Three Month Anniversary

Today it has been exactly 3 months since Libby was placed into our arms. (Actually, Jon grabbed her out of her nanny's arms if you want to get specific). In many ways it's hard to remember life before her. She has been the perfect addition to our family and we fall more in love with her each day. It's been such a blessing to see how much her brothers love her and dote on her. I knew they were excited to get a sister and I knew they'd be good brothers, but they've completely exceeded my expectations. They are patient, kind and generous with her. Libby has Gabe completely wrapped around her little finger.

It's been fun to see how Libby has opened up to us and really let her true personality shine through. The day we got her was understandably difficult for her. She was confused and scared, but also very brave. We arrived at the adoption center at 11am not knowing exactly what to expect. We walked up a flight of stairs and saw a Chinese woman and a little girl with her back to us at the top. The Chinese woman immediately pointed to me and said "mama" so I knew the little girl was Libby. Libby turned to look at me and I bent down to see her. She grabbed onto her nanny right away and didn't want me to hold her. Jon and I began talking to her and rubbing her back and head while she was being held by her nanny. She looked at us and seemed somewhat curious, but didn't want us to hold her. I was trying the approach of gradually getting her to warm up to me, but Jon couldn't stand it and took her from the nanny. Libby cried a little, but settled down quickly. As long as she could see her nanny she seemed to be alright. After Jon had held her a few minutes I took her in my arms. She didn't cry, but she was very serious. We finally found a couch to sit down on and I began pulling toys out of the backpack. She seemed interested in the toys, but unsure what to do with them. She was most interested in the stacking cups. We lined the cups up on a table and she would pick them up and take them to her nannies. We were impressed with how sweet it was that she wanted to share. Her nannies began prompting to her to say words and it melted my heart to hear her say "mama", "dada" and the Chinese word for big brother while she looked at a photo album we brought for her.

After filling out some paperwork and having some pictures taken we got in our car to go back to the hotel. Libby had fallen asleep in the office and slept the whole time we were in the vehicle. I think it was a blessing that she slept through our departure because I think it would have been traumatic for her to see her nannies walk away. It was hard enough when she woke up in a hotel room she'd never seen before with people she'd just met. We tried rocking her and feeding her, but she was inconsolable. We finally laid her down in her crib and she went right to sleep and slept for over 3 hours. When she woke up she was much happier, but still very serious. She definitely wasn't going to smile for us! We offered her food right away and she was happy to eat. As she ate she happened to see a reflection of herself and me in a mirror and she pointed at it then turned to me and smiled. That was a happy moment!! After she finished eating we got her dressed in some clean clothes so we could go to Wal-Mart and buy some things for her. Most of the clothes we'd brought from home for her were a bit small because she was chunkier than we thought she'd be. We hoped to find a few things for her in Wal-Mart, but no such luck. The selection of clothes was very limited and most of the things we found were for winter (or at least what we'd consider winter). Since the temperatures in Guiyang were in the 80's while we were there we didn't buy anything. The Chinese people tend to dress babies warmly no matter what the temperature. In fact, on the day we got Libby our guide told us that the nannies wanted to make sure we kept Libby in warm clothes.

After we got back to the hotel we gave Libby a bath and she loved it. I think she would have stayed in the water for hours if we let her and she finally gave us another smile. After her bath we got her ready for bed and she fell asleep quickly. As I look back at pictures of our first day together I can see that she has a glazed look on her face in a lot of the pictures. I think she was shutting down to cope with the changes she was going through. Although she cried a lot, she didn't do it to get our attention. Many times she'd have tears rolling down her face, but she wasn't making any noise. It breaks my heart to think of everything she's been through. I'm glad those difficult days are over with and I hope she understands that we are her family and we'll never leave her. It's hard to think that when she gets older and has questions about her past that we have very few answers for her. We don't know why her biological parents couldn't care for her and we know very little about her life in the orphanage. It's maddening to have so little information and I can only imagine how frustrating it will be for her. I just pray that God will comfort her and help her to feel safe and secure with us. I pray that she will accept Him as her savior when she is young and lean on Him for all her needs.

Today I'm also thinking about the nannies who cared for her while she was in the orphanage. I think of Miss Tian in particular, who took Libby home with her on the weekends. Miss Tian cried the day they left Libby with us and before quietly leaving the building she dropped a handful of candy on the table for Libby. It was obvious that she really loved Libby. I am so thankful for that and all the nannies that took good care of Libby while she was in China.

On a completely different note, we've finally decided to name our kitty Maisie. Libby still loves the kitty and wants to hold her all the time. The cat's still not too sure about Libby.


Libby's not very happy about Jon trying to take her from Miss Tian



Libby sharing her stacking cups



Our sweet, exhausted daughter



sad girl



bathtime smile







Libby and Maisie birdwatching