6 months ago I took a scared little girl from a loving but sparse and tiny orphanage in a rural town in Southern India. She was speaking fluent Kannada and got frustrated that we didn't understand her and she didn't understand us. Now she is speaking English sentences and understands almost everything. She is doing wonderful at preschool 3 days a week and even her teacher is amazed at how much progress she makes every passing month. She is kind, she shares, she plays gently with the other kids and she loves helping her teachers. Above all she is happy. 90% of Leena is happiness and smiles. Other parents are shocked when they hear just how short of time she has been home because she speaks so well and is so comfortable in her surroundings. And sometimes I forget too until she needs explaining that her teachers go home to their families at the end of the day (not slept there like she thought) because all she knows is the orphanage with caretakers that lived on the premises.
She is going to sleep in her own room now, completely prompted by her. I lay with her until she falls asleep which I know isn't a good habit but she usually falls asleep within 10 minutes so it's just not a big deal. Most nights she ends up in our bed at some point in the early morning hours but that's okay with us. Leena now eagerly chooses to go with Daddy to run errands and loves snuggling with him on the couch. Their relationship has blossomed and it is a beautiful thing to watch grow. We had a great trip to PA for Thanksgiving and Leena got to meet more second cousins, Aunts/Uncles and we slept at Grammy and Grandpop's for the first time and Aunt Aimee's house as well. She took all the activity in stride and with a smile and didn't even regress and have a night terror like she used to do when traveling in the summer. That tells us how well she is settling into the routine of family and her new life and we are just thrilled.
These last 6 months have been some of the best of my life. Being off from work in the summer and having all 3 kids home was amazing and I never wanted it to end (well, at least last longer, ha). I'm so glad Leena got to bond with her brothers over the summer before everyone started school routines. We really lucked out with the timing of it all. While I wasn't eager to get back to my job in the slightest it is nice getting into the regular routine of things and having Leena go to preschool where she is flourishing and learning.
In a nutshell, Leena is doing amazing and there is really no reason she should be doing this well. It's all her- bravery, courage, trust. I do feel guilty when I read posts in all my adoption groups about struggles with attachment, sleeping, eating, tantrums, speech, motor skills, newly discovered health issues, etc. I'm not saying the last 6 months have been without bumps, because there was definite bumps the first weeks home. But with Leena's language explosion and her happy and adventurous spirit the bumps these days are far and few between. Which is crazy when you think how much change this little girl has gone through the past 6 months. It is clear she was well loved because she surely knows how to show affection and love. But sometimes when she is just giddy with laughter, like on a hike thru the woods or walking through the mall (always refusing a ride in the stroller) it is almost as if she is just so excited to be out of the four walls she spent her previous life in. When I catch her looking at something in amazement, it sometimes can bring a tear to my eyes when I think about the life that she left and the children that are still there. I never ever want to sound like a "savior" because that has never been a reason for growing our family through adoption- I'm simply so happy that she is happy and feel grateful for the "lot" I was given in life. Of course, adoption is lifelong and just because she had a relatively easy adjustment to our family doesn't mean there won't be bumps further down the road like in adolescence. But for the meantime, we count our blessings.
What is Leena like these days?
- She's gained over 5 pounds and 3 inches in the last 6 months. And a TON of hair:)
- She starts her day with good snuggles with Mommy and Daddy which turns to tickling and giggles
- She loves picking out her clothes and is very opinionated on the matter
- Her facial expressions can do all her talking for her if need be
- She loves to sing and always asks to turn the radio up loud in the car
- She loves to talk and talk and talk and sometimes we need to turn the radio up in the car
- She likes the TV show "Daniel Tiger" and often speaks in the way they teach how to express emotion which is hilarious- "Mommy, Leena is sad", "Daddy, Leena is feeling mad".
- She does not like it when she's being laughed at (when she says something cute like above), which makes it worse because then her mad face makes us laugh more and it just goes on and on
- We can't use the same voice we use for the boys when they need to put on their shoes and aren't listening for Leena. She says it's too loud and she cries for getting yelled at.
- She still loves to help clean or help do anything Cody and I are trying to do, very eager to please
- She is quite sassy and independent and makes me wait (impatiently) so she can do things herself like buckle her seatbelt, do the buttons on her shirt, etc.
- She loves all her baby dolls and asked Santa for "a lot more" every though she has 15 already.
- She is so gracious and says "thank you so much Mommy/Daddy!! I love you!!" if you give her the smallest thing- a cool pen, a little treat, etc.
- She loves her big brothers. She knows Auden is good for helping her with things she can't do, reading to her and piggy back rides. She knows Grant is good for having a dance party with her, making forts and creating messes and mischief:)
Now, here we are a week before Christmas and it is just so fun watching her try to figure out all of these new holidays and "firsts". Halloween was awesome as she kept thinking it was over since we had a neighborhood party and she then had a school party. So the night of Halloween was pure amazement to her as she ran from house to house filling her bag with candy. She just had her first experience with snow and loved sledding down our hill with the big kids (not so much walking up the hill). I can't even imagine what she is going to think on Christmas morning!
