Our little love is OH so awesome!!

We have not posted in awhile... I guess life is getting comfortable and "normal" to where day to day with Norah is... well...normal!  This is how I am with my journal too.  I feel like I haven't journaled in months, and I need to do catch up, and then it is not fun.  So I am not going to do that here either.  But let me just say, Norah Blackwell continues to amaze us with her spirit, joy, fun and cuteness every day.  She is a parrot with the boys, and it worries me that she follows William around doing what he does... OMG some of the things!  Have you met my son Will?  Good leadership example for a little girl?  Hmmmm...  I am continually entertained, and often horrified.

Here they are cute as pie.

Will is my heart.  Really he is.  I can say all my kids are my favorite, but that stinker Will has a hold on me, and is so darn SWEET and cute and naughty all at the same time.  His relationship with Norah has warmed BIG time, and she adores him!  She is still terrorized by him most of the day, but it's built in some strange and delightful way an attachment that is strong and protected.  Anytime I ask where something is, or who did it, or why something is, she will say "Phee Will!"  So like everything is his problem or responsibility.  I love their relationship.  It's like I have two upcoming partners in crime, but they are quick to rat each other out!

Norah has really taken off with her English.  She has understood most of what we say for awhile now, but she is TALKING all the time!  It's great to hear!  She says things like "Mommy/Daddy, can you help me?"  " I can do it"  "I want ______"  and lots more.  Tonight she sat on David's lap at dinner, and gave him his cup of water, and said, "MY daddy's!"  His heart continues to melt.  My parent educator with Parents as Teachers came over yesterday to do a screening evaluation on her development and was so impressed by her comprehension and progress!  It makes me so proud.  Not that I have done any wonderful teaching, but that my girl is a smarty pants.  In the good way:)  

These pics are from around Christmas time.  And yes, that is makeup on her face in the pink sweater pic.  She likes putting makeup on when I do, and I just totally let her.  No mascara.  I draw the line there.  At least until the make up can go generally where it's supposed to on her cute face.  I got a lipstick kit for Christmas that I love, but has one magenta color that no matter how long and hard I wish it looked good on me, it never will... so I gave it to her.  I remember magenta lipstick as a little girl, and how AMAZING I thought it was, and how beautiful I remember feeling.  I have a feeling every girl needs a magenta lipstick when they are little.  Norah's skin is right for it too, so she may actually have a shot with it when she is older too.

Christmas was really fun watching her open the gifts and meet the family!  Mine that is.  My brother and sister and cousins and other family met Norah on our trip to Chicago for 3 days.  It was a test of patience getting there with the 8 hour ride with her.  The boys generally always do great.  Norah was only happy when Dave was in the back seat with her singing songs, doing stickers and reading... sort of exhausting after awhile!  But we made it with smiles on, and it was worth the effort.

One highlight from the trip was actually on the way home, we stopped in St. Louis for pizza.  The restaurant we stopped at was fairly empty, but we sat next to a table with an older couple and their two grand kids.  They were admiring Norah and trying to be friendly.  Norah started singing happy birthday, because she loves the song, and the man got so excited, because it was his birthday!  He was so blessed by it, and asked if he could take our picture!  He could not believe she knew it was his birthday!  We tried to explain that she just likes the song, but he was too blown away to care or be convinced it was more than a coincidence:) 

Watching it snow

I have gone back to work.  I was very worried how Norah would be for hours in the day without us.  I still only work Mondays and Thursdays, and Dave has her Mondays.  So Thursdays she goes to Aunt Sarah and Uncle Jame's house and plays with her cousins.  It's a terrific set up!  The first Thursday she was sad, but it's been a few weeks now, and today she threw a fit to have to leave their house!  Great sign:)  I love family.  I love the help and support we have here, and that Norah feels safe with her family!  All of us.  Work has been great for me to get back to.  I have had patients come in asking all about her, and even some bringing gifts!  Really.  I love my office and everyone in it.  It's a blessing.  And to get to work with some of my favorite people... just such a bonus.  I need the two days a week out working.  It's really good for me and my sanity!  :) 

"I am your beloved child, I am loved by you!"

What's with that title?  There is a lot to update about our sweet Nong Gluay Hom!  She is doing so fabulously well.  I may bullet point some of the things she is learning or doing...

