One Month A Family!

We've been a family for one month! Four weeks ago today Caitlin came into our lives.

When we first met Caitlin one month ago, she was scared and confused. She cried a lot, and had tantrums every day- sometimes several times a day. She would start crying for seemingly no reason at all, and it would quickly turn into a tantrum. And she whined all the time, any time things were not going her way.

Today she hardly cries, and tantrums have become rare. She can still be quite moody (what toddler isn't?), especially when she is not feeling well, but overall she smiles all the time! Almost everyone she meets comments on what a happy child she is, and her smile could melt even the coldest of hearts!


One month ago Caitlin HATED baths; she would scream bloody murder. Now she gets so excited at bath time! She splashes and plays with her toys and has a blast.
She hated our hotel rooms and would tense up when she even sensed that we were heading to the room. Now that we are home she is all smiles when we walk in the door. She is relaxed and at ease... and she's always excited to see Libby!

Speaking of Libby, Caitlin enjoys helping me take care of her! She will hand Libby her food and treats, and when I let Libby out Caitlin will stand at the door and watch her. When Libby comes back in, Caitlin will shut the door behind her.
Libby is getting attached to Caitlin as well; the other day Caitlin was waking up from her nap and Libby heard her stirring. She took me to the door and demanded that I go in to check on her! I love watching their relationship grow!

Caitlin still wakes up occasionally during the night. Sometimes she wakes up screaming; I don't know if she's having nightmares or night terrors, but she is easily calmed just by rubbing her back and is usually back to sleep within 5 or 10 minutes. Other than that, she is a great sleeper!

Eating has never been a problem with Caitlin; she is quite adventurous and will try almost anything. We have been trying more and more solid foods, and Caitlin has done great!

She has a very short attention span and has not shown a lot of interest in most of her toys. She has a select few that are favorites, but her all-time favorite toy of all is a bag of clothespins that I keep in the laundry room. As soon as she sees the laundry room door open, she waddles right in and heads straight for the clothespins- and she will sit and play with them forever.
Who would have thought that, out of all the wonderful toys she has up in her room, her favorite toy would be clothespins?

Caitlin's first (and only) English word so far has been "WOW!"

Caitlin saying "Wow" while opening presents:

Other than that, she has definite sounds for things, like dogs are "Ooooooo," and "Uh" means "more, please!" I'm starting to try to teach her some sign language, but so far all that she will do on her own is "all gone." She also loves to wave and blow kisses at people!

Caitlin is smart and funny and sweet and charming; she is the light of our lives and has fit into our lives perfectly! We love her so much and it is wonderful to finally have her home!

On another note, I have been contemplating a dilemma for some time now. We have 2 blogs: this blog as well as our family blog. Now that Caitlin is home and we are a family, I no longer need 2 blogs. However, I am not ready to let this blog go, either! So, after much debate, I have decided to keep this blog going with monthly or milestone updates. I'd also like to chronicle Caitlin's palate surgery here, because I have learned so much from others who have done the same on their blogs, and I want to help those who may also be facing such a surgery. But I will be posting everyday news on our family blog.

Thank you to all who have followed along on our journey to Caitlin. I have come to know many of you like friends- the blogging community is really amazing! Your comments, help and encouragement have gotten me through many hard days and I appreciate it all more than you know! I do not want to lose contact with you; if you don't have the link to our family blog but would like to continue following our story, please either e-mail me or leave me a comment along with your e-mail address or your blog address and I will send you the link. Our family blog is not private, but I do try to keep it more protected...