...has been home 7 weeks now.
7 weeks of amazingness and transition and change and blessings.
Did I forget to mention cuteness?
Oh yea... 7 weeks of incredible cuteness!
She's pretty quiet. And by quiet I mean she's either hollering at me, or she's pretty quiet. Even her loudest most boisterous laugh really isn't anything more than a giggle. I think eventually she'll find find her voice among the hubbub of her siblings.
Her hair is growning a bit. Which I love. Can't wait to get some piggies in there!
Her vocabulary is continuing to improve. She has several words in her working vocabulary and is starting to put 2 words together regularly. Most importantly, she's now showing an interest in mimicking and attempting communication. She started speech therapy a couple weeks ago. She loves it, because after all, who doesn't love playing and attention. Her speech therapist is that same one Tess and Jude had a few years ago which make me so happy because she is an angel miracle worker that all the kiddos have adored!
Mimi is a very good sleeper. She has slept a full 8-10 hours every single night we've had her. For this I am so so very grateful and sane! And we are finally in a great bed and nap time routine that is the same as Tess and Jude's, going to bed about 6:30-7pm and sleeping till 6am, with a nap from 12:30-2pm.
Mimi is tiny. Kinda bobble head tiny, but nevertheless petite. She's right at 20 pounds, only gaining about 1/2 lb since we came home.
Did you see her pic here? She's in the middle in turquoise with the rumpled-up-nose grin. (There's a little pic of Tess & Jude too in black&white on the top too if you have eagle eyes.) Wonderful video btw!
Se loves to dance which fits right in around here!
She will not drink milk. Or formula. Or really thick formula. Or chocolate milk. Or Pediasure. Or strawberry milk. Or milk with sugar in it. Or warm milk. Or cold milk. Or milk in a bottle. Or milk in a sippy cup. Or Carnation Instant Breakfast. Or milk from a straw. Or milk from a cup. Or any combination of any of the above. (When we visited the orphanage the first thing she did was drink a bottle of formula from her foster mama. At this point, I'm pretty sure it was the last bottle and possibly the last milk she will ever consume.)
She doesn't really prefer sippy cups. But she's been quite adept using a regular ol' cup or water bottle or straw from the beginning. So I think we're going to skip the sippy-cup stage altogether.
Mimi doesn't prefer diapers either. This makes sense since we assume she rarely wore them, instead wearing split pants in China. But it does make for awkward moments in the checkout line of the Target... with her hands down her pants, trying to wiggle out of her diaper... and usually succeeding.
Our girl is one of the most tenacious little things ever. Seriously stubborn! She'll get a bee in her bonnet about which color cup she wants, or how many raisins she wants on her plate, or that her left shoe must go on her right foot, and she'll patiently wait for the world to bend to her every whim and desire... hollering all the while. She will not give. Not budge on single inch until she is obliged. This is the exception to her being quiet.
She will not use blankets. At all. They are evil. Which is odd since we saw a pile of blankets in every crib at her orphanage at least a foot high. She does like to sleep with a pillow, which was also in her crib in China. (IKEA crib pillow is awesome. Small and flat enough for a toddler, and fits my budget at $5.99.)
She loves silly bands. I was kinda hoping that the silly band craze had died. But no. They have suddenly reappeared in mass in our home, and Little Miss M will put them on and take them off over and over and over and over... She makes me wear them too. See above note re her tenacity.
The girl is seriously obsessed with shoes! She brings me a different pair of shoes many times a day to change in to. Which makes me happy that we stocked up on $5 squeaky shoes in China!
Did I mention how amazingly cute she is?
Ya, we're all wrapped around her little finger...
hook
line
and
sinker.
SERIOUSLY???? Mimi CAN NOT get cuter! And those bare feet are to die for! What camera did you use for these? Surely these were not taken with a cell phone. Putting 2words together already? Doesn't seem like "delayed" applies for much longer! Good job mama.
ReplyDeleteMichelle-
ReplyDeletethe pics are left overs from my Rebel that I hadn't edited yet. I only got about 10 frames before the shutter froze. What I would have given to have another 100! The bottom pic is blurry thanks to the focus issues. But I still love her sweetness in these two pics!
Nancy,
ReplyDeleteYou have done such an amazing job describing your little Mimi...I feel like I've known her forver!
Beautiful shots.
Can't wait until you get your new camera. :)
Beautiful picture! My son is just as stubborn and picky...but it is cute. Well we are about to move and the house is crazy with a topsy turvy schedule...maybe it's their way of controlling something? My son is quiet most of the time, until he screams in delight or complaint!
ReplyDeleteShe's so cute!
She looks great! Glad the transition is going well!
ReplyDeleteShe is absolutely precious!! So happy to hear she is doing so great!!
ReplyDeleteLove the pictures!!
ReplyDeleteOur daughter is a Ling girl as well and she WOULD NOT touch milk or anything milk related for the first six months home.
Once she started liking milk, we realized that she was actually quite lactose-intollerant.
Just a heads up! :)
So amazingly cute!!
