A milestone on Easter

My first glimpse of our girl brought a flood of emotion that words can not describe. After years of envisioning blurry scenes of a faceless tiny brown skinned babe with dark wavy hair interacting with us, it was hard to comprehend this beautiful pudgy face with black piercing eyes and rosebud lips in it's proper spot. I don't know what I expected, but she clearly blew me away.

...and still is blowing us away. That was from my blog post one year ago today and Devi can still be described to just two words "beautifully perfect". When I take a moment now and then to step outside of my daily routine and reflect on the monumental turn of events of the last year, I am astounded not only by the changes we all have endured, but how well this transformation from a married couple to family of three plus a dog has gone. It is as if she has been a part of us all along, but none of us were quite ready to be joined until that fateful day in September. Now the cute pudgy face with piercing dark eyes and rose bud lips is right where it should be, sharing a life with the two soon-to-be-permanent-parents who love her to pieces. We have completed our final post placement visit with our social worker and are meeting with our attorney next week to set the date to go to court. There, the judge will declare us Devi's parents, her last name will legally become "Ross" and the adoption will be complete at last.

Together six months on daddy's birthday, March 18th, we just had to blowout the candles twice to commemorate this 6 month milestone AND celebrate daddy turning 44 and being the same age as mommy...at least for a little while. Devi is changing daily - faster, sometimes, than we can keep up with. A year ago we beamed as we, after an eighteen month wait, were finally able to share a tiny photograph and rattle off a few precious memorized statistics from the medical pages we received describing "our daughter" who was living a world away.

Today we are proud to actually know this still tiny person whose image was captured in that photograph. Devi Rose is a very smart, inquisitive (also could be described as mischievous :) ) , and active little girl. She has a funny sense of humor and loves to smile and laugh. She loves animals, especially pup-pups and Elmo. She loves to be quized on what she knows and sometimes likes to joke with her answers to get a laugh. She has an enormous appetite with blueberries, tomatoes, and mushrooms topping her chart of favorites. She is a huge bookworm and loves all kinds of music, dancing, marching, and playing any kind of musical instrument. Favorite past times include baths, playing hide and seek, petting the dog, waving Hi and Bye bye, unrolling the toilet paper, emptying drawers the dishwasher and dryer, and my personal favorite...giving kisses. My heart melts with each and every one of them. How rich our lives have become having known about her this one full year with these past 6 months actually together under one roof. It makes me giddy with excitement wondering what more the future holds for us.

Daddy's birthday and our family's six month anniversary

Our first year of dying Easter eggs!

Doin' the Zoo!

Our first family outing to the Pt. Defiance Zoo

There is a catchy jingle on the radio right now..."The Sky's Not Blue Lets Go to the Zoo..." that caught my attention. Great idea!!! Lets go to the zoo, and as luck would have it, our sky's WERE blue for a brief period on Sunday.

It was a great chilly March afternoon, perfect for a stroll through the Asian forest, a romp through the Arctic Tundra and a slither around the Pacific Reef exhibits. Of course, to Devi, everything was a "pup-pup". She was corrected by several frustrated visiting children who were sure we were observing Asian elephants, but to her, Suki and Basil remained "pup-pups".

Suki and Basil...the pup-pups

A fish says bloop-bloop!

Devi loved the aquarium so much. As we made our way around the windows of the enormous tank she squealed "ooohs" and "bloop-bloops" as various fish swam in and out of view. The day was a huge success and so much fun. When we finally came upon the last exhibit of the day, we were able to agree that "Yes, these were, in fact, pup-pups". We were overheard by a precocious little guy who rolled his eyes, approached us and in an informative voice let us know we were observing wolves! :)

Devi proudly masters the stairs! Yikes!!

Taking her car for a Saturday morning spin around the kitchen island

Enjoying a few rays of sunshine in the driveway!

Beckham, eat your heart out!

Strolling with mommy at the park. Our first time walking on uneven terrain.

Feeding the ducks at the park with daddy.

We've been spending all of our dry time at the park lately. Devi is enjoying the monkey bars, swings and slide. She completes a rotation down the slide and immediately signs "more" to go again. This routine can go on for a long time...a good workout for both of us :)

Kissing ourself goodnight in the bathroom mirror.....nigh nigh!

