Sunday, January 8, 2012

One Year Home

Abigail has now been living in America for 1 year (and 1 day- she kept me too busy to write yesterday!). This past week, Larry and I have indulged ourselves in some video-watching time after Abigail has gone to bed for the night. We have watched videos of her first day with us, time with us in China, and her first 3 weeks home. We laughed a lot. 


Naturally she has changed.  She has changed in all the ways that 1-year-olds become 2-year-olds and she has changed in all the ways that an institutionalized child changes and grows when she becomes the center of a family that puts all of her needs and wants first.  She is our little girl, not our baby.  


But as we watched these videos, we admired our daughter, how far she has come, and how much of her is still very much the same- just older.  Until we watched these, we had not been able to see all of the innate qualities that are so very "Abigail."  Every day we watch her change before our eyes and were not able to notice how she is the same.  Children come to us, either in the the traditional way or through adoption and they are who they are.  It has been a joy this week to reflect on who my daughter is.  She is a person who


loves to be outside more than inside

loves water, from playing in the bath in a sink to
enjoying living by the ocean

does this when she is upset, wants to calm down or is stressed

loves getting presents (although, what kid doesn't?)
smiles with her whole face
Clockwise from top left (eating finger paint, in her swing, on
the anniversary of her match day, Christmas time)


Abigail is very amazing at thinking through things. 
Watching her videos at 14 months, it was surprising to see that the intensity that is always in her eyes now, the focused determination and careful thoughts she engages in all the time now as a toddler were there when she didn't have the language to talk to us a year ago.


her eyes are intense and seem to be a curtain hiding a
very old soul with incredible and deep thoughts


And I can't help but mention how much I love to watch the little angel sleep
Clockwise from top left: a few exhausting hours after we
got Abigail, Abigail napping on Baba in China, Abigail
asleep on the couch after Christmas fun, in her crib






Welcome home, kid.

1 comment:

Happy Camper said...

Beautifully written for a beautiful girl. Being a mom is the best thing ever!