of LOVE. I have had friends making doctor's appointments for me, shopping for me, making dinners and lunches, and checking in to see if there is anything else that I could possibly need. I am so very grateful. So very very grateful. All of you that have followed this journey, and supported us with positive gestures, thoughts, and comments , you are amazing and we love you. Your support and love have helped carry us through and we have been truly inspired by your friendship. I want each of you to know how wonderful it has been to share our lives with you.
Today at work (I call it that very loosely), I was given a shared gift by many of my clients. They presented me with an amazing custom made card and photography session for our family to get some formal photos taken. It was so touching and beautiful. I want to share it with you.....

I was paralized with gratitude - shaking with emotion. How can I thank all of these incredible women? I torture them day after day in class, and they turn around and give me this beautiful gift. Wow. I am so very lucky. I may have to be nicer in class now..... ummm, probably not.

All kidding aside, it was such a special, wonderful gift and an even more special, wonderful moment. I am so thankful for this gift and the many others I have received. Not only has this journey brought us Danielle with her beauty and sunshine, but it has also brought the sunshine of many loving hearts such as those terrific friends today. You are wonderful people, wonderful friends and you make me feel more blessed than I should be .....