Turning a corner

It occurred to me last week that Sena has been at home with us longer than she has been anywhere else in her life. I think that is rather awesome. We are in the ballpark of what I would consider a secure attachment with her, though I know I will continue to assess that in the months and years to come. I felt we had made great progress as we headed into the summer, but we had a slight setback when she stopped coming to work with me and Daddy became the primary caretaker during those hours over the summer. The two of them have had a close bond from the start - the time they spent together in Ethiopia no doubt paved the way for that.  It doesn't hurt that my husband is a pretty amazing father to all of our children and he spends as much time as he can with them. 

It has been so fun for us to watch Sena's personality unfold.  She is not the same child she was when she came home.  There are elements that are the same, but now that she is truly comfortable, she pulls out all the stops.  That is sometimes good and sometimes not!
Here are some things she has been up to:

*She loves to pray - many times a day. She folds her little hands and either attempts to repeat what I say or speaks what my friend has coined as "Senglish" and punctuates it with a hearty, "Ament!"

*Speaking of Senglish - she speaks it A LOT! I was beginning to worry about her language development, but when I actually started to count how many words she has, I realized she knows quite a few.  She is beginning to form short sentences, with her favorite being, "I NO WANT IT." We've heard that quite often lately. Though she does know many words, she still launches into an unknown language many times each day. She likes to grab the phone (though it is now off limits after she decided to call 911...) or other object shaped like a phone and tuck it under her ear on her shoulder. She then begins a very animated conversation with the person on the other end complete with laughter and gesturing, but we cannot understand a word of what she says. I have tried to get it on video, but the moment I pull the camera out, she stops.

*Any time she hears something remotely resembling a sneeze, she says, "Ess you!"  Sneezes, coughs, and blowing noses all elicit that response.

*When we are rocking in her room at night before bed, she yells "guys!" until her brothers show up to kiss her goodnight. She won't settle down until they do.

*She is growing like a weed! Since she came home in February, she has grown almost 5 inches!

*She is once again expressing an interest in the ol' potty. She made great progress right after she came home, but then it became a power struggle, so I gave up. Now I am very nonchalant and ask her if she wants to potty and she usually agrees and produces something more often than not. Eventually, we'll get serious about it, but I'm not pushing it just yet.

*She can get her brothers to do pretty much whatever she wants.  My favorite activity is when she asks them to play "puppy."  The boys get down on all fours and she guides them around the house by their heads.  You'd have to see it to fully appreciate it.  It's probably a good thing we don't have an actual dog.

*She loves to play in the leaves outside.  She especially likes to put them in her hair.  Do the math on that one.  

Hiding from Mommy under the barstool

Caught in the act of discovering a "snack" on the floor.  Ugh!