Play & Pretend Time

This time I just wanted to post some "regular" playtime pictures of Chloe.  It's so much fun to see how her little mind works now that she's pretending.

Chloe is showing off her huge stack of duplos.  She had to get a stool to reach the top.

We had 4 kittens born in our garage the day before Easter and Chloe has been mothering them daily.

We thought this would be a good place for Chloe to hang out - dare devil that she is.

Last night the girls were playing hair salon and Chloe got "hilites" from her sisters.

We had a great day with Alexandria's family from Pittsburgh.  She and Chloe had cribs next to each other in the orphanage and are still buddies.

One of the girls was sick last week and had a nest on the couch.  Chloe thought this looked like a good idea and made one for herself too on the recliner.  She set it all up herself and layed down to play with her Leapster.

     It is a pleasure to share all these normal 2 yr old play ideas.  We don't take "normal" for granted.  I should however add, that there are still many peculiar things thrown in the mix also. One day I had heard the washing machine stop and when I went to put the towels in the dryer, I found Chloe pulling the towels out of the washer and putting them in the dryer.  She then proceeded to empty the lint from the dryer, close the door and turn it to the right setting.  It just makes me shake my head to think what all she notices.  Her lack of trust still motivates her to new levels of independence.  Now that she's older, it just appears in funny places.

A Giraffe Story

Back in February, Greg took the girls to a local exotic animal petting farm for a sleigh ride.

Chloe got to feed llamas, emu and other animals.

There were several new baby giraffes they got to feed.  One in particular loved Chloe's red coat and even licked her face.

Ever since then, Chloe has had a great affinity to giraffes.

We bought her a stuffed giraffe for Easter and it's the first stuffed animal she consistantly hugs and sleeps with.

     Chloe chose to name her giraffe Aye (I-E).  This is the Chinese name for nanny.  We had not heard Chloe say this word since she was little.  At night time she would wake up calling for Aye.  Out of all the words she could have chosen to name her new buddy, she chose one of the few Chinese words she knew.  She has only named 2 other things.  Both dolls have Chinese names also: Mei Mei (little sister) and Min Min (Chloe's orphanage name).  Sometimes the smallest actions give us a glimpse into what's really going on inside.  WhenI passed this information on to her attachment therapist, her comment was "well it looks like we still have some work to do."  We rejoice every day for the progress Chloe has made in the last 8 months, but we also see that she is clinging to the country she left behind.  Please continue to pray that God would mend the pieces of Chloe broken heart.

Happy Gotcha Day 2010

It's hard to believe that it was 2 years ago today that our little China beauty was placed in our arms.

We celebrated at the Chinese Buffet tonight with Papa and Grandma.

Chloe thought it was great fun to try using chopsticks. 

We gave her Chinese/English ABC book and a drum that we brought with us from China.

   When I look back at that angry little face from 2 years ago and now look at this bright smiling one from today I can't help but reflect on this journey.  It has been one with many trials, but God has brought together the pieces to heal Chloe's heart.  Even though the road has been hard at times, we will all be better for having traveled it.

Happy Easter

    I hope you had a good Easter holiday.  We had a fun time coloring eggs, hunting Easter baskets and spending time with family.  I must confess though that we colored eggs while Chloe was sleeping.  Sat. we took the girls to an egg hunt where they hid 5000 eggs.  It sure looked like a lot of eggs, but would you believe they were all snatched up within 2 min.?  Thankfully, they had the kids divided by age, so Chloe didn't get trampled by the big kids.  I pray though that your holiday was about more than just bunnies, candy and hard boiled eggs.  We celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ who conquered death once and for all through His resurrection.

Chloe and Cousins

We got to spend a few days visiting my dad and Grandma Loretta in FL 2 wks ago.  We were a little concerned that Chloe's first airplane ride since China would cause her some trouble, but thankfully she did great.

The girls loved the beach and swimming in the pool.  Even though the temperature was a little cool, we northerners didn't mind :)

What a difference 2ft. can make!

      What a difference 2 ft. can make in a girl.  Sat. night we moved Chloe's bed away from ours.  She can no longer touch me when she wakes up at night.  Surprisingly, night time has been pretty much the same.  It's the day time that the claws have come out again.  Much like the last sleeping move, Chloe is letting her anger with the situation known during the day.  Immediately on Sun. she began hitting, pinching, and screaming all over again.   It's just one of those storms we have to weather to bring her to ultimate heart healing.  Chloe really has been improving with her bonding.  Eye contact comes regularly without any persuasion.

A New Look

Just had to do a quick post with pictures of Chloe and her new haircut.  She just can't understand why I can't do pig tails anymore:)

Making Progress

     Much of the month of February was spent at basketball tournaments and in the snow.  We are enjoying sunshine and nearly 60 degrees in Ohio.  What an encouraging change!  Chloe loved being out in the snow, but I'm not missing driving on those slippery roads to therapy.  Our second daughter was diagnosed with migrains and ADD within the past 2 months, so she has now also begun neurofeedback with Arleta, Chloe's therapist.  That makes a total 3 kids now seeing the therapist every 2 weeks.  The neurofeedback is really beginning to work well for our oldest's ADD and we have high hopes for our second also. 

     Greg had a business trip for a few days in Feb. and I spent a weekend at a youth camp with our oldest.  Chloe weathered the absences remarkably well.  I thought it may send Chloe into regression again, but my absence actually strengthened her relationship with Greg.  When I came home, she sang the "Mommy's Always Come Back" song from our adoption cd. 

    The next step with Chloe is to move her bed several feet from our bed so she can't touch me at night.  Chloe still likes to hold my hand when she wakes up at night.  We hope to move her today or tomorrow.  Her anger is still increased and she seems more intense and short with her sisters.  These are all side effects of her sleep changes.  She feels insecure and "rejected" because she can't sleep with us anymore.  It just all takes time and sleeping independantly will eventually take Chloe to a final place of attachment security.  This is the last big hurdle. 

     As a side note, Chloe begins speech therapy tomorrow.  Arleta has been recommending it for about 9 months, but the need was finally recognized by our Help Me Grow rep and we are now able to move forward with it.  Chloe, although she is speaking a ton, is very difficult to understand.  She has a Chinese accent and speaks with a very sing-songy style.  We were doing pretty well understanding her, but her vocabulary has increased so dramatically that we just can't keep up with what she might say.  I'll try to give you some more information about early influences on speech development next time.  God bless!