Our "Maia SuSu XiSu Magoo"

Our Maia is quite the little character! Above are a few of her favorite names, all of which she loves, depending on her mood at the moment:) I felt like maybe it was time for a bit of an update on our "Maia SuSu XiSu Magoo", who is growing and blossoming so much as a kindergardener. The changes in her are so many that it's impossible to share them all, but possibly one of the most amazing is in her glowing smile and radiance as she's been growing her "Rapunzel hair". Ever since we saw the movie "Tangled", Maia won't let anyone cut her hair, except her "front hair", as she calls is. It's funny how just this difference of letting her hair grow long has changed her so much. She definately is becoming more of a girly girl, but thankfully is keeping a little bit of that tomboy, too!

As far as kindergarden goes, it seems as if the sky is the limit for our Maia. Her teachers have been smitten with her and she with them. I know it will be a sad day for her when she has to say goodbye to her dear "Mrs. Hornberger" in June, as Maia LOVES her to bits. And all of my concerns that Maia could handle the pace of all day kindergarden? Out the window!! She's surpassed all of my expectations for this first year and is so driven that Mommy can barely keep up with her energy for homework. Seriously. Her teachers often comment on how motivated she seems and how much she just enjoys everything new they're learning. And, nothing, not her speech delays or her physical needs, seem to be having any affect on how well she's doing. In fact, she's been performing at the top of her class! I have to admit that I had some secret fears that she might need to repeat kindergarden when she first started back in September. It just seemed as if there were so many cards stacked against her. But she's shown us again what a resilient little girl she is!

And as for attatchment, we notice she's been "cycling" less. By "cycling", I mean the dramatic ups and downs we saw last summer and early fall are much less. She still has a rather predictable pattern of attatchment with us, pulling away for a time and testing us and then going through a phase of seeming very comfortable in our relationship with her and letting down her guard. But these phases, which used to flip flop back and forth every few days, now seem stretched further and further. Which is such an answer to our prayers, as we feel like this is such a good sign that our Maia is settling into our family more and more. My how my perspective on attatchment has evolved over the past two years as the reality of what it's actually like to watch this happen to my own child. What to everyone else is probably such a tiny change is to us a huge milestone!

And how about Maia and Peanut? How are they doing together these days? Well, let's just say that they're definately normal siblings, in every sense of the word! We've noticed a bit more tension as Maia's moving into Peanut's circle at school, but he continues to astound us with his attitude with her. He still is the ever protective brother, and 75% of the time, they're inseparable at home. But they DO have their moments when Peanut needs his space and Maia has a hard time understanding this:) She still adores him and looks to him for so much. And thankfully, he, for the most part, enjoys the admiration.

As we head into our two year anniversary as a family of four, I'm humbled to think that God has entrusted us with our beautiful Wuxi girl. She's come so far in such a short while and we feel sure that we're witnessing a miracle before our eyes in her!