The weeks are flying!!

It's crazy to think how different our life was just 2 months ago. The time dragged by and it felt like we were never going to get our little girl. Now the days fly by and I forget what day it is or how long we have been home.

I will say it again (and probably every post), God has truly blessed us. Viktorija is a wonderful little girl, who loves life and her family very much. She is first at the door to greet whoever is coming home with a big hug. She has to find everyone in the house to hug them goodnight (which is also a trick to stay up later, but it's so cute, who cares).

She has been to the pediatrician, who says everything looks great. No major concerns that need immediate attention. He ordered some labs which brought on some interesting interactions. She had to have a blood draw and I had no way to explain to her what was going to happen. Well we arrived at the lab and an older disabled woman was at the counter with her caregiver and screaming, which terrified Viktorija. She kept covering her ears and asking to leave. When it was our turn to check in, she didn't want to go anywhere near that counter thinking that what ever made that woman scream, she wanted no part of it. I kept telling her everything was ok, knowing that it was only going to get worse. Well the order was incomplete and they were unable to complete the appointment. We had to leave and come back the next day. Oi! It was horrible. I had to hold her as tight as I could while she screamed. I don't think there was a person in the place that didn't hear her. Poor thing! Now every time we go anywhere she points to her arm, her way of asking "am I going to get poked again?" I just wish I could explain to her what happened and why.

Viktorija's understanding of English is growing. I can give her commands in English and she can understand and complete what I've asked, but she isn't speaking a whole lot of English. She will repeat some words if you ask, but she is have difficulty getting her mouth to make the sounds, so she doesn't like to. She was evaluated by our school district for a special preschool for kids with physical and speech delays. I'm praying she is excepted for the fall. I think it will help her so much!

She continues to explore and test her boundaries. She can really dig in her heels. From 6-8 at night has become pretty challenging. She just seems to want to rebel. I've been trying some different things to make night time a little more enjoyable for everyone. It's just so hard to tell if it's boredom, rebellion, tiredness or just part of the adjustment of coming from an orphanage to a family. I know she's testing me because she makes sure I see whatever it is she's doing cause she knows it's going to upset me. I've introduced even more of a routine and it seems to help but it's only been a couple of days so we'll see.

Her favorites continue to be music, dolls and playing outside. I just wish it would warm up outside. Neither one of us is enjoying this cold weather. Makes me even more bummed that I missed all that 80 degree weather we had while we were in Europe.  Her new favorite is doing my hair. I think she's going to make me bald. LOL! I wish it was more brushing my hair and less trying to put it in pony tails or jamming barrettes in my head, but it's all worth it when she says "grazus mama" (pretty mama) and hugs me.

Riding a bike, thank you Aunt Melanie and Uncle Russ.

Enjoying Easter morning! Candy before breakfast!

Easter dress before she got ketchup on it.

She loves her music!!

The little devil on my shoulder has whispered to me more than once "will you really love the child like your own?" I can no longer hear him. I'm pretty sure Viktorija knocked him off with one of her many hugs I get each day. I have no doubt that God has planned this little girl to be my daughter from the beginning. She is mine and always will be. Adoption is such an incredible experience. There's really no way to explain it. She was conceived in our hearts and grew there until we were able to bring her home to our family. God's amazing plan!