As I alluded to in earlier posts, February is really a time of reflection for me, and there are going to be a lot of "one year ago" posts this month since so much happened to finalize RP's adoption and complete the journey that was 13 months in the making.
Below is a picture from my visit to RP at the orphanage on February 17, 2010, followed by a recent picture (I didn't get any of her today, so it's from the 15th, but you get the idea). While I'm posting this on the 16th, technically it is already the 17th in St. Petersburg, so it truly is a "one year ago" moment.
I love looking at these pictures side-by-side because I think they illustrate the fact that RP is an entirely different little girl just 12 short months after coming home. The picture on the right shows my beautiful little girl as I remember her most from all of my visits - serious, shy, and VERY tentative around me. While the bonus in this picture is that she wasn't crying and did spend some time during this visit interacting with my Mom and I, she tended to focus solely on her toys, answer questions from the interpreter, and sneak peeks at us to see if we were still paying attention or trying to play with her. Fast forward one year and she is silly (hence the fact that she is wearing snow boots in the house and playing in a cardboard box despite the rooms full of toys that she has!), talks up a storm (and then some - sometimes I swear my ears are going to bleed, but gosh darn it, she is incredibly funny and animated when she talks - wonder where she gets THAT from???), and always has to be on the go-go-go!
While the differences and changes are pretty hard to miss, I think I should also note that there are some things that HAVEN'T changed about RP in the last 12 months. The first time they brought RP into the room to meet me, she let it be known that she wasn't happy and had a complete and utter meltdown - crying, screaming, the whole nine yards. While this was due to fear of the unknown, I have to say that there are times when this temper still shines through, and she is VERY clear about what she likes and doesn't like, and still has quite the healthy set of lungs to express those feelings with! I was also told that she liked to color, draw, and sing and dance, and those things also have not changed. Right now her favorite "toy" is a pencil and notebook which she carries around with her almost non-stop and "colors" on a regular basis. Painting, drawing with markers, and pretty much anything crafty is a surefire way to keep her busy and entertained for hours, as is anything musical - she turns almost anything and everything into an instrument and loves to sing and dance for Mommy (have I mentioned that she does a wicked "I'm a little teapot?"), and often entertains herself while putting her toys away by singing a "Clean Up" song (which literally consists of singing "Clean. Up. Clean. Up." over and over and over) and lets me know she is done with her meal by singing "Allllll Donnnnneeeee" and throwing her arms over her head in dramatic fashion.
It goes without saying that I love my little RP - for all she is, for all she "was," and all she will become. Despite any and all challenges, I'm really looking forward to seeing who that will be!
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