Happy Birthday 2 year old!

I can't believe another year has passed. I can't believe how many changes our family has seen. I can't believe how blessed I am.

Life's Just Happening

Almost 3 months have passed since we brought sweet Cecily home. Sometimes I look at pictures from those first few weeks and I am in disbelief at how much she has changed. She is not the same little girl that came home shy, scared, timid, quiet, and agreeable. Thank goodness! We love her strength (most times) and her voice about how she feels and what she wants. Her English skills are getting so much better with each day. School helped that tremendously. We still get caught up in the communication barriers sometimes but now she just huffs and thinks of another way to say it. I could go on and on about how smart and funny she is but that seems a bit boastful!
We have had so many families ask us about issues that we had or are having since Cecily is older. I think communication in the beginning was the most frustrating part. She withdrew tremendously in the first few weeks and said little to nothing. English that we were certain she knew, she wouldn't use. She tells me now that she was sad and scared then. Now she enlightens us daily with crazy stories. She knows we love to hear about her and she has helped us understand so much about her life. We never ask specific questions, I have just always asked her to tell me something funny or to tell me a story that made her happy. She is amazing. I love hearing her talk about Ethiopia and her time there. She has a great love for Ethiopia. She wants to hold onto her heritage often fearing that she is forgetting something. Our children are truly remarkable.
Ian is turning 2 this Friday =( I'm a little sad to see this next milestone (very thankful to be celebrating it) come and go. His little personality is just so endearing. He is so funny and intuitive that he catches me off guard most times. He is a great little brother. I'm not so sure what kind of big brother he will be in a few weeks...should be interesting. He's still our little baby and he will tell you that!
Wish I had more to update about. Life is good, too fast, and exhausting. The kids are beautiful, funny and smart beyond belief. Some days I can't believe this is my life, I a very blessed woman. As I hit the big 2-7 next week I will look back and thank God for the infinite blessings I have received.