Eight Weeks of Awesome

Hannah has been home, on American soil, for eight weeks as of late last night.  Eight weeks.  Somehow it feels impossible that it has been that long.  She just got here, right?  On the other hand, it feels like it is impossible it has been that short!  She's been here forever, right?  I was reading my one month home update and some things have changed, others haven't.  Things are beginning to plateau in some ways.  I said in my one month post that it was a month of extreme highs and lows.  This month has been filled with much the same, though I would remove the "extreme" portion of it.  We still have lots of highs and lots of lows--they just aren't always quite so extreme on the scale, which suits me just fine!

She has changed physically in some ways.  She's now a full pound up from what she weighed when we brought her home.  Her hair is really starting to grow (and get wild).  Her desire to communicate is growing and she mimics everything we say.  Sadly, I am not learning ASL fast enough for her taste and her vocabulary is strictly hampered by my ability to learn the new signs she needs.  She's added a few new ones this month....shoes, socks, self control.  She's figured out hitting and "cussing" always lead to the same form of discipline and will put herself in time in when she does them.  She had one night last week that she actually stopped herself from cussing and made wiser choices (today.....not so much!).  She's dancing this bizarre dance with Daddy that is on again off again and sadly hasn't changed as drastically as we'd hoped it would this month.  We have seen glimpses of what she will be like with him down the road, but yet, almost as though she realizes she is getting too friendly, she'll snap back to being rather angry with Daddy.  Chris is amazing and takes it bit by bit and just works to win her over each day.  She is now sleeping (through the night most nights!!) in her big girl bed with Gracie!  Last night I tucked her in, gave kisses, and walked out of the room!  No rocking and bouncing and patting till she went to sleep.  I'm not sure if the was a fluke or a new thing....we'll have to test it a little more.  She's gotten to break out a tiny bit from her cocoon and attend church, our co-op, and two different stores with me (not quite sure we are ready for all the shopping stimulation).  She no longer eats every bite off her plate and I can't tell you the last time I filled her snack cup to carry for security around the house (we do still need it for security if we leave the house).  She's seen several doctors and handled all of those appointments like a true champ.  She still has things to work through.  Her sense of security and trust with me is growing, yet she struggles to fully trust.  She continues to have moments of intense anger, but it is nothing like it was in those early days.  It is very much one step forward, two steps back, but the forward progress seems more apparent to us now than it did before.  We have worked hard to protect her here in this cocoon and hope we are laying the groundwork of a good foundation for her.

Some days are hard.  Some days are easy.  Some days are a bit of both.  We're getting each other more and more figured out and it is good.  We are so thankful she is here.  By the way....two months of waiting felt like time was standing still.  Two months of her home??  I have to remind myself it is APRIL now and not still February.  Time flies!

This month we got Hannah's Certificate of Citizenship.  She became a citizen in Detroit the moment we processed through immigration in February, but this month we got the hard copy evidence to prove it!  She's as American as you and I are, now!