Peace But Not Exactly Quiet

I have to admit this week has not been at all what I anticipated; and this is a GOOD thing!  I, the cynic, believed all along, that while this was the absolute right move for us and one that we anticipated with great joy, that bringing Aliyah home would be a HUGE transition of emotional and physical exhaustion for all of us.  Now, it's important to note that Jon is home and being a huge help while our INCREDIBLE friends are resourcing us often with some pretty amazing meals.  But that aside, we have had an incredibly peaceful, sweet, and dare I say easy week of transition.  

Aliyah sleeps well, eats well, and plays well.  The boys genuinely love her and both are so excited to help and feed and play with her.  I somewhat expected this from Kyle (5) but NOT AT ALL from Clayton (almost 3) who is a huge "mama's boy".  We have been so blessed!!

Yesterday, we were able to take Aliyah to a Dr. who specializes in International Adoption.  The appointment took 6 hours including travel time!  SWEET ALIYAH has been through it!  She already has a keen awareness that people with gloves on are probably not going to be good friends of hers.  This time, as in the hospital, she was correct. 

There was LOTS of blood work and poking and prodding, but overall the Dr. was AMAZED by the fact that even though Aliyah has been in an orphanage, she is right on track developmentally.  Her first official word is "DOG" and "More" was a close second!  She's almost got "mama" and "dada" figured out too!  She also gained 3 pounds in 2 weeks!!  I'm a  bit blown away and extremely grateful!

 

 (This girl has something to say!)