Belated One Month

I missed blogging about Sofie's one month, so here it is!

Sofie has been home in Canada for over a month now and out of the orphanage for 6 weeks. I'm celebrating the one month from being in Canada because that is when we really felt like our adoption journey had ended and when we started seeing Sofie begin to develop. It has been such an eventful month. My entire life has completely changed! Some things are much more difficult than I had hoped they would be, but most of it is easier. Things are starting to calm down though. Sofie definitely has her fussy, grumpy days but for the most part we are on a schedule and things are getting a little more predictable.

Sofie has exceeded our expectations. She is now 22lbs, which is over 2 lbs up! Most of that has been in the last two weeks since she has begun to eat "real" adult food. On September 3rd she was still 20.6 lbs and was refusing to eat the baby food for her dinner so I decided to try and see if she'd eat what I was eating. She couldn't get enough and hasn't stopped since! She still doesn't chew probably so we have to be careful about the size but the textures don't seem to bother her too much! She is rather particular though. She will usually only eat off our plate. We've tried to trick her a few times in to eating the baby food I still have, so she has some trust issues :) She thinks if it is in her bowl then we are giving her baby food. Oops. Her development in the food area is amazing. I can still not get over how fast this transition was, especially with how big of an issue it was for her in Bulgaria!

She still has a bit of a hard time getting to sleep but this is slowly getting better. We have her on a strict schedule of up at 8am, nap 1-3pm and bed 8pm. We generally have to wake her up in the morning and at nap but if we let her sleep until she wakes up she will not nap at a decent time or go to sleep really late. She generally takes about an hour to relax enough to get to sleep. During this time we lay beside her crib, reassuring her, singing lullabies and modelling sleep :) The time to get to sleep is lengthened if she has been overstimulated during the day but in recent days we have had her asleep in 45 min! There have even been a few 30 minute down times and one 15 min! One particularly bad day we did give her a few drops of melatonin. It works really well for her. She goes straight to sleep with it. I think I'm okay with using it sporadically for her on rough days. She needs her sleep! Once she is asleep she generally sleeps the night through. There has only been a handful of nights where she has woken up crying. I love being able to teach her that I will always be there and come to her!

Sofie smiles every time we come in to the room. It is priceless. She is smiling and responding to us a lot more now too. It is quite awesome to see. She is a little moody though and can give the most deadly glares. When she is upset, mad, or frustrated, everyone knows it! She hits what ever or who ever is closest to her when she is mad and she can hurt! We are slowly figuring it out though. We remove her a few feet from what ever she is hitting or put her down. She usually yells at us then, but once she signs to us that she will be gentle she can come back up or get close again. Not sure if that is in any of the parenting books but it is working. I don't think she is ready for time outs or anything like that yet. Once she starts using her voice to talk, things should get a lot easier! Not sure if that is coming any time soon though.

She did say Mama though! On September 11 she was starting to cry in the hallway and called for me! Yay! She only says it when she is upset but she is saying it. It is the beginning! She understands a lot of English now, particularly when we are telling her not to do something :) Her thin hair patch is almost gone. It is filling in nicely. She rocks far less. We only see her rocking now when she is listening to music alone or when she is winding down to get to sleep in her crib. This is also a huge advancement. She rocked ALL the time in Bulgaria. She also clicks her jaw way less too!

Livi has been adjusting really well too. I think these last two weeks have really been great for her. She has realized Sofie is here to stay and her classes have started. She is in gymnastics on Wednesday nights and gets to go with one parent and no Sofie. She LOVES gymnastics and has been talking about it all summer. She is in the kindergym class now and doesn't have parent involvement. She is such a big girl! Her dance class has also started which she also really enjoys. We've pushed that these are things only big girls get too do and she takes a lot of pride in that. I think it helps her to have something that only she gets to do.

