One year ago today, the Husband and I were in Hunan, China adopting L. This was our second adoption, so we thought we knew what we were in for, right? Nope. Our first daughter, M was the crying child, the one who was scared and confused during our adoption meeting. I was prepared for some tears and scared looks and the "who the hell are you lady?" expression from a 10-month old who had never seen a face that wasn't Chinese.
Instead, L., who was 10-months at adoption, was handed to me and immediately settled in on my left shoulder, snuggling and smiling. A year later, she still grabs onto that sweet, cuddly spot. She still sucks her left index finger. She still has that winning smile and deep giggle.
The girls have been sisters for a year. Both have grown into strong personalities. They reject the princess toys in favor of blocks and dinosaurs. M is proud to be Chinese and, although she's only 4.5 years old, I think it's rubbing off on L. There's so much good in M, so much patience and kindness. I hope L continues to want to be so much like her sister.
They torment each other by pulling away toys. Worse, L pulls M's hair and M never retaliates. I can tell she wants to give L a good smack sometimes, but she never, ever does. When they fight, it only lasts seconds and will always end in a hug. Usually, they play together. L is M's little shadow. They compete, but I don't see jealousy. Maybe it will come in later years. I hope not.
We don't really celebrate Family Day. The girls "helped" me make a cake last night because we needed a quick activity. Now it's our celebration cake. I've learned to think on my feet, now that I'm the parent of two.
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