Liliana and Koen really love eachother
I’ve had a hard time with our fifth month as a family of 4. The first 4 months with Liliana were hard, but we were making such progress with attachment, that I at least had hope for the months to come. The last month though, I felt like we were more stagnant. I was still having a hard time enjoying Liliana’s spunky personality and both kiddos were wearing me out. I found myself lacking in patience with Li Li when she tantrummed and tested me. I can’t say things are great now, but the last few days I have sat back and enjoyed Liliana more. There have been more and more “cute” moments to report to Keith at the end of the day. Maybe it’s because she’s been a little better behaved and now it’s Koen’s turn to do the testing? Maybe it’s just that my love for her is growing. Maybe she is just darn cute and I’m letting myself relax and enjoy her a little more.
Again, I can’t say everything is rosy right now – I am just very thankful for a good couple of days with my daughter, and am feeling more hopeful for the days to come.
Looking at Penguins
We’ve gotten to do some fun things lately. On Saturday, Koen, Li Li and I went to the zoo with our good friends who also adopted from China. This was Li Li’s first trip to the Seattle zoo. She was more interested in the elephants than any other animal, maybe because they’re big enough to see easily.
Maddie (always a princess) and Li Li at the zoo
Crazy zoo animals!
Today I took both the kids swimming at the YMCA and Liliana had a smile on her face the whole time. Even while coughing and spatting after I dunked her a couple times. Both kids have also enjoyed a few playdates with friends and a trip to the park in the sunshine. I’m so glad spring is near!
Things have been a little more financially tight lately – largely because our adoption expenses and Christmas have caught up with us, but also because we’ve had two cars with major issues lately. Keith and my dad are pretty knowledgeable about how to fix things thankfully, and are doing to work on them themselves, but it’s taking time and adding stress to our lives. We also have our 6 month post-placement report coming up and that’s another hit to the bank account. All this while we are hoping to sell our condo and buy a house. We’ll see what the Lord has planned. We’ve done two little home improvement projects with at least one more to go before we can list the condo, but hope to soon.
In the plans for the week are Liliana’s first dentist appointment at Children’s Hospital on Wednesday, and a speech evaluation on Friday. She’s picked up on English very quickly and understands much of what we say, but there are a few sounds she’s can’t make or put together in words: F, K, S, L, R, V, Z. Maybe this is normal at her age, or maybe this will improve after her surgery next month, but it’s better to be careful than wait too long.
We’re looking forward to a big weekend: the Olympics start (just north over the border!), we head to a lake house get away with our family and friends, and it’s Chinese New Year and Valentines on Sunday! I’ll be posting photos soon. 
