Wordless Wednesday!

Hey Yall!

Attachment or Behavior?

In the adoption world, there is a great deal of talk about 'attachment'. If you are not familiar with this concept, there is a lot of great information out there...so no need for me to restate it here. Since Anna has come home, I have been very concerned about our attachment- not because she doesn't seem attached to me now, but because I worry about whether or not I'm doing enough. Is there something I'm missing? Is the attachment we have achieved thus far going to 'run out'? If I let her cry longer than a few seconds, will she learn that I can't be trusted? Are we firmly attached and is that permanent or will I always have to work on it? I can get myself all worked up worrying about this......

I also want to be a good parent. I want to set boundaries with Anna and be sure she knows that I'm in charge, not her. I want to her to learn respect and manners. I also want her to know how incredibly much I love her and can't imagine my life without her. I want to love her well and nurture the person God made her to be. I could go on and on, but I think you get my point.

So, this sets me up for a dilemma.

While we were in Ethiopia, Anna was a great sleeper. I could put her to bed and she would put herself right to sleep. She would wake up in the night to eat, I'd feed her, and she'd go right back to sleep. I was thrilled!

Somewhere over Europe or the Atlantic ocean, she lost that 'put herself to sleep' skill. (If anyone travelling happens to find it, I'd pay a big reward!!) Our current go to bed routine has included a bottle followed by rocking and patting until Anna falls asleep and I put her to bed. Then typically, within an hour of falling asleep, she wakes back up and I have to stand at her crib side and pat her for another 15-20 minutes until she once again falls back to sleep. If I happened to leave her too early, she wakes back up and we start all over. Over the past weeks, this going to sleep time has been taking longer and longer......and I've been stuck on how to handle it.

Is this an attachment problem or a learned behavior that needs correcting?

I feel confident that this is not the last time I will ask this question. I also feel pretty sure there are no clear answers.....

Another day at Therapy School

In Occupational Therapy, one of the things Anna has been working on tolerating different textures- especially wet and sticky things- on her hands. On her birthday, she wanted nothing to do with her cake. There were no great pictures of her with icing smeared everywhere. Since then, my little gal has made tremendous progress.....see what you think:

This was in June, on Anna's 1st Birthday-

"If I don't look at it, mabye it will go away?!"

"Oh no, now it's on my hand!"

"Can you believe what my mom is doing to me?!"

"Hands off! Hands off! Hurry and get that thing away from me!!"

One afternoon about a month later, we happened to have some icecream cake at the rehab center. So with her mother's permission, Anna spent part of her therapy time playing in cake....and she reportedly had a great time! Although I didn't get to see the whole mess, I hear she did a really great job. This is after the initial clean up...and she's still a mess. All those dark specks are cake!! She was one sticky girl but her happy face sure made my day! Thanks, Ms. Kendra for the fun afternoon.....

One More Home....

Yipppeee....My blogger friend Beth is home from Ethiopia with her daughter and she is a super cutie !! One less waiting for a forever home!! Congratulations to Beth and Eden; we are so super excited for you. Check out Beth's blog. I'm so glad to get to be a part of your journey.

Unfortunately, there are still more waiting....and even more children living in poverty that we cant even imagine. A group from Nashville with Ordinary Hero have travelled to Ethiopia to minister to those that have nothing; to show them the love of Christ; to give them hope and let them know they are not forgotten. They are there now and blogging about their trip- check out this post about their day visiting the children and families that live in and around the city dump in Addis. (and have your tissues handy). You can also check out Orinary Hero- they are doing some amazing work in Nashville and now around the world. We can all be apart of changing our neighborhoods and our world.

Cooling off on a Hot day....

It's been a super hot summer in our neck of the woods....already 24 days over 90 degrees. Last year we had only 14 the whole summer! We needed to cool off and Anna needed a real introduction to the swimming pool. So.....

We put on our swim suits and our new 'Adoption Rocks' t-shirts (yes, we have matching ones!)

I love adoption t's and this a one of my favorites- so cozy and super cute! I may have to get another one cause I like to wear it so much!! Head on over here and get yourself one- and help bring another baby home to his forever family at the same time!!

Hey! this isn't so bad...it's even kind of fun!

Anna loves to be tossed in the air.....wheeee!

Did you see me go under the water?!

Is this my 'malnourished and underweight' baby?! I could just eat up those dimples in her knees......

Hope yall enjoy the rest of your summer......