ReplyDeleteJan- I thought she might be lactose intolerant. but the girl ADORES yogurt. she eats and drinks so much of it that her inside are kinda funky. And she loves cheese. So I'm thinking that dairy isn't a problem. She's just stinkin' PICKY!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the thought! I'm happy to have them!
nancy
Wow! Doesn't like any form of milk, very stubborn, will not use blankets, obsessed with shoes...all of this describes Mimi's foster sister Natalie as well. Your description of her stubbornness made me laugh because I thought no child could be as picky and stubborn as Natalie. If we try to give Natalie what she perceives as the wrong cup or dress her in something that in her opinion is not "pretty" we have to deal with enormous melt downs. Natalie is getting more reasonable with time though. We've gone from 20 melt downs a day to 1 or 2. Nat has been home 6 months now and her adjustment is so much better now than those first few months. I'm looking forward to hearing about/seeing all the progress the 3 foster sisters make during the next 6 months.
ReplyDeletep.s. Natalie gets stickers when she uses the potty. Sometimes when it's my turn to go she insists that I get stickers too...reminded me of your silly bands.
Jan- I thought she might be lactose intolerant. but the girl ADORES yogurt. she eats and drinks so much of it that her inside are kinda funky. And she loves cheese. So I'm thinking that dairy isn't a problem. She's just stinkin' PICKY!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the thought! I'm happy to have them!
nancy
Charity--Gotta LOVE our Ling girls and their tenacity! I hear Elsbeth is similar too. Maybe it was their fight or flight method of survival before we got them? Who knows. Bull headed sweeties they are!
ReplyDeletenancy
Sooo cute!! And, btw, we have a blanket hater, too. We've had some really cold nights, so I will cover her when she's sound asleep & they don't last one second. Go figure??
ReplyDeleteShe is a beautiful girl finding her way.
ReplyDeleteBlessings any way you describe.
Best wishes.
Diane
Mom to the M & M Girls
Vietnam and China
She is absolutely adorable! Glad transition is going steadily well. Quiet and small...the opposite of my baby. :) But both are precious!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! So adorable and precious! Glad to hear and see much she is blooming with her family's love! May I ask where you got that pretty bracelet? Thank you, Cindy
ReplyDeleteCindy-the bracelet is from here-
ReplyDeletehttp://www.labelledame.com/baby.html
Our family has ordered several. Mixed reviews of the company. But the bracelet is gorgeous. The flat one is the only one they won't take off. It's a little too stiff for them to get off without help. Jude and Mimi keep their's on 24/7.
Nancy
Thanks for the info Nancy - does it handle water okay and is it possible for a child to bend it too much? Thanks, Cindy
ReplyDeleteP.S. Just love how the delicate bracelet looks on her precious little wrist/hands!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous!
ReplyDeleteAnd I hear ya! Piles of blankets in the crib at the orphanage, but I believe my girl realized she was not going to have to be bundled quite so much and, well, she saw an opening and ran with it. She does not like blankets at all (unless they are for tucking a doll into her doll bed). If she wakes and discovers a blanket was put over her in her sleep she melts down and gets so upset she can't get the blanket off without help.
While my WJ will drink milk and formula, she is all about yogurt and cheese (and oh the noise if we're out of cottage cheese!).
Shoe obsession over here too. She insisted on wearing a new pair to bed the other night. DH finally got them off of her when she was sound asleep-- and within ten minutes she was awake and asking for her shoes.
And stubborn is an understatement. Sweet and delightful and fabulous of course, but oh my is this girl stubborn!
Martha, thank you for sharing these! I just loved to read about her. I am glad she is doing well and attaching to you guys. It is a pity she doesn't drink milk, poor thing. But I guess it's OK, she'll take the calcium from other foods.
ReplyDeleteMy girls are also obsessed with shoes and my youngest doesn't sleep with blankets either, so I have to put several pairs of pants and socks on her. And I have a soft vest made from a material similar to a blanket and it's perfect. :)
And again, she is the cutest thing, Martha! XOXO ✿
Good morning Nancy - well for starters, you couldn't be more correct, Mimi is so.stinkin.cute. it's hard to take!
ReplyDeleteAbout milk - what about ice cream? And because I'm a Dad of three (of 6) who are lactose intolerant - if she will eat ice cream, does it produce "lactose issues" (to say things gently)? Yogurt can freqently be enjoyed by folks with lactose intolerance because of all of the rest of the natural stuff in it. Just wondering...
About Mimi - it really sounds to me like she's extremely adept at "finding her own way" - and that she's really doing just that - and watching / helping them along that path - well, that is one of the real joys of adoption!
Great joy for you guys
Cindy-the flat cuff is the least bendy. Tess has the curved one. I think the curved one is prettier/more feminine, but Tess takes it off. Contrastingly, Jude has worn his for 3 years and has only gotten it off when it caught on something and pulled off accidentally. I honestly don't think he can take it off. Mimi keeps hers on to. 24/7. Baths. Pool. Bed. Always.
ReplyDeleteYes, they do tarnish some. They aren't shiny anymore unlike Mimi's that is still shiny. But the scratches from 3 years of wear is more noticeable than the tarnishing. I've polished Jude's 2X.
Thanks Nancy! Does Mimi like smoothies, milk shakes, soy milk, or Danimals/yogurt drinks?
ReplyDeleteMimi is too adorable for words. Just flat-out CUTE! What a long way she has come - she looks so happy.
ReplyDelete