Back to our new family dynamic!

She's not really hurt ... band aid on the forehead was a placebo!

Who would guess that this little girl has only been in the US with us for a little over a month! Kali understands 90% of what we say to her in English and she repeats things back to us like a little parrot. She has a vocabulary now of the following ... Mommy, Daddy, Carson, Landree, Watch me, Look at me, What you doin'?, Have go potty, Apple juice please, I'm sorry, thank you, I'm finished, and Bless you ... and she understands every bit of what she is saying. Oh yes, how could I forget her favorite word ... EAT!!

Kali has really come around to our way of life. She completely understands the concept of "if you want more of that to eat, you have to eat 2 bites of this first" and "if you want to do this, you have to do that first". The tantrums are much fewer now ... and I mean MUCH fewer. She is every bit the normal two year old (maybe three?) and we have to plan an extra 10-15 minutes for every task because she wants to do everything herself. She definitely has her own opinions about things ... you should see us trying to pick out what she is going to wear that day! Heaven help me if I pick out something she does not want to wear! Just like a girl, right?

Carson and Kali are so sweet to each other too. They are truly brother and sister, complete with arguments about who gets to play with toy #1 and "she got more than I did"! I think the next phrase we will make sure Kali understands is "you get what you get and you don't throw a fit" because right now, everything has to be completely equal. But they do take care of each other too. If Carson gets hurt, Kali is there immediately throwing her arms around his neck and giving him a kiss on the cheek. Today, Carson refused to do anything fun until Kali woke up from her nap. I asked him if he wanted to go swimming ... "ok, but I want Kali to come too." I asked him if he wanted to help me plant flowers ... "yes, but when Kali wakes up so she can help too". (Yes, planting flowers is fun for him, even in 95 degree heat!)

And it's only been a month ....