Referral-versary!!

On this very day last year was the first time that we got to see our little girl's face. The week between being number #1 on the waitlist and getting the ever famous "Referral Call" wreaked havoc on me.....probably more than I'd like to admit  Fortunately I was able to keep very, very busy and not be at all surprised when The Call actually came. Read all about that wonderful day here.

At the time, we were not allowed to post our child's picture for security/privacy reasons stipulated by our adoption agency and the Government of Ethiopia. However, that is no longer the case!  It's simply amazing how much kids grow and progress in a year. Here is what our little cupcake looked like on Referral Day:

And here she is in all of her preciousness today:

Every day we look at this little girl and our hearts melt. We are truly blessed by what God has allowed us to do by raising her. Every day we see a little something more in her that reminds us that God's hands were all over this adoption. There is no way she is not our daughter! 

One Year Ago....

One year ago today, we were officially #1 on the waitlist for a referral. I remember feeling excited, nervous, anxious and wondering if we would be in that #1 spot for days or weeks. You can read all about where we were one year ago today.

It's amazing how much has happened in exactly one year. We had no idea that on this date, exactly 4 months later, our daughter would be home with us. And today, exactly 8 months from the day we brought her home, she is totally thriving! Just in the last 4 to 6 weeks, Eva has been showing us another layer to her personality. She is such a cuddler now. I don't mean just sitting on my lap. I mean sitting on my lap, leaning her head against my chest, not because she's tired, or hurt. Just because. Because that's where she wants to be.

Every night after we read our bedtime stories, we rock on the rocking chair and sing songs....Rockasong. Usually after I finish singing, she's ready to be in her crib laying down, calling it a night. The last couple of weeks though, she has been holding on tighter and tighter, for longer periods of time. I don't know if it's because subconsciously she's going through something based on what she was going through and where she was this time last year or because she has allowed herself to feel more comfortable with me and is willing to attach more. I'm praying it's the latter because that means that God is healing her soul.

Could there be any more greatness today? Yup! Today our baby girl is 21 months old today. The joy of my life is almost 2 years old. Wow!! I'm so blessed to be a witness to her amazing life. Today we took Eva to the zoo, one of her favorite places and then went out to lunch at our favorite Ethiopian restaurant. What a great way to celebrate our family. God is good!

 

This was the 1st time Eva fed herself the entire meal! And she did so well.

John & I tore the injera for her and she did the rest 

   

We also had another big transition in our home today. Our baby girl is turning into a big girl.....a big little girl. And that means no more sleeping in the crib anymore.   

She was so excited to be in her bed. She kept saying "Night, night!"

                  

Trick or Treat!

I had been looking forward to Trick or Treat night for the past couple of months. Not for the candy, although that's okay, but to see my little Eva all dressed up in her little costume. I got her costume at the beginning of September. I needed something that was cute and warm because it doesn't matter how warm it is on the days leading up to October 31st, Halloween is always freezing here!

Trick or Treat night is not what it used to be when I was growing up. Now it's called Beggar's Night. And it's not always on October 31st. A group of people in municipal government determine what night it will be held on. Usually if Halloween falls on a weekend day, Beggar's Night will be moved to a day earlier in the week. I remember getting home and going out trick or treating when you knew grown ups would be at home to pass out candy and be out until 9 or 10 at night. Now there's only 2 hours to collect all the sugary goodness.

So, with costume on and candy bag in hand, John and I took Eva on her first Beggar's Night experience. We only took her to 6 houses, those of our closest neighbors, the ones we knew the best. They all just loved Eva's costume! She was shy walking up to the neighbors and didn't really want to talk much. She stayed in her dad's arms most of the time. We were only out for about 30 minutes and that was more than enough for me......I was freezing!

Once we got home, Eva got the hang of getting candy, as she started trick or treating from our stash! She tried her first Reese's Peanut Butter Cup and was hooked.

Fortunately, it didn't keep her up. She still went to sleep at her normal time. Thank God for small favors.