18 months of growth, developement, and love

So much has changed in our lives in the past year and a half. I look back now at the scared, confused, yet inquisitive baby that we took back into the Civil Affairs office in Guangzhou for the Chinese adoption proceedings and can scarcely believe that it is Kylie. The curious side has stayed ~ I love watching her try to figure things out ~ but she is now bold (though she startles easily with loud noises) and confident. She has sprouted physically, gaining about 9 pounds and growing about 7 1/2 inches in that time. She started pulling up at the end of our trip to China and now runs, skips, gallops and hops on one foot. Her only sounds back then were "ma" and "ba" and these days I sometimes have to concentrate to understand, but she strings together 10 word sentences!

But more than anything, the thing that defines our time together as a family is love. I thought that I loved her when I first saw her picture on December 1, 2006. Then I knew that I loved her when I held her for the first time on February 5, 2007. I was quite sure my love was complete the first time she held my face in her hands and told me, "I wu ya mom-me!" Yet today I love her more than I did yesterday...

That's not to say that everyday has been a walk in the rose garden. There have been nights when she won't sleep or days when she "acts her age" or times when I question if I'm getting this parenting thing right ~ but I've come to realize that despite logic, my love for her grows a little more each day. It is the intensity of my love for Kylie that makes it more clear than ever that Caleb too is my child!