The Moore Kids...the more fun: Blossoming

Blossoming is the word that so often comes to my mind as we have watched Lena over the past 4 months since she came home to us. We of course have always found her to be absolutely wonderful but the changes have been just amazing to watch.

To begin with, Lena would always allow us to hold her but didn’t seem excited by affection. Maybe the best word would be ambivalent to describe how she related a lot of the time. Now however, she loves to give hugs and receive them. She is always walking up to Shawn or I or especially her brothers and will wrap her arms around us and snuggle up for cuddles. Whereas before she would lean away some as we held her; she now loves to lay her head upon on our shoulders and is just content being held.

Lena has also slowly become more social with adults other than just Shawn and I. Grandparents and my assistant,Heather, have become favorites to give attention to. She tends to give all strangers and most men what we call the evil eye (a very dirty look that says stay away). She also looks to me or Shawn for reassurance on whom she can trust enough to give a smile. When she does give a smile her entire face lights up and we just melt (especially Shawn ;)

Physically, Lena has grown and changed immensely. When she came home Lena weighed a little less than 17lbs and her length was 28 inches. She now weighs over 22lbs and has grown 2 & ½ inches! She loves to eat anything and everything. We did however discover that she is allergic to eggs. After a trip to minor emergency, we now carry an epi-pen and hope she will eventually outgrow the allergy. She is growing more and more hair (which she will allow no bows in) and seems to be turning almost blond.

When we first came home we were all exhausted and trying to get over jetlag. I never thought we could be that sleep-deprived and still function. Slowly, Lena has adjusted to sleeping in her room and not having to always be rocked to sleep. We are still working on sleeping through the night but I try to think of those times as opportunities for more bonding ;)

We are so grateful that we were able to get her home as quickly and as young as she was. We feel so blessed that we got to be with her for her first birthday, first steps and now first few words. We truly thank God and our amazing agency for allowing us to be with her while she is still so young.

We loved Lena from our first meeting but after getting to know her; we are now in love with her also. I always knew my boys were great but she brings out a tenderness and protectiveness in her brothers that we are so proud to see. She is sweet, funny, daring, affectionate and amazingly ours. We can’t imagine our family without her in it. We want to say thank you again to all of our friends and family who made bringing Lena home possible. We thank God most of all for leading us to this precious gift. This little girl who is dancing with me in the kitchen one minute, putting her arms up for daddy to hold her the next and then is off to chase her brothers is proof that God answers prayers in wonderful ways.

Meeting Garrison & Foster