We've been staying close to home this past week...trying to focus on just being a family and allowing Thea to see what that means. We've finally recovered from the jet-lag (Amen!)... and both Thea and Nathaniel are sleeping through the night again (now if only we could get Mataeus to do the same!). We are getting into the groove of caring for 3 kiddies... the craziness of having the two youngest ones still in cribs and diapers is getting much easier! :)
We've gone for a couple short walks, and only one little car ride to take Mataeus to school... whenever we leave the house, she gets a lot more serious and quiet... and she is definitely unsure of the whole carseat idea. :) Until we met Thea, she had only been on a train once to get to Shepherd's Field from her original birth province orphanage (at 2 1/2 months old), and then in a vehicle to go to Beijing for her cleft lip surgery last November (6 1/2 months). Being outside and in vehicles is something very new to her, so we are taking it slow and trying not to overwhelm her, as if all the running around and tours in China hadn't done that! :)
Our little princess Thea (as she is known around our house) seems to be adjusting really well. She is a happy little girl with lots of smiles and kisses for all of us... I must admit that it is great skipping the newborn stage and jumping right into the 'good stuff' :) Mataeus and Nathaniel both ADORE her... they anxiously wait for her to wake up in the mornings and from her naptime... and when I finally give in and let them go in to check on her, she wakes up happy to see them and ready to play. She does like her space though... and lets the boys know when she is done with their 'mauling'... she really enjoys exploring the house and all the new toys by herself, and is happy to do this for long stretches at a time.
Not many 'girlie' toys in our house yet...but she doesn't mind!
It is so sweet to see how much the boys love her... they both call her princess which is just too cute, especially hearing Nathaniel say it. They are as excited as we are when she does something silly or learns something new... and i'm sure they are going to do a great job of keeping all the boys away from her when she gets older... whew! :)
Mataeus built a 'box train' to pull his little brother and sister around with... it even has a 'toy' section for them! :)
The biggest adjustment has been for Nathaniel... he was the baby until his little sister arrived! He wakes up earlier than the other two which has been great in giving us lots of one on one special time together. He is getting better at sharing his toys and loves to help feed and change his baby sister.
We have had a few special visitors which has been really nice... we truly appreciate everyone respecting and understanding her need to adjust and spend time attaching to us. She is starting to discriminate between strangers and family, which is wonderful to see... as much as our friends and family love the idea of her warming up to them immediately... when she doesn't do that and instead leans back or reaches for us, we are ever so happy... as it means that she is beginning to understand that there is a difference between 'family' and 'others'... and that we are her 'safe constant' that she can always rely on to be there for her.
She loved trying to drink water from a 'real' cup! :)
Thea definitely pays attention to everything we do (especially her big brothers), and loves to try to imitate us. She claps her hands, dances (by wiggling her cute little body), and is starting to wave goodbye, blow kisses, and is learning sign language (starting with please and more). Today she signed 'please' without any prompting from us!!! (well...except that i was holding food...which is a BIG deal to her) It is so exciting for us to see her learning new things and show that she is understanding us so quickly!
Thea definitely has a silly side...she makes us laugh and smile often. Last night after dinner she kept patting her belly and laughing to herself... it was too funny! The picture below is of her laughing at herself, and i've tried to attach a video of her as well... hopefully it works!
If only you could have heard the squeel that
went along with this picture!
Have we mentioned how much we love this girl?? God has truly blessed us beyond measure!
9 comments:
What an amazing little girl you have...she even put up with the head-butting, hand crunching, toy whacking that my little 'princess' dished.
She is a lovely babe and I am so excited to get to know her better! It was so sweet to see her giving you all those kisses and connecting with you so well. Can't wait to see her with Glen :)
The video worked! It makes Cory and I giggle every time. She so precious... Can't wait to get together for a play date sometime in the future when life settles down a little for you all. Maybe a walk around the block sometime?
So glad things are going well.... our Jake had such a hard time when Allyson came home, too! Now, he's her hero!
LOVED the video.... what a cute little laugh she has (and belly, too)!
The video is great! I really love the picture of our little "Princess" with the flower in her hair. Can't wait for our next visit to see all the changes in everyone. God bless you all. Mom Mac
Oh what a sweet post and SO thankful things are going well. You are so smart to keep her world small and allow tiny changes at a time. :) LOVE every single photo and her face is just precious with all that joy and love oozing out of her. :) Thank you for sharing the progress and will continue to remember you all in our prayers!
Blessings and love,
Sharon
shayankerich@gmail.com
Thea is such a blessing it is so nice to see how god works and his plan he has for all of us. It was so nice to meet Thea can't wait to see her again, but she sure knows who mom and dad are, you can see how much she loves her new family, and how you all love her. Thea is truley a gift from god. Again I can not express how happy I am for the Gregory family.
Awesome, things are coming together very nicely. Cant wait to meet her when the time is right and she is fully settled in. Look forward to see you all. love Lorry
How amazing it is to see how well God is answering our prayers to Thea's adjustments. We are so so excited and happy for you. The video didnt work yet for me but I will try again later. Thank you so much for your message yesterday. Sending you big hugs and lots of love
Hi - found your blog from another blog. Congratulations - your daughter is so precious and happy and your family is beautiful! Hope to continue following your blog - continuing to see read about/see your daughter bloom. Many blessings to your family, Cathy
Post a Comment