Sound asleep

I needed to wake Amanda up from her nap today so that she would sleep well tonight (unlike last night which is a whole different story). This is what I discovered:



Are all girls this flexible? The more important question is - how can this be comfortable?!?!? If you notice, on her left hand is a sock that was on her foot when I put her to bed. I guess she was roaming around a little before going to sleep.

We have pigtails!

I am hesitant to call what Amanda has ponytails because they really are short. But after 3 boys, you relish each step of actually putting a rubber band onto your child's hair for a different style. I take whatever I can get! She likes having them in and thinks she's pretty funny in the mirror. We may get some hair on the girl yet!

Wordless Wednesday

Toddler dilemna

Amanda likes her mac-n-cheese. She likes it even more when it's the shell pasta. She likes making little hats for her fingers with the shells.



Now, the dilemma. She was finished with everything in her bowl and wanted more. She really wanted to eat the "hats" on her fingers, but knew then she would have no more "hats" for her fingers. Hence, the dilemma.



Very sad, very sad.

Just for the record, she was boo hooing right before I took this picture:



She just has figured out every time the camera appears, it's time to smile. Funny little girl.

Thanksgiving at Grandma's

We drove to Grandma's house with much trepidation expecting that Amanda would have trouble sleeping in a different bed and be somewhat clingy not really understanding the concept of visiting someone else. Thankfully, we were wrong on both counts. She did amazingly well and we really got to see what a party animal she really is. She has 9 aunts and uncles and 6 cousins seen here:




She loved comanding the attention of all those adults and toward the end of our stay got really good at being cute and adorable so that everyone would notice her. We have got a social animal on our hands. She always liked to be in the center of things - wrestling with Uncle Dave (poor Uncle Dave!)



Or watching TV with the brothers:



By the way, for all of you who are old enough to remember...Remeber the Fisher Price Little People when they were actually little? That's what she has on her finger. Those Little People were much more fun to play with than the bohemeth "little" people they have now.


Overall, it was a nice time away and we got to see a side of her that we don't see often enough (mostly because we just don't get out) - the party girl Amanda.

Waking up happy

For the first month and a half, Amanda would wake up crying. The afternoon nap was particularly hard since I think she was a bit disorientated to where she was. I think she was grieving the loss of what she had left behind. Most days after she woke from her afternoon nap, I would cringe knowing there was an hour of crying and temper tantrums to come. Unless we would be able to get outside (which she loves now), there was no distracting her. Now, she wakes up like this:




She is one happy camper. She will talk to herself to go to sleep and when waking. I no longer cringe when I go to get her. All is well in the world. Brett and I think finally, she feels safe and loved.

Now, just because I have some more pictures, here you go...

She really is a diva at heart. I thought the red sweater would be too warm, but she insisted. She kept feeling the fuzzy fabric and picked out the shoes to complete the outfit. She loves looking pretty and dressing in cute clothes.




This is why little kids draw people with such long legs. That's all they see when they look up.

She ate peas!

Yes - Amanda has had her first taste of peas where she didn't turn them down just because they were green. She actually opened her mouth and let them come in! Now, she wasn't thrilled with the whole experience and I think she would rather have gotten those peas out (she tried, but I tried harder). I've been teaching her to put her spoon over her mouth to show that she shouldn't spit stuff out. She ate a bowl full of mushed peas. Hooray! Then, to top off the eating miracle, she ate vegetable/beef soup pureed. And she didn't even flinch! Brett said it was a "God sighting" for him. That's a moment when the Kingdom of God shows up in our ordinary lives.

Now, for those that are thinking - isn't this child 2 1/2 and shouldn't she be over all this stuff with trying new foods? Well, according to her sheets from the orphanage, she was eating rice porridge, noodles, bananas, cookies, cake, and apples (which we highly doubt). There were no vegetables in her diet and not much variety. The first time I even attempted anything with color, I had to hide it. The first time I attempted green, she wouldn't even open up and turned her head. So, variety in her diet is a big step. If she would just eat what we eat, I wouldn't have to double cook - meal for us - meal for her...This is huge!