Food for Thought!

Happy Valentine's Day!
I took this photo for daddy's desk calendar a few months back...meet Miss February!

Learning. I've never really given it much thought until bringing a toddler into the house. We've taught the dogs to do tricks and have become accomplished at skiing or playing a game, but I've never witnessed the evolution of a young mind before. It's as if you can actually SEE the learning occur, witnessing the connection of two points in the brain and watching as a world of understanding is unveiled. I've been experiencing these ah-ha moments with Devi for a while as she has learned to walk, sign a few words, point to body parts and stuff like that. One day she has no idea about a particular thing and the next she totally gets it. It is fascinating!

Last Saturday we had our first conversation where I know she understood what we were talking about. Mommy, daddy and Devi were lounging in bed talking about the plans for our day. Devi started to fuss a bit which usually means it is time for breakfast. Obviously, we always talk with her, but her words are still very few, so it is mostly a one sided conversation with me doing all the talking. This morning it was definitely different. Our CONVERSATION went something like this...

Mama: Devi, do you want a waffle for breakfast?
Devi: pauses then shakes her head "NO"

M: Do you want a banana?
D: pauses then shakes her head "NO"

M: Do you want scrambled eggs?
D: pauses then shakes her head "NO"

M: Do you want toast with jelly?
D: pauses then shakes her head "NO"

M: Do you want cereal?
D: pauses then shakes her head "NO"

(Okay, by now I'm sort of freaking out...she seems to understand me. Thoughts are swirling in my mind, who taught her to shake her head to indicate NO? How does she know all of these food items by name? We are really conversing. I can't believe it! My baby is growing up....)

M: Pat, do you think she really understands me or is she just saying NO to everything I say?
Pat: Test her.

M: Okay....Devi, do you want ice cream for breakfast?
D: Laughing out loud, her eye brows raise and a huge smile comes over her face before she lunges for me!

Obviously she is totally aware of what we are talking about. Wow! that is amazing....it just clicked for her. I realize we were not talking about borrowing the car, or getting into a good college, but it was definitely an ah-ha moment for me. I guess we should be a little more aware of what we discuss in her presence ;)

In addition, I am proud to say I've mastered my first foreign language. The language of Baby! From the mouth of Devi, the words blanket, ball, bottle, bunny, book and what a sheep says are all pronounced "ba". The amazing part is that I can detect the tiniest change in her inflection and KNOW which word she is really trying to say. I guess I am not fluent in Baby yet, because I can only hear it and understand, not repeat it....yet!

Her favorite word to say is still "pup-pup" for our dog and it is always accompanied by a point with her pudgy index finger for emphasis. Actually, all animals and everything with four legs are currently a pup-pup...including a chair, the end table :)

She also likes to joke with me and point to herself and say, "mama". I tell her, "No, I'm mama!" She then smiles and shakes her head NO and points to herself again. This game can go on for a long long time always with alot of giggles and smiles.

Today is a big day! Three weeks has past and Devi's cast comes off. Thank goodness. It smells awful!! We are going to celebrate with an extra long bath time in the real bath tub for the first time...not the kitchen sink! Baths have been cut short since the casts' application, in a somewhat failed attempt in keeping it dry. Normally bathtime is one of the high points of her day. We all can't wait!!

Needless to say, this Valentines' Day finds me with a very very full heart. Devi continues to enrich our lives in so many ways I never thought possible. We are so blessed to be the parents that were chosen for her and she the child chosen for us. In the spirit of Valentine's Day, the "HAPPY" is an understatement and the "BE MINE" is confirmed every time she calls me "mama"!

Opening her first Valentine from Oma!

Tickle Time with daddy!


Reading "Brown Bear , Brown Bear".....again!!!


Daddy's magic touch!


Rocky-rocky with dolly from Grandpa!

Casting Call!

"Going from crawling to running! What a bright girl we have", thought the proud mama and puffy chested papa!

Absolutely wrong! Somewhere between last Friday night and this Tuesday at daycare, Devi managed to crack her wrist bone; the big one, the radius. With no permanent damage, except to our parenting egos, Devi now is wearing a cast on her left arm for the next three weeks.

