Half a Year

As of today, I have been Ying’s mommy for 6 whole months. Yes, 6 months ago today that tiny little bundle of clothes was brought to my door at the Gloria Hotel in Nanchang. I remember thinking, “That can’t be her. That’s a tiny baby.” But it was her, and she might have been tiny, but she was tough. She went through some hard grieving and seriously tested my mothering skills (my strategy, hold back and let her come to me, which she eventually did). The first week was horrible. The second week was bearable. And each and every day, it just gets better.

My tiny girl is still tiny, but she has really started talking up a storm lately. She has a whole slew of new vocabulary words. Right now, her favorite game is to tell me “Be right back” as she walks away from me. She will turn around and yell “bye bye” a time or two, then go out of my sight (usually around the corner). Then she will run back to me with her arms out for hugs and say “I yuv ooo”. Apparently, this is very, very funny. More funny if it is repeated approximately 27 times. The girl has a wicked sense of humor. She finds everything funny, especially her own jokes. Boy, does she ever fit in with the rest of our family!

It’s incredible to think what Little Miss Ying has been through in 6 months. She left her home and her nanny. She left her birth country. She came to a place where no one looked normal or spoke a language she could understand. So, she learned the new language. She learned how to walk. She learned how to eat American food (and lots of it!). She learned how to drink out of a bottle, then with a straw, then out of a cup. She learned what it is to have a sister and a mommy. She had surgery to help her see better and make her eyes more comfortable. And she’s done all of this in just 6 months! I can’t wait to see what the next 6 months will bring!