1 Year Together!

Wow! I can't believe Isabelle has been with me an entire year! It is so much fun to think about all the things she has learned and to look back on the person she has become in the last year! I think in some ways her attachment and bonding was made easier by the fact that I'm single - she knows I'm "it!" She knows I'm mom and loves me completely, but she's also very comfortable (in an appropriate way) with going to other people, giving hugs at church, having sitters, etc.

Whenever I leave she says, "Mommy work." It seems to be her way of saying that she knows I'm leaving but she also understands that it's temporary. She's the light of my life! We went to dinner tonight to celebrate with Susan and Gabriella and my friend Anne (sorry, most of the pics were lousy), and when we got home I was getting her out of the car and I sneezed.

She looked at me and said, "Bless you mommy." I looked back at her little smiling face still in her pink and brown polka dot car seat and said, "I am indeed blessed. I love you little munchkin!"

I think in terms of looking back over the last year, two things really stand out in terms of her development and adjustment. The first is her obvious love for me (of course!). After starting the adoption process with Russia and doing a ton of reading on post-adoption issues, I was ready to tackle it all head-on, but she's done amazingly well! For that I praise God and am eternally grateful.

Second, I am loving her language development! It is so much fun to hear her talk, the things she comes up with, the observations she makes (yikes,...I gotta be more careful about a couple of things...), the things she shares (yes, mommy wears a bra...thanks for telling the lady in the grocery store...), and just the ways she is able to tell me what she wants and needs. When she came home she wasn't talking yet and she didn't understand any English, so our only common word was "No!" and it wasn't a fun one to use all the time! Oh, how times change!

So without further ado, 2 of the only semi-decent pictures from our evening out... (taken after large bowls of ice cream and way past bedtime!)

And because today makes me so aware of what was happening a year ago, here are a couple of pics from when Isabelle's foster family brought her to me at Casa de Luna Bed and Breakfast in Guatemala City on September 8, 2008! Check out the dress! It's in her keepsake box :)

(that's her wonderful foster mom Ana in the background!)

What a day. What a year. What a wonderful, amazing and beautiful gift from God!