"Love You"

I know the words may be lost in translation for her, but Mahaela said "Love you" as she hugged and patted me today. So sweet. I have said Obiechem te many times and many times she has said "Ne, Obiechem" in response several times, which I think might mean "I don't love you." But today I said love you as I hugged her and she clearly said it back. I'll take it!!

She is doing so well. We went to get the kids from school yesterday and stopped at the bookstore. She did so good. She wants to be down, but she did let me pick her up in the parking lot, without protest. That is progress. She definitely is learning that the pushing away or hitting is not acceptable. She was great with me yesterday, but was a little pushy at times with the kids. They get in her face a little too much and she responds to that.
She is excited to see the kids after school, is super excited to see Bill, eats great, and rides great in the car and car seat. Pinch me, but this is going so easy.
She pulled me up, kind of pleading for me to follow her today. I let her lead me into the kitchen where she turned me into the counter and then said, "Iskum salamchi"--I want salami!
We were told that she really likes meat and salami by the orphanage and they were right. My other kids do too and we happened to have a stick of summer sausage in the fridge. She was so excited when Bill pulled that out the other day. So now she asks for it. She asks for yogurt also--cremchi.
She is a great eater--the kids are stunned that she would eat the tomatoes from the bruschetta I had last night. Yep, she will eat it by the spoonful.

Bill put her down for bed last night and she just stands in her crib. She won't let you cover her up or anything. I always give her a blankie and it makes her mad. She just takes the blankie and lays it over the side of the crib. She gave a few good trampoline jumps in her crib (I'm just sure she is going to inflict facial or mouth trauma from jumping and hitting the side rail) and then she just started pleading with Bill. It sounds like she is saying "save me." Not sure what she is saying in Bulgarian. She just pleads with her eyes. It's so sad. After a minute she laid down on her tummy and gave it up! She sleeps all night. Again, pinch me!!

She is saying new words every day. I gave little-to-no effort in learning Bulgarian. I am finding that it has not been that necessary to know exactly what she is saying, but now I am just so curious to know what she is saying. I need a little voice recorder to record her phrases and then have my friend translate for me. I know she will quickly lose her Bulgarian and it is such a part of her "cuteness" and character right now, that it is sad that it will be replaced. Most of her vocabulary has to do with wanting something...which sounds like "iskum..." She says please, thank you, come here, love you, juice and a handful of other words that she has mimicked. I am not using too much Bulgarian, trying to stop using ne and da--I think she knows yes and no. But now, it is such a habit. I said "ne, ne, ne" to Ryan last night and he reminded me that he wasn't Bulgarian. I didn't even notice I had said it. She says all our names, including Indy the dog. She has called me "mamo" more lately, than "mama." I'm not sure if that is a derivative of Mom or just her own mix.

Something that I would like to see her more willing to do is letting me hold her or read to her. She is pretty resistant to that. She is loving toward me a lot, but doesn't want to sit with me or be touched too much. I know it bugs her, but I keep trying to give her hugs and pick her up. She does give great hugs and has an unbelievable pucker up for kisses. So cute!

Tomorrow she goes to the pediatrician. I'm not sure how that will go, except that she was very receptive to pulling up her shirt for the Bulgarian doctor so he could have a listen. Dreading the blood work...they will need a team to hold her down for that! I want nothing to do with it. I was always of the school that didn't think parents should help restrain, that they should just be there to save them and comfort them when it's over. But something tells me I might get smacked anyway for having anything to do with it!!

Well, the days seem long, maybe suffering from a little bit of jet lag still (and staying up too late last night), but they are good days and I am so thankful for this time. God keeps blessing us--more than we deserve!