4 months

4 months since I picked up Maggie from the orphanage on that cold cold Moscow day.  I was looking at a video from when we were leaving the orphanage and it feels like FOREVER ago.  I mean, seriously.  Maggie is NOTHING like that little scared girl I see in the video.  I can't get the video to upload, but here is a picture of that little girl with her caretaker at the orphanage- all bundled up and ready to go!

And then my heart still melts when I see this picture of her favorite caretaker waving goodbye.  I prayed daily for this woman.  And I am so thankful that she loved Maggie and took such good care of her.  The care she gave Maggie, and the fact that I am positive that Maggie was attached to her, is one of the reasons why Maggie is doing so well. 

And then there was that little girl in the hotel room who cried out of fear of the unknown.  She didn't even want my dad to look at her, much less be in the same room.  Looking back, she was so brave - a new place, new faces, new smells, new food, new everything.

And before I knew it - literally within 45 minutes - she went from that scared little girl to ALL SMILES and LAUGHTER

and she has never looked back.  That twinkle in her eye that I see in this picture is still there.  It was like she couldn't wait to show me how amazing she was!

But as Ward says, "Maggie looks nothing like those pictures" and he is right.  She is thriving.  She is growing like a weed.  She went up to the 10th percentile for height at her 15 month appointment.  She has a mouth full of teeth.  She understands every single word that comes out of my mouth.  And she is saying new words every day.  (Yesterday is was "nana" for banana and baba for "baby".  She also says "Wa" for Ward and it is precious.)  She is so close to really talking and is frustrated that she can't communicate more.  Once she gets it, I don't think that I am going to be able to get her to be quiet.  She fits right in our family!!!

Here are a couple of recent videos.  You can see how much her siblings adore her.  She lights up our lives and I can't imagine our family without her!

This is about the only time I have gotten her to keep a pigtail in her hair for over 30 seconds.  She usually pulls them right out.  But her hair is always in her eyes so I try and try again.  I think that I must have distracted her with the Flip and she forgot it was there.

Maggie LOVES music - any kind.  She also loves to dance.  Dance parties in Ann Park's room are a daily occurrence in this house!