Livi is a very doting sister, most of the time. She helps out a lot in getting things for me to help with Sofie and  likes playing with Sofie, even if Sofie doesn't usually like Livi in her personal space. They are both learning each other's boundaries though. Livi does get easily frustrated with Sofie but doesn't like it if any one else does, even Jon and I. If we use our "stern" voice, Livi is the first one to remind us that Sofie is just a baby and doesn't understand. Just the other day I was telling Sofie not to touch the TV and she was not listening. Livi could hear I was getting frustrated. She turned too me and put her hand up saying "I can handle it. I can handle it." I wasn't sure if it was a smart parenting move to let her handle it but she was so sure of herself and I thought it was too funny to step in.

Another precious sister moment was last week. Livi had woken up first, like she usually does, gone to look in Sofie's crib. When she came over to our room I asked her what she was doing.
"Just looking at Sofie."
I asked, "What were you thinking?"
Livi said, "Just thinking that Sofie is so beautiful."
My heart melted a little bit.

All in all, this first month has been really great. We are getting a routine figured out. Sofie is attaching really well and Livi is feeling loved and cared for too! Now if Jon and I could only figure out how to have energy to spend some quality time together we'd be set! I can't wait to see how well the next month goes!

Goings On

These last few days have been going much better. Getting to sleep for Sofie and Livi still really sucks but Jon and I are working at remaining calm. This is a very difficult task at times, particularly at night when Livi is being completely defiant and Sofie won't settle. Us being calm seems to really help Sofie especially. She seems to REALLY pick up on our moods. Sofie is still taking about an hour to go to sleep at nap time and sometimes longer at bed time. We are laying down beside her crib to reassure her until she is asleep or nearly asleep. It is easier to do when both Jon and I are in the room. Livi gets jealous of the attention to Sofie and acts out keeping Sofie up at bed time. With one of us with one kid each, things tend to go a bit smoother and we keep each other calm too! Our rooms are attached so we sleep with the door open and she can see us in our bed from her crib if she wakes up but we generally have to wake her up. We are trying a strict schedule of up at 8am, nap time at 1 until 3 whether she sleeps or not, and down by 8pm again.

Yesterday, I took Sofie to see Kathy. She is a doctor in Traditional Chinese Medicine. I love her. She has done a lot for my entire family. I can't recommend her enough! She made some suggestions of food to watch out for with Sofie that will hopefully help her get healthier and sleep better. She also recommended a few minerals that we are going to try. Sofie is obviously deficient in some of her nutrition and minerals but we are working hard at getting her healthy! The bags under her eyes that she had in the orphanage are almost gone and her color is so much better. She was so pale when we first got her. I'm so amazed at the change. Hopefully these mineral changes can help with her sleep too.

Melatonin really worked for Sofie. We had tried it at nap time for a few days and it really worked. She slept for over two hours both days but then wouldn't sleep until 10pm each night. We weren't sure which way was worse. We didn't want to give her more at night because we've heard that dependency can form on melatonin so we don't want to prolong or over use it at all. With her hour and a half settling time though, we are definitely thinking of using it again. We're going to give Kathy's suggestions a bit of time to work though before we go back to it.

We were able to go to the water park the other day. Sofie really liked the swing but the water was too cold for them to really play in. Livi is more of a pool girl anyways. With how much Sofie likes baths, I suspect Sofie is too.

Enjoying the swing way too much :)

 Staying close to Mommy!

 RUN!!!!

Sofie has all but not given up baby food! She refuses to eat her food unless it is the fruit purees. She has eaten fish and rice, taco salad and mac 'n cheese. She thinks that we are trying to trick her too and won't eat it unless it is off our plate from an adult fork! A little frustrating but great developmentally! She has made leaps and bounds in this area. She is still not chewing properly but it is coming. We just have to make sure she gets small bites and it is mostly soft. I'm not sure what we are going to do with all the baby food I bought!

