One Month of Milestones

One month.  Hannah has been home, in America, one full month.  It was one month ago on this night that we landed in Lexington, very close to the time I am writing this post.  It has been a month of extreme highs and lows, but they don't call this a journey for nothing.  You can't just "arrive."  You have to take the journey to "get there" and while the journey is hard sometimes, it is so worth it.

In this first month at home we have seen so much from Hannah.  Here are some of the highlighted milestones:

• At Gotcha Hannah took only formula bottles and meat porridge.  Since coming home, she has dropped all of her bottle feedings and eats a vast array of solid foods.
• She's started a totally new diet and LOVES it!  She tries every food we present to her and has so far really only rejected pancakes.
• She drinks from a cup on her own!
• She uses utensils independently and correctly (including the very non-Chinese fork).
• She is able to point to her body parts and identify them when prompted.
• She can sign Jesus Loves Me (she sings too!).
• She will give squeeze hugs, tight around your neck.
• She cut two new teeth!
• She can stay at the house alone with Daddy for short periods of time and lets Daddy handle her bath and PJ routine each night!
• Her tantrums are much less and they are changed.  She wants to be with someone while she grieves...not alone.
• She smiles so much more often.
• Her hair has grown.
• She has learned about siblings, accepted them, and begun to seek them out for play and fun!
• Her receptive language is booming.  She understands so, SO much of what we say to her in English.
• She says Jacob, Grace, and Joshua's names verbally (we would be the only ones who understand her, but she says them for sure).
• She mimics and tries to say many of the things we say.
• She no longer frantically cleans her plate at meals.  She is slowly becoming more selective about foods and is comfortable with leaving some behind on her plate at the end of a meal.
• She's relaxed enough to suck her thumb and is attaching well to a "lovie" over her snack cup (though the snack cup still travels with her daily, it isn't as much a security blanket these days).
• She can sign so many words and truly her vocabulary through sign is limited simply by my lack of knowledge.  She learns them as fast as I can learn and teach them.  Her signs include: all done, thank you, angry, sad, sleepy, happy, more, please, obey, sorry, kind words, write, help, eat, drink, I love you, Jesus, Bible, yes ma'am, and water.  That's 20 signs and I know I have probably overlooked some!

It has been a trying month, but it has been a month that was totally worth it.  Sometimes the best destinations have the hardest journeys, but the hard journey makes the destination just that much more special.  We have the best seats in the house to watch what utterly amazing things our Creator is doing in and through her.  We cannot wait to see what the next month will bring.

One month home, with her lovie (the same lovie we sent to her in our care package to China).  We are so glad you are our girl, Hannah!