Discovery

What a blur it's been. Or rather, I should say, what a blur Makena has been. She is nonstop energy! It is hilarious to see her BIG personality shine through right from the start. From the short time she's been with us, we can safely say that she's daring, adventuresome, bold, fearless, insatiably curious, and, um, has a bit of a crazy streak. In about 60 seconds, she managed to investigate every corner of our room, fiddling with every knob, pull, and handle, opening every drawer, door, and cabinet, and climbing onto and into pretty much anywhere she could. We've got some serious baby-proofing to do at home. As I said in the last posting, we were thinking that she'd be motor delayed and wouldn't know how to crawl. When we spoke with her caretaker, she told us that Makena could walk if someone held her hands. Well, apparently, she can also walk without someone holding her hands! She just picks a target and barrels ahead full-speed, whether it's toward a table, chair, or unsuspecting person (which is oftentimes Kalia who then gets tackled from behind). She even took a flying leap off the bed toward Conrad as he approached and he fortunately rushed forward and caught her mid-air. Several times we've grabbed onto her ankle just before she crawls full-speed off the bed head-first. The past day and a half have been full of new discoveries. For her, she seems as if she's making up for lost time, racing around at breakneck speed trying to take it all in. For us, we had prepared ourselves for some physical, developmental, and emotional issues that are common among orphans. True, some of these things might eventually surface later on, but for now, they are nowhere in sight. Meanwhile we're enjoying the process of discovering who she is.

Aside from worrying that she'd have physical delays, we thought she'd be on the fragile side. I think she's actually the strongest baby I've ever known. You should see her fight off the suction bulb - I felt like I was arm wrestling an adult. (I know, you say it's because I'm so weak and wimpy, but Conrad backs me up on this!) We'd been bracing ourselves for long, sleepless nights and while they HAVE been long and sleepless, it's because of jet lag, not Makena. She sleeps right through the night without a peep, which we are so thankful for. We were also warned that she might be afraid of things like stuffed animals, but she adores the bunny rabbit that Kalia picked for her, and she seems to enjoy any stuffed animal that comes her way. We were also warned that she might be afraid of the bath, since many babies are only sponge bathed rather than immersed in a tub of water. Definitely not the case for Makena. She and Kalia had a blast in the tub - lots of splashing and laughing. Conrad came out of the bathroom looking like he had taken a shower fully clothed. We were also worried that she might not take to Conrad since all the caretakers at the orphanage are women, but she took to him right away.

Kalia has been a champion big sister and has handled things beautifully - things like getting pinched, squeezed, poked, and tackled, but also things like sharing attention and being gracious about it. I can tell she's having a little bit of a hard time sharing me, but she gets me back at night, quite literally. We're sharing a bed, and she practically sleeps on top of me. So I don't know what really keeps me up at night - the jet lag or the 40 pound 98.6 degree blanket of sharp elbows and knees.

Kalia adores Makena, and Makena has gotten so attached to Kalia that she wails when Kalia leaves the room! (but not when I leave the room!) Kalia can make Makena laugh like no one else can. There's something so sweet and special about the bond they already share.

It's been wonderful having my mom here, not only to help out, but to share in the experience of helping to bring her new granddaughter into our family. She was there the moment Makena became ours. It means so much to me, and I know it'll mean so much to Makena when she's older.

It's 5am and I was thinking I'd go back to bed, but Kalia's been awake for an hour now and will no longer comply with the "Shhh! Mommy's working! Lie there quietly for a little bit." Until next time.