Today was Livi's first day of gymnastics! All summer she has been talking about how she is going to gymnastics in September. She was so excited. She was in the big girl class all by herself with kids up to 5 years old! She didn't need Mommy or Daddy to do it with her. I must say I was exceptionally proud of her. She listened to the teacher like a pro and did everything! The teacher was really impressed with her jumping and bum drop ability! She starts dance on Tuesday then the following week both girls, with Mommy and Daddy, have a music class that I think is going to be tons of fun! Livi isn't in preschool yet so we figure some extra activities are good for her :) 

A Rough Day

Today was rough. Sofie hasn't napped in three days. I know some people might think that maybe she doesn't need to nap. She is three after all. Many three year old's have given up there naps. As her mother, I truly do not believe this is the case. If we can't figure this out, it may turn out to be the case, but in my gut I feel like she still needs naps. When she misses her naps she is tired, grumpy, hits and pulls hair more, has more melt downs and bigger food issues. She needs a nap. Quiet time isn't cutting it.

I had a melt down today too. Up until these last two days, I'd been doing really well. I think I have still been on the adrenaline of bringing Sofie home. I remember that same adrenaline when I had Livi. I felt like I could do anything. I had Livi on Thursday and I think it was Tuesday that we went out for the day, my house was clean and I wanted to show off my baby! The feeling hasn't been quite so drastic this second time around but it has lasted longer. I'm at week three today of having Sofie home and only now having my first melt down. I think with Livi it was within the first week.

There is such a thing as post-adoption depression, like postpartum depression. I don't think I am there. I think I am just entering the 'blues' stage. Like baby blues. I remember crying almost every day for a few months with Livi. I don't feel like that is going to happen with Sofie. I had a lot of other stuff going on when Livi was born. I am just adjusting, just like everyone else in my family.

Jon was trying to be sweet and supportive but he had had it with the kids today too. I think I handle it better when only one of us is at the end of our rope, but today we both were. He suggested I go out with a friend or my sisters tomorrow but I honestly don't have enough energy to go out. I wouldn't be relaxed. I would just be thinking of all the things at home that I should be doing or cleaning. I know he was trying to help. This is my issue right now. I feel like once I get the house clean again and things more organized then I can handle it all, but the reality is setting in that my house will never be clean! I'm living in a basement suite with a sub-standard kitchen and unless we want to invest some serious money, things will never be as organized as I want them. There will always be splatters of who-knows-what on various perplexing spots around the house and I will continually step on things that are lying in the floor. I know I'm exaggerating things but this is my reality right now. I'm trying to tell myself that this will pass but tonight it doesn't feel like it!

I don't like feeling this way though. I yelled at both my kids today... surprisingly it didn't seem to phase either of them. Livi had been defiant as usual and Sofie was trying to throw poo at me for the second time today. It was not my finest hour. I don't know exactly what needs to change in my thinking to handle this better. Sleep will help. What if Sofie never naps? I'll be alone in December and need to figure it out for myself. Losing control and yelling  in frustration or anger scares me. I can't let myself go down that road. I know where that road leads and I will die before letting my kids experience any part of that. It is in me though. I think that is why it scares me so much. I will be better tomorrow. I know I will. I just need sleep.

Life

Life is good... hard, but good. I'm going to talk for a minute about the hard stuff....

Helping Daddy with the recycling.

This adoption is truly a dream come true, but it has brought with it a lot of challenges. Most of the challenges were considered and expected before hand, but it still doesn't make it easy! Jon and I had talked excessively about the possibility of Sofie having certain behavioral issues but we had hoped we'd slide by with out Livi having too many issues. For the most part Livi is doing really well but she is having some jealousy and regression. She usually wants the parent who is taking care of Sofie at the moment. She has been very defiant, overly emotional and tells us she is going to do things that are not allowed. She has showed her regression too. I don't quite understand it and am finding it so frustrating. She has been potty trained for well over a year and in the past two days she has peed her pants 3 times and partially pooped in her pants twice. 

I know Livi is in transition and her whole world has been interrupted and turned around. We didn't bring home a tiny baby who just sits there, sleeps, and eats. We brought home a walking three year old who engages with us, seeks out our attention and has her own little personality. It seems to be very different from my friends experiences. Easier in some ways but harder in others. 

