10 Months with Sleeping "Bootie"

This week was the 10 month anniversary of Gotcha day in China. I can't believe 10 months have already gone by. I've been trying to take a photo each month on the 24th so that at a year, I can see how she's grown. Here's this months:






I'm in awe at how she has handled what she's been dealt. I'd be a puddle of goo if I had to endure all the changes she's had to endure in the just three and a half years. And she's so aware of the life she had and the one she has now. The other night we were talking about how she was so sad at Gotcha. She said, "I not sad anymore. I love my mama. You. You different in china - Lulu was scared. I cried a lot. You not different anymore mom. I love you really, really really lot." Yeah, that can make your day. Of course the next day, she said, "I done with China!" That of course, makes me sad. I want her to want to be here, but I don't want her to dislike China. Right now, she talks a lot about China in a good way, but if unfamiliar people talk too much about it, she becomes visibly uncomfortable. My parents took her to church (pic below) last week and an Asian woman offered her a donut after the service - "No! Never!" she yelled. She does NOT like unfamiliar Asian people. She'll talk with asian parents of kids at school fine, but new Asian looking people, I think, make her nervous that she's going back. I've had her now, just as long as her foster parents had her, and I'm sure she often wonders if these new Asian people will be taking her back or to a new home. A lot of baggage adopted kids come with, a lot...

So, Disneyland is on the horizon and halloweek not far behind, so as I zipped down the aisle at Target, the Disney princess dresses caught my eye. Well, I touched one and Lulu saw me and her eyes widened. Princess!!!!! So we came home with a frilly, fluffy, pink sleeping "booty" dress. And just so you know that she's not all princess, I offered to buy her a halloween t-shirt and with all the adorable girly ones she picks a boys all black long sleeve one with a creepy white image: "little vampire motorcycle club." My girl is definitely a study in contrasts.










Lulu also took a trip with my parents to meet a wealthy older couple my dad does some work for. I didn't go, but my parents said she was delightful. She shook their hands and said, "nice to meet you," and then charmed the cookies out of them like she'd been doing these social kind of events all her life. Sitting on a swanky setee, during a lull in the conversation, she announced, "you know, I'm from China..." Which caught everyone off guard, but was evidently hysterical if you were there. She went on to explain about how she'd had surgery on her palate and has shiny new teeth.

Oh my god, Lulu has discovered polly pockets. She got a small set for Christmas, but didn't enjoy it much because she was frustrated by the tiny pieces. But the little box filtered up in the toy bins and she's obsessed, and yeah, hurray for mama, she can put all of the pieces on herself. Oh and I can actually get things done while she dresses and undresses the dolls with those tiny pieces of vinyl. My favorite so far was when I asked her what the names were, she of course answered, "this one is polly pocket, this one is polly pocket, this one, etc...," but when I asked if they had other names, she said "this one is Aavia, this one is Ayanna, this one Azaria (friends from school) and then came a naked one, save for the purple painted on bikini, and she examined it closely and said, "this one is grandpa." Okay, I got to talk to my dad about this one! LOL

Well, that's about it for now. Hope all's well with everyone in cyberspace!