handsful

…worked!! I was hoping for just a decent picture. I was even willing to accept that they all wouldn’t be looking at the camera at the same time (gasp). But, they all did SO well! Lainey was fine, she just didn’t want to sit still too long and was quite shy with smiles. We’ll hope for smiles next time. The pic above looks a little skewed because these are the un-cropped proofs. Here are the individuals…

This is my favorite pose of Lainey. Since it was her first professional portraits, we got a few extra poses of her. Here is another…

We got this outfit for her in China. Notice the right foot, with the shadow underneath? That’s because as soon as I placed her on the floor, she tried to walk away. Kudos to the photographer for catching a good picture in motion! And, yes, her tongue is out in both of the above pictures. It’s out more than it’s in, so these pictures show the true her ;)

Quick update: Lainey can now sign more, milk, all done, water, and night-night. She understands to wave when we say bye-bye, gives kisses on command (usually), loves to wash her own hair, and tried to kiss Jack full on the face (which, Jack was more than happy to accept). She’s learned how to pray now, too. At the table, we all join hands to pray and she’s learned this quickly. She grins a big grin, grabs my hand and Abbey’s, and bows her head.

Her eating habits have changed a lot since we first “met” her. She initially ate like there might not be another meal coming later…which, I have to sadly assume was because she knew what it felt like to be hungry. She accepted anything and everything and ate EVERY crumb on her plate, on her bib, on the table, etc. Now, she’s becoming more choosy…she eats her favorite on the plate first, then moves on to the other items. She no longer eats in a frenzy, seeming afraid that it might go away before she’s done. It’s a much more normal pace. She also used to cry / throw a fit whenever the food was taken away, regardless of how much she ate (we KNEW she had to be full!). She now knows that there will be another meal coming. I sound like Scarlett O’Hara, but…she’ll never go hungry again. She also knows it’s okay to leave a crumb or two…and she doesn’t panic when food hits the floor anymore. Jack is elated when THAT happens.

That’s it for now…stay tuned for pictures from the boys baseball game today!