What she said

It's hard to believe our precious Havi has been in our arms fifteen months now.  And in just two short months, she will be turning three.  Where oh where has the time gone?  She's no longer that itty bitty 18 month old we held in China.  Nope.  I seriously tried to savor those younger months because Madeline and Caleb came home at much older ages, 28 months and 34 months respectively.  Yes, I tried savoring and appreciating diaper changes and tantrums because I knew those things would come to an end.  And when they did, I would be sad.  Call me crazy.

Anyway, the other night I was putting Havi to bed.  She likes to bring a toy to bed, mostly to play with to delay sleep.  Well, this particular night she grabbed her China baby album.  It's the album we actually had sent her with photos of us, but her foster family switched a few photos out with some of her and one with Havi and both her foster parents.  Despite the room being lit by just a night light, I asked her who the people were in the photos.  She pointed to herself and said, "Me."  Then I pointed to her foster parents and she said, "Mama, Baba."  I couldn't believe it.  It's been probably six months or more since she has looked at those photos.  Yet, she still identifies with her foster parents.  It was a reminder of just how strong their bond was, how much they loved her and she them.  It reminded me (and Patrick when I told him) of the hurt she expressed in Taiyuan.  Her heart was so broken....her precious little heart, crushed.  While that time was difficult for her, I'm so thankful she was so deeply loved at such a young age.  To see her today freely hugging and kissing her brother and sister just melts my heart.  It's a testimony to that first love.

Well, I thought I would include a few photos of Havi that I snapped the other night while she played in the front yard when Baba was trying to fix her hand brake on her bike. They eventually went on a little bike ride, but when Havi realized they were going around the block faster than she could keep up, she sobbed hysterically for her Baba.  It was precious and heart breaking all at once.