One Post Placement Visit Down....

On Saturday we had our 6 month post placement visit for Gabriella. Six Months!!! I truly can't believe our baby girl has been home that long!! It seems like yesterday that we were arriving back into the Indy airport. During our meeting with Laura, our social worker who has been a true blessing to us and become like part of the family, she stated she felt like she was writing a 12 month post placement visit instead of a 6 month one as Gabriella is doing soooo well....we loved hearing that!

In the last six months we have watched our beautiful little girl blossom like a flower unfolding one peddle at a time. When we brought Gabriella home the only English word she spoke was mama and that's because they used the same word in China. Today Gabriella can clearly say about 99% of anything that she wants and is speaking in 4-6 word sentences. Watching her rock and feed her baby dolls is truly priceless...she is so gentle and comforting with them. She truly melts Daniel and Jordan's hearts. When Daniel comes over for a visit she squeals with excitement and runs into his arms yelling "Daniel, Daniel, Daniel". When Jordan comes home after school he looks at her and says "Where's my princess" with a huge smile on his face ~ Gabriella in turn smiles bashfully then runs to greet him. Nicholas and Gabriella have a very typical brother sister relationship...they know exactly what buttons to press to possibly upset the other however they spend many hours playing and laughing together.

Gabriella loves the princesses...all of them!! She enjoys playing with toys, especially dolls she can dress up:) Now that her hair has grown a little more the big decision in the morning is if she wants pig tails or another hair option...the girl loves pig tails, bows and headbands:) She also enjoys shopping, going for walks, swinging, going down the s-l-i-d-e, playing with friends, eating "chicken and fries" when she goes out to eat. We have a local Chinese restaurant that is the closest thing to authentic Chinese food we have found and when Gabriella walks in they all light up and wait on her like she is a true princess and she loves it~ it's amazing the things they just bring out for her that we haven't ordered nor do they show up on our bill!

We are looking very forward to the holiday season with Gabriella. A simple trip to Hobby Lobby is filled with excitement when she sees the fall decorations and Christmas trees...she is filled with awe and wonder. Curtis described it best when he said it is like having a one year old who hasn't experienced the holidays before yet in a three year old body because she can tell us what she is thinking and feeling...something tells me this may be one of our families most favorite Christmas seasons yet!