Way overdue update!!!

Gosh, it's been too long - where to even start? Bonding, eating issues, the non-stop chatter, Mother's Day, Rylee's upcoming 5th birthday, passing the 6 month home mark... hmmmm??? I think I will go with bonding and attachment. I think Rylee is bonding well with us and sometimes I think she really understands that we are her family. She questions everyone about how many babies they have and where they are, where they live and so on. If it is a man and a women, she will always ask the woman "Dis you Daddy?". We talk a lot about families and the role that each has in our home. How do you teach the concept of family to someone that has never had one? We spent the first months telling her that she is our baby, I am her Mama and so on. Now I ask her "Who's baby are you?" and she will tell me "Dis you baby Mama", and I ask her "Who's your Mama?" and she will point to me. She doesn't "family shop" anymore (you know... being on the lookout for a possible better family), unless maybe if they have a swimming pool. She tells me that she loves me "bery much" and that she "want stay wit Mama". For the first time the other day when someone asked her if she was their baby, she shook her head no (but a little uncertain) and said "I Mama's baby" and pointed to me. She looked at me for confirmation, I smiled and nodded at her, she broke out a huge grin and I broke out the Kleenex! She no longer refers to herself as Xiao Bao as in "Xiao Bao want this, Xiao Bao do this..." now it is "Poor Mama's Baby, Mama, I fall down." My favorite: "I love you, Mama!"

We went through about three months of really bad stuttering. The stuttering seems to be pretty much gone now and in its place is about a million words! She talks nonstop with her favorite questions being "Why". Here is a typical conversation:

Mama: "Come here Ry"
Rylee: "Why"
Mama: "Because, I need to talk to you"
Rylee: "Why, Mama?"
Mama: "Just come here, Rylee"
Rylee: "But why Mama?"
Mama: "Rylee, when Mama asks you to come here, you need to just come, not ask why"
Rylee: "Okay Mama, I commin' - but why?"
Mama: "Rylee, please just come here"
Rylee: "Yes Mama?"
Mama: "Thank you Rylee, now next time just come here when Mama asks you too, don't ask why"
Rylee: "Okay Mama, bye bye" as she takes off running.
Mama: "Rylee wait, we didn't talk about why I needed you in the first place!"
Rylee: "WHY Mama (not why did you need me in the first place, but why do I have to come back)?"
Mama: "Rylee what did I just tell you"
Rylee: "Oh I sorry Mama, you say don't say why, I say why - dis funny right?"
Mama: "No, this is not funny"
Rylee: "Why Mama, why not funny?"
....

Rylee was in her first horse show. She won a blue ribbon in lead line and also in the stick horse competition (see slideshow for photos). She was beaming the entire time and looked absolutely adorable. While she was waiting to enter the arena for the stick horse competition they announced the singer for the National Anthem. Rylee was standing by the gate along with many other people and I was a bit behind her. She hears the music start and waits for the first couple of words of the song and then at the quietest possible moment turns around to me and said "OH NO MAMA, I DON"T LIKE THIS SONG!!! MAMA, I DON'T LIKE THIS ONE!" Yep - that's my girl!!! Everyone turned around, but I just stared straight ahead... Unfortunately, the person standing next to me shook with silent laughter through the entire song. It made it very difficult to keep a straight face and pretend I didn't know who she was talking to ;)