Friends, we did it. We made it to one year.
It was one year ago today that I became the mother for the third and fourth time.
As our travel group's bus pulled into the civil affairs parking lot our guide got a phone call. She was told that there were some babies already waiting for their parents.
I was excited to be able to see other parents be united with their children as our previous adoption experiences had only been Dan and I. But when we entered the building there were no "babies". There, waiting for their parents, were Mason and Reagan. I had no time to catch my breath. And well, one year later I still feel like I'm still trying to catch my breath.
I can't believe that one year has passed. It has gone by so fast. There are days where it's hard to remember what life was like before Mason and Reagan were mine. It seems like they have always been here.
So where are we at today, one year later?
Mason is still loud like he was on that first day. Even my parents who have limitless patience ask me if he ever stops talking. He has put on 18 pounds and grown 4 inches. His English is near perfect. If you were to meet him today you would have no idea that he just got here a year ago. But there are still somethings that just don't translate. Like telling our social worker at our last home visit that he likes to eat "porn." I was quick to ask if he meant corn but he got frustrated and said "No, PORN!" Our social worker smiled and said that somethings just get lost in translation. No, really?
He has been slow to attach and bond with Dan but the last few months he has come around. He is without a doubt a Mama's Boy. He will just start professing his love for me out of the blue. It is really quite sweet and I love that he loves me but telling the bank teller or the Target cashier can be a bit much.
Mason seems to have a natural ability for sports. It's been neat to see him go from not knowing what to do with a baseball and mitt to being able to throw harder than most of his teammates and have a swing that some boys have to practice for years to get to. His normal happy enthusiastic personality also carries over to whatever sport he plays. From doing cartwheels on the soccer field or grinning ear to ear when called out at bat the boy he seems to never have a bad time.
What has surprised me about Mason:
That he is so genuinely happy.
That he has not made any friends. His teacher reassures us that he is well liked by his classmates but I often hear about his classmates getting together to play or birthday parties that most of the boys are invited to and Mason has not been invited to any. With his easy going personality I thought for sure he'd have a lot of friends but as of now that is not the case. Luckily he does not seem to notice and loved going to school, there was never a day that he did not want to go.
That he has no interest whatsoever in anything Chinese other than Chinese food.
His servant's heart. The boy truly loves to serve others.
At how much he eats. Let me remind you that the boy has gained 18 pounds in 12 months.
How easily he and Reagan have bonded. One would never know that the two of them haven't always been together. They are brother and sister through and through.
That he loves me as much as he does. I know that may sound crazy but I thought I would be a tougher sell.
Reagan has changed so much in the last year that I don't even know where to begin.
She is still that same happy, ornery, strong willed girl that we met in China but there is so much more joy and confidence in her than even just 6 months ago. She is finally allowing me to comfort her when she is in physical pain. When we first got her she never cried at any sort of physical pain. She would go into a trance like state for a minute or two, shed no tears, would not cry and then it would be over. I'm not kidding. It really freaked me out. We all witnessed it at one time or another. But she has gradually allowed herself to let me comfort her and will shed tears and reach out for me to hold her. Today she will cry at the smallest of things and I catch myself getting a little frustrated that she cries at getting hurt so easily but I remind myself of where she was months ago and this is a good thing.
Reagan's speech is coming along. Slowly but surely it is coming along. She can say well over one hundred words and her sentences are getting longer by the day. Just last week she said to me, "Mama, noodles please. I'm hungry." Not only was this a lot of words for her but it was clear as a bell. I could understand all that she said.
Our girl is still quite small. She weighs 38 pounds and is 42 inches tall. With her being so small I am able to carry her around quite a bit and I gotta say, I kinda love it. I'm not looking forward to the day that I can't hold or carry her anymore.
Reagan's temper tantrums are pretty much gone and she accepts the answer no much easier today.
As a student Reagan loves to learn. She so desperately wants to read and I look forward to the day that she can.
What has surprised me about Reagan:
How much she loves music. The girl will ask for music to be turned on so she can dance. She loves her some Michael Franti. I think she may have some free spirit hippie in her!
How easily she understands and loves Jesus. I thought it would be more difficult to explain but she gets it. She loves to carry around her Bible and let people know that Jesus died. She will say hi to random people and then will just blurt out, "Jesus died". I love her heart but we really need to work on her approach of spreading the gospel!
How hard she tries at everything (except for cleaning her room). She tries her very best and puts in so much effort. Things don't come easy for Reagan but she doesn't let it get her down. My heart aches seeing her want to be able to tie her shoes and not be able to but she keeps at it and doesn't get frustrated.
How happy she is. With all that she has been through in her short six years of life she is such a happy little girl.
Two happy kids. One Year. We made it.
