Here is my blog post from that day so I don't have to retype the details if you would like to read all about it.
Hadley's Gotcha Day
Gotcha Day Video
I can't believe the difference a year makes.
The first few days we had Hadley she would sit in the middle of the bed or on the floor and not move. We knew we could leave her in the middle of the bed and she wouldn't go anywhere or fall off. It was several days before we even knew she could crawl and then several days later she showed us that she could pull herself up to stand. She had little muscle tone and was the floppiest, weakest toddler we had ever held. We were both concerned with how she could barely hold herself up in a sitting position. Her legs were so flexible she could spread them straight out to the side when we changed her diaper. Now she is running, jumping, swinging, climbing, skating, hanging and being a typical active two-year-old girl.
She was still taking a bottle when we got her. Even at 16 months she would drink about 4 bottles a day and eat baby food. She barely had 6 teeth. About three months after coming home she had ten more teeth for a complete set of 16 baby teeth. We are still waiting on her two year molars to pop through. Now she eats anything and everything we offer her. The bottle was weaned a few months after coming home and she finally started drinking from a cup. It took several months before she would drink milk or water from a sippy cup. I remember asking the doctor how to get her to drink. We tried everything. One day she just decided she was thirsty and hasn't stopped since. Now she chugs her milk from her cup like a college freshman at a frat party. She can't get enough.
When Hadley came home she would pick up toys, look at them briefly and then drop them. She loved dumping things and emptying things but had no concept of appropriate play. Now she has mastered puzzles, the shape sorter, toys with different buttons and levers that have to be manipulated to be opened, she rocks, feeds and changes her baby dolls, plays pretend with the play kitchen, and pushing her stroller throughout the house. She can count to ten (in Spanish too), is working on her colors, sings parts of several songs, has her favorite books memorized, and enjoys coloring, painting and playdough.
Physically she has grown so much since coming home. She has gained about 8 lbs. and at least 6 inches. Her shoe has gone up about 5 sizes. I can't keep up with how fast her foot is growing. There are sizes that she has skipped over all together. Her favorite boots that I just bought a couple of months ago are already too tight. We aren't going to make it through a season before having to go up a size. It's a good thing she has two older sisters to share shoes with. Hadley and Isla are now wearing the same size clothes and I have resulted in keeping both girls clothes in Isla's dresser and dressing Hadley from her clothes. Sock and pjs have become a free for all between all three girls. The teenage years are going to be both very fun and very dramatic when it comes to all three girls wearing the same size clothes at the same time. All three of the girls weight within 3 lbs of each other. It is a safe assumption to just say they all weigh 30 lbs.
Hadley was the hottest, sweatiest baby when we got her. Her skin was so dry and her hair was very rough and bristly. Although she looked relatively healthy when we got her, it is amazing to see the difference in her complexion. Her hair is so much healthier and fuller. For the first 9 months we were home. She never once was cold. It was so strange that she never shivered or had goosebumps. Even right after a bath or at the pool at the beginning of the summer. It is only this winter (in the last couple of months) that her body has finally regulated itself and she gets cold. Every now and then when she is very upset or stressed, waking herself up crying she does her smelly sweat that she did when we got her. It is crazy to see these physical changes like this that happened with all the stress and changes she has gone through.
The morning after we got Hadley we attempted to give her bath. She screamed bloody murder. Aaron had to get in the tub with her fully dressed and it didn't help at all. We ended up having to be in the tub with her for about a month until she got comfortable with it and she would still scream the entire time. Bath time was not fun for any of us. Now, she dumps water over her head, laughs and swims on her belly like a fish. This summer she was jumping off the side of the pool and going under. She would do this all day if we let her. She couldn't get enough of the water. The minute we mention it is bath time she can't get in fast enough and wants to be the last one out. She loves the bath!
Her speech has come such a long way in the last year. At 16 months Hadley was not talking in Chinese at all and had never heard any English. Today she is saying hundreds of words and starting to use a few 3 word phrases. I am amazed everyday when she will say a new word or phrase that I did not teach her, that she just picked up on her own. I can't imagine how I would do if you dropped me off in China to try to learn the language. There is no way I would have learned it nearly as quickly or easily as she has. This morning on the way to drop the big girls off at school, Olivia spilled her milk in the car. Hadley said, "Oh no! Liv Grace mess!" Mama clean up." I can't believe the progress she has made in a relatively short time.
Twelve months ago she had never heard the name Jesus or seen a Bible. Today, she regularly hears and sings along with Jesus Loves Me and pats the Bible every Sunday in the nursery at church. She loves to pray at dinner every night with our family. She folds her little hands, bows her head, squeezes her eyes close, just barely opening them to peek out at us every few seconds, and finishes with an enthusiastic "Amen" at the end. She is so excited to be a part of it!
Hadley spends her days at home with her big sisters or out running errands or exploring the world with mommy while the girls are at preschool. Her favorite hobbies these days include reading books (her all time favorite activity), playing dress up, dancing and singing, watching Go Diego Go, playing outside, swinging, and following her sisters around joining in whatever game they are playing. Just about everyday I am amused when I catch the older girls playing and Hadley is tagging right along a few feet behind them doing exactly what they are doing. Hadley is so happy to have two big sisters even if she often beats them up and attacks them when they get into her personal space. We are still working on that.
I am so happy that we followed through with the decision to adopt. It is something we had wanted to do for a long time and I can't believe we followed through with our plan and actually did it and now it is behind us. It was the hardest, most stressful, emotional thing we have ever gone through yet the best decision we have ever made as well! Hadley has changed our family for the better and opened the girlss eyes to the rest of the world. They love to talk about China and get so excited to point out something they see or hear that references China. I love to see their enthusiasm for China and know they will continue to do a great job teaching Hadley about her birth country and remind her about the beautiful and amazing place that she came from. I look forward to the day when all the girls are older when we can take them all back to explore and experience China together as a family!
Hadley a few hours after we got her and a couple of weeks ago.
Hadley the night we got her.
Hadley playing in our basement last week. I am so proud of the amazing progress she has made in the last 12 months!
We thank God everyday for putting Hadley in our family and can't imagine our lives without her. We also think of her birth parents often and thank them for choosing life for her and allowing us the privilege and honor of being her mama, dada, Liv Grace and Isla Kate as Hadley lovingly refers to us.