THE DIAGNOSIS:

The splinted arm - otherwise known as "The Club"

We don't know exactly how or when it happened. The doctor said it is consistent with a straight-armed fall which she sees all the time in toddlers, especially those who are pretty aggressive walkers and who are petite in frame. Devi went from crawling to running and stumbles frequently. The doctor figures that the injury happened over a series of falls, first starting as a small crack and then getting bigger over time.

We don't know when it happened because Devi has a very high pain tolerance and never showed signs that she was hurt, which the doctor says is pretty typical of children who have lived in orphanages. She also said that children this age have soft bones and because we are not sure about her nutrition before we got her, this could also be a contributing factor.
We finally discovered the problem, when we noticed that when she would try and stand up she only would put one hand down on the ground to push up with and hold the other one up.

The doctors first examination didn't turn up anything. Devi still claps her hands, feeds herself, and acts totally normal even when you push on the wrist. It is only when baring weight on a bent wrist that she will pull her arm back. The x-ray revealed the crack.
Patrick and I feel awful, terrible, we have basically beat ourselves up. I guess that means we finally are really parents.

THE CASTING:
After two days in a splint, today we went in for the cast. The only appointment available was smack dab in the middle of her napping schedule. So by the time we saw the doctor, Devi was rather punchy and stealing the hearts of everyone in the office with her silliness. Waving hellos and goodbyes to everyone, blowing kisses...you name it, it was part of her act.

The ortho doc said this is the most common of little kid injuries. He applauded us for catching it, because it is not a necessarily painful injury so he figures about 50% of the them go undetected by the parents. It is good to cast the arm to protect it from further injury, especially with toddlers who are continually stumbling, but he claims that it would have probably healed on it's own. They cast the whole arm, instead of just the wrist because he said that invariably the family would arrive home after casting, only to find the child in the car seat and the cast, intact, lying somewhere else in the car :) I assured him that would surely be us...we had this happen overnight with the splint all ready!!

Two nurses, cooing over our sweet baby girl, applied the casting material, None the worse for wear, Devi's tiny left arm, now encased in fiberglass, was nearly completed in about 10 minutes. I say nearly, as Devi quickly made a nice indention of her "bite" in it before it had an opportunity to harden! That's my girl :)
Interestingly enough, one of the nurses helping us also is an adoptive mother of a now 13 year old girl, Asha, from Madras, India. She brought her home when she was only two. Sherri, the proud mama, showed us Asha's picture and we swapped adoption stories. The memories seemed to still be clearly with her some 10 years later :)

Noticing the clock on the wall as we left, we were nearly two hours past our afternoon nap (boy, could I use one!) It was no surprise that Devi was fast asleep before the car ignition took hold, limp neck slumped into the soft stuffed belly of her riding companion, "Bunny", thumb in mouth. Playing on the care stereo was "5 Little Monkey's Jumping On the Bed" . I had to chuckle, with Devi's first and hopefully last broken bone mending, maybe we should pick safer music to play for our precocious toddler :)

OTHER RECENT EVENTS:

Oh! How I've grown. I'm finally wearing some size 9 month clothing! This is a current view of my front side on the top. And my backside on the bottom! My feet continue to grow too.
I now wear a size 4 shoe when I decide to keep them on.

I love to read the paper with
daddy after Saturday morning waffles!

Bubbles are a new favorite thing. The perfect way to spend a rainy afternoon!
AH! The wonder of bubbles!

Today's activity was making paper hats out of daddy's morning News Tribune. Devi did all the folding. Once completed we had a parade around the kitchen island. I played the spoon and bowl...the spoon sometimes becoming a conductors baton. Devi played the tambourine and sometimes helped me by playing her metal splint on the bowl...all in time to marching music! It was great fun :)

Greyhounds are known to "Roo"...tipping their heads back, forming an "O" with there mouth and howling. We have taught Cayenne to do this on command. This is Devi attempting to get Cayenne to howl, all by herself. It is darling, so of course we encourage it and we end up the ones doing all the howling. It makes us laugh every time.

Best Buddies!

