The first 3-4 days home were rough. The jet lag flying home (from west to east) was not fun. Audra would wake up between 2:00-3:00am and think it was time to get up. Usually I could get her back to sleep after an hour or so in the dark with her Cantonese songs playing...but then I couldn't get back to sleep. Which meant by 4:00pm I was good for nothing! On Thursday we managed to push Audra's nap back a few hours in the afternoon, then we kept her up until about 10:00pm and voila...she slept all night! Problem is...mama still gets up everyday between 3:00-4:00am no matter what time I go to bed the night before.
From day one Audra's adjustment to all the new changes she has faced every.single.day has been amazing. She hasn't shut down, lashed out or been overly emotional....all things we were prepared for. Each of the past seven days have been full of change, with many new experiences for her. So much, too much even, for one little girl to understand and adjust to. On Monday she cried when the kids left for school. She probably feared that they were leaving forever. And there was no way for us to reassure her (in English) that they would be home in the afternoon. By the middle of the week she "got it". After a couple days of watching them leave in the morning and return in the afternoon she had figured out the routine. On Thursday she had an appointment with the International Adoption team at CHOP. There was an interpreter there as well. The first time she heard the interpreter speak to her in Cantonese she stopped in her tracks, had a very serious face and then searched to room for me. I can't even imagine what was going through her little head when she heard her native language so suddenly after not hearing it all for 4 days.
She is a smart, observant little girl. She imitates everything we do...facial expressions, gestures, you name it. It is a fun game to play with her, she is so darn cute! She doesn't really use any English words yet besides mama (but mama is Cantonese for mom, so that doesn't really count). She does sign a few words independently (more, please and eat) so we are teaching her a few more. She is very friendly...maybe too friendly. We need to teach her stranger danger, something she doesn't have just yet. But she definitely knows who mama and baba are and she seeks us out. This is a very good sign. We are working very hard at "teaching" her what a family is, what parents are, and helping her to bond and attach to us, and that it is okay for her to rely on us for help. Children from orphanages are usually very independent, which isn't necessarily a good thing. We need to take a few steps back with her, baby her, and teach her it is okay for us to take care of her and do things FOR her.
So in love with this little beauty!
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