Thanksgiving with Nana

Anjali's Nana came to visit from November 19th through the 30th and she was full of surprises to the delight of little Anjali.  She arrived off the airplane with a big teddy bear and her sweet smile and it was obvious that Anjali and Nana were going to get along smashingly!  Nana, is a passionate, loving, and creative person who can easily shift into the imaginary play world of little ones.  She and Anjali had a great time playing together and hanging out.

We visited Marbles children's museum for the first time and Anjali was simply blown away by the world of imaginary play that was there.  We  spent most of the time on the first floor where there is a section called Around town that has different stations for kids to play.  There is a fire truck, ambulance, theater area, farm area, vet area, newscaster helicopter, and grocery market and kitchen.  Anjali enjoyed the kitchen the most.  Then it was on to Splash and the Pirates cove before heading upstairs to do a few art projects in Idea works and the art loft.  Only 5 minutes from our house, I knew that this was going to be a place we would visit often.

Nana made Thanksgiving extra special for Anjali and all of us.  Adam's favorite holiday is Thanksgiving and pies are his favorite Thanksgiving food, so having his mother there to bake fresh pumpkin and apple pies warmed all of our hearts and tummies.  She also made the most amazing homemade rolls that simply melted in your mouth. We all enjoyed cooking the meal together and Anjali was super impressed by the "big turkey."  Nana brought a special Thanksgiving plate for Anjali and a chocolate turkey.  Anjali wore the outfit Nurse Sujata gave her as a going away present and she looked absolutely adorable.

The weather was amazing so the Friday after Thanksgiving, we took a bike ride to Pullen park which is a paradise for young kids and a place that Anjali loves.  There is a beautifully restored carousel, train and great playground for kids.  Being the day after Thanksgiving, it was, of course packed, but we all enjoyed watching Anjali build some new playground skills with Nana's enouragement  as she imitated some of the other kids there. 

Over the weekend, we headed out to Seagrove, which is a place known for pottery.  The drive through North Carolina farmland was absolutely lovely this time of year and we got to stop off at several unique pottery studios.  Anjali enjoyed seeing potters spin clay on the wheels.  She tried her best to explain what she saw with hand gestures and words over and over again on the ride home.   It obviously made an impression on her.  We also stopped by Starworks, a glassblowing studio in Star North Carolina to visit Adam's friends Eddie and Angela.  Adam whose passion and vocation used to be glassblowing wanted to make sure, Anjali got to see a little bit of what that was all about after spending all day in pottery studios.

On Sunday we walked to the local playground and then to Escazu, a wonderful little chocolate shop in the neighborhood.  We each picked out a couple of delicious chocolates and enjoyed them on the outdoor picnic bench.   Another glorious day to be outside.

Nana's visit came to an end too quickly, but she left an impression on little Anjali.  She also left lots of little surprises around the house like a mini Christmas tree, some sweet treats,  and a plant for the kitchen that will bloom a beautiful red flower soon.  Anjali is so lucky to have her wonderfully spirited Nana and she knows it!

Settling into Life in Raleigh

The fall colors in Raleigh this year are absolutely lovely.  It has been a wonderful time to come back to the city we made our home 3 years ago.  Once my parents left I had a few weeks to get into a routine with Anjali a bit before her Nana (Adam's mother) came to visit.  What I am most interested in right now is getting her to feel comfortable and secure in her new home and for us to bond as a family.

After the initial couple of weeks of getting over jet lag, Anjali has settled into a nice sleeping routine. She usually goes to bed without much trouble at around 9:00 pm and wakes up between 7:30 am and 8:30 am.  We got Anjali her own bed and were wondering how difficult it might be to get her to sleep in it.  Luckily, she was really excited about it and it turned out to be really easy.  Her room is adjacent to ours with a door leading into our room, so I positioned her bed so that she could see ours.  The first couple of nights, she came into our room in the early hours, but most of the time now she sleeps through the whole night in her bed.  Papi, our pitbull, has taken to sleeping at the base of her bed and they are pretty cute together.

Anjali is really tiny for her age.  She had her first visit with her pediatrician, Dr. Foster, on November 10th and it went well.  She doesn't fear hospitals or doctors which is good.  She weighs 27 lbs and is 37 inches right now.  Dr. Foster commented on how well she must have been cared for at the orphanage and how healthy she seems now.  She eats well most days.  Her comfort foods and the ones that she sticks to are oatmeal cereal for breakfast, dahl and rice at least a few times a week, cucumbers, oranges, egg, goldfish crackers and chocolate.   We have tried to slowly introduce new foods into her diet and if we can get her to try something she usually likes it, though she is not always willing to try new foods the first time she sees them.  I also give her a multivitamin and omega 3 supplement every day.  She drinks a healthy amount of water and will drink juice and milk occasionally.  

I have been exploring local community resources to find things for Anjali to do.  We do storytime at the Cameron Village library on Mondays with Mr. Erik and check out a few library books each week. I have enrolled her in a gymnastic class at the Little Gym which has been a great way for her to socialize with a small group of kids her age and have fun being active.  Mr. Daniel, her teacher, is from Australia and has been here about the same amount of time she has.  We walk the dogs at Lion's park and go to the playground there on a regular basis.  I put up an eraseable weekly calender on our refrigerator and everyday we discuss our schedule and write down important events of what we are going to do or have done.  I am still trying to figure out how to best use it, but she enjoys doing it and asks to do it, so it's something I will keep doing.  It has been great for teaching her time signifiers as well such as days of the week and yesterday, today and tomorrow.   I am learning about more and more things that she can do and am enjoying seeing her expand her horizons as she adjusts to life here, but we also have lots of time together at home and she loves imaginary play with her dolls and toys.

Her room has been a work in progress.  She and I took a road trip to Charlotte when Adam was out of town on business.  We had a picnic lunch at a rest stop along the way and had a blast exploring Ikea.  There are so many cute, cheap items for kids.  I found a lot of nice items for her bedroom including a small dresser and night stand as well as a few cute toys that I couldn't resist buying even though I told myself I wouldn't buy her any more toys until Christmas.  We ended the day with ice cream cones and made it home by 7:30pm.  Adam and I spent the following weekend putting the furniture together and her room is slowly coming together.  She loves it regardless and enjoys spending time there playing. 

There is still a few things to do to finalize our adoption.  We are waiting on her certificate of citizenship and then will have to file for adoption in the state of North Carolina.  We have monthly and quarterly reports that must be completed and visits from our social worker.  Our social worker is an adoptive mother and has been a great support.  She let me know about Project Enlightenment that is a community resource center for preschool age kids.  They have a preschool there as well and I am hoping Anjali will be able to attend the preschool next year.    It has a child friendly library with a large collection of books for adults and preschoolers.  It also has a production area for making crafts and a playground.  Wonderful place!

It's a lot of fun planning out our days together and I am looking forward to continuing to support our daughter's adjustment as she learns new things each day and becomes more and more confident in her new life.