Weekly Update

I just can't believe that we have had Eva 3 weeks today! I actually had to check the calendar twice to make sure I was right. In some ways it feels like yesterday that we held her for the first time and in other ways it's like she's been with us forever. We have now been home for 9 days and this is where Eva is really blossoming. I have been telling friends that it's like watching a infant grow up in fast forward. The day we got her she did little more then sit on the bed, now she is freely exploring and interacting.

We have been so blessed that our jet lag was minimal after arriving home. David only missed 1/2 a day of work and the boys really didn't miss a beat. They were feeling well enough to attend a day camp at our church the week we got home. Eva took about 5 nights to get on U.S. time...till then she was "partying" in her crib at 2:30am each morning! Glad that is now behind us and she's sleeping through the night about 12 hours. She is now also happy in her car seat and knows that when she is in it that means we are going "bye-bye"!!

We stayed home all of last week to let her get comfortable with her new surroundings and to find a regular routine. She is definitely more comfortable on her own turf and enjoyed having visitors over here. She still gets overwhelmed in large groups but even that is getting better. She has also made friends with our dog, Cassie. Eva refers to Cassie as "puppy" (one of her new words since arriving home) and loves to give her the bone.

Eva is definitely a girly girl!! She loves hairbows and shoes! Just today after her nap, she brought me her bow and a pair of shoes to put on. She walked around like that the rest of the evening. She squeals with delight at the sight of nail polish and sits patiently to have her toes painted. She is very good at pretend play and loves a tea party!! She also loves music, already wanting to play on the piano and has such a graceful little way of dancing.

Her vocabulary has also grown, as I already said she now knows the word "puppy", "hi" which comes out "hi-ya", "bye-bye" and "more". The girl still really likes to eat! The only thing besides pineapple we have found that she doesn't like is peanut butter. One of her favorite meals is grits...We just knew she was a Southern girl at heart!

She is also learning the use of the word "yes". Up until now, she shook her head "no" to each & every question we asked. I started showing her how to nod yes by putting my hands on either side of her face and moving her head up and down. Now when she says yes, she puts her hands on both sides of her face and nods. It's really too cute!!

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It was such a blessing to attend church services yesterday with Eva. I sat in the pew thinking about how many Sunday's I had prayed for her and dreamed of what it would be like to be at church together. Now here she was with us clapping and really enjoying the worship music. It was a moment that made my heart sing! God is so good!!

Today I took Eva to the pediatrician for her first well visit. She was such a big girl, even though in size she's not on the growth chart!! Thankfully she may be small, but she is healthy. Of course the photo was taken before the shots were given!! I could go on and on, like how she has the cutest facial expressions and scrunches her little face, or how she loves to play patty cake and peek a boo....but I guess that I have gone on enough! As you can tell we are just smitten and totally in love with our little princess!!