Bed time at night is the worst. Each night Livi is ridiculous. She won't lay down, bangs the wall, lays down the other way, wakes up Sofie so she gets out of bed and get us to come back in the room, and has a million excuses to gets out of bed. It is so beyond frustrating. Bedtime, which used to be a 15 minute routine is now up to an hour and a half. It is so ridiculous.

Tired out from the sun :)

Sofie is doing so much better than we could have hoped for. She is still indiscriminate with who she approaches and plays with but she is coming to us for food and comfort. I don't think I've seen her go to any one else for that recently. Her eating has improved more than I could imagine. She rarely cries during meals now and she has a pretty good appetite! She is still VERY picky about what she eats and prefers sweet things. What kid doesn't, right? She eats 8 month old baby food. The 12 month stuff has chunks which she won't eat. She still hasn't drank much. We tend to get a few sips of chocolate milk, and sometimes milk, in to her each day. Yesterday her Gramma got some juice and water in!!! This is the first time she has drank water since being at the orphanage! Yay Gramma!!!

Clapping with Auntie Maggy!

Sofie  is very quiet but she is definitely discovering her voice. She has started letting people really know when she is mad... usually because we are taking her out of the bathroom. She is starting to say mama more but I'm still not sure she is associating it with us. She is cuddling with us as she goes to sleep, instead of doing her orphan rocking thing that I hate! I love cuddles with my kids and I love that Sofie is choosing to cuddle with us! She is playing with toys too, which is so awesome. She stacks rings, loves playing with necklaces and tea sets. I think she might end up being really girly. She doesn't like barrettes in her hair yet though. She just started kissing us today though! I love it! They are so cute and usually have a little tongue in there but I think that is fairly normal for her developmental level. She can wave goodbye and blow kisses to. That came from the orphanage.

Sofie still grinds her teeth and clicks her jaw but she doesn't do nearly as much as she did in the beginning! The grinding teeth is also a symptom of low muscle tone and control in her jaw, not just a coping mechanism of the orphanage. She rocks way less... I will sometime go all day with out seeing her do it. She must be feeling so much safer and dependent on us to help her cope. She doesn't need that extra coping mechanism! Hooray!

Happy girl :) Signing for food here.

Nap times still suck though. Today, she took nearly two hours to get to sleep at nap time today. But she did finally sleep! The parents of child with DS need to more stubborn than the child! She doesn't generally cry like she used to when going to sleep. She just takes for ever to settle. Surprisingly she goes to sleep much smoother at night. Livi has the issues at night. Sofie's sleep is very unsettled. She is a pretty heavy sleeper but very unsettled. She tosses and turns like you couldn't even imagine. Most days she is ending up on the floor. She usually falls off feet first and doesn't hurt herself, but sometimes it is head first... I think we should probably set up the crib. I feel kind of bad for Sofie because in the orphanage she wasn't allowed to explore her world and never got hurt. In the first few weeks she has been with us she's gotten a few bumps on the head, a scraped knee, and a few good scratches on her arm! I think it is good for her though :)

We took her to see a fabulous pediatrician who looked her over and is making some referrals for us. The appointment will cost us over $200 because we don't have Sofie's citizenship card yet and can't get her Care Card with out it! I hope it comes fast. The pediatrician said she does have a murmur in her heart that we'll check out and wants to get a baseline for a bunch of things but over all she is doing well. Of course she is under weight and he thought what we were doing was fine. Basically get anything we can in to her, no matter what it is. She is 20lbs. That is in the 5th percentile of the DS growth chart and up half a pound since we got her, assuming the scales were both accurate. If I remember right she is 32 inches tall, which puts her under the 25th percentile for height. We also met with the Child Development Center this week. Sofie will get Physiotherapy, Occupational therapy and Speech Therapy! Yay! The CDC was really great too! Sofie is definitely getting a good start!

Riding on Daddy! Way to much fun!

Being goofs.

