I can hardly believe it. Vivienne Grace is 6 months old today! Sometimes I feel like it was just yesterday that she joined our family, and sometimes it feels like she has been here forever.
She is such a big girl! On Christmas day, she weighed in at almost 19 1/2 pounds. She goes through clothes like CRAZY, and is currently wearing size 12-18 months in most brands, and size 18 months in Carter's pj's. To put it in perspective, when we adopted Lucy at age 15 1/2 months, she was around 16-17 pounds. Vivi is pushing out of the clothes and pj's Lucy wore while in China! In case you were wondering what we feed her, until last week it was mostly formula! We had introduced a few foods here and there since age four months, but she didn't seem real impressed. Last week during dinner she was sitting on my lap, and as I was eating my soup, she would tilt her head back and open her mouth. Let's just say she has gone full force with her daily meals since then! (And OH BOY did I feel guilty!) So far we have tried rice cereal, peas, squash, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, and today, bananas. Let's just say baby girl loves her some sweet potatoes! WOW, she really makes a go for them!
She rolled over for the first time December 5th. Of course I missed it. I was gone for the day spending time with the family I used to work for, and she did it for dad. (I mean come on girl, I am with you day in and day out and this is what I get...sheesh! I mean, you even said DaDa first...Grrrrr.) She has been a rolling fool ever since!
She is so close to sitting up on her own, but does great when supported a bit. The girl has great abs..I swear one of these days she will go from lying on her back to sitting straight up, and most likely it will scare the crap out of me, but I will still be proud of her!
She's not a huge fan of tummy time, but when she does tolerate it, she holds herself up and is pulling one of her legs up like a frog. Mommy and daddy made a quick trip to Targ*t this weekend for a baby gate so we aren't taken off gaurd when she takes off crawling.
She continues to be in awe of her big sister Lucy, and vice versa. It is ovious there is a bond there that I hope continues forever. Lucy can make her smile like no one else can, and loves to be by her side. They sit next to each other in the morning to eat, and will lay together on my lap to rest. Lucy hates for Vivi to be at grandma's alone, and gets upset when her friends Lexi and Linley want to hold or play with her. (Hmmm, a bit jealous perhaps?)
She shows NO interest in holding her own bottle while she is fed, and think about it...would you if you were a princess and had queen mommy to do it for you?
Didn't think so.
She loves her voice, and let me tell you she has a big one! She squeals, screams, and laughs hysterically, but do NOT make the girl mad. There is no going back! I call her my 0-60 baby. She can go from being happy to screaming in, well, you get it!
Especially when hungry!
She is still a good sleeper. Some days 2 twenty minute naps, other days one long one (1-2 hrs) but will sleep from 9:30-8:30 with just one feeding. Sometimes even longer. I am very blessed that my hubby does the early morning feeding around 5 am before he gets in the shower for work. (What's that?...Me spoiled? Yeah, trust me...I know! Get this, I am also allowed to sleep in on most weekends! Is he a dear or what????)
We go to court to finalize our adoption next week.
It will be a bittersweet moment for me.
For many reasons.
It will most likely mark the end of our adoption journey as a family. Let's face it, adoption is EXPENSIVE, and I don't know how much more our credit can take for awhile.
Also, I have been fortunate enough to have met some great social worker's during this journey. If it had not been for one in particular, Denise, Vivi would not have been placed with our family. ( Long story WAY short, Denise came to our house to do a homestudy update for our Nepal adoption. She happened to ask how we found Nepal, and when I explained through an agency we were looking at for Ethiopia, she pointed out something so simple, yet so mind blowing. If we were open to race, why not adopt AA or bi-racial here in Ohio. And she was right. Why not?) This will mark my close continued conversations with these people.
People I would call to ask a question or voice a concern, and end up talking to for a LOT longer than we all bargained for. People I could bounce thoughts off of...... I know I will still be able to chat with them from time to time, but it just won't be the same. I had to laugh at the end of our most recent (and FINAL!!!) post placement visit. As the social worker walked out the door to her car, she turned and looked at me and said, "You'll be back!" with a sly grin. Will we? Only God himself knows. I sure would like it.
On the other hand, how JOYOUS finalization will be! No more paperwork. No more monthly visits. No more fire inspections by the State Fire Marshal. No more checking of all my outlet covers and cabinet locks. No more fingerprinting. No more background checks from the BCI, FBI and local police. NO MORE NICKEL AND DIMING ADOPTION EXPENSES!
But, the HAPPY and most IMPORTANT part of finalization??
Miss Vivienne Grace being a PERMANENT part of our family. The family who LOVES her, ADORES her, DOTES on her, and will CHERISH her forever and ever! How awesome is that???? And for that......we cannot wait!