Devi's Christmas Wish

A couple of days before Christmas the holiday dust seemed to settle long enough for us to take Devi to see Santa Claus. We got her all gussied up, complete with her black shiny leather shoes, and off we went to complete this very important task. It was no surprise that she toddled right up to the big man in red with no problem, Christmas wish list in hand. Santa opened it and read the note that momma had helped to write. Devi explained that she had been good all year and so thought she was deserving of frilly socks, bubbles and really would like to see snow. Now, anyone remotely close to the Seattle area knows that snow basically only comes in a spray can around here, but a little girl can wish. Apparently, so can Santa because after silently reading the letter exclaimed that he, too, would love to see some snow. With that, Devi placed her dwarfed size backside on Santa's large cushy knee, a photo was snapped, candy canes were exchanged along with an "until next year" kiss.

Darned if on Christmas morning we awoke to the most beautiful snow fall I've ever seen. That Santa!! The weatherman noted it was Seattle's first white Christmas in more than twenty years! The flakes were as large as sugar plums and light as a feather as they slowly swirled their way to earth. Beautiful! Best of all, it didn't stick, so the snow didn't interfere with anyone's holiday travel plans. (thank goodness...what would we have done with all the food we were preparing for Christmas dinner?) Thanks again, Santa. You made our first Christmas as a forever family THAT much more special.

Now I guess I would be remiss in documenting our first Christmas if I didn't mention the Christmas Eve church service. Devi was darling....a little ivory meringue...dressed in frills and lace. A very different look from her usual rough and tumble attire. Okay, so the first shoe and sock were off in less than 15 seconds of taking a seat on the pew. The program was decimated next, but a little fiber never hurt anybody, right? At this point, we are thankful that we'd chosen to forgo our typical candle lite service and attend the earlier one. Singing! Thank goodness. Singing was coming next...the girl LOVES to sing! When the music began she fell dead silent but was taking careful note of the fabulous acoustics's the high ceiling of the church provided. Devi chose to do her singing during the prayers so she would be sure to hear her own echoing voice! I'm absolutely positive God knew she was there! By the end of the service we were exhausted, but proud to say we made it through a Christmas service with a baby in tow. We'll keep practicing until we get it right! :)

I can honestly say this is the first time in my life that I've had to take a rest during the opening of our (Devi's) gifts...twice! People were so generous in welcoming her first Christmas with us. The hit of the day was a plastic slinky and a knobby dollar store ball. Well maybe the boxes that everything came in too, of course! She did finally get the hang of gift opening by the end of the day and try as we might, we could never convince her that tissue tastes bad.

Pat and I hosted the family Christmas meal for 15 of us and proved once and for all that even after being vegetarian for a number of years we can still prepare MEAT in our oven. And our oven, which has failed us many a time with it's temperature gauge issues has been wrangled into submission; the beef tenderloin was delicious.

For the first time, we have noticed glimmers of Devi's past, as she remembers those she spent her first 10 months with. We open the mail together, rather I open it and she eats it. None the less, as cards arrived from other adoptive families it became obvious that she knows the smiling Indian children in the photos staring up at her. She points to them specifically and smiles her classic "I'm so happy" smile. Jenya's photo brought the biggest response which included a gleeful squeal and a swinging of the arms too.

Merry Christmas 2007

Almost ready to give daddy his Christmas wish


He got his wish!


The family Ross singers....their rendition of Jingle Bells

A few memorable moments of the holiday...
1. The way Devi lights up when you sing Jingle Bells
2. Standing beneath the mistletoe with Devi and pointing to it knowing you will receive a very wet and wonderful kiss
3. Receiving our first "TO MOM and DAD" wrapped gift from her, care of the daycare...her hand print in dough.
4. Hearing the cute way she tries to say Santa
5. Losing your daughter in the frilly fabric of her meringue dress while trying to fasten the belts of her car seat.
6. Watching her observe the snowfall through the family room window ON CHRISTMAS DAY!
7. Our first experience taking Devi to plead her case with Santa...won the big guy over :)
8. Our first invitation to the Christmas Mother/Daughter tea, hosted by our neighbor Carol.
9. Sipping a glass of wine and admiring the Christmas tree knowing that upstairs in her room, visions of sugar plums are dancing in her head.
10. After last years church service, imagining a child on my lap; having that vision come true this year (sort of because I don't think she actually ever sat down) knowing that this is only the first of many Christmases together as a family.

