5 Weeks Home

Our family of 5 has been under one roof for 5 weeks now! Aubree fits into our family beautifully, and in some ways it feels like she's always been here. That's not to say we don't have our fair share of struggles with her adjustment, but she really is doing so well. Of course, the previous statements are all written from my perspective. I have to constantly remind myself to try to see the world from her point of view. It's hard to know exactly what she is feeling, but I definitely think she's through the initial shock of coming home with us. We have good days and bad days, but we're starting to see more good and less bad. She continues to amaze us with her language development, mastering new words and phrases each day. She can comprehend a lot more English than she can speak. A couple days ago, Brandon and I had a short conversation about her hair. She had been playing in the sand box all week, and had a bunch of sand stuck in her hair. Brandon mentioned it and suggested that she have a bath. About 2 seconds later, she walked over to Brandon to show him her dirty hair. She understood our conversation! This led to Brandon taking her braids out in preparation for her bath. It was the first time Brandon did anything with her hair, and she loved it! I think braid removal is a good Daddy job. ;)

Friday nights are our "Hair Night". I wash and style Aubree's hair before she goes to bed. The style usually lasts through the week with just some minor touch ups each morning. I had been really nervous about dealing with Aubree's hair before she came home. It couldn't be more opposite from my own hair type and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to keep it nice for her. I knew it would need very different products and styling techniques than I was used to. I did a lot of research on her hair type while I was waiting for her to come home. I want her to love her hair, and that means that she needs to see that I love it too. And luckily, I do LOVE her hair. I have developed some serious hair envy. Her hair is way cooler than mine. LOL! I look forward to our hair night all week. I love experimenting with new styles, and I can't wait until her hair grows out longer. Aubree loves hair night too. She loves having her hair done, which I am very thankful for. This past week, I put beads in for the first time. We both love how it turned out. She's so proud!



Saturday was a big day. We went to a potluck for lunch with a bunch of other local Ethiopian adoptive families. It was so nice to catch up with our adoption friends, and Aubree got to see 3 kids that she lived with in Ethiopia. We are so blessed to have so many other adoptive families in our area, and especially to live near some of Aubree's friends from Ethiopia. It's actually quite amazing!

On Saturday night, we had friends over for the first time since we brought Aubree home. Some of our friends got to meet her for the first time that night. It was a lot of fun, and Aubree did really well. She was slow to warm up at first, but she came around as the night went on. One big difference I noticed is that she comes to me to "check in" now. She used to be very indiscriminant around other adults, and would just try to charm everyone. I did still see a little of this happening, but now she comes back to me and asks to sit on my lap from time to time. She's learning and trusting that I'm her mommy and primary caregiver, which is huge! I was so proud of her that night. :)