Six Months Home...and Into Everything!

Katie has now been home almost 6 months now (officially on Sept. 3) and it is amazing how much she's changed. I tried to add an older photo here to show you, but Blogger has been giving me difficulty this week in loading photos. I've been trying off and on for a week now, so I've given up for now.

Katie started taking steps right before the 4th of July, and by mid-July she had mastered walking to where it became her primary mode of transportation. I didn't think it would be a huge difference since she crawled near the speed of light, but I was wrong. We've installed cabinet locks in the kitchen to limit how much stuff she can pull out, completely rearranged the pantry to make the lower shelf Katie-safe, and moved a few things to higher ground. She is not super tall, but she has an amazing reach.

We're also proud owners of a new minivan thanks to Katie joining our family. We loved our Jeep Grand Cherokee, but the addition of child #2 made it somewhat impractical. I take the kids on lots of adventures in and around St. Louis, and I didn't feel safe loading a double stroller on two sides of the car. Katie is still backwards in her car seat, so Alex couldn't sneak by on her side. (And she'll stay backwards a bit longer, as she's lost a few ounces since her birthday thanks to walking.) The van also has almost every feature that a mom could want. They know their target market well!

Katie is also starting to talk quite a bit. She can say mommy, daddy, Alex, ball, blankie (one of her first, see photo below), up and something like "Callie" our cat. She has a strong personality and knows exactly what she wants and demands it. We think that these are strengths for any second child to have, though sometimes we wish they were a little less loud in their presentation. :-)

We continue to thank God that we have been so blessed by the addition of Katie to our family. Once in awhile, Brad and I consider what Katz life might have been like had she not left her orphanage. While it may be difficult to explain everything to her one day, we are confident that she is where she was meant to be. We could not love Katie any more if she was our biological child. We don't see a little girl from China when we look at her, we just see our daughter.

Katie and Grandma tillage watching big brother Alex play t-ball.

(Yes, I know it is a repeat. Too many problems with blocker to dare remove it!)

Katie sporting her newest look in pistils (bare tummy optional) with Daddy.

Katie and her Blanche. She's LOVES her blankie and will let you smell it if you want. Be warned, it smells funky. Can't get it away for frequent washings, which is what it needs!