I think it's SAT 31 MARCH 3:33AM
Within our first 36 hours of being HOME, we've seen the MANY FACES of Maile come out...and some in ANIMAL FORM too from laughing hyeenia (sp?) to whaling buffalo (is there such a thing?) to koala bear hugging on Mommy (my FAVORITE!) Right now, she is a Shih Tzu: adorable & WIDE EYES, flapping her lips making weird sounds as I sit in my bed in the dark typing on my make-shift desk with blankets & pillow piled for a desk! The JET LAG is in full gear as Don is working for EDS downstairs & I have my side kick smiling at me with these BIG EYES & teeth realizing she should be ASLEEP & doesn't want to go to bed!! It's THE LOOK of if I smile and look cute, she won't get mad at me and put me in that awful cage they call a 'crib' in bubble gum PINK bedroom!!!!
I KNEW the FIRST night of her crashing from the whirlwhin travels & sleeping from MIDNIGHT to 10:15AM was too good to be true! She did GREAT the FIRST night, we'd go in almost every 15 mins. from 6am on to make sure she was OK, breathing, not suffocating, etc...it was so light out when she woke up to find us standing there in awe of her, she was not scared but only wanted me to get her out of the crib to start her day! She is a SLOW waker up...or doesn't want "Ba" to get her out of the crib...she would open ONE eye, see him and then shut them again really quickly (& pretend to be asleep.) It was halarious and she did that back in our "VIETNAM HOTEL days" too!!!! Now just hours ago (2nd night)...I was dreaming and thought I heard these strange loud sound effect groans 'unggghh...ungghh.....ungghh!!!" As I approached a state of consciousness, I realized the groans were Maile in her crib! She was not crying, yelling or screaming...just GROANING louder and louder like she does when she is awake and watches me walk away from the couch or bed and doesn't want me to leave her behind! So, we cuddled in my bed & she rested but as I tried to return her back to her crib, she was adiment about telling me she DISAPPROVED of that suggestion...so here we sit, watching the minute hand tick, tick, tick...and hearing her sweet songs & having to tell her "shhhhh, your brothers are sleeping next door" and she GRINS real big & then proceeds to giggle, sing & talk some more!!!! I NEVER want forget this time of the SWEETNESS of this LANGUAGE barrier challenge & her exploration of everything being soooo amazing and entertaining for her!!!!
Some of the BEST **Maile Moments** have been since we been home!!!! She REALLY has warmed UP to "Ba" :) and ONLY really needs/ clings to me when she is tired, hungry, mad, scared or sad...so when she is RESTED, HAPPY & FED...she loves Don to pick her up and RUN her up & down the stairs (usually chasing the boys or them after her)!!! Her down-to-the belly laugh like a "LAUGHING HYEENIA" is down right halarious and we laugh & become exhausted just watching!!!!! Then we've seen this littl' life turn into a "WHALING BUFFALO" when she is MAD or does NOT want something...whether it be her big brothers picking on her, trying to put her down in front of strangers or me leaving when she wants me RIGHT next to her or put in her crib and she's AWAKE (they don't go together right now at all!!!) The best & my favorite is when Maile is a "KOALA BEAR" and we snuggle...she is starting to doze off but NOT quite asleep. She wraps her arm around my arms insisting I stay put...she will OPEN her eyes & close them to make sure I have not left or tried to "fake her out" with BODY PILLOWS...that didn't work! It's the sweetest thing in the world & have treasured everytime she has done that from even the EARLY days of us together in VIETNAM. I really CANNOT believe she has bonded and attached to me soooooo naturally & quickly. From the moment I held her the FIRST time on the orphanage foyer with the wind blowing briskly through our hairs, she held on for the roller coaster ride of her life & never looked back!!!
Some more **Maile Moments** from our FIRST FULL day home include her continuing to pull & play on her ears when she is NERVOUS (esp. when meeting new people or strange situations.) Her littl' left ear is curled in the cutest way because THAT was her comfort in SURVIVING the last 27 mos. of her turbulent life!!! We initially wondered if she had a hearing problem upon referral last OCT. because we noticed it was curled in a bit & wondered if that stifled her hearing...they reassured us she could see/ hear just fine. THAT IS the case, and now we see her littl' dainty fingers play with her left ear--it's all starting to make sense now! Adopting a "older" child is like a UNSOLVED MYSTERY of whodunit...what happened in her life & who did WHAT to make her the way she is TODAY!!!??? We will NEVER know the answers to some of these ??? but we just try to pick up where she was left off and reassure she is FOREVER HOME with her FOREVER FAMILY as we build trust, stability and love!!!
**Maile was SOOOOO CUTE yesterday entertaining herself as well as us with the DIAPER RASH OINTMENT!!!! She would put in on like LOTION on her belly!!! Maile opened the box, got the 'lotion' out of the box, put the box down beside her...then WITHOUT OPENING the 'lotion' she would put some in her hand. Then instinctively she put the 'lotion' BACK in the box and put the box down beside her. The cutest thing is after all that she would LIFT HER SHIRT and rub her BELLY as she put on this imaginery 'lotion.' She did this over and over again, entertaining herself & us as welll for over 1/2 hr!! I got it on video...it was sooooo precious.
**She is SOOOO motherly to me as well as she grabs my cheeks out of the blue to KISS ME or rub my cheeks. Better yet, she has shared her 1/2 eaten cheerios that took her 4 bites already with slobber on her fingers and then offer ME some of her cheerio!!!!!
**One more Maile Moment before I sign off...When Daddy "raises his voice" to correct her or help her...she is DEVASTATED and HURT...and boy that pouty littl' lip comes out and quivers...she cannot even LOOK Don in the eye and the world is ready to crumble over her hurt feelings!!!! It's the most precious thing, OF COURSE it totally pulls on MY heart strings!!! She knows how to work it!!!!!! Now with 2 girls in the house & Grandma...we have EVEN UP the GIRL POWER :)---(and DRAMA in our household!!!)
Well, time to get this littl' nut down for a AM NAP before the sun rises & the boys get up...it's going to be a LONG day, but wouldn't trade it for the world because NOW we have MAILE FOREVER!!!! It's still VERY SURREAL to me, I cannot believe it...I still wonder if someone is going to pound on the door like the Gastapo (in the Dairy of Anne Frank) & take her away from us!!!!! We ordered her SSN# in her VN name & will change it later to her American name when the adoption is finalized on the US side, but at least it's ONE littl' step to getting her to be an AMERICAN Citizen!!! I welcome & look forward of celebrating her VIETNAMESE culture too!!!
Maile is calling for me since Daddy has tried to put her back down...I hear "Ma Ma Ma...." gotta go!!!!
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