Six months

Six months ago today, I waited in the American Consulate in Guangzhou, China with a group of other adoptive families. We were all getting our exit visas, which meant that in a day our two, we'd board a plane with our kids, and they would become American citizens. In two days, it will be the six-month anniversary of when Rose came home.

Since that time, Rosie has learned to do so much. Sit, roll, eat solid food, laugh, tease, talk a little bit, and finally, in the last few weeks, she's started walking. She took her first steps almost two months ago, but she was maddeningly reluctant to make the move from a crawler to a walker. Now we spend hours each day walking around the house (she pulls me if I don't move fast enough), so she can explore. Her favorite place is the reading nook-- the spot in her bedroom that was Annie's bed until a few weeks ago, when we did a big kid switcheroo and sent the oldest three down to the basement (yes, the upstairs is blissfully quiet with just Rose and Maren up there). Her favorite person is her dad-- she throws herself into his arms the minute he gets home. Her favorite word is "ma" which means just about anything. Until the soft palate is fixed in November, she probably won't say much more. Her favorite food is, well, I'm not sure, since the girl eats like a horse. If I want to get work done, all I have to do is stick her in her high chair with a neverending supply of bananas, raisins, cake, and pirate booty and that girl will go to town.

At seventeen months, I finally feel like Rose has caught up. She's doing the things a seventeen-month-old should be doing, and acting the way seventeen-month-olds act (infuriating at times, but always adorable). She's definitely one of the gang here, and she has the whole family wrapped around her little finger. We're so glad she's ours!

Next week will mark one year since we saw her adorable little face for the first time. I remember the emotions of that night like it was yesterday. I have to say that the six months that she's been home have gone by much more quickly than the six months we waited to bring her home.