Thursday, April 1, 2010

Three Months Home

Nina has been with us for three months now. Time flies by and somewhat it feels like we are still catching up with life. I find myself still saying, "We just got back from Ukraine."

Nina has blossomed having a family. It amazes me how much she has developed, grown, and learned in the last 3 months. She is not the same little girl that we met at the orphanage. Remember that video of when we first saw her? Wow! I look at that and remember our time together in Ukraine and see how different our sweet girl is.

Physically she is able to do so much more! When we first got her she could barely open her legs apart, now, we can wrap her around our waist, she can climb up the stairs, and she can crawl.

Verbally she is just amazing. I cannot even tell you how much English she speaks because anyone that meets her now would only think she has a speech impediment, not that English is her second language.

Emotionally she seems to be attached to us. I worried so much about attachment from all I read in regards to adoption. It has turned out that I am having a harder time with bonding than she is. I have had a few times where she has really felt mine, and my motherly instinct kicks in, but it is something that we are still working on. We are getting to know each other, attachment takes time. It is a seed that grows, and with Nina being older and not a baby from my womb, it does "feel" different still. Contrary to what most people would have thought, our 2 weeks together in Ukraine before coming home were the hardest for bonding (for me) This was a trying time as Nina rejected me so many times, hitting, screaming, and every night she cried for 2 to 3 hours. Emotionally exhausting and painful as a mother. So for those of you that pray for our family, you can keep me in your prayers. There is no doubt I love her, more than any other child in the world (aside from Ellie and Nichole) the love is not lacking, it is the "belonging."

Socially she is a very social little girl, but she is still learning. Andy put it in great words, "Nina talks at people, not with people." True, very true. She never learned the patterns of communication, taking turns, and listening to one another. There is not much "exchange" as most of the conversations are her talking at people about what she wants, but anything else is lost and she has a hard time following.

Intellectually every day is a leap! She came to us being behind Nichole in all aspects of development, and other than physically, she has not passed Nichole. Nina is learning all sorts of things, in overload sometimes! She is also pretty upset at the fact that she is 3 years old and not 4 like Ellie :) Soon, just one more month!


We love her, she fits so well in our family. I cannot imagine not having her with us. And yes, we would do it all over again! She is a sweety (but can be pretty bossy too!).

So if you have any questions, ask! And I will answer as best I can.



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