My Kind of Mei Day

Love is such a big word,

it really should have more letters.

-Kobi Yamada

The first day of each month can hardly pass without me reflecting back to our time in China. Eight months ago today, this spunky little girl entered our lives and changed us forever. For the better. I can't imagine us without her. She makes us laugh everyday. And reminds us of what really matters.

Some recent randomness about Miss Mei...

Lately, Sophie has been calling me "mama" instead of "ma". It seriously melts my heart and makes me feel a little less like I'm living in an episode of Little House on the Prairie. I think, at least a million times a day, she says "mama". When I look up from what I'm doing, she will say "hi" in the sweetest voice and then will pucker her lips, smack, and send a little kiss my way. I will never tire of this exchange...

Sophie loves to change her clothes much to my dismay :) We have found that she is a girl who likes options. If something isn't working for her, she doesn't hesitate one moment to change it. It isn't uncommon for her to change outfits 4-5 times a day. I've rearranged her dresser to make it less convenient for her, but with her new found climbing skills, nothing deters her.

Lips are her favorite. As in lipstick, lip gloss, lip balm. Anything will do. She's not picky that way :) Yesterday, after one of those oh-too-quiet moments, I found her in my closet putting on her lips. By herself, for the first time. Luckily I found her before too much damage had been done.

Her language skills are improving and most days she will use a new word or two. She's just starting to put two words together. Her favorites (and mine too) are "I eat" and "all done". The other day, as she was picking all the marshmallows out of the Lucky Charms, I was pointing out all the rainbows for her. Every time I said rainbow, she would point to the bow in her hair. Bow is one of her favorite words. Probably because Grandma spoils her with new ones almost every time we see her. An advantage when your grandma is the bow lady :)

Everyday, Sophie misses her daddy when he's at work. Several times a day, she will go to a window, look outside and say to me, "da?". I will tell her that daddy is at work. She will then look out the window again, and as loud as she can, she will shout "da-aaa". It makes me laugh every time.

Sophie loves to do the laundry. You think I'm kidding? I'm not. Really. This girl can do some serious laundry. She can hang up clothes almost as fast as I can. She's very particular how she does it too. A perfectionist of sorts. She hangs everything. Underwear, pajamas, bras, etc. You name it, she hangs it up. And puts it away. It's very helpful, most of the time :) Except when you're missing your P.E. clothes on Monday morning. Just ask Nathan. Finally, after looking for what seemed like forever, he resorted to borrowing Jessie's old gym shirt. A drastic measure considering all the "i"'s in our name were dotted with a flower or a heart :) Not cool when you're 13 years old. And a boy.

When Sophie hears someone getting out of the shower, she'll shout her version of "towel" and take off running to find them a towel. She'll patiently wait outside the bathroom door with it for you. So cute and so helpful. Often, she'll even gather up your dirty clothes and toddle them off to the dirty clothes. I told you she likes to do laundry. I assure you that my other children are not quite as eager to help out ;)

As I drive the kids where they need to be each day, I just love watching Sophie in the backseat from my rear view mirror. She is a miracle to me. Simply a miracle. It still amazes me to think of all that transpired to bring our worlds together. I know Heavenly Father made that happen. And for that, I will always be grateful. We love you, Sophie. More than you will ever know. Happy Mei Day!