Twenty Four Months Old

Our little doll is two! I just can't believe that a year has already passed since the first time we all saw her face. We had our final post placement report with AAI this week. We are done now with having to report back to China. I worked all weekend trying to gather pictures and prepare paperwork. It is a relief to have all of the paperwork behind us, we are in our 3rd year of filling out reports! Whew!!!! One of the rewards to doing this though is seeing the improvements that Myah has made. She came to us as such a quiet little baby, not trusting anyone. Now I sit down at night after she has gone to bed and can't believe how quiet the house is when she is asleep! She is talking sooo much now. As our social worker stated, she is "speaking too many words to count" Ironically she is trying to count too! She has the cutest little voice, the best giggle and a new screaching scream if we take something away from her. She is also a daredevil. She has no fear. We are also seeing the emergence of the terrible twos. I always said that everyone warns you about the two's but no one tells you about the three's!! Her little world is pretty simple, she is still not a huge fan of many toys. She is becoming a book lover. She loves loves loves Ralph's World in the car and loves to sing along. Mickey Mouse Playhouse is her favorite show, she enjoys dancing along with the characters. We bought her a kitchen for her birthday and she is a mean cook, she can whip up a pan of delicious Goldfish crackers and throw in a side of plastic muffins served with a cup of pretend tea. Myah also has a favorite song, don't laugh now, it is "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", the original version. Mommy loves music and we listen to a variety of genres in the car. Everytime that song is on she says "more please mommy", we drive down the road clapping (she is clapping, my hands are always placed at 10 and 2, with complete focus on what is going on in front of me...... ok that was just to appease my Police Lt. hubby) and singing a whim a whap a whim a whap..... we are quite the pair she and I! I also have to mention her love for being outside. This is a huge milestone for her as last year she didn't like grass or sand. Now she rolls down our hills and has been caught throwing sand at Dayton's ball games. She does have a naughty side that she is trying to explore. I have heard "no way" on more than a few occasions when I am asking her to stop something or to come to me. She is a normal two year old and we are so thankful for that. Our prayers have been answered. Everyone loves Myah, a day doesn't go by when we aren't stopped by complete strangers who comment on how beautiful she is. I feel eyes looking at us everywhere we go. She is an attention getter that is for sure. I just dress her, the rest is just her naturally. I am not trying to brag at all, I myself am amazed at her beauty, there are some days where Mark and I will just stop and say "look at how beautiful she is" We are so grateful to God for saving her for us, placing her in our lives to heal our broken hearts, bring life into our family and to allow us to share the joy she brings with others. She brings smiles to faces that I wouldn't expect to see them on. She has a way of reaching out to people that need a little extra sunshine in their day. I love that about her, my family has told me before that I bring sunshine into a room, I am flattered by that, I am not so sure I feel that way about myself, but I do love to put people at ease and I try to see the humor in everything. I can name several people who I feel do a much better job of that, but the fact that my children possess that quality makes me very proud. When Mark and I embarked on this journey, we could have never imagined how our lives would change for the better. We are just two simple people who took a leap of faith to bring another child into our family. We got so much more than we expected or deserve that is for sure. The friendships that we have made, the places we have gone, the sights that we have seen, have all been bonuses. We completed our family by adopting Myah, that is all we ever wanted. We give God all the glory for the many blessings that he has given us! We are so thankful for the opportunity to reach out to others who are thinking about adoption, AAI has been so wonderful to us and we will always support them any way we can. We were asked to put our story on their website a few months ago. I pray that somehow our story will give encouragement and hope to others who are searching for their "answer" like we were. We are proof that dreams really do come true, God does answer prayers!