Everyday life on the other side of the looking glass

The theme for Nina's shower was "Through the Looking Glass," and this is now where we reside.  Everything is different - sometimes imperceptibly and other times glaringly.  But mostly the change is the joy our new daughter brings to us, along with the lessons we are all learning or re-learning with regard to communication, patience, empathy and the like.

After all, there is a two year old in the house.  And I, for one, had forgotten what having a two-year old in the house was like.  It's a lot of work!

But now that we're home and I'm back to work and Max had his final week of school, it is Nina who has been with Lillian all day helping her to understand that this is home and we are her family (to say nothing of learning what a family is).  The days are spent mostly, if not entirely at home.  Her life has been spent staying in the same place every day, so that's what is most comfortable to her.  And as game as she is, she is still wary of new people and we're trying to limit her confusion.

But at home, she is full of life and energy and curiosity, along with a fair amount of impishness and a lot of humor.  She buzzes around the house looking at everything.  Generally she goes from station to station over and over again.

The daily dog walk

Lillian REALLY likes her chicken

She really likes the bathtub.  Pretty much every time she goes to the bathroom, she strips down with the expectation that someone will fill the tub.  And when they do, she stays in for a looong time, happily splashing and playing.  In China, she wouldn't sit in the tub, but now she does.  Today (Saturday) as I got to observe, I realized how much time Nina is spending in the bathroom each day, unable to leave.  I would lose my mind, but she manages.

Ready to go, Mommy!

Bathing habits are one of the things we have been able to learn about her life before us.  In China, she got excited when she was up on the bathroom counter and she stood in the sink.  That was how they bathed the children in her orphanage - she knew how to soap up.  We are having to teach her to stop soaping up when the water has drained.  We have gone through a lot of baby shampoo this week.

We also learned something else about her past habits at the breakfast table.  She poured the milk from a bowl of Cherrios into a second bowl that was in front of her and drank it happily.  She had probably never drunk from a regular glass or cup before us.  When Nina refilled her bowl she was so happy and she kept asking for more and drank over and over. She gets comfort from the familiarity, it seems.

And the adjustment seems to progress each day.  Rosy, our Golden Retriever, has suffered perhaps more than anyone.  Lillian is a little shorter than Rosy and gets upset when the dog gets in her face.  Rosy has spent a lot more time outside or in the laundry room than usual.  But this morning, Lillian called for the dog and greeted Rosy with a wave and a "hello" from the top of the stairs.  With Max, it gets better each day - there is a lot less pressure with him out and about and back in his own world and it makes their interactions more relaxed.  Lillian gets more and more comfortable with me each day.  We hold hands when she needs help on the stairs or she allows me to pick her up out of her high chair and sometimes I am allowed to let it linger, but I don't get the big hugs yet.  It reminds me of a song by Claremont's own Ben Harper - "I Always Have To Steal My Kisses From You."

Sleep is getting easier.   She is taking a nap each afternoon and Nina has found some things that help bring sleep - mostly, she likes to look at books in bed.  She still gets upset from time to time but the fits seem less frequent and shorter when they do happen.

Mostly, though, we're just having a good time.  It's so much fun to have a little one around once again and watch them play, laugh and giggle with abandon.

So that's how it's going.  We're very, very happy.  And we would be remiss if we didn't express our appreciation to so many friends who have brought dinner and gifts and shared their children's outgrown clothes and toys.  We are so fortunate to have you all in our lives.