Liliana

Evidently my sweet little princess does not require sleep this week. This pic is from Monday night. She went to bed peacefully and then decided that sleep was not necessary. She cried and fussed for about two hours. She stopped immediately and got this big grin as soon as she was able to watch the dancing show on tv. That's when Daddy decided nothing was wrong and it was back to bed. Last night she tricked me. She went to bed nicely and decided she needed no more sleep as we came to bed (her crib is in our room). Now messing with my relaxtion time is one thing, but messing with my limited hours of sleep is another. I got her calmed downbut about an hour later she was just standing there starring at me. So I let her come to bed. She is NOT a cosleeper but sometimes I get lucky. Last night was not that night. She was up for another hour just sqirming around and such. So I put her back in the crib. You would of thought I had stabbed her the way she screamed. Within 15 mintues though she was fast asleep. I wish I knew what was causing this. She is cutting a couple of teeth but they have all broken through the gum. She is not feverish, she's just testing me. Oh the joys of parenthood.

In other Liliana news, she is having a mini language boost right now. It's really cute. Yesterday she came to me holding a Candy Cane and said "Nan-dy." Precious I tell you. She also says Down (could be cause I tell her all the time, my little dare devil), hi, bye-bye, NaNa, PopPop (for PapPap), Dae-Dae (for uncle Dave), MaMa, DaDa, Zae-Zae (for Sadie which she can say but now gets lazy), Meow, Kitty, Roooooaaaaar, read, thank you, cheese, bear, Sulzan(sultan), Do-Dee(for Toby) and yes and no that shes uses quite well I might add...and tons more that I can't think of right now. She is also starting to say things upon being prompted like the other day when we tried to get her to say Rob....she said Bob. Rob said he'd take it. :)

She is such a joy and is so very funny. I really need to get some of her silliness on camera cause it is just too cute. She's letting her personality come out now and is really developing strong likes and dislikes. She is giving hugs and kisses now and teases you when you ask for one. And she has the cutest little laugh. She is also seeking me out for comfort. It's so wonderful to see her.

At the beginning I wonder how long it would be until we got here. And it was a long hard road to earn her love and trust to become a family with judgement coming from lots of sides. I really began to see a difference in her around September after all our traveling. I know lots of people say not to travel, but it was out turning point. At each place we went, she'd tense up. She was for sure THIS was it...time for a new place to live. And everytime I'd start to pack up the room she would freak, I mean hysterical crying and following you room to room begging. Yes she was 8 months old when they brought her to me (too little by conventional wisdom to really remember). But my poor little angel had already been taken from her foster mom and moved to an orphanage where they didn't know her, literally, then she came to me. She was hysterical when brought her to me. She knew then and she remembers now. I can't blame her for not wanting to attach. But with each trip, she'd get alittle better. She got to see that she was coming with us. We weren't leaving her anywhere and it did wonders for her. The last year has not been an easy one but one I would do over a thousand times to get my sweet little angel girl.

Okay this got longer than I expected when I started. So there's your 19 month update for Lili, ranting and all.