Life with Ava

Sorry for the lack of posting but 2 of the 3 of us are still pretty sick and trying to recover from the latest bug. Ava is almost well, J (annoyingly) never got sick at all, and I'm still coughing like a 4 pack a day smoker (and I've never smoked). I've taken every kind of cough medicine I can find (none really work) and tried almost every home remedy that looks even remotely feasible (none of those really work either).

I couldn't let today pass without noting that it was 3 months ago today that we met Ava for the first time. I don't think I'll ever forget that day, easily one of the most amazing days of my life, when the orphanage director handed her to me and all of our lives changed forever.

It's been a great 3 months. Tiring, confusing, happy, and filled with more love and emotion than I could ever have imagined. The time is flying by - she's already changed so much both physically and mentally. She can now stand on her own and is taking wobbly baby steps. She says cat, dog, dada, hey, and mimics everything we say.  Her hair has grown over her ears, she's at least an inch taller and is almost (but not quite) 4 pounds heavier. She's a very easygoing baby but the toddler temper is emerging bit by bit and our complacent infant probably won't be around much longer.

I've discovered things about myself that I never knew. I have much more patience than I ever thought and parenthood has certainly made me a better person - much less stressed and more tolerant of nearly everything. I also don't mind diapers nearly as much as I thought I would and I've now turned into one of those moms who wants to talk about her kid all the time. I know that can be annoying so I hope that my real life friends and family are tolerant of me until it wears off a little (does it ever?).

To sum it all up: we're so very lucky. J and I know it and say it to each other all the time. We're often still amazed that we have this little person who lives here and we are more and more enamored of her every day. She's such a cool kid and we're so glad she's ours!