One year ago today....

two women from the orphanage in Kunming City brought a scared and very tan-faced little girl to our hotel room. That day was the day we really learned what love was. This little girl was 13-months old, small, way too skinny, dressed in too many layers of clothing, sucking her thumb, wide eyed with tears, and holding a sucker. Little did this girl, named Xi Ming Zhen, know what was going on or how her world was going to change. Little did she know how she was going to change the lives of the two strangers she met that day. Here's our very first picture of Cassie on gotcha day, taken just seconds after she walked into our world.



Today that same little girl is a different child. She's now 25-months old, tall, the proper weight, has the longest legs, the most beautiful smile, is happy, content, and insists on picking out her own clothes. She loves the color pink, loves her stuffed animals, thinks it's a big deal to nap in her big-girl-bed, loves her new sister, and just the past week will call me mama. We have taken the long road with Cassie on attachment issues -- we have had many of them and still are working on a few. Cassie still has a hard time expressing her anger and frustration in an acceptable way to mama and dada; she still has a hard time being around too many people or being around any new people. She doesn't like routine changes either and definitely has a Type-A personality. On the flip side, Cassie has come so far in these areas in the past year. It's amazing to think back on the night terrors, the clinging, the biting, the sobbing when I left the room, and compare that to the girl Cassie is today. I would say 80% of these behavior's are gone and we are working everyday to help Cassie learn to be more comfortable in her new surroundings and how to express herself.

Cassie has amazing climbing and balance skills, knows at least 150 words, is getting pretty good at stringing words together, knows what she wants and can sometimes tell us exactly what she wants, gives the best hugs, and if I'm very lucky she even gives kisses out once a day -- on the lips -- which is new for her. Kissing on the lips has been a big step for Cassie, as she has a hard time being that intimate and vulnerable. Having a new sister has really helped in this area. The trip back to China was the best thing for Cassie. We were scared to take her back so soon, as we didn't know what the sights, sounds, and smells of China would do to her. She had a ball there and in fact I think it helped with her attachment issues. In China and once home she seems to know that Sonny and I are her parents. She trusts more, smiles more, and calls us by name more. These are all positive steps towards learning that mama and dada are going to be her parents forever and ever. I really think she gets it now. She sees the 4 of us as family.

I can't believe that this child is the same one we met one year ago.