scary, scary skeleton

people keep asking us how lydia has adjusted. and the answer to that question is pretty easy. miraculous. that word has a tendency to be overused. too often it is used to describe what would more accurately be surprising or amazing. not truly miraculous. not truly an only-God-could-do-it experience. but lydia, she's a miracle.

first and foremost, her language is unbelievable. she speaks fluent english, understanding everything and talking a mile a minute. of course, it's two year old talk so sometimes it requires a mommy translation, but most of time she is fairly clear. she was singing in the van tonight, "scary, scary skeleton, walking down the street..." some silly song the kids learned in music class. she often announces in frustration, "oh man!" and her favorite phrase is "mommy, what are you doing?" if i had a nickel for everytime she asked that i would be going on vacation to hawaii!

in other areas, she is equally amazing. she sleeps great. she has improved tremendously with her gross motor skills, trying to keep up with her brothers and sister no doubt. her fine motor skills are out of this world. she has bonded with her siblings, eric and me, her grammy and pops. she is certainly well loved by many. she is proving to be quite a gregarious little girl. at first it bothered me that she was so friendly to everyone - i felt like it was a sign of a lack of attachment. but in the recent months we have seen that her friendliness is more a part of her personality. she clearly prefers mommy and daddy and shows all the signs of a good attachment but the kid just loves people! (she is like her daddy!!!) once she gets the sign from me that i approve, she embraces new people with typical extroverted exuberance. i keep saying she is my only hope for a child who won't scream when i take them to kindergarten!

so, lydia is wonderful. she truly has been our miracle girl. but i would be remiss in painting such a heavenly picture without being honest with the realities of welcoming a new child into our family. it has been difficult. and continues to be challenging. day to day life is a lot. i feel maxed out. and sometimes i feel more than maxxed out. but more on that later. no need to spoil the miracle tonight!