- She learns by song.  Her favorite seems to be the post title:)  We will be in the car or in the house doing normal stuff, and she will break into song, singing/shouting LOUDLY, "I AM YOUR BELOVED CHILD!  I AM LOVED BY YOU!"  Thank you kids church for that one:)  And she will invite (demand) us to sing along.  Some other favorites are "Happy Birthday" and "every good and perfect gift".

-  She repeats alot of what we say, and I am beginning to understand some of her English!  She probably says more English than I realize, because it comes with a cute Thai-accented lisp:)

-  She is letting me brush (and floss) her teeth!!  Praise Jesus.  Sometimes with a struggle, but hey.

-  She is still all Daddy's girl, but her and I are bonding famously, and she really does love all of us it seems.  I got my first kiss the other day!  I was the last one to receive her kiss, as Dave and the boys got kisses early on.  She asked me to leave her alone in the bathroom, so after I left and closed the door, she yelled, MOMMY!!  I went in to her puckering up, ready for it:)  What a victory!  Sometimes she wants to call Dave, and when he picks up, she kisses the phone.  No talking, just kissing:)

-  She is still loving the noodles!  When she has a choice, she picks ramen noodles to eat.  Even for breakfast sometimes!

-  We had to deal with lice this week... yuck!  Poor thing has been itching her head for a month, but I never found any lice until this week.  Trying to comb out nits on a squirmy 2 year old that won't sit still, and doesn't like TV, so you can forget that distraction... not a fun time.  I had it too, so we had twice the fun.

These are some of the family pics we had taken by Andrew and Lydia Stienke.  AMAZING!  Norah was pretty fussy the whole shoot, so getting a few with smiles was great!  We are loving our girl.  Life is feeling more and more normal and natural.  

Loy Krathong

We have entered month 2 of custody of Norah, and things are really notching into normal life, well, I suppose I can say "new normal".  She is delightful, and is totally a Blackwell!  We attended Loy Krathong festival yesterday, where we met the other KC Thai families at Loose Park to release Krathongs into the pond, and light flying lanterns.  It was great to let Norah meet some other Thai children, and get a little Thai culture:)  Krathongs are floating decorations made out of banana leaves and flowers, and are sent afloat with candles and incense on them, giving thanks to water gods.  It also means that you are letting go of any negative feelings or judgements you've held onto over the last year, and releasing them.  Since we don't love a water god, we are saying "thank you to the God who MADE the water, and thank you for our daughter!!"  Our krathong was thrown together last min, and made of construction paper and cardboard!!  Guess who's krathong was least authentic in the group??  BINGO!  But hey, it was fun:)  It caught fire almost immediately, and was gone in 30 seconds!  Give me at least a year, until next Loy Krathong, and I'll have more energy to chop down a banana tree and do origami with it. 

Norah is learning all sorts of new things, and is comprehending an unbelievable amount of language!  She has learned NO, can you believe it!!?  Oh yes, it's the first word every child learns...  And her new favorite food is ketchup.  She loves it and when I point to snacks or a meal choice for her, she shakes her head no, until I point to the ketchup!  It's all she wants!  So I convinced her to at least dip it in crackers:)  Her comprehension of what we say is remarkable!  Just a month ago she only heard and understood Thai.  I can say, "Norah, go get your shoes", or "Norah give this toy to Sam" and she will do it!  And loads of other things too!  She wants to play tea party with her dolls daily.  Today we were playing with her hair bows, and she put one on her hello kitty doll, and laughed and laughed!  Pretty soon all her dolls were wearing her bows and having tea:)  My heart is so full with love for her.  She still loves loves her dad the most, and I am yet to get a kiss from her, but every day it feels like she connects a little bit more to me.  It feels great:)

One month!!

