as I said in a previous post, it has been hard being a parent, more specifically, being her momma, but even in the midst of those hard times, I've tried to stop and see (and remember!) the good things, the things that make me never want to let her go. the things that make me thankful to have her. and I do think they far outweigh those hard times.
this girl makes us laugh! neither one of us remember laughing so much in our lives! and she has now figured out how to make us laugh, which is even funnier! a couple months ago, she started "telling jokes." she would start jabbering and then up and start laughing, all the while looking at us, expecting us to laugh with her. hilarious!!! I taught her to wink a few weeks ago...the very first time I winked at her, just to see what she would do, she started laughing and then "winked" back (she blinks both eyes several times - super cute!) this was much like when I taught her to blow kisses - I blew her a kiss just to be silly and see what she would do and she thought it was hilarious! and would giggle every time I blew one toward her. she now blows us kisses, sometimes all on her own and then also when asked to. she also loves to dole out kisses to us daily (and she now makes the "muah" sound). :) and her kisses are the sweetest!
she is soooo smart, too. almost too smart. and very, very observant. I've been so impressed at how quickly she catches on to things! she is learning some sign language and already knows how to correctly sign "more." she's also very good at answering the yes or no questions we ask her (most of the time, she answers "correctly") - such as, "Maleeya, do you want a drink?" "Maleeya do you want some Cheerios/oranges/apple?" "Maleeya, do you want to go outside?" (and when she's asked this last one, she will either go to the door or immediately point to the door.) if you ask her if she's ready to go, she'll let you know by going to get her coat and as soon as you hold it out, she puts her arms in the sleeves. she knows who Ellie is (our dog). she's beginning to learn her facial features. she will wink at you when asked (at first, I would have to wink at her). and she loves to dance. :) sometimes she'll just start dancing when she hears music, other times when we say, "dance Maleeya!" she busts out a move (which is soooo cute!) she also loves to wave bye now, which is adorable!
she seems to enjoy "reading" the paper. :) any grocery ads we get, we'll give them to her and she'll spread them out on the floor and get down and really seem to study them. and she'll point to various things and tell us all about them. :) it's precious! and pretty stinkin' adorable, too! :)
this girl loves her food! I'm very thankful she's not been a picky eater! she's been very good about eating whatever it is I fix her. she also LOVES her fruits and veggies! fix her an apple, some blueberries, an orange or give the girl some peas and she'll be your best friend! :) she's beginning to eat quite a bit more, too! she's always eaten pretty well, but this week, for example, I fixed her 3...count 'em, 1,2, 3 eggs! with spinach (I fixed them quiche style for her)! and then she had some cinnamon apples and Cheerios! another night this week, she had 3 grilled chicken strips, an orange (one of those Cuties) and some Cheerios. (can you tell she likes them 'O's'?) :) she loves to be in the kitchen "helping" me cook! I've tried to let her start doing a few things (when safe to!). but most of the time she is content to either sit (where she is eye level) or be held and just watch. we might have a little chef on our hands. :)
she loves to run and play and be outside! the weather has been pretty nice this week so we've been able to go on a couple walks in her little red wagon. one afternoon it was bright enough I put her sunglasses on her and she actually kept them on. we would look back every once in awhile and she would look at us and get a big grin on her face. :)
she also loves animals! we're working on animal sounds right now with her and right now most everything sounds like a lion. :) on one of the routes we take when we walk there are a couple horses. one of them is friendly enough that she'll come to the fence and let you pet her. up until this week, Maleeya has been too scared to touch her, although she wants to get pretty close. but this week, I stuck out my hand and let the horse sniff me and Maleeya decided she wanted to do that, too. it was adorable watching her hold her little hand out under the horses nose! (and she had observed that I kept my hand flat so the horse couldn't bite it, so she made sure to do the same thing; no worries, I didn't get her hand get close enough to get in the horses mouth!)
little miss LOVES to "talk" on our cell phones! and the little squirt has figured out on mine (iPhone) how to unlock it and to swipe her finger across the screen to move b/twn pictures/screens. she's also figured out that this screen "needs" to be lit up in order to work while she's "talking" on it. :) what's funny is that she'll "talk" on it all day long, so long as there's no one on the other end, but give her the phone while someone is there and she doesn't know what to do with it. :) I've put the phone on speaker a few times while dadda, my mom or one of my sisters are on and she just looks at it, amazed that there is a person's voice coming through it. :) she's also decided that she doesn't need an actual phone in order to have a conversation. recently, the remotes and her shoes have been deemed "phones." :) silly girl! (and she knows what the remotes do! she'll get her play one and push some buttons on it and then look at the TV expecting something to happen.) :)
even as a sit her typing this, (super tired btw!) I'm smiling and even tearing up a little. I love this sweet little girl, just as if she were my own flesh and blood. I didn't know you could have so much love for a person when you haven't known them for very long! some days I can't believe we haven't had her with us from the time she was born. it doesn't seem like she's only been home 7 months. I can't imagine our lives without her now! it's been hard, I would be lying if I said otherwise, but what in life worth doing/having is easy? there may be days where I want to pull my hair out and scream, but when this little one holds out her arms to me and gives me kisses or smiles her silly smile or tilts her head back and laughs, I seem to forget why I was upset in the first place. I keep reminding myself she's still a baby and maybe still be adjusting to everything herself, so I need to give her the grace that I expect from my Father. I know there are days He just shakes His head, unsure of what to do with me. But at the end of the day, if I reach for Him, I know I will be met with open arms! I thank God for Maleeya Grace every day and continue to pray that He gives us the wisdom {and strength} to be her parents!
These are some of the words that I could hear playing in the background as I wrote this blog (that were partially to blame for me tearing up):
"When love takes you in, everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
When love takes you home and says you belong here
The loneliness ends and a new life begins
When love takes you in..."
"And this love will never let you go
There is nothing that could ever cause this love to lose its hold"
"When love takes you in it takes you in for good ..."
we love you sweet girl and always will! you're our daughter and nothing will ever change that! we'll love you through the good and the bad, through the thick and thin, on the good days and on the bad days. we're a family and we're so thankful God found us you! we can't imagine our lives without you now. you've brought us so much joy and we can't wait to watch you grow and see what God has planned for your life. happy 1st birthday little one!
1 comment:
You are such good parents! We are so blessed by your posts and our sweet little granddaugher! It does seem like she's been here since she was born, she couldn't be anymore our family than she already is. We love her so much and am so excited to watch her grow and learn and turn into a Godly young woman some day!
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