Back To Normal?

"Are you back to normal yet?"  This question or one like it has been asked several times since we arrived home a month ago.  If you are reading this and have been one who has asked the question, please do not feel badly.  It is normal to ask, and we understand what you are asking, but the truthful answer is no.  Though she did not join us as an infant, just as a family who welcomes a new baby is never the same, so it is with an adoptive family.  Our family and life will never look like it did before July 15th, but we are settling into our new normal.  There are four pairs of children's shoes littering the doorway to outside, four bikes under the carport, four voices arguing laughing, and eight pairs of eyes at the dinner table.  We started school six days after we arrived home and have been getting back into that routine while incorporating a new, not-yet-school-age child who is learning English into the mix.

There are a lot of things about this new life that are just....hard, difficult, and frustrating.  There are equally, and slowly more often than not, times that are fun, enjoyable, and amazing to observe.  The temptation is to focus on all the areas that we want to work on, instead of enjoying all the progress that has been made - and there has been a lot of it.  

"A" has begun using several English words and phrases, including "wow", "sit down", "come", "porch", "pizza", "hot dog", "This is A's (her name), "not A's", "paper", "color", and the list could keep on going and is growing quickly.  She can ride her bike (with training wheels), is potty training (woohoo!!!!!!), and has tried numerous American foods, all of which she eats without prejudice...except lettuce.  Of that, she is not a fan.  Among other things, "A" has learned to do a puzzle by herself, color for short periods of time, ask to be excused (or get down) from the table, build a tower with blocks,  and name some animals (in English).  She has come really far in the last two and a half months, and we look forward to seeing her continue to grow.

First Family Snapshot, taken at Lazienki Park, Warsaw, Poland

On his "Today's Dad Blog", Mark has been posting about some of the challenges of our process to international adoption.  If you are considering adoption, some of these posts may interest you.