We have had custody of Norah for one month and 2 days.  Truly amazing how it feels like forever, but so short!  I can say with honest sincerity, that it has been amazing!  She has really taken to our family, and every day is easier!  She is totally in love with David, and is 100% daddy's girl:)  His heart melts for her, and he is loving every minute of it.  Of course, he can get nothing done, because she wants to be with him 24-7.  Her attachment to Sam has been terrific, and I would say to me is pretty good too.  We still are praying for a better friendship between her and Will, that has been a difficult relationship so far.  She seems to feel terribly threatened by him, and freaks when we show Will love and attention.  She lashes out at him often, and he is seeming to get the brunt of her aggression.  Sometimes they get on just fine, but she mostly has an offense toward him.  His personality is to bounce back and not be too bothered by her animosity, but he is feeling it.  Of course, Will is a silly fellow, and likes to joke and tease her, which does not help.  Ever.  So we are finding ourselves having to discipline Will quite often regarding Norah, and he is already feeling a little displaced in the family... it's been hard for everyone.  Please continue to pray for our little guy!  I am feeling for him.  We are all adjusting.  He is too, big time. 
When David is around, and Norah has the option of both parents, she is all over David, but when it's just her and I, she is great and has no problem.  I was reading in an adoption parenting book the other night (after many a melt downs...) at normal behavior and cues for trouble, and it gave a list of "signs your child is adjusting to the family", and she fit the bill for the whole list!  It was really encouraging to see that even after one month, she is feeling more comfy at home and with us. 

She has been sleeping SO much better!!  I think after adjusting fully to the time, we really turned a corner.  She has been sleeping in her own bed, and even got in on her own the other night!  She laid there, and I asked, "do you want to go to bed"?  She nodded yes, and let me change her out of her clothes, and get a bottle!  Down she went.  It was great.  She still is waking in the night, but no longer needing to be carried around the house.  Dave usually rocks her, sitting or lying down.  She settles now if we bring her in bed with us, so that's been most nights.  We are more rested, so more ready to take on the days. 

 

Halloween was really fun:)  James, Sarah, Sophie and Emma just arrived home from Wales that evening, so they met Norah, and we went trick-or treating together!  Norah LOVED it once she figured out what it was all about:)  Before we left, I had Norah dressed in a super cute Indian costume, but she would not keep in the braids.  She looked JUST like an Indian!  As you can see, her and Will got into a little mud puddle mischief, and that costume was ruined!!  (No, I was not watching my kids...)  So we changed to a pioneer:)  Candy went into a common bag and we all share it now, and 3 candy bags are significantly better and more than two!!:) 
I found myself crying today when a friend asked how it was going, and how the transition has been.  I was overcome with emotion at how grateful I am to have Norah.  She is so incredible and brave, and I admire her in so many ways!

One Week In

We have been home one week now, and how are we doing??  If you ask in the middle of the night, I would cry and say "Oh man this is so hard!!"  But if you ask in the middle of the day when we have had naps, our answer would be much different!:)  Lack of sleep and the demands of a 25lb. 2year old in the wee hours takes a toll on even the strongest of folks.  And Dave and I are feeling the strain in our arms, backs, and spirits.  It is hard carrying Norah around all night long!  We are doing very well, otherwise, and Norah is adjusting to the time and her new family famously.  A few people have told us that it takes one day for every hour of time change to get back on schedule.   Every day has been easier than the last, so I expect that is true!  We have also learned that anxiety will wake her at night, and she is learning her new home.  She wants to know that everything is where it was the day before.  There have been many midnight searches through the kitchen cupboards to find that the ramen and rice noodles are still in their respective locations! 
This girl LOVES her noodles!  She wants them two meals a day.  She holds onto the package for dear life while waiting for the water to boil, and she kissed the pack of noodles the other day:)  Anything familiar that she can claim is helpful for her.

Sam and Will have been incredible with her!  She has learned how to say Phee Sam, Phee Will, Mommy and Daddy.  Phee is Thai for Brother:)  Also she has learned how to say on, off, hot, and crocadile!  It was so funny.  She has gotten a little more comfortable with the other kids in the neighborhood, and likes riding her trike on the Cox's driveway with the other kids, and was even pushing some of them down the slide.  It takes her awhile to warm to all the new people, but again, each day has been easier than the last.

We are HOME!!