Bedtime story!

As far as parenting, I think I'm really starting to feel attached and like Sofie's mom. I love her completely, although it is still easier to love her in her easy, happy times. I think that is true with any child though :) It seems to be growing more slowly than with Livi though. I don't quite remember how things progressed with Livi. I remember not feeling it right away like Jon but I don't know exactly when I was fully attached. With Sofie, I think I'm so much more aware of the process and analyzing all my feelings. Not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing.

With Livi, I was the main caregiver, I was her food and usually her comfort. I spent 24/7 with her. I didn't have the freedom to go out for more than an hour with out her. I felt like I was the only one who knew what she wanted and needed and when. With Sofie, Jon is home full time until December (yay for government jobs and topping up EI!). I'm not the only one who can feed and comfort Sofie. He is very much in the exact same role as me here. I love this experience, but it is so different. I feel like I should feel guilty if I leave Sofie at home and take Livi grocery shopping, but I don't. I enjoy grocery shopping sometimes and am loving the one on one time with my first daughter. Is this normal? I think it probably is.

3

Today my baby is 3. Where has the time gone? I'm so proud of the little girl that she is becoming. When we came home with Sofie it seemed as though Livi had grown up over night and now we get to celebrate her being officially out of the toddler years! She is now officially in her preschool years. Wow.

First wake up picture as a 3 year old!

She kept saying she was two so we had to correct her.

Yesterday we had a small family party, with some wonderful party crashers, to celebrate Livi's birthday. It was quite a lovely day actually. The girls were both in great moods, for the most part. We just had a laid back time of visiting. The weather was really warm so Livi, Rebecca and Jude played in the blow up pool. I had made up a few water balloons for them too. Jon's mom got him good too!

 Good shot!

 Covering her face for her surprise present from Mommy and Daddy!

It was a kitchen center.

Blowing out the candles!

Sofie enjoying Uncle Brent's hat at the party!

 

I got Livi out for her annual birthday photo shoot today. Not the easiest thing in the world because she wasn't really wanting it and I was so tired, but I got a few beauty shots. I know I am biased but I think she is beyond beautiful, inside and out!

This is a bit of a transitional birthday for Livi. She is doing really well but showing some signs of regression and jealousy towards her new sister. She peed her pants twice today, which was unheard of before, and she is always wanting the parent who is with Sofie at the time. I feel bad for her and am feeling pretty guilty for how frustrated I've gotten towards her. I need to remember that her whole world has been disrupted and she is in transition just like Sofie is. I need patience!

Other than that Livi is flourishing. She is starting to figure out how to spell words, like her name and "stop" which she recognizes from the signs. She also almost has her phone number memorized. She has the first part down but frequently mixes up the numbers at the end. She can almost get in to a head stand all by herself. After we help her up she can hold it for a long time. She is very excited about gymnastics in September! She loves building towers, helping Mommy cook, dance, sing, playing with her farm animals and playing on Mommy's iPhone. She also has girly days where she pushes her baby around in it's buggy all day and puts her jewelry on. She LOVES to color, read books, play play doh and paint. She is way to smart for her own good and finds loop holes in Mommy and Daddy's rules. It is hard to be a good parent when you are trying to stifle giggles at the awesome logic of a 3 year old! She loves watching her new sister, giving her hugs and kisses and helping out where she can, like with feeding her or guiding her somewhere. She adores animals and loves swimming! I don't think she has a favorite cartoon character any more. We've actually been watching far less TV with both girls around to play with each other. She still sleeps with her Elmo and Fuzzy every night though and keeps her Bunny close by!

I'm so proud of who my baby is growing in to and I'm so excited to see who she becomes. It is going to be amazing!

The First Few Days

I think we are all settling in to our new lives as well as we could possibly hope for. We are all figuring out our new routines and what Sofie and Livi need from Jon and I. I am loving waking up to my girls every morning. They both wander out of their room and give huge smiles at our bedside each morning.

