Updates

Well, last night we had a visit from our Gladney social worker. Prior to her arrival, I told Maya that Cheryl was coming to see us. That "Cheryl is a social worker just like Mommy". She has no idea who Cheryl is, but I made it sound very exciting! So exciting, in fact, that I was able to lure her upstairs for a diaper change because, "Cheryl is soon going to be here! We have to get ready for Cheryl!". Maya very happily complied. Cheryl came to complete our last post placement visit for Maya's adoption and the year update for our current adoption. We talked about all that Maya has liked, done, eaten, weighed and grown since the last time Cheryl saw us. We talked about losing our big orange cat Max as a significant change in the household that really seems to have affected Maya more than I anticipated. We talked about how well she is speaking, her empathy for others and her new sleeping patterns (and my overall lack of sleep). I tried to keep Maya out of Cheryl's purse. I stopped Maya several times from picking up Cheryl's keys and pushing the button that sounded the car alarm. We distracted Maya with her own pen while she incessantly went after Cheryl's. We listened as Maya gave some of those hearty from the gut "NO" 's that can only erupt from a 2 year old who is starting to come into her own. When it was all said and done, Maya wanted to watch Cheryl drive away, refused to come back into the house and screamed while I carried her. Overall, I considered the visit a success. We continue to wait for the referral of our second child. I hate to think what these visits will look like when there are two to control!

Well, we've completed our seventh month of waiting and are now into our eighth. Our window is officially open! The current average wait time for the referral of a child under twelve months continues to stay around the eight month mark, which means that we can get "the call" any time now! Sooo exciting! Sooo much to think about doing: moving Maya into her "big girl room", moving our all of our stuff out of the "big girl room", trying to find room for the things we've moved out of the "big girl room". I think we need another room! As with Maya's adoption, things just don't seem as real to us as we now know they will when we actually see our new baby for the first time. Trust us, that photo becomes a real motivator! Waiting patiently...