6 Months, Really?

The calendar says it's been 6 months since we met Hadley -- how did that happen?  The 6 months between getting her referral and traveling to China took FOREVER, so it's hard to believe that it's been 6 months since she was placed in my arms.  It's certainly been an awesome 6 months.  The changes in Hadley are unbelievable.  She couldn't walk, she didn't talk, and she was so solemn.  Now she is happy and her laughter is infectious.  She rarely walks, she runs everywhere, and she jabbers constantly.  She's even started talking at daycare.  Her speech is coming along and she will repeat anything I ask her to say.  She's beginning to name things spontaneously.  Speech sounds are still an issue -- totally normal for a child with a cleft palate -- but she's making more sounds everyday and her syllable patterns and intonation are great.  I imagine that when she actually starts getting speech from someone besides me, she will make even more progress.  I've said before that we couldn't have gotten a better match.  She is the perfect fit for our family and she has totally taken to being part of our family.  Her adjustment and attachment have gone far better than we could have hoped.  There are still days when I look at her and think, "I can't believe you're really here."  But I really can't remember what life was like before she joined our family. 

People (crazy people apparently) are always asking if our lives have changed since she came home -- um, yeah!  My house isn't as clean as it once was.  There may be dust on the furniture and toys in the floor, but I'm ok with that -- ok, to a point.  We do pick up the toys every night and I try to keep the dust bunnies and fur balls under control.  Things get done when they get done, the schedule is long gone.  My friend told me that trying to clean house with little kids is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing -- I believe it.   I still make lists -- believe me I need them more now than ever -- and try to stay organized, but we go with the flow. 

One other awesome bit of news.  We went to see a geneticist yesterday.  Hadley's plastic surgeon wanted us to see one to rule out anything syndromic and make sure that there wasn't anything else we needed to be concerned about.  The geneticist was able to confirm that everything is exactly what we thought it was.  There are no syndromes involved -- just 2 midline clefts that happened to happen together.  We couldn't have gotten better news.  I didn't even have time to worry about it, thanks to a miscommunication, we didn't learn we had an appointment until Monday.  But it wouldn't have changed anything -- she would have still been Hadley and I would have still loved her just the same.  But I'm still praising the Lord that everything is good.

I would post pictures, but our computer has been attacked by a virus and I can't get to them.  Hopefully that will be taken care of soon.