Streams in the Desert: 3 Days home

Tuesday...I planed that this would be a stay at home as much as possible day. I knew I needed to run to the store to get a few things and some food, but other than that I wanted Maria to be at home and get acclimated to her new home. My mom helped out by coming over and staying with her. We also had a special guest come and visit us...Anna, an amazing young lady who was adopted from Bulgaria when she was 10. Her parents live in Iowa and she was visiting a friend nearby. She came over and ended up getting Maria to teach her some Bulgaria again. They really hit it off and I hope that Maria will get to spend more time with Anna.

4th of July we spent at my parent's home. Maria had fun playing with a doll house and pop-beads (great fine motor activity by the way....we both got our work out on those beads). My brother even stopped by to spend some more time with Maria and the rest of the family. By the afternoon Maria really started opening up to everyone. She even left her crutches by a chair and cruised around the table and couch with out them. She was following my mom around the kitchen and even tried to block her from coming upstairs. She then started playing with my dad...he wasn't sure if she liked him when he picked us up from the airport, now there is no doubt. She also got to meet my grandparents (her great-grandparents). My grandmother is just in love with her...even wants to take her to get her ears pierced...I begged for years to get my ears pierced and she didn't offer to take me when I did get mine done. Talked about a date for a "Meet Maria" party for family and friends in Iowa (also planning one for the Chicago area). We also had sparklers...Maria was rather unsure about those. Although she was interested in the few fireworks we saw on the way home. She was too tired to stay up to see the big fireworks show.

Thursday....today we went up to Iowa City. First I needed to take her to the outlet mall to get some shorts. The capri pants just aren't working well at times and it is HOT here....my car was reading 102 at times today (YUCK). On the way to the mall I got a big surprise...Maria decided to start saying all the words she knows in English. She must have said 50-60 words at least. She then started to count...she got to 29 with only have difficulty with 13....then some trouble with the 30's (which makes sense to me...that's a hard beginning sound to make)....we then alternated numbers from 40-100. It was really a nice surprise. I wore her out...we had to walk outside at the outlet mall and she wasn't thrilled about that. We also hung out in Iowa City waiting for my Bulgarian friends Annie and Rumen to come. They were going to be in town today and wanted to meet Maria...since they will soon be moving to Pennsylvania I knew the opportunities would be limited. I'm glad that Maria got to meet them. She was charming as usual. They were able to ask her some questions....I got a few answers confirmed (such as the orphanage didn't let her walk out side on her crutches). Also found out that she had a TV in her room at the orphanage....guess what won't be happening here. They also commented on how smart she is and how well she is doing. They were surprised by her adjustment this far (knock on wood!). They also gave me some tips for making her favorite soup which is a cold yogurt and cucumber soup....think we will be trying to make it sometime soon.