Our One Month Anniversary

Thought I'd take a quick minute to update the blog. The kids have just finished their late lunch, and now Nandini and Eli are running through the house playing, "Naked T-Rex Goes to the Beach". It's a bit like "Barney's Beach Party" - but without clothes.

And, it's just as annoying.

Honestly, I don't know why it bothers me so much. I think it's my conservative Southern upbringing. But man, it gets on my nerves. A closet full of color-coordinated outfits with matching hairbows and tights.... all going to waste.

Sim says I just need to get over it and kids will be kids. But he's European, and they just do things differently over there. :-)

But short of duct-taping their clothes to them, there's not much I can do. Plus, I give it about 2 more months (when it's gets really cold) and I bet they'll change their minds. Eli's already at the stage where he wants to use the bathroom in private (wish he'd give me that same privilege), so I'm just going to grin and bear it. And if I want to be a Glass Half Full kinda girl, then there's always the fact that it saves me on laundry.

So, Nandini and Eli are running around starkers and Noah's in his room playing with a toy. I'm about to get them dressed (hopefully) and load them all up in the car and drive around the lake. It's a terrible habit I've gotten into around this time each day. It's the only way they'll take a nap - and honestly, the houses are so pretty around the lake and the scenery is so gorgeous and it gives me about 15 minutes to unwind. And then I always play different mind games. You know..."If I had money which house would I live in" and "Which house would impress my in-laws the most" and my personal favorite, "What on earth do these people do to be able to afford a house that big".

Anyway, today is a very special day because it marks our one month anniversary of Nandini being home. A month!!! Somedays it feels like it's been forever and other days I open my eyes in the morning and think, "Oh my gosh, who is that child laying next to me?".

She has come such a long way in the last month. When we were in India, my mom and I would console ourselves by guessing how she'd be in a month. We'd say, "Oh, in a month, she'll be chattering up a storm" or "A month from now, she'll be so happy and smiling". And it's true. So much can happen in a month.. especially this last week. That's when things have really started to take off.

I tell you... my favorite time of the day with Nandini is when she wakes up in the morning. She toddles out of the bedroom in her winter pajamas with her eyes all sleepy and her hair wild as can be - and she's drags her little pink blanket behind her. Oh, it's magical. And every morning, my heart just skips a beat and I feel like I'm at Disney World or something. Like I'm witnessing a miracle every morning. And my heart just swells and I get that warm, fuzzy feeling and time just stands still.

And then she runs and wakes up Eli and I know that I've got about 30 seconds to warn the dog, put up anything breakable, and lock the markers in a safety box.

But for those few minutes - especially when she reaches her arms up and curls up against me and lays her head on my shoulder... for those few minutes, it's just priceless. The rest of the day may be utter chaos, but if I had to give up those early morning minutes in order to have a clean house and sanity for the rest of the day... well, I'd choose the chaos. Because seeing her first thing in the morning just fills me up. I don't know any other way to explain it.

She's doing really great. I'm pretty sure she knows this is home now. In the beginning, she'd go to anyone and everyone (everyone but me). But now, she's firmly attached to me and Sim and is leery about going to strangers. She's been around our family a few times now, and although she's slow to warm up, she's starting to recognize everyone.

Her little sideways head nod (to indicate "yes") is going away. She still does it about75% of the time, but has started to nod her head up and down now. Speech is probably the hardest thing. She was speech delayed in her native language, so a second language will definitely present some obstacles. She still speaks primarily in Marathi- about 99.9% of the time, but she can repeat anything you say, which is strange. She can literally repeat anything you say in English, but she has a really hard time with word recollection. You can lay down a ton of pictures out in front of her and ask her which one is a giraffe or a shoe or clouds and she can point to the correct picture (and we didn't even teach her half these words in English), but if you hold up a picture by itself and say, "What's this?", she can't tell you.

But she did say her first English word the other day.

Now, granted, she did come home being able to say a few things:

"Mommy"
"Dahdee"
"Heloooh"
"Bye-Byeeeeee"
and
"Umbrella"

We're not sure how she learned umbrella, but she pointed to a cow figurine holding an umbrella and said "umbrella". Then, later when we were doing flashcards, I held up a "U" card and it had an umbrella on it...and she said it again.

So, she does know a few words in English and can repeat anything you say in English, but hasn't yet come up with a new word on her own. Until the other day.

I was in the shower and Eli came in to the use the bathroom. We have two bathrooms, but, you know, he had to chose the one I was in. So, he had a bit of a tummy ache and it was just plain nasty. I wasn't sure if I was going to pass out from the smell or pass out from holding my breath. Anyway, Nandini was perched on the tub ledge - as kids do - and she wrinkled her nose, pointed to Eli and said...

" Diarrhea".

Can you believe it? This is the same child who has had toast for every single meal for the entire last month and who still points and grunts at the bread box when she wants some... but somehow she was able to pull the word "diarrhea" from the recesses of her brain.

Awwww, her first English word. Do you think I should put it in her baby book?

Anyway, just wanted to log on here and give a brief update about Nandini's first month home. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see that she's gotten a hold of a black marker and she's got marks all over her mouth. I've got a sinking feeling it's not an washable one, too. So, I've got to go.

Noah's doing some really neat things lately, so I need to post a big family update soon. I know this seems to be the "Nandini and Eli" blog lately, so I need to really get back to basics, but I guess there's no going back now, is there? Our lives don't even resemble the lives we had 4 weeks ago. A massive 180 has been done on our family - but it's great and loads of fun - and we are soooooooo blessed..................................................................................................

Oh, man. She just peed in the floor. I am not joking. As soon as I typed out the whole "blessed" thing, she decided to pee on the floor. She just squatted and went all over my floor. My clean floor. Hmph. Obviously, there are a few issues we still have to work on.

I guess running around naked makes it a lot easier to just squat and go when you need to, doesn't it?

Ugh. I guess I need to go find a mop and get busy.

Hmmm...I wonder where Sim keeps the duct tape?

Leslie