Four Week Progress Report

So, they put Lia Kate in our arms just four weeks ago yesterday. I cannot believe it's only been four weeks. To be honest, it feels like much longer than that. I guess the early days of crying/sleepless nights/sickness have a way of doing that. We are in a much better place now and I thought I'd write a post on all the things she is doing these days ...

* She is an excellent mimic-er. She can mimic to a tee about any face you do. She also loves to try to get people to mimic her. Her favorite thing to do is to nod her head forward. She also clicks her tongue or smacks her lips trying to get people to do the same.

* She can repeat all kinds of sounds (ooh, oh, ah, eee, ay, ba, ta, da, ma, hey ...)

* She already has English words! I wasn't expecting this for a couple of months given her young age and institutionalization. But she calls me "mama" now and she says "uh oh" all the time. I took her to church for the first time on Sunday and we stood at the very back. I was feeding her crackers to keep her quiet when she dropped one and said "uh oh, uh oh, uh oh." So cute. She is also working on "dada" and "doggie" and "hey." She can say the latter three but she isn't yet using them purposefully.. She also babbles all the time. For all I know, she could be speaking in Cantonese!

* She waves bye bye.

* When I say hello she puts her hand up to her ear as if answering a phone.

* She gives high fives.


* She is beginning to understand what I say as evidenced by her following directions.

* She loves bathtime. This was quite a surprise as she hated baths for the first three weeks we had her. Now she loves them. I'll take that.

* She plays peek-a-boo. She started doing this in China and it's so cute.


* She smiles up at me so sweetly ... especially when I give her a bottle.

* She has started giving me kisses. I say "kiss" and she leans forward and kisses my lips. Tonight she kissed me and said "mama."

* She loves to sit in my lap and play with my hair.

* Much to our surprise, she is a great little walker. The orphanage told us she could walk, but she only took a few steps here and there in China. When we got home, she instantly began walking room to room. So, yeah, they were right.


* She has actually become a great little sleeper. Granted she is sleeping in our bed, but she is sleeping through the night -- usually a good 12 hours -- and sleeping in most mornings until at least 8:30. We are definitely seeing the payoff of having her sleep in our bed ... she is becoming much more secure and happy and she goes down SO much easier than she did at the beginning, and she isn't waking up all through the night now either. We will work to get her in a crib down the road, but for now we're all glad to be getting lots of sleep!

She is doing great and we are settling into a good, little routine. Every day is a bit different and challenging, but, to be honest, most of those challenges come from a certain little two-year-old boy! Hope you enjoy the videos.