From my last post, Bela has become so much more comfortable around our family and friends - it's like a whole different bundle of fun! First our friends (Ryan's highschool friends and their family) came over with dinner. One couple had a baby boy and a 3 year old girl who brought her Barbies for Bela to play with - the Barbies were a hit but baby boy Casey was a bigger hit. She loved feeding him and would get so excited to be around him. The orphanage said that Bela is very sensitive around other children, always comforting those that got hurt or were crying. We saw some of that with baby Casey. But the last few play dates she has had, we have noticed that she really doesn't like people or kids touching her or hugging her unless she initiates the affection. She in fact tends to get overwhelmed and very cranky after a long play date with kids trying to hug and play with her. I'm not sure if this is normal, but Ryan's sister was telling us that she had to keep playdates with her twin girls to 30 minutes to not overwhelm them. So we learned that we need to keep playdates to about 30 minutes so she is not overwhelmed after.
But this past weekend was Bela's first Valentine's weekend! We went to lunch with my family and friends where Bela got to run around outside with the backpack grandma bought her. She really enjoyed the water fountain and loved being independent and just playing freely in the sun. Then the following day we had a Valentine's party with Ryan's family - where she got to enjoy cake and sweethearts for the first time. Bela also discovered chocolate - wow, she loved chocolate kisses! But as you can see from the family photo above, she was still very quiet and not comfortable totally around new environments. Her expressions were typically very serious and stoic through-out that day. So the culimnation of Bela really opening up to our family was when we visited my sister and brother-in-law yesterday. By chance, Ryan and I both had appointments in their area so we took Bela with us and went to visit my sister. We spent about 4 hours there. After about hour 2, Bela started to really get comfortable with them. They were very careful in not to overwhelm her with hugs and kisses and to just let her do as she wanted without much expectation. So she discovered a basket full of blankets which was just big enough for her to sit in. That was it - all my sister and brother-in-law had to do was say whheeeee and start swinging her around in the basket! I haven't heard her laugh so loud since Ryan discovered her tickle spots!!!!! 
We were cracking up at how hard she was laughing! She even ran up to my sister and brother-in-law to give them hugs after they stopped swinging her around. Of course she had to place the basket back where she found it once she was done playing with it (her neatness and organization skills are still in tact)! But it was amazing just how much fun she had - she loved, loved, loved seeing her pictures in the camera. Even more fun, she loved posing and imitating us for the photos; we definintely discovered the hammy side of Bela for sure!! It was like a whole different little girl came out! I was telling my sister that I couldn't help but to wonder if Bela would ever open up to other people because she is typically so shy and stoic around anyone but us. If Bela wasn't adopted, I probably wouldn't think twice about that, but we tend to be very observant of her behavior to ensure that the adjustment and attachment process is going "normally" if you will. But those concerns started to fade away after yesterday with all the fun she had at my sister's house....pictures say a thousand words!!
We were cracking up at how hard she was laughing! She even ran up to my sister and brother-in-law to give them hugs after they stopped swinging her around. Of course she had to place the basket back where she found it once she was done playing with it (her neatness and organization skills are still in tact)! But it was amazing just how much fun she had - she loved, loved, loved seeing her pictures in the camera. Even more fun, she loved posing and imitating us for the photos; we definintely discovered the hammy side of Bela for sure!! It was like a whole different little girl came out! I was telling my sister that I couldn't help but to wonder if Bela would ever open up to other people because she is typically so shy and stoic around anyone but us. If Bela wasn't adopted, I probably wouldn't think twice about that, but we tend to be very observant of her behavior to ensure that the adjustment and attachment process is going "normally" if you will. But those concerns started to fade away after yesterday with all the fun she had at my sister's house....pictures say a thousand words!! 
Then today, I had to go out for most of the day so Ryan's mom came over to help watch Bela during the day. She brought her tea set and immediately Bela began to play with her and started to serve her stuffed animals tea - we're not sure where she learned how to serve tea but it was like she had done it before and was just having a blast playing pretend tea party! 
I was just talking to Ryan about the fact that before Bela, we had a fun life (or so we thought). There wasn't anything we didn't do. We traveled, we went out every weekend, we enjoyed the company of our friends and family regulary. Now, we have Bela and while our travel has subsided a bit, we are having more fun than either one of us imagined. Don't get me wrong - being a new mom is tough and adjusting to a 2 year old is pretty hard, but I wouldn't trade it for anything! My grandmother said it best - just showing Bela love will warm our hearts as she starts to love us back. Seeing Bela's daily changes is so amazing. It's hard to believe that only 4 weeks ago she was at an orphanage in India!! The pictures below are all from my sister's house - the trick apparently to her shyness was discovering a way to swing her around - hope that doesn't mean I have to ride roller coasters with her???
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