Catching up

I'll try and catch up on all that's been going on but I'm sure I'll forget a million things...

I'm still reading that toddler adoption book (The Weaver's Craft). It's tough to read with a toddler in the house! I love to read but when I only get through a sentence before my attention is required I just get annoyed. I'm about halfway through and it's a great resource...if you are considering/are/or have adopted a toddler you should have this book.

Keeghan continues to amaze us. I have said to several people at this point that if someone had dragged me halfway around the world to a place that looked different, smelled different, everyone talks different, and the food was all different I would not be NEARLY as happy as Keeghan is a mere 7 months later. We continue to do our best to keep her from getting overwhelmed with too much. If we have an especially busy day or two I try and make sure Keeghan gets extra time in my arms and that we have a quiet day or two at home after those busy days. She is coming to like her Baba more and has even tried to trade me in for him twice. I was headed out with her and she said "bye bye" to him but then wanted to go to him where she then told ME "bye bye"!! I was a bit taken back as nothing close to that has happened before but I guess it's good she's starting to like him : ) I'm working 8 hours on Sundays now too so she gets Baba all day and he puts her for her nap and everything. So far so good with that.

Keeghan is still not so fond of most strangers. She will sometimes say "hi" or "bye bye" but other times she'll bury her head in my legs or cover her eyes with her hand if someone talks to her. We also have an issue that once in a while she will walk up to someone and hit them...but it's only if they are turned away from her. Not sure where that habit came from and I don't like it one bit but I'm sure we'll figure it out.

Keeghan is very clever and only needs to see something once to be able to attempt it. Of course 99% of the time it's something we don't want her to attempt! Language seems to be a big exception to this rule. We're still having a tough time communicating and Keeghan's way of dealing is to yell the same thing over and over and over until we guess what she wants which is VERY irritating. You can put me in the bad mommy pile over that one because I sometimes end up yelling back before guessing correctly. The pitch of her screech is gut ripping and it's all I can do not to just run and hide when it starts. We're using some signs which does help but I can certainly see how Keeghan got attention from her nannies! She's a very insistent/persistent little girl.

Sleeping is still ok. She goes down for bed or a nap without much struggle. Sometimes we cry a bit so Mama or Baba come back to tuck us in and Keeghan does still wake at night at least once a week. Sometimes it's just a minute or two and other times it can be an hour or more. Doug seems to be more successful in getting her back down quickly. I think she realizes she's not getting me and just goes back to sleep but he may have some secret that he's not telling. I'm still the only one who puts her to bed at night but Doug has done 3 Sunday's worth of naps so far so maybe he'll give in and try bed some night. I think it would be fine if I were just not here as works out for naps but I'm pretty sure there would be serious drama if she knew I was in the house.

The big kids are obviously out of school for the summer which lead to some confusion on Keeghan's part but overall she's pretty happy to have them home to play...and so am I for the most part. By the end of the day, however, I'm pretty done being touched and talked to and am really ready for some peace and quiet and bed. We've been to the beach a couple of times which I LOVE and Keeghan is coming to enjoy as well. She's not a fan of the ocean per say but will play in a hole in the sand with a bit of water in it for hours and the fact that she doesn't freak over sand anymore is good. We also made a trip to Chinatown and had some 4th of July fun here in town. So we're keeping busy. I hope to make it to a zoo or two this summer and maybe the aquarium as well but we'll see.