Jet lag hasn't been too much of an issue. We've felt a little sick but sleeping is going great! It was much easier coming home with jet lag was much easier than going to Bulgaria. In Bulgaria we kept waking up at 2am hungry! We've been sleeping through the night fine! The girls have been too!

Both girls are on the same schedule already which I'm pretty amazed at. They are even sleeping in the same room relatively fine too! They go to sleep at night around 8pm and have been asleep before 9 each night. Jon or I generally "sleep" in the big chair with them for the first 30 minutes until they are both settled. Nap times have been a little more difficult but we only had to move Livi to our bed once. They have both eventually napped each day. I'm convinced that so far this is MUCH easier than having had a birth child.

 Having a fun first bath together!

Jon and I are really enjoying both of our girls! Livi is a doting, patient, understanding sister. She wants to hold Sofie's hand and hug her all the time but is really good a backing off when Sofie has had enough. She always wants to know where Sofie is and be in the same room as her. Sofie is developmentally at a 9-12 month old baby with a 3 year olds strength and agility. She hits and pulls hair. We are working hard at teaching her that is not appropriate. I have been amazed by how Livi is handling that. If Sofie is hitting, Livi backs off immediately. When Sofie grabs her hair, Livi just goes still and quietly waits for Jon or I to deal with Sofie. She hasn't cried, or even been mad at Sofie. We explain daily that because Sofie can't talk she shows her fear and frustration by hitting, but we need to teach her other ways. Livi seems to be really understanding. She is empathizing too and said yesterday that if she were Sofie she'd be really scared moving to a new home and country too. I'm so proud of my big girl. Livi is definitely exhibiting some frustration and inappropriate behaviours, but I'm not sure if this is more because of Sofie or more because she had so many different rules with different caregivers for two weeks. I'm sure it is a combination.

  Meeting Opa :)

 Picture time!

Posing with Oma! 

It is so much harder to get a good picture with two kids!

Sofie seems to be adjusting really well too. She gives us lots of smiles. She is eating SO much better too. She still prefers baby pablum cereal but we are pushing other food and this morning discovered she loves mushed up banana and Cheerios! We even got a few sips of chocolate milk in her! She has her fussy times in the day but is pretty content most of the time. She has done great with Parker. We were worried, but we introduced them by showing her that we could hold and pet him. She was totally fine and has even pet him since by herself! She is doing okay in her big girl bed. We have a rail up but she has still managed to fall out of bed two out of the four nights we've been home. I think we are going to keep trying her in the bed though... unless she starts falling out more nights than she stays in... or breaks something :)

 Sofie's first hair cut with us. 

Her bangs were driving me nuts so this was a priority :)

Sofie and Livi are slowly starting to play together and Sofie is learning a lot from her sister! The first morning the girls were waiting in the living room for Jon and I to get breakfast ready. I walked in and found both girls standing on the coffee table and Livi trying to teach Sofie how to jump on to the couch! I think we are in for some pretty awesome adventures! In the two weeks we've had Sofie and the 4 days we've been home Sofie has developed so much. She cries so much less when it comes too food. She's drank a little today! She understands the signs for 'more', 'all done' and 'food'. She looks plumper. I'm not sure how much weight she has actually gained but her tummy is rounder and I think she has more water in her body or something because I swear there is more meat on her. The bags under her eyes when we first met her are mostly gone. She has been putting more things in her mouth and exploring her oral development! She is even starting to play with toys! She was stacking rings yesterday and playing with Livi's teacup... not throwing them!

I finally ironed out the confusion about seeing a pediatrician and am taking Sofie to see a highly recommended pediatrician tomorrow morning. We have an appointment with the Child Develpment Center on Tuesday. Friends are starting to stop by for visits and I'm thankful for the company and support. Sofie is on the right track and I get to join her on the journey. She has already taught us so much and added so much to our lives. I'm so thankful for her! I feel so content right now. 

Coming Home - Aug 14

Sunday morning, Sofie woke up just before 8... that's 10pm on Saturday for BC'ers. Keep this in mind....

