One month home

Last night was our one-month-iversary!  It feels good to know that Kavya has been with us long enough to begin understanding that this isn't just another hotel -- it is her home.

For the most part, our month has been very quiet.  The only times she's left our house are for doctor visits, to pick up the older kids at school, and two brief visits to the library (Aaron has a research project).  Today, I took her for a quick visit to a grocery store, just to get her used to the place before I attempt to do normal grocery shopping with her in a few more weeks.

We've had a few visitors to the house too. On Monday, an early intervention specialist through the Birth to 3 Program came to assess Kavya.  It was early for a visit, but because Kavya turns 3 this summer, she wanted to visit early enough so we could use their services if necessary.

She spent about an hour with us, observing Kavya's speech, non-verbal communication, and cognition.  She ended up having no concerns at this early stage of the game. Kavya used over 20 words during the visit, and showed a lot of receptive language comprehension.  

I continue to be struck by how different our homecoming has been than what we anticipated.  Because of a typographical error in Kavya's medical records, we thought we were bringing home a daughter with a "hearing defect" that was significant enough to be noticeable at 10 months old.  She was also hospitalized at 5-6 weeks old with meningitis, and was born with a cleft palate. We were prepared (as prepared as we could be) for the possibilities of cognitive delays because of the meningitis, and assumed a surgery was in our near future (her repair surgery at 6 months old was not noted in her medical records).

Any of those medical conditions might be the reason she was available for us to become her parents.  The fact that others may have turned her down because of her medical history gives me goosebumps -- it feels like a miracle that she is ours, and doesn't face surgeries, hearing aids or profound hearing loss, or cognitive delays.

I'm almost having a touch of "survivor's guilt," because so many of the surprises with adopted children aren't the good or easy kind. I feel so incredibly blessed by the way our first month has gone, and the way she is settling in. She is bright, funny, curious, affectionate, and so dear to our whole family already.  Every week so far, I've cried tears of gratitude and joy that she's with us, and that God has joined us together forever.

We are still seeing some orphanage behaviors occasionally. She has a few self-soothing behaviors that have changed slightly -- for example, instead of rubbing her own belly to fall asleep, she will sometimes reach over to me and rub my neck.  She still pulls on her eyelids, eyelashes and eyebrows when she's very tired -- but I haven't seen her rub her ears for over a week. Tonight, she was very tired (she only napped for an hour or so), and I saw the return of her hitting herself on the head to fall asleep.  She hasn't done that for about a week.  It's a good, though hard to watch, reminder that appearances can be deceiving . . . She's such a busy, chipper extrovert, but the move to a new country, with new foods, new sounds, new people -- it is a very traumatic thing for any 2-year-old.

We also saw some behaviors this weekend that we will keep an eye on -- we ended up having a surprise visit from Peter's sister Anne, her husband Nick, and their daughter Emma. Kavya went right to Anne and Emma, and wanted them to pick her up and play with her.  We will have to keep an eye on that, and make sure she isn't doing that with random people out in public or the first time we go to church with her.  I used a baby carrier at the library, so there was no chance for her to approach strangers. She didn't do it at the grocery store today, so maybe it was just that she felt secure enough in her own house to interact with them? Time will tell.

My sister Alicia also came to visit, along with my brother Matt.  It was the first time Kavya has seen Alicia since our trip to India, because she injured her knee while skiing and wasn't able to travel.  Her boyfriend was so sweet to drive her to us -- he's the one who rescued us when our flight out of Chicago was cancelled, so he's logged lots points with us! Kavya remembered Alicia, and was excited to see her again. She was a little more reserved with Matt -- she seems to be a little more shy with men -- but after a while, she was happy to be on his lap for a few moments.

Our month at home has also included 2-3 visits from both sets of grandparents.  They are thrilled that Kavya already recognizes them and call them "gwamma" -- ALL of them, even the "gwampas."

This week, she's started to combine words to make 2-word phrases.  She has said "no birdies," "night night, Daddy," "Anya, come on," and more!  It is so adorable to hear her pronunciations. The big kids find her chatter endlessly amusing.

