Eliza's "Gotch Ya Day" Anniversarry!

It is amazing to see how fast time really does fly. I am beginning to be convinced that Grandma Shaw was right…it does move faster as you get older.

Today is the one year anniversary of Eliza “physically joining” our family! It is utterly amazing to think that it has already been a year! It has been such a great one for all of us!

Eliza has brought such a joy and heartfelt enthusiasm to our whole family that after those first few days it was hard to believe that she hadn’t been here with us forever!!! Eliza’s progress has been utterly amazing and a testament to what having a permanent family can do for any child! She fiercely loves her siblings, and they love her back. She interacts and is beginning to play with then not alongside them. She is starting to acknowledge that other people exist besides her and me or Eric. But most of all I have seen her get a toy for Jordan and lay down on the floor so they are able to look each other in the eyes and then she kisses him. All of these things seemed so out of her reach one year ago when she arrived on that southwest flight from Houston!!

This transformation into a bright, beautiful little girl from a little scared and passive toddler has been utterly amazing to watch and I actually credit most of it to Colin, Melea and Adrian. They seemed to know to be patient with her when she got here….they seemed to know just how to push her to accomplish a goal , and they themselves have so accepted her as their sibling that it is impossible to believe she has not been with us her whole life….

Eliza learned how to use a sippy cup, a straw, to feed herself with fork & spoon, perfect her finger feeding, to eat all kinds of solid foods (gold fish being her favorite); to ask for most of her needs, to begin communicating through sign language, to approximate (say) about 15-20 words, to shut gates, open drawers, set the table…(though this is with every dish available)….help unload the dishwasher, sweep the floor, and put on and take off her own clothes. You no longer sleep in a crib, you try to help me make your bed and you love picking out clothes.

Physically she can climb stairs, walk everywhere she wants to go. Eliza now loves to take a bath, we have started swimming lessons, she loves to sing and do hand games …though still not keen on hand over hand… she loves to get dirty and play outside, We have conquered so many sensory issues that she can walk on almost any surface now and is no longer afraid of grass, water, baths, mulch, sand, towels, tile, or wood! Eliza can now do things with or without her shoes and is really making choices about what she wants to do!

She loves to climb up both the little slides (toddler ones) and the large ones in our yard, she can swing on all of the ones here. I am not sure which one really is her favorite, though it might be a toss up between the spinning tire and the regular sling swing. Most of the time I think it is the fact she can get on and off them by herself that she likes best. No more dependence on Mommy!
The funniest site to watch is when Eliza takes a running jump and lands in the sling swing, then she sticks her arms out to the side appears like she is flying. Then all of the other children will do the same thing and I feel I am the proud parent of four super heroes~! Who can do anything!!!! I realize there is nothing stopping her!!!! She is our little girl and their sister and

While I sit here typing …. I am watching her “smack” Melea for taking her shovel in the sand box. I probably should scream or something…but one year ago than little Eliza would have let her take it and just screamed ( maybe) but today she got up and took it back and said “mine” and “no”.

So we will celebrate you gotcha day tonight. I will remember who you were, what you do now and make big dreams for your future my little Eliza. Tonight….I will hold you tight and sleep on the sofa with you to remember how scared you were that first night and how I watched you sleep all night long….just you and me and a long night of snuggling to make sure we both get a chance to celebrate our “GOTCHA DAY”!