we knew this was to be true. it's a certainty once we held her close in the midst of so many moving parts getting around cities and airports and hotels and restaurants the past few days. kavita is doing so well staying close to us and holding our hands, but we know it's so much to take in and is stimulating her brain far more than we can imagine.

this will also be true when we return home. our goal is to stay cocooned at home for the next two months. the goal is to get her comfortable at home and bonding to us and her brothers. to give her time to understand what we are saying and for us to learn about her glowing personality. we will not have any visitors over to the house, though we hope to meet up for some playdates when the time is right and begin introducing her to our amazing friends. ben will return to work of course and we will take turns making grocery runs and errands. we hope to venture out to parks and low-stimulated places this summer. all in hopes of keeping her world small for two reasons...one, so she will build a trust in us and, two, so that she will be ready for a tad bit bigger world soon. then we can start introducing her to church and the grocery store and the post office and the zoo and more.

but this first foundation we build at home is so very crucial. it's like making deposits into her heart bank. the more time we spend together as a family, the stronger her heart gets.

i filled a bag full of goodies that i knew we could enjoy inside the room. nail polish and remover pads, balloons, stickers, playdoh, coloring books, books in her native language and english, seek-n-find books, puzzles, and some beads and pipe cleaners. it sounds like a bunch, but seriously, all in one gallon ziplock bag. {and most of these items came recommended from other adopting india families}

she had never done a puzzle before. teaching her has taken me way back to when the boys were young. she's getting the hang of it...matching colors and the pieces. she pulls them out to do again and again.

i'm pretty sure she's never gotten her nails painted, but, folks, a girl is a girl! my guess is that she's seen something like this on tv that they watched at the orphanage. true diva style here.

we tag teamed and i took a nap and ben and kavita took a stroll with praise outside. they found a courtyard and enjoyed some semi-fresh air! the sky is full of smog here, but being outside is still being outside! {i'm getting more profound as i write in the wee hours!}

then we played with beads...all of us!

by keeping her world small, we notice the details in each other. we pay close attention.

i see that she needs help learning to pull stickers off a sheet.

how she brushes her teeth perfectly.

how she sleeps with her mouth closed and keeps the covers over her head to fall asleep.

we've learned her favorite color is green through our say hi translator app that one of our school teachers told us about.

she giggles at the tornado on sesame street that we downloaded for her.

she sits criss cross to eat.

she eats one thing at a time on her plate and then finishes her meal with her water.

she has a very particular way she combs her hair.

she bites her nails, loves milkshakes, and prefers her shirts tucked into her slacks.

i think we can all take something away by keeping our world small from time to time.

and turning into the world of our littles that are only little for so long.

chapter 13 {keeping her world small}

Connect with Shauna

chapter 13 {keeping her world small}

chapter 14 {coming home}

chapter 12 {another one of those miracles}

Connect with Shauna