We left for the airport around 11:30am  and took off on our first flight from Sofia to London at 2:15pm Bulgarian time. Sofie fell asleep pretty quickly after take-off. The first 4 hour flight was quite uneventful and stress free... despite over 10 kids on the small plane. Sofie slept for the first hour and a half though! 

 Ready to go!

Getting in to and out of London was a little more stressful. We weren't sure where to go for the connecting flight and we weren't counting on having to go through security again. London was a little more stringent on their security standards then Sofia. Since we had baby food with us they searched both our bags, took everything out, made me taste 50% of the sealed jars and had us repack it all. They were nice about it but it was still really annoying. Sofie was getting frustrated and acting out a little plus we only made our connecting flight with just five minutes to spare. Jon was freaking out a little.

The 9.5 hour flight from London to Vancouver was, at times, very low. Sofie slept five minutes here and there and between hours 4-6 she just cried on and off... Mommy did too. I felt terrible for her. She was so uncomfortable and miserable. There was nothing we could do to help her. Thankfully, she cries pretty quietly so she didn't disturb to many other passengers. For only sleeping for a total of two hours in the 23 hours of being awake Sofie did incredible. I don't know how it was physically possible for a toddler to be awake that long and be so mellow, but she is making it a habit of surprising us every day!

 So Tired.

Finally landing around 6:45pm was such a release of emotions. Sofie was officially a Canadian citizen upon landing on Canadian soil and we were so close to seeing Livi! We had one or two more passport checks to get through and luggage to claim then we were free. Everything seemed to move pretty quickly and we raced to get out of there! 

 Everyone waiting! Jeremy and Andrew's girlfriend are behind people.

Sessa was taking the picture.

Racing to Livi!

 

I started crying even before we reached the turn to the meeting area. I was holding Sofie and Jon was pushing the cart. Everyone was at the front of the waiting area. I remember hearing Liz, I think, say "there they are!" I think I started running at this point. Livi was screaming "There's Mommy and Daddy!" She had a big sign too but I could only see her clearly. She was on the verge of tears too but I think happy tears confused her :) I grabbed her up in my one arm with Sofie in my other. She kept looking at my "wet" face and back at Sofie. Jon was a few short steps behind me and scooped Livi up from me. It was one of the happiest moments of my life. All four of us were together.

 Together!

 Livi was in awe.

Livi was fascinated with her "sister Sofie". It was so precious. She wasn't sure if she could touch her or not... I think she just wanted to feel if she was real and give her hugs and kisses. Sofie was a little overwhelmed but took it in stride as usual! We sat in the arrival for a few minutes while everyone took a ton of pictures and got their chance to say hi. The car ride home was long but I think I fell asleep so it passed by quickly. Sofie fell asleep, finally around 9pm in the car too. That's right, she slept for two hours in twenty three!

 

Meeting Auntie Liz!

 

 Meeting Auntie Sessa!

Meeting Marmee!

Meeting Gramma!

When we got home, we just transferred Sofie to her bed and collapsed ourselves. For the first night we had decided that we would try Sofie on her 'big girl' bed, Livi could choose who she wanted to sleep with in our bad and the other parent would sleep in Livi's bed by Sofie. This was a great arrangement and the timing of getting home was perfect! We all slept until 8 in the morning! Hooray! Livi woke up once to go pee and then was scared of Sofie's snoring :) Although she had originally chosen to sleep with Daddy, when she got scared she wanted Mommy :) I was fine with that because it meant I could sleep in my own bed! Jon was a little miffed that I stole his spot but since it was 3 in the morning I figured we each got about half a night in the good bed!

Waking up, at home with both my girls was priceless. We pulled them both in bed for some cuddles. Livi was adoring and Sofie was eating it up! This moment was what we had been waiting for. It was perfect. I love my girls.

 Morning cuddles!

 Sister Love!

