One year!

Holy moly, how can a whole year have gone by?! It seems like just a few months ago that we were flying off to Hong Kong to meet our little mystery girl. We had fewer than a dozen photos, some very basic info on her height, weight and medical condition, and some rather generic-sounding descriptions of her daily activities and developmental status. We really had no idea what to expect. Yet at the same time, she was already our daughter. We'd been studying and analyzing that meager set of data and handful of photos for over two months, and we already felt like we knew her. We felt her presence in our lives, her place in our family. It's an odd place to be, "knowing" your daughter based on so little, without having met her. The excitement we felt as we headed to China was absolutely overwhelming.

A year ago yesterday, we met a baby girl who couldn't walk or crawl, who could barely sit up without pillows to prop her. She didn't speak a word of Mandarin, and had never heard a word of English. She was almost exclusively bottle-fed. She had a horrible cold, chapped and red skin, and barely any hair. But even in that state, she was absolutely lovely. She was also ready to smile, laughed easily, and quickly took to being constantly held and carried.

In just one year, she has gone from that baby to a vibrant, beautiful, delightful little girl. She sings almost constantly and dances almost daily. She demands hugs, kisses, and "ups" constantly, and offers hugs and kisses often too. She adores her daddy, is beginning to adore her mommy, and worships her big brother. She loves preschool, and is absolutely loved by her teachers there. She can count to 11, sing the ABCs (more or less), and can identify all her relatives by name. She has an astonishing appetite and eats almost anything, as long as it's not a vegetable. She jabbers constantly to herself, and when necessary, speaks sentences consisting of 3-4 actual words. She is sweet, affectionate, and unbelievably stubborn. I cannot imagine our lives without her, and yesterday, B told me that he in fact cannot remember his life before her.

She's our sparkly girl, our snuggle bunny, our jelly belly. We love you, Z!