Gotcha 1 year ago today!

I think I was around 9 years old when the family across the street (mom/dad/2sons) adopted a little girl through their church: Autumn. From that moment on I told my family and friends I wanted to adopt from China some day.. ok, China wouldn't have me. I am too fat, and quite honestly by the time we hit the front of the line we would have been too old..God put us on the path to Fryazino instead. It wasn't what I expected, but I would have been to scared to ask for everything I got in my daughter. I see our destiny in the little details. For years I had an uncontrollable desire to have a daughter. Seriously I would say it was unnatural and kind of creepy. Now I think it was there to get me to my daughter, because it is all gone. I always had a special relationship with the curly head girls in my class-I loved to play with their hair. And, now I run my fingers through my angel's hair. I love her tan skin, her brown eyes and her long toes. I am telling you God wrote her on my heart in the details. A lot of what God preprogrammed in me makes so much sense now that she is in my life.

A year ago today, August 22nd, 2009 I walked out of the Fryazino orphanage outside of Moscow Russia with my mother and my daughter Ariana Elle. At first when we came to get her she was excited to have the attention... to get dressed up and have all the cameras flashing... to have all the caregivers hugging her. When we went to climb into the car she was so incredibly indescribably terrified. She clearly thought the car was going to kill her- she was that that determined to get out of the car- making that much noise-that terrified. It took a long long time in the car to get her to lift her head out of my chest and peek out the window...

that set the stage for our whole journey... it all takes time.
Ariana needs to warm up to anything new. Once she feels secure she is fearless, but in all new things there is a journey. I will say that day care and babysitters have never been in that category. That is one dance she knows by heart. She "gets" being left. She knows how to charm the caregivers. She knows the rules of that particular game and she is stunned by the kids who cry and don't get in trouble for it. For the most part I rarely leave her with anyone but our family or her Nana. She did spend sometime at our school Day Care last spring, and recently she and Aidan stayed with the girls down the street, but that is about it.

The first few months Ariana had me all the time (and a lot of Ian) to herself while the boys went to school. I saw lots of progress. During the spring, when I had to go back to work-Ian moved to Miami for his new job and attention was sparse, I saw her stagnate. That transition from our Tampa life to our Ft. Lauderdale life wasn't the best for her. I would describe it as wasted time, not a step backwards. But over the summer I have started to see the progress again. Now that the boys are all headed back to school, I think Ariana will be blessed by the one on one time. I have even signed us up for a mommy and me gymnastics class to get her acquainted with the gym and we are part of a moms play group.

Ariana loves:
*her family, especially her daddy and Aidan
*her Nana- she even asks for her- they have a special bond from their time in Moscow together
*to swim
*to read books
*to go for walks
*junk food
*anything I am eating
*dolls
*Dora and Diego
*baths
*playgrounds
*animals
*to wash dishes in the sink and help me clean house
*makeup and putting it on carpets and walls
*art projects of all kinds from paint and markers to crafts
*shoes
*mommy saying how pretty she is

Ariana doesn't like:
*being different/not having exactly what someone else has- she hates that her car seat is different from Aidan's, she has to have whatever you have on your plate so she often has a smorgasbord, what ever Aidan is wearing or playing she must have one too..
*Being put to bed
*that we can't always understand her
*waiting
*not getting what she wants when she wants it
*that she shouldn't brush her own hair
*me taking something from her
*wearing bows or ponytails for more than an hour

Ariana is:
*adorable
*always surprising me with how smart she is
*observant
*loud
*charming
*cautious
*loving
*careful
*curious
*prissy
*DRAMA DRAMA DRAMA
*my angel
*patient- she puts up with our chaos and messyness so well. She has really learned to just go with the flow most of the time...


I wanted to post this now while it is on my heart. Ariana is off on a bike ride with Aidan and daddy. They were going to the church and then on to the park... I want to get some photos of her today- I am hoping to put the same dress on her she wore a year ago to mark how she has grown. So that post will come tonight along with how we celebrated the day!!