Who is this kid???

Olivia is fast asleep in my lap with her head on my chest as I type this. I remember very well the very first time I blogged with her asleep like this. I was sitting in a fabulous resort hotel on the beach in Phan Rang, Ninh Thuan, Vietnam and it was November 21, 2006 - the day Olivia officially became our daughter.

More than three months have passed since that day and it shows! Everynight, Mike and I sit with the kids in the living room and we sing two lullabies and then say our prayers. Then we tuck Jake in and say goodnight and then it's Livi's turn. She climbs into her little toddler bed and I sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to her. I've know from the time Jake was four months old that we would one day adopt and I chose to save that song just for her. If I ever sang it to Jake it wasn't very often. He has his own special songs, but Twinkle Twinkle Little Star belongs just to Olivia. It's our song. I rub her back and then she puts her arms up in the air for a big hug. I hug her tight and give her a kiss on the lips and she puts her index finger up and says, "one more!" She does this 5 or 6 times before I finally quit giving in. She blows me a kiss goodnight as I walk out the door.

That's where my blog title comes in. Who is this kid??? This is definitely not the same little girl we met three months ago on the other side of the world. She's not even the same little girl that we knew on Christmas. She's changing everyday. It's just amazing. She has become more and more comfortable with us as time has gone on and just in the last couple of weeks it seems like she's finally decided that this is her home and she feels safe and free to do whatever she wants.

She is talking up a storm, too. I was so worried about the language barrier, but it really hasn't been an issue at all. She picked up English SO QUICKLY! She even said her first 5 word sentence last week. Our neice Emma gave her a shamrock pin (actually JuJu gave it to Emma to give to Livi) and later at the house I asked Olivia where she got it. She said perfectly clearly, "Emma gave it to me." I was SO PROUD!!!!!!!!!!! She is just amazing!

She and Jake are - in the words of Forrest Gump - like peas and carrots. They are just best friends and it's absolutely awesome. They fuss over toys sometimes but that's it. They are crazy about each other and love to play together. I'm so glad that they are so close in age. They are 18 months apart and it's perfect.

There were days in the beginning that I thought we would never mesh as a family. It's amazing what a little time, faith and hard work will do! I honestly can't imagine life without Olivia now. She is the funniest, sweetest, most beautiful little girl in the whole world. Mike and I are so blessed to have these two precious children!!!