Day 13 - Around Town

Evian and I enjoyed our Mother/Daughter day yesterday while Russ was gone all day visiting the orphanage.  We sent him on his way with diapers, baby clothes, and about 15 pairs of shoes (donated by a local shop keeper) to deliver.  The rest of the day we ate, napped, and played. 

It is so amazing to see how much Evian has changed in these 9 days that we’ve been together.  I especially noticed it yesterday when we were playing together.  Now she reaches for toys, holds and picks up her rings, rolls over to get something, and is very interactive.  We’ve been doing “exercises” with her which have really helped.  It sounds funny, but her back and core are so much stronger now.  At first, we needed to totally support her back when holding her.  Now she rests on my hip more sturdily.  Before, when we put her in the sitting position, she would flop backwards immediately.  Now she can sit for a few seconds on her own. 

It’s neat to see her enjoying this new “fun”.  It was very apparent yesterday at the orphanage that for one nanny in charge of 20 babies at once during her shift, the focus needed to be on just meeting the basic needs of the babies as best as they could. 

One activity that Evian is enjoying very much is swimming.  We’ve gradually introduced her to the pool.  She’s definitely not afraid of the water and is having more fun with splashing and kicking.  Some of her other little girlfriends haven’t liked it quite as much.  As adoptive families we are all wanting to be careful to notice things that cause these little girls to be fearful.  We are privileged to love her and care for all of her needs.

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