Nesting

I think I am in full nesting mode. I am knocking things off the list left, right and center. I think I have bought all the travel essentials that we need. I've begun deep cleaning the house, four batches of muffins are in the freezer with one batch of cookies, two casseroles are also frozen. I even made a batch of strawberry rhubarb jam! I think it is a little too chunky though. I didn't cut the rhubarb small enough and I didn't really crush the strawberries either. Oh well, my family will eat it!

I also went through Sofie's clothes and packed for her! Since we first got the proposal for Sofie I've been collecting 18 month size clothes, but that was 8 months ago. I'm hoping she's grown a bit but I also have some really cute outfits that I'm hoping to get some use out of! I didn't own any 18 month size clothes from Livi. She completely skipped that size, so a lot of these outfits are new. I've now taken out Livi's 24 month clothes and bought a few special outfits to take. I packed a mixture of both sizes for Sofie.

I still feel like there is so much more to do. I think I need to prioritize though. I'm now fighting a cold and really don't want to get sick. A few things I really want to get done are to cook one more casserole to freeze, steam clean our couches (they are really bad), clean all the windows and window sills, of course pack and spend as much time with my daughter as I can! That is the stuff on the top of the list. Anything else is just a bonus!

Livi is doing pretty good with her parents both in a flutter. She is also an almost three year old and really good at driving Mommy and Daddy nuts! She has begun to learn how to "lie"... I'm not sure she really gets the concept yet but she is understanding that when she tells us she has to go pee (at night), we will let her go to the toilet even if she is supposed to be sleeping. After about 5 times of this in 30 minutes one night, Jon and I had enough. We had tried to explain that telling us she had to go to the bathroom when she didn't was a lie and made us not believe her. It sounds so harsh explaining that to a two year old! We finally got a hold of it though but had to be quite firm. I hate doing that. She hasn't done it since though!

Livi is also night potty training herself, much to our dismay. She takes her naps in just her panties now and wakes up in the middle of the night to go pee. She generally has a dry diaper in the morning. I'm pretty proud but I also am not ready to take the next step and actually take away her diapers completely. I'm worried she is just going to regress when Sofie comes home. If I tell her to just pee in her diaper though, Livi says "ewwww! Mommy, that's gross!"

Livi is so excited for Sofie to come. I love it. When ever she talks about her she says "My Sofie" or "My sister Sofie." It's so cute :) I wonder if she really understands how much her world is about to change. Today when I was picking out what shoes to bring with us to Bulgaria, Livi piped up with "Hey! Those are my shoes!". I told her they were too small for her so they were going to be Sofie's shoes now and she got all quite and a little confused saying "But they're mine." She got over it pretty quick though. She is going to be such a great sister!

My Little Ballerina

Livi has been in ballet for a few months now and LOVES it! She practices all by herself, loves mastering new moves like the plie, and has really developed her balance, dancing, and even confidence... not that she was lacking that too much! She even got to have real dance photo's taken and take part in her very first recital!

For the pictures parents weren't allowed in to the room. I was so surprised but I understood how some parents could hinder the pictures a lot more than help. It was my first experience of Livi being "grown-up" enough to not need me! I think it was much harder on me than on Livi. As you can see they turned out great!

For Livi's dress rehearsal I decided it would be okay for her to have a little make-up on for the stage. She just ate it up. Thankfully, I had explained that it was only for the stage and she hasn't asked for it at home. 

Miss Coral putting some make-up on Livi before going on stage.

Waiting to go on stage...

There are four little girls in Livi's class and they all did so good for both performances. No crying and they worked the audience! When Livi came off from dancing for an audience the first time she got upset and cried to me "I want more!" She was "so proud" and kept talking about how everyone clapped for her. Uh Oh... What have we introduced her too?!

Coming off stage from the dress rehearsal! 

After the last performance they all got a ribbon. Livi was so proud!

Daddy got her flowers fitting for any Diva in the making :)

I was very proud of my little ballerina and so glad she had so much fun. We will have to see how the schedule fits and how things go with Sofie home, but Livi is hoping to be in Ballet again next season!