Mother's Day Eve

My first Mother's Day, though it hasn't yet arrived, has provided much to write about.
On Wednesday, Mia brought home from preschool a laminated collage she made for me. Unfortunately, the preschool had accidentally left my name off the email distribution list inviting me to the Mother's Day breakfast, so they had to send Mia's collage home with Sarah instead. The poster included a snapshot of Mia looking grumpy (in her inimitably fetching way) out on the playground, a fingerpainting, and a poem about M.O.T.H.E.R. that included the line "O means only that she is getting old." (I kid you not.) The fingerpainting contained the usual handprints and a few blurry splotches. (At 18 months, I'm impressed any time the teachers can get Mia to stick her hand in some fingerpaint and drag it across the paper instead of painting the table with it.)
Sarah and Mia co-produced a lovely gift for me, a framed fingerpainting that was definitely created by Mia's own hand. It has her distinctive lines and her favorite shades of blue and green. This was accompanied by a sweet handmade card that Sarah helped with. It contains a very touching poem (which kindly did not mention my age!) and a letter purportedly from Mia. Here is an excerpt:
Deer Momy,
I wont to tel yu how glaad I am that yur my momy. I lik it wen yu reed me bookz (yu allwys no my favrits) and wen yu pley with me in my new citchen that my favrit nanny piked out for me....

I am such a softie, this brought a tear to my eye after I was finished laughing at Sarah's clever self-promotion.
Nothing compares to the gift it is just to be Mia's mother. As I write this, I am thinking about Mia's birth mom. As Mia gets older, we will have to find ways to include her birth mom in our mother's day remembrance. I have read that some adoptive families recognize "birth mother's day" on the day before Mother's Day, so maybe we'll do that. I wish there were some way to let her to know that the difficult choice she made has given us joy beyond measure.
To my Mom and Mother-in-law and all you blog-reading Moms out there,

Happy Mother's Day!

Coffee, Tea, or Mia?

Spaghetti

Mia loves spaghetti. We're amazed at how many noodles she can stuff in her mouth at one time.

A Snapshot of Mia

We had a nice weekend with our gal, who turned 18 months old on Saturday. We see lots of signs that she is growing up.
Mia is much more interested in her baby doll. She puts the baby in her toy shopping cart and visibly frets because the seat doesn't secure the baby adequately. She looks worried that the baby will fall out of the seat (which actually is quite likely given the inadequate design of the cart) and after many failed attempts to secure the doll, she looks to me for help.
She is now more likely to keep her hair bows in place, and if they fall out, she sometimes brings the bow to us to put back in.
She has a definite defiant streak. The biggest expression of that is that she has taken to throwing things when she is frustrated or finished with them. Puzzle pieces, blocks, food... you name it. Even Sarah, who has the patience of a saint, is getting a bit exasperated.
Mia has been showing many signs of a stronger attachment. She wants to be picked up a lot. She reaches her arms up and says "uh PUH", kind of like "up" said backwards. When we carry her, she holds on a lot tighter and sometimes she pats us on the shoulder. She likes it when we lightly stroke her back. She doesn't initiate it, but when I say, "Do you want me to stroke your back?" she smiles and says, "baaagh". (We've got to work on that "k" sound.) She gives lots more kisses.
Mia's language comprehension is progressing rapidly. We're constantly surprised at how many words she understands. This is best judged when you say things to her when she isn't looking at you, so there are no non-verbal signals to pick up. Today as we walked across the church parking lot, she was holding daddy's hand. She was looking down at the ground. I said, "Can you hold mommy's hand, too?" I had said it without thinking, and Jeff and I were really stunned when her little hand immediately popped up!
Mia loves opening and shutting the kitchen cabinet doors. They have those latches on them that allow them to open about 2-3 inches, and boy can she make a racket. Now that she has her own kitchen (conveniently located next to our kitchen table, where I can keep an eye on her while cooking), I can tell her, "Mia, go play with the cabinets in your kitchen." She usually does.
Mia's newest feat is finding specific books on her bookshelf. She has easily 60 books on the bookshelf in the playroom. She has a few heavy favorites, including Dear Zoo and more recently Hippos Go Berserk. If we ask her to get one of her favorites, she searches the shelf in earnest until she finds it.
Mia plays alone more often, and it is fun to watch her. I wish I knew what thoughts are going through her head- I can't wait until she can talk. For now we're just enjoying seeing her do something new every day.

Kitchen Confidential

Mia loves the Little Tikes "Victorian Kitchen" that Sarah found at a consignment sale. She'd always enjoyed playing with her toy pots and pans and her play food, so now it is fun watching her "cook" on the stove. She makes corn and peas and hamburger patties. (And yes, that is her baby doll napping in the sink in the bottom photo.)

Swinging

Mia loves to swing on the swings at the local park. While she is swinging, she rarely smiles. Instead, I see what I think is an expression of pure contentment.

Fighting Fires

Our local Families with Children from China group has a preschool play date every Thursday morning. Mia is still a bit young to enjoy these, since she is the youngest in the group by 6 months, but I enjoy connecting with the other mothers on occasion. Today I was off work, so Sarah and I decided to brave it and take Mia to the play date, which was a fire station tour. Mia was a squirmy worm during the fire safety cartoon, which wasn't exactly geared to preschoolers, much less a toddler. Mia wasn't too interested in the fire trucks either, but when we got to the part where the firefighter demonstrated how he dressed up in his protective gear, she was the first in line to check out the suit. She likes her new junior fire chief hat, too.