One Year Ago-HOME!!

I can't believe that we have been home for one year. The time has flown by. It is hard to remember when Natalie only spoke Russian and did not really respond to the name Natalie. In some ways it has been a hard year, but not because of Natalie but because of life and so many changes. But Natalie has adjusted well and I really believe has bonded well. I'm not sure what was going on last week and the beginning of this week, but Natalie was really just pushing things both at home and school but now is back to her sweet self. I tend to think that as her language has grown so have her emotional stages and she was just working through that.

Today I wanted to make it a special day, so I managed to get off work early and we headed to McDonald's for a sundae and play. She only ate a small amount of her ice cream (which is very unusual) and then played for about 30 minutes. I had planned for us to run a few errands, but she began complaining of her belly hurting. We came home for awhile and she took a long nap. Then we were off running the errands which included picking out a special toy. She chose a little doghouse with a play dog. Once we got home she began complaining again and the poor baby had about an hour of dry heaves. My plans for several other fun activities got put on hold. But now she is sleeping peacefully. I am just in awe that a whole year has gone by. My life is richer and Natalie is more precious to me than ever! She has grown in so many ways. I love seeing the changes, but in some ways I just want to freeze time and slow everything down and enjoy every moment.!