Day care December art projects


Small town perks! Santa does a drive by!

Devi's Opa

Gone from our lives, is our dear Opa, but not from our hearts. December 11, 2007 marks the passing of Thomas Eugene Ross Jr., Patrick's dad. He had been diagnosed with lung cancer of the same type that took my mother on December 8th, 2005. With a grim prognosis and not one for long goodbyes, he announced "Let's get this show on the road" and passed with the determination and will of a fighter pilot just over one week later. Surrounded by his family, he took his last peaceful breaths and thus ends an amazing life. Opa will reach his final resting spot in early January at the Air Force Academy where he taught.

Thankfully, Devi met this great man and was able to bring joy to his life, even waving to him from his bedside the day before his passing. Burned into my memory is their first meeting at SeaTac airport in late September. We've always joked, Tom was crusty on the outside with the softest of middles on the inside. Suffice to say a large chunk of the soft side peaked out that day when the two of their eyes met and she produced a toothless grin for him. Instant buddies discovered.

Cousins Lina, Ryan, Olivia and Jordan with Devi at Opa's memorial

Unfortunate that such sad occasions are what sometimes bring people together, this unexpected turn of events brought all of Devi's young cousins from Colorado and Montana together for the first time. With an age range from 4 to 8 and Devi at one year, they all played together beautifully. I can't tell you how long we have waited to witness this scene! There were countless slobbery kisses exchanged and endless laps, assisted on a cousins' extended fingers on ever more confident Devi tiptoes, through Oma's kitchen and attached living room. Truth be told, I think Devi can walk pretty well alone, but it is much more fun with one of her fun eager cousins leading the way!

Midway through the week long visit, our girl turned into a wilted flower. Fighting an on going fever, her body finally succumbed to a very hard-to-diagnose ear infection. Our first trip to the ER as parents came the night of Opa's memorial service when Devi's temperature reached a brain baking 106°. Nothing a round of antibiotics, Motrin and Tylenol can't cure, but it was a tad bit scary. Eager to please, Devi is just happy and smiley all the time making it hard to realize that something is wrong. With her coaching, we are learning :)

This afternoon is our second post placement visit. Boy! Do we have alot to share. In addition to this recent series of events we have many new accomplishments to note. Five very efficient sharp teeth fill Devi's tiny mouth. Unassisted steps came a couple of weeks ago along with a few new words like "santa", "moo" and "pup-pup". Blowing bubbles in the bath tub is at the top of her list of favorite fun things to do, just ahead of clapping our hands, bouncing to music and blowing kisses. Look out boys, Devi still loves to give the wet slobbery kind too! Favorite food, hands down, is tomatoes. She cries for more when the last one hits her lips. She loves all vegetables and yogurt, but is not overly keen on meat or fruit other than the good ole bland banana. Usually everything put in front of her is wolfed down before she has a chance to realize if it was fruit, veggie or finger! She loves the kids at daycare and squeals with delight when daddy drops her off. Her favorite activity is the slide, but only climbing up, not the sliding down part :) yet. Devi is a big story time girl too and enjoys the art projects. So far she has feathered a turkey, painted a cookie and made angels out of her hand and foot prints with silver glitter embellishments! We are still transitioning to one nap a day, sometimes taking a "breather" when we get home in the afternoon because daycare can be so exhausting and she continues to sleep through the night....in a constant state of motion around the crib. Thank goodness for containment.

The Christmas tree evokes Devi's constant stare when it is lit, but so far she is just exploring it with her eyes. We'll see just how long that lasts! We hope to give a photo on Santa's lap a try this week as we prepare for the upcoming holiday, but until then, here is what we've been up to.

Fast friends! Especially when food sweetens the deal.


The lengths we will go to for a cup of joe on a Saturday morning!
Although the photo does not show it, it is POURING!


Mama's little helper....Dirty laundry...


...Clean laundry!


The annual Christmas tree hunt...this time with a little helper.
The fallen noble is lying behind us. It is a dandy this year :)