a brave little girl left the only life she knew.
She went with her new mama and small sister, but she didn't understand why her new daddy wasn't around anymore and it worried her. She asked over and over again, "What's daddy doing?" For a week they lived in an apartment in Vilnius. Sometimes it was fun, but sometimes it was overwhelming.
Then they got on a plane. And then another plane. And they were on the plane for a long, long time. Then they waited in lines for a long, long time. Finally, they walked through some doors and Laura saw her new daddy again. And another sister. And brothers. And grandparents.
And then they all went home and began learning how to be a family.
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The little girl loves to play with water. She likes to help in the kitchen. She works very hard to learn things. "Melynas. Blue. That's right. Blue. Melynas," she says.
Every morning she drinks "Laurita's Kava" (hot chocolate) while her mama drinks coffee. "Mama likes coffee!"
She has grown almost two inches and lost six pounds (which isn't usually a good thing for a child from an orphanage, but in this case it is a very good thing). Her hearing tested close to normal, even with a bad cold and ears full of fluid, and her heart defect has completely closed. She helps her brother unload the dishwasher and put away the silverware and her sister put away clean laundry. She snuggles with her mama in the rocking chair every night and says, "Laura's mama. Laura is a good girl. Yes." And when she wakes up in the morning she says, "Daddy loves Laura very, very, very much. Yes."
Yes, Laurita, you are very, very, very loved, by many, many, many people, and we can't wait to see what the next three months bring!
She went with her new mama and small sister, but she didn't understand why her new daddy wasn't around anymore and it worried her. She asked over and over again, "What's daddy doing?" For a week they lived in an apartment in Vilnius. Sometimes it was fun, but sometimes it was overwhelming.
Then they got on a plane. And then another plane. And they were on the plane for a long, long time. Then they waited in lines for a long, long time. Finally, they walked through some doors and Laura saw her new daddy again. And another sister. And brothers. And grandparents.
And then they all went home and began learning how to be a family.
The little girl loves to play with water. She likes to help in the kitchen. She works very hard to learn things. "Melynas. Blue. That's right. Blue. Melynas," she says.
Every morning she drinks "Laurita's Kava" (hot chocolate) while her mama drinks coffee. "Mama likes coffee!"
She has grown almost two inches and lost six pounds (which isn't usually a good thing for a child from an orphanage, but in this case it is a very good thing). Her hearing tested close to normal, even with a bad cold and ears full of fluid, and her heart defect has completely closed. She helps her brother unload the dishwasher and put away the silverware and her sister put away clean laundry. She snuggles with her mama in the rocking chair every night and says, "Laura's mama. Laura is a good girl. Yes." And when she wakes up in the morning she says, "Daddy loves Laura very, very, very much. Yes."
Yes, Laurita, you are very, very, very loved, by many, many, many people, and we can't wait to see what the next three months bring!
I love these, especially of the three sisters and the one in the apartment when little sister isn't pleased about having a picture taken! She looks wonderful.
ReplyDeleteSue
I love that she talks to herself, probably things you have said to her, but they're like personal affirmations!
ReplyDeleteDo you mind sharing why it is that losing weight after coming home is good for her?
She was fortunate to be in an institution where food was plentiful and actually quite tasty, but she did rapidly gain a lot of weight after she was transferred there from the baby house. It might have been because she was being sedated for a time or it might just have been boredom, loneliness and inactivity, but whatever the cause, she was overweight enough when we met her that she had difficulty doing things like getting up from sitting on the floor or climbing on playground equipment. She has been much more active since coming home and has lost weight, gained strength and flexibility and is now able to move more like a typical child her age.
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