What an amazing couple of days it has been. I wish that I could read Tarah's mind to truly understand how she is feeling and what she is thinking. There are so many things that she has experienced in just 24 hours that she has never experienced before. She is handling it all like a trooper and seems happy.
Yesterday when we got to our hotel and got settled. I gave Tarah a bath and she was able to play with some toys in the tub. I am sure this was likely her first warm bath. She seemed to enjoy the water and the time in the tub. When she was finished I wrapped her up in a towel we brought for her. It was a gift from our shower and had Elsa and Anna from Frozen on the towel. When we were finished I let her choose the outfit she wanted to wear. Of course she picked a pretty dress. She also tried on four different pairs of shoes and decided on the gold, sparkly flats with bows. Shoes fit for a princess.
Once she was dressed and we were unpacked we went for a walk to explore the hotel grounds. We couldn't leave the room without her butterfly backpack full of little toys. She was so cute toting it around like a big girl. We found our way downstairs and got to see the gym, the tennis courts, the pool and the open green space where she and Shawn played pass with a tennis ball and velcro paddles. She loved it and has quite a little arm for throwing.
After watching Eli cross a set of monkey bars, she decided she needed to try it our too. They were far too big for her to do by herself, so Daddy helped her across. He was impressed at how much of her own weight she was holding up. She is a tough nugget and full of determination. This has been evident when we have visited her at the orphanage. This little lady is a survivor and has what I would call grit.
After our walk we came back to the room and played some indoor activities like coloring and reading books. Which brings up the language barrier. She is not yet speaking much English, but we are managing pretty well with the barrier. We are using a small book which helps adoptive families with key phrases and words that we amy need in the transition. It has been helpful. So far she agrees to just about anything we say. Once in a while she may understand what we are saying and she will say no or we may ask if she is finished by saying fini. So far it is working.
Last night we had our first dinner as a family of four. The waiter filled all four of our glasses with water and Tarah seemed so proud to have her own glass. She had the cutest grin on her face when she picked it up to drink. It was one of those..."Watch me! I can drink just like my family!!" She is doing a lot of mimicking so we all need to be mindful of the things we say and do. When the waiter put the napkin in my lap she looked over as if to say what are we doing now? I put her napkin in her lap and showed her that mine was there too. I put my hands on the table and clasped them together and she did the same.
Ordering at dinner proved we are all getting used to the transition. The waiter took our order and when the three of us ordered our own meals the waiter took our menus and walked off assuming we were done. Shawn pointed out we didn't order anything for Tarah!! Oops, sorry kiddo!! We called the waiter back over and ordered a bowl of spaghetti for her. (We've heard it is a hit for other families with kids home, so we gave it a shot.)
When our food came we joined hands to say grace. I wasn't sure if she would just watch us, wondering what we were doing or if she would close her eyes. When we said amen I looked up and she had her head bowed and her eyes closed. It was cute. We took a little bit of spaghetti from the bowl and put it in Tarah's plate. She packed in an enormous amount in her mouth which made me nervous. I know she is used to eating fast and large portions at once, but this mama was worried she would choke. I decided her spaghetti needed to be cut. She fed herself amd seemed to enjoy the spaghetti. She didn't want to stop eating it. We had asked her if she was finished, she would say yes, but then she'd start eating again.
When we got back to the room we got her cleaned up and ready for bed. She wore her new silk pajamas and her silk nightcap, which protects her hair. She is so cute in it. We brought the movie minions, so we set her up in bed to watch it before bed. We had been told that it was a hit, since the language isn't as big of a barrier. The minions are funny in any language. All three of us enjoyed watching Tarah watch the movie. It was so cute and fun to see what she would react to and laugh at. Not to mention how cute it was seeing her kicked back with both hands clasped behind her head, just relaxed as can be. We made it about halfway through the movie and we were all pretty sleepy from the long, exciting day. We asked her if she wanted to finish the movie after time and go to sleep. She said yes and without fuss or hesitation she came with me to go potty and brush her teeth before bed.
Once she was in bed we sat next to her on the bed, held her hands and started na-night prayers. As I prayed I heard her trying to repeat what I was saying. It was so cute. Once we shut off the lights she snuggled right down on her pillow and tried to fall asleep. It did not take long at all for her to fall asleep, despite the blaring music that was coming from the rooftop lounge right above us. It sounded like we were at a night club. It didn't phase Shawn or Eli either. They were zonked out and I was wide awake until 1am when the music finally stopped.
Tarah woke up once at 10:30 pm and said, "Peepee, Mama!" Yay for a dry pull up all the way through the night!! She tossed and turned a bit through the night, but not too bad. At a couple points she was completely sideways on the bed and her feet were hanging off the side. I switched her back the right way. When I stirred in the morning around 6:30 she was snuggled right next to me. I, of course, loved it. All four of us sleeping under the same roof and in the same room. My heart is full!! It was a great first day!!!
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