We made it!  We have been home since yesterday afternoon, and are adjusting to the new time, and new family dynamics:)  The journey home began with a taxi mix-up.  We were meant to reserve a van-sized taxi for our airport transportation a few days in advance, and failed to get that memo.  The hotel staff told us we would need to get two taxis to hold all of our stuff.  So we got two taxis, and the hotel staff told them to take us to the airport, and off we went.  The Bangkok traffic and crazy driving of the two taxi men found us seperated from one another within 3 min, and I was utterly terrified and unequiped to do anything about it!  I had no money, cell phone, or anything to communicate with the driver, and prayed the whole time he knew what to do, because for all I know, he could be the bone collector and take me and my new daughter off to the slaughter!  He kept talking to me in Thai and asking me questions.  I just hoped that Dave and Sam would make it to the airport before us, so he could pay my driver!  (How would I explain that one to him, not having any $$?)  Anyway, I am clearly still alive, so we know the end of the story... all worked itself out.  Dave and Sam were on the curb waiting for us, taxi man got paid, and we all breathed a huge sigh of relief! 
Everyone says the flight home is terrible with a newly adopted child.  How do you get ready for something like that?  Norah does not like to sit still, and when she does, she usually wants us to hold her standing up.  Thankfully she slept the full flight from Bangkok to Tokyo, so we had no issues.  BUT... Tokyo to Chicago, the 10 hour leg, was a much different story.  The plane would not leave the gate until she was strapped into a seatbelt, and we had to hold her on both sides while she screamed bloody murder for 20 min!!  The whole taxi and take off, and not until the seat belt sign was off could we even stand up with her.  I swear we, along with everyone within 30 rows of us were traumatized.  I was super angry at the sweet, smiling flight attendant who thanked us for "our cooperation with complying with FAA guidelines"... We spent most of those ten hours pacing the aisles and apologizing to everyone.  Sleep did come in spurts, and we were praising the Lord that one of the spurts came as we landed, because Lord knows we were dreading that fasten seat belt sign! 
We decided Norah's first American food should be a Chicago hot dog:)  So there we sat, on the floor in terminal C of O'Hare, enjoiyng the best hot dogs ever!  She loved it, and her dad was so proud.  The last leg to KC was a breeze.  The flight attendant let her sit on my lap and she didn't make a peep.  Again, still a little mad at the sweet Japaneese lady...  Her and her rules.
We were greeted by our sweet William and Faith and Bryan at the airport!  It was a sweet homecoming!  The rest of the day was a haze, as we were all so tired.  Ruth and Chuck, and Great Grandparents came over, as well as the neighbors to meet our sweet Norah.  It was a lot for her to take in, but after a meal and seeing the kids all play together, she joined in and loosened up a little.  She warmed to Will quickly.  He loves her, and at one point, after she threw something down the stairs, laughed at her and said, "oh my gosh!  She's just like me!" 
At this point, we are fiercely fighting jet lag, an adjusting toddler, and we just want some sleep and a routine.  It will come.  We were up every hour last night with her, and feeding her whatever she liked in the cupboards.  She was so curious, and probably comfort eating, but oh well... she had eggs and other snacks at 4, eggs and more snacks at 5, and then finally found the Thai noodles for another breakfast at 6!  We are praying for a later start to tomorrow morning:)

 

The pic on the top is Norah holding her Thai flag, and Will is putting a necklace on her, and the lower one is our first family of 5 photo in the airport!

 

Markets!!

I don't know if the video will work or not... but it is of Norah and Sam dancing to her "Chang Chang" elephant song:)  Super cute!  We went to the fruit and food market today, thinking it was like all the rest we have seen.  We wanted to get some interesting fruits to try.  It ended up being a SUPER intense market, for bulk buying fruits, veggies, and any meat or fish you can imagine!  It was crazy.  We felt totally out of our league.  We ended up buying mangosteens, leechies, a bumpy green and brown fruit that is white inside ( I think I had the same thing in Hawaii, but don't remember it's name) and another one that looked like grapes on a vine, but they were brown and you had to peel them... everything was great:)  But since we had to buy lots of the fruit at once, we have a fridge full here that we will gift to the hotel staff when we leave tomorrow!  We were looking for food to eat while we were there, but clearly this was not the place for that.  I ended up finding one vendor selling fried chicken, amongst the flopping fish and pig heads.  (YEAH, pig heads!!)  After Dave AND Sam saw rats running around, we decided to get outta there.  We took a Tuk Tuk back to the hotel.  It was so fun, and Norah laughed and laughed the whole time:) 
She is doing much better with me today.  I think I am going to have to see this whole bonding process as a day-to-day pursuit, and even hour to hour.  My heart is in a much better place than it was the last two days, and I feel renewed in my spirit!  Thanks for everyone praying for us.
We ended our day with going shopping and to dinner.   Tomorrow we leave.  We have one more day to soak in Norah's city and culture!