More About Our Little Punkin

I'm been talking generally about what is going on here, so I wanted to give you an update on the little punkin that's the main subject of this blog right now.

Esther Marie is doing really great at home...much better than we expected. We are staying close to home with her to help her feel secure. She smiles alot and likes to play....and she seems to be fitting in well with our family. Night before last, she discovered mom's cell phone that was charging and she figured out how to turn it on. I heard click as she snapped a photo of nothing. An accident? Well, if it was, she figured out how to turn it on again and again. She also keeps trying to type on the computer, loves to "talk" on the phone and she has "bonded" with the remote control, no matter that the t.v. is not on. (laugh) Taking those batteries out over and over was ALOT of fun. Another "tekkie" in the family??? Uh huh! When we gently take these things away, she cries and wants them back.

It's a joy to me when she sees me across the room and runs with delight toward me wanting to be picked up, her little mouth open wide with wonder. And with her dad...it's the funniest thing...when he picks her up, she starts blowing kisses to the rest of us and waving bye-bye. We are not sure if she thinks he is taking her somewhere or if she has gotten "bye bye" and "ba ba" confused. "Ba ba" is the Chinese word for "daddy." Well, either way...it is pretty dang cute! She really is very observant and watches us closely. Yesterday morning, after I took a photo, she picked up the lens cap and smacked it into the lens to try to put it back on. She points alot and jabbers with a serious look on her face so Patrick has decided she is imitating some bossy caregiver at the orphanage. That made us all chuckle. At one point, she pointed to the tissue and I gave her some. She balled up a piece in her little hand, wiped her face all over and then threw it away. She was imitating exactly how I had wiped the tears off her face the day before. She loves eating and gets VERY excited at meal time. I hope that means she will be gaining some weight quickly. She is about 32 inches tall...rough measurement...and 23 lbs. She is mostly eating mashed up banana with yogurt, baby foods with baby cereal, and drinking a couple of bottles a day (formula). She enjoys nibbling Cheerios too. She seems to choke on solid foods right now, so we are avoiding most of those.

Nap time or bed time is Esther Marie's biggest anxiety producer. She cries when it's time for sleep and it will just break your heart to listen to her. Yep, I am one of those moms who can't just let her squawl in bed, so I pick her up. I can happily report that she doesn't show any signs of "night terror" which was such an issue for MaryAlyce. And once asleep, she does get several hours before waking. Please pray that this time will get easier for her. She is still having trouble with mixed up sleep/bed times also.

As I said in an earlier post, bonding is the most important thing right now. How are we promoting this? Well, I am her primary caregiver...and daddy is second. We feed her, change her, hold her, rock her, give her a bottle, etc. This lets her know we are the ones to look to in order to get her needs met. If too many people hold and take care of her, then she becomes confused and doesn't bond with anyone in particular, but everyone in general. This is what happens in an orphange setting, and we have to promote bonding with one or two people now. We hope you will understand and won't feel slighted if we decline to let you hold, feed or change her for awhile. (like you really want to change her! haha) We love you all!