You've Come A Long Way, Lilly

I was thinking about that famous phrase today.  Lilly was so happy to see me and greeted me with a huge smile and outstretched arms, waiting for me to pick her up.  I thought back to that Monday morning at the Civil Affairs office in Wuhan when she came walking into the room.  Her little face was looking around wondering where am I and who are all these people.

We are so pleased with the way Lilly has adapted to her new world.  So many changes in such a short time.  Her forever family looks nothing like her birth parents or caregivers.  A new language that sounds nothing like the sing song Chinese language, yet she is already repeating so many words and is actually beginning to put 2 words together.  New foods so strange to her palate, yet she is loving boiled peanuts, all kind of fruits (today she had her first "Georgia" peach and she ate almost 2 of them, skin and all), watermelons, fresh green beans (thanks, Uncle Bill & Aunt Patsy), fresh squash, celery, fried chicken and beef jerky  (just like her brothers and Poppa).

Saturday she spent 4 plus hours with Randy & I while Mom and BaBa went to a wedding.  It was our first time for her to help Mammy bake a cake.  At first she wasn't sure about the standing in the chair in front of that strange machine.  Didn't take her long to get into the adding of ingredients and turning the mixer on & off.  We made a banana crumb cake...yummy!

Do I need to add the eggs?

Taste so good...banana cake!!

Easter weekend was the first time Heather took Lilly out to the pool.  Needless to say, I'm sure she had never seen a swimming pool.  All that water was just too much.  She sat very safely in Heather's lap until she watched the water bugs, Walker, Alaina and Ella.  After a time she actually got into the pool with me.  She held on for dear life, but let me swirl her around in the water.  Fast forward 3 weeks...Randy and I took her out there and she was ready to get into the water immediately.  Laughing, squealing, pouring water on herself and Randy....throwing water at him from a cup...she was not ready to get out after about an hour...Looking forward to having her in the water daily when Walker finishes school later this week.  I think by mid summer she will be swimming around by herself with her swimmies.

This is so much fun

My Poppa is so funny

So many more fun times to come.  It is so amazing to share "first" things in her life.  I feel so honored to have the opportunity to show what an amazing world God has created for her to live in.  Later in June, Alaina and Ella will be here for a week.  What a treasure to have all 5 granchildren together.  Looking forward to making memories...