Attachment

HUGE PROGRESS TODAY and yesterday! As I mentioned M took the good stroller to work with him yesterday so when we went shopping I didn't bring a stroller in. It was horrible, so when we were at Old.Navy it was pretty bad. They had a coloring station and so I put L there and she was coloring away while I looked at the clearance rack. I could see her the whole time, but I knew she couldn't see me all that well. Well, she started crying when she realized I "wasn't around". I was so excited! I know, who should be excited when their kid cries, but this is a huge victory. She could have run up to any one of strangers but didn't. Then, today, I took E to Children's for a check up and Grandma was over to watch her. She cried when we left!! And I was told she cried for a couple of minutes. THANK YOU GOD!

Beautiful girls

Today I told our social worker to be on the lookout for a biracial or african american baby boy that we can add to our family. Who knows if and when that will happen. But as we wait lets look at my beautiful girls.

I really wish I could show L's face we got some good ones at the zoo today.



If you are noticing our ugly old stroller and not our AMAZING new beautiful one, it's because my husband took it to work with him.



Here is a picture of L trying to hold E's hand. E refused



Just a side note. We use Carol's daughter for her hair care. Bees were all over her head today. It was really weird.

Good Bye Summer

WELCOME WINTER!

Target

Today we had two cute boys with us. M&m. M's favorite thing to do is go to TARGET! Mine too (but only when I have money). Surprisingly I didn't spend more than $100, which is almost impossible for me when I go. But there are some GREAT deals this week. Twin bed sheets were marked $3.74 or close to that. They clearanced all of the "dorm back to school sheet sets". A sheet set is a sheet set and for $3, you can't beat it. Just make sure you don't grab an XL twin sheet set. The queens. fulls, and kings were all on sale too. But we need twin sets. Also, they have satin pillow cases for $5 (not on sale)! I have been wanting one since L came to us. Tonight is her first night sleeping on it, hopefully her hair will be beautiful in the morning. hahah

Adoption

Today we got good news. We will have our adoption meeting mid October. I'm not really sure what this will entail, but I know we will be assigned an adoption worker! Oh I can't wait. I think we will officially be able to adopt January or February. Afterwards we will be meeting my dad (who works right across the street) for lunch. We hope M will be able to take the day off. We can make it a day. Maybe go to the museum?

Update on L's attachment: She has really made a great improvement. When she saw my brother she held me closer! AND... today I put E in the car first and she cried when I walked out the door. This is huge in such little time. Maybe it just clicked in her head that we were her parents? Who knows. Tomorrow we are meeting with Help Me Grow to work on her developmental delays. We'll see what they have to say.

Hair

Tonight I did my first head of cornrows (sorry no pictures, I don't know where my camera is). The first two rows look really good, but then she got more tired and every row after starts off ok but ends far from the head. It's a lot to do her hair every day. 3 days ago I put her whole head in braids and took them down on the second day. Today, her hair looked great, but I knew it wouldn't last another night. I have to find a good silk nightcap that won't come off with her wild bedtime antics. I also need to get some silk pillowcases. I hope that makes a difference. Do you have any recommendations as to where I might find such things?

Speaking of hair. If you have a curly headed baby you have to visit this site. Moptop Maven

I know I mentioned my concern about RAD, but amazingly in the last 4-5 days there has been a complete change. She is still super friendly with strangers, but doesn't approach them. She is preferring me more and more. She calls my name-"mom" (sometimes she doesn't look at me when saying it, but it doesn't help when my mom responds to her). I don't know if the change has been a result of prayer or if she was just grieving. I don't know what month she was taken from her birth family. Now she is acting like a "normal" 2 year old with developmental delays. Thank God!

Girls

Today we went to the Children's Museum/ Natural history Museum. I hadn't been since I was dating Adam (don't remember his last name) from High School. My MIL bought us a pass and it was awesome. The girls had so much fun


I spy two cute girls


The most beautiful ice cream parlor ever. Made entirely of Rookwood Pottery


On another note, parental rights have been terminated! We can't start the adoption process yet (she has to be living with us for a certain amount of time first). But I can't wait to pierce her ears and change her name. We were concerned she may have RAD (reactive attachment disorder). If she does we decided we will not proceed with the adoption. The last few days I have really felt like she was attaching, but who knows. We will be meeting with the therapist and I will be discussing things with our pediatrician. We also have problems with her sleeping through the night. We are finally at the point where we don't lay with her until she is asleep, but the other night I went up to check on them and saw this...


Poor baby! I don't know if she fell out or what. (Don't worry, I moved her back into bed after taking the picture)