I can hardly believe that one year ago today I picked up my little RP and we walked out of the orphanage in St. Petersburg for good. So much has happened in the last year, yet the memory of that day and time is still so fresh that it is almost surreal to me. I have never wanted anything more, yet more nervous and anxious about anything in my entire life. My family and friends could not possibly have been more supportive, or more excited for us, and I remain thankful every day that RP and I have them in our lives.
Today I took RP to get her one-year adoption pictures taken, along with her third birthday pictures. I had been gearing her up for the picture appointment, and god love her, she was VERY excited about the prospect - not because she likes having her picture taken (she doesn't), not because she got to wear her pretty new "princess dress" (which is doubling this year for her Easter dress), and not because we were headed to the mall to shop (she hates sitting in the stroller and wants to walk around). Nope - she was excited because posing for pictures, and doing a good job, means a handful of M&M's.
Imagine my surprise when I walked into her room this morning to get her up and lo and behold she was already up and VERY excited about something. She kept jabbering on and on about pottying, and I, naively, thought that perhaps she had a dry night and wanted to get on the potty right away. THEN I stopped to listen to what she was saying. "No pee-pee on Mommy's floor, Mommy - ME potty." She then grabbed me by the hand and led me around her bed and pointed to the floor. I think all the potty training is starting to stick because apparently before I got up little Miss RP woke up and discovered she had to go to potty. Apparently not wanting to wet an already wet pull-up she took off her pajamas AND the wet pull-up, peed on the floor, then redressed herself, happy as a lark at her accomplishment (and also apparently not truly understanding my messaging about "NO pee-pee on Mommy's floor"). I couldn't help it and laughed out loud, even despite the fact that I had quite a mess on my hands to clean up.
After that we took showers, got dressed, and headed over for pictures where RP did a GREAT job cooperating with the photographer. I would have posted the pictures online except that in my excitement of seeing all the prints I completely forgot to ask for the picture CD with all the prints on it, which means we have to head back to the mall before I can post them. On February 24 last year I was in Russia and spent the day going from the hotel to the orphanage, to the airport, on a flight to Moscow, and then trying to settle in to a new city over there with a scared and less-than-happy toddler. This year I woke up to "Hi Mommy!" and a big snuggle (followed by cleaning up that big mess!), pictures, shopping, and lunch with my munchkin, followed by playtime, story time, and more snuggles as she got ready for bed.
I won't lie - I broke down several times today for no reason at all other than feeling so grateful and so fulfilled at having RP in my life. Yes, there were times I never thought this would actually happen. Yes, there have been days I have been at my wit's end, and yes, I anticipate there will be many more. A lot of people today have commented as to how lucky RP is and I can't help but think that it is actually just the opposite - I am the lucky one, lucky that she is in my life and lucky to have her call me "Mommy." There has simply been no greater feeling in the world.
So yes, to sum it all up - today was a good day. A VERY good day....
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