almost at the 2 month mark

I have been a horrible blogger these past 8 weeks. Life has exploded all over me like cake in the face. Wonderful, delicious, messy cake in the face. We have had the ups and downs that I did and didn't expect. Our transition to a family of four has been scary, amazing, and ever changing. Cecily, our quiet and reserved little girl who used to whisper and just smile when spoken to has turned into the little diva we all knew she was! We went for several weeks begging her to speak. We even had to limit her most favorite activity, television, because she wouldn't respond when spoken to. We weren't sure if it was shyness or stubbornness but she stopped using even the words she initially said freely. So, after an evening of limited tv, the vocab usage improved. There is nothing like asking someone a series of yes/no questions and having them roll their eyes at you for 2 weeks straight!! In the past 3-4 weeks we have seen such changes that I can't even grasp until I think back on how things were in the first weeks. She can express most any thought in English as well as tell us MANY odd stories from her time in Ethiopia. You have to wonder how much is true and if all is true...yikes. She seems to understand nearly everything we say. We still have the occasional language barrier...mostly when you are asking her to go to bed or turn off the tv! Typical 9 year old I hear! She LOVES Hannah Montana, Jonas Brothers, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody! Anything Disney channel or black and white shows. We have to limit tv and that is our most difficult task. In the evening we play outside until nearly dark then she gets her tv time before/after bath. That usually results in an ultra short bathtime!!!!

School is going great. Her teacher said that she has made a few friends and does well socializing. Her ESL teacher raves about her determination and how quickly she is picking things up. We are very pleased with school and she loves going. It is so scary taking her there and just leaving her not knowing what she is dealing with all day. I know that is normal but I worried about if she would tell them that she needs to go to the bathroom or if she would understand what was expected. I guess she is doing just fine.

She does really well with Ian. She gets a little frustrated with him at times and we have to intervene in their sibling fights. We try to make her room hers and keep him out as much as possible. Ian wants whatever she has, wants to be where she is, and do whatever she does. It can grow tiresome on a 9 year old.

We are on our first vacation as a family this week. This is the vacation that I dreamed of for years while we were growing our family. Last year we didn't really have vacation since we were in limbo about her travel date. This year we decided on Cancun for our first getaway, but due to many issues including passports and swine flu we decided Florida may be the better option. It has been amazing. Watching their little faces when they saw the ocean for the first time and played in the sand. We went to Busch Gardens and my fearless little girl rode the most daunting of roller coasters without any hesitation! It is perfection...everything I had hoped.

Life is continuing to change for us in many ways. We will welcome a third child into our home sometime in July! Yep...one last little Clevinger!