One year home....

Has it really been a year home? Scarlett is so integrated into our family that I feel she's always been with us.

Some highlights at one year home:

She talks in complete sentences. "Momma, I'm hungry. I needs food peas." or "Shaw, you okay? Don't cry." "Mommy, dolly needs a drink. So does Scarlett."

She still eats everything and anything I place in front of her. Her favorites are drinkable yogurt, all things Chinese (beef flat noodles, fried rice, etc), broccoli, carrots with hummus, popcorn, bananas, water with a dash of apple juice, jasmine tea, mangoes, pineapple...

She sneaks the things she likes best first. She is officially an American toddler.

She throws tantrums when she doesn't get what she wants. They are short and to the point, but they are effective (in her mind) She may not get what she wants, but she is capable of letting me know what she wants. We are giving her "voice". Thankfully she only does this at home and doesn't realize she can do it when we are out in public.

She still denies me eye contact and "voice" when she is mad at me. And boy can she hold a grudge.

She runs to give everyone a hug and kiss. My favorite is watching her give someone a "pat pat pat" on the back when she is hugging them.

She still loves shoes and clothing. Bathing suits are her favorite outfit of choice, even when it is freezing outside.

As soon as she thinks we are home for the night or it gets dark, she heads into her room and changes into her nightclothes... all on her own...

She has been in a twice weekly pre-school since September. Watching her interact with the children there just makes my heart soar. She went from not having any interest in other kids to playing with them and interacting with them, talking to them.

Daddy is all about fun (we call him a big teddy bear) and Mommy is still the disciplinarian. Fun times. Although she is finding that Daddy always sides with Mommy and that is a hard one for any child to swallow.

She will try anything once, no matter how scary it looks. She has no fear.

We snuggle in the rocking chair before every nap and every night before bedtime. The snuggling works like a charm, no matter what kind of mood she is in.

We wake up every morning to Laurie Berkner's "I really love to dance" and dance around the room. She loves music and can sing pretty much everything on our local Christian rock station and her Laurie Berkner CD's.

She loves the cats and dogs and now adores both brother and sister equally. In fact, she may love Maeve more because Maeve spends a lot of time playing with her. Scarlett is very vocal about how she wants her dolls to sit and what they want to eat and drink.

She is learning her colors and shapes. She basically knows them all but will use this as a control thing if I ask her to answer me. The same goes with 1 through 10. She is all about control right now.  Typical behavior for age 4 and for an adopted child. We are huge about letting her have "voice".

She is taking a gymnastics class twice a week and is able to put full weight onto her arms (kind of in a handstand against the wall) This, from a child who couldn't use her right side at all when she came home...

My love.

My hero.