10 Days @ Home

Our first time in the pool. We went to a community Aquatic Center and Lauren had so much fun! She took it slow at first, but then started splashing and screaching with laughter! :)


She actually prefers chopsticks! I was eating with chopsticks one day and she kept reaching for them, so I gave them to her to see what she would do with them...she went to town on her noodles! She's a pro! Steph, I thought the little chopsticks you had sent years ago were so cute, but I never dreamt she would be using them regularly! :)


Ahhh...there's nothing like a yogurt snack just after a nap.


Lauren has come to LOVE bathtime. She especially likes her Duck bathtub and how she can make it quack by pushing it's nose.



It's funny what she will do without any prompting. She loves to put my shoes on and walk around the house. She thinks she is just something else in my shoes with a purse on her arm!

The past 10 days have seemed surreal. The Jet lag took a pretty good toll on all of us, but we are finally coming around. I felt like a zombie the first few days. Sleep was a definite issue for Lauren the first few days. She has now adjusted to her crib, but she continues to fight pretty hard to not go to sleep. She has a tantrum each time she starts to get tired, she can be smiling and playful one minute and as soon as she feels she is drifting off, she screams, stiffens and throws a tantrum. Some nights it's been as long as 2 hours. The good news is, she is doing this less and less each time. We just keep doing all we know to do and praying God will comfort her.

Ove the past 10 days she has just amazed us each new day. She learned to give hugs and she gives the sweetest hug I have ever received. She puts her arms out and ever so lightly tap, tap, taps you on the shoulder. Her smile is all I dream about as well. She is just a sweetheart. She also has such a sense of humor! She cracks Danny and I up all the time. Last night we were at the mall and she made friends with this little boy who she walked up to slowly and softly patted his hand, she then tried to hold his hand and smiled at him. It was so sweet! Funny thing was, they were the same size, but he was only 8 months old! :)

Well, I could go on forever about Lauren. It's amazing how fast she felt like "mine". It feels as if I have known her forever. When we were coming into the US, the customs person directed us to the immigrant line and said, "just adopted your daughter?", for a split second I thought, "oh, how could he tell?". I forget she doesn't look like me. All I know is we were created for eachother.