The next month will likely be pretty similar to this one. Lots of play at home, a few trips outside our house, and not too much else. We are following the experts' advice, and keeping her world small.

Making gains

We had our first doctor appointment with Kavya on Tuesday, and were happy to see that she's gained nearly two pounds since we met her on January 9.  She was still hovering just under 20 pounds, but she's now at 7% on the US growth charts for both height and weight.

We will go back this week for a few more tests -- a repeated TB test (the one in-country wasn't injected correctly), and blood titers to see if her previous immunizations were effective.  We will also be testing for vitamin D levels, and some other nutritional things -- as long as we're have to draw blood, we will make the most of it.  I am so sad for Kavya, though -- she will also be getting two shots. That's a lot of pokes in one day.

She continues to settle in well, and has a such a great sense of humor. That seems like a funny thing to say, but it's true.  She loves to laugh, and loves to find funny things to do to make us laugh too.  She also discovered the piano this week, and loves to "play" her own compositions.

 

We have seen some signs that she's relaxing a little bit.  Last weekend, she was having a lot of fun with the whole family after dinner.  Anya and Nathan were pushing her around in a laundry basket, and she was having a ball . . . so when bedtime came, she wanted no part of it!  She kept pointing at the bedroom door, and had her first real 2-year-old tantrum.  While those aren't fun, we were relieved to see that she's feeling at home enough to 'let it all hang out' with us. 

Many families see grief behavior with their new children, and we have too -- the unusual thing for Kavya is that it only seems to happen in the night.  We've had five nights (she's been home 3 weeks now) where she's woken up crying. It is truly heartbreaking -- she is inconsolable when it happens.  It doesn't last long . . . usually less than 30 minutes.  Different things have helped her out of those moments -- just holding her and talking softly, taking her down to the basement (she loves going down by the laundry machines), and giving her hot chocolate have all helped bring her out of her sadness.

I wish she could tell us what brings on the grief.  I wonder if she's dreaming about the Sisters, Sumi or the orphanage, or if she's disoriented when she wakes up? It does seem to happen when something new is introduced -- for example, Peter and the boys had to go away for a retreat one weekend, and she woke up both nights crying.  And we had Anya's 1st grade winter concert last Thursday. We really wanted to go, and took separate vehicles so I could leave with Kavya after the kindergarteners and first graders finished -- but being inside the school in a tangle of people for even that short time was enough to make her have a hard time falling asleep, and then wake up at 11:00 p.m. crying.

It's a good reminder that, no matter how well she's doing by day, or how outgoing and funny she is, we must still keep her world small during these first weeks and months.  Our only visitors have been people bringing meals (and my friend Kathy bringing me Starbucks!).  We have been SO blessed by friends, family, and church family bringing us dinners three nights a week!  Kavya really loves to be held (REALLY loves it!), so I'm doing many things one-handed, and the help with meals has been a lifesaver.

Her grandparents have each stopped by twice for short visits.  They are just thrilled with her, and can't wait until we are out of the "cocoon" phase. Kavya is so smart -- she already remembers the words "grandma" and "grandpa."

Her language is coming along well too! New words this week are "good job," "okay," "monkey," "come on," "pencil" (pen-see), "bunny," "hop," "chicken," "cupcake" (cup-cup), and "thank you" (dank goo). 

 

We continue to be surprised by some things she knows or doesn't know. For example, it seems as though she's never been read to.  She would barely be interested in any book at first, and the only time I could read was when we waited for the kids after school in our van.  (She was strapped in her car seat, so she didn't have much choice in the matter!) She did enjoy one large book with pictures of babies and toddlers, and would kiss them.

Finally this week, she has a favorite book: Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed. She LOVES the rhythm of this book, and also likes The Lady With the Alligator Purse.  She also likes Elmo's Puppy Book (what is it about Elmo??).  As she understands more English, I'm sure she will gradually enjoy books more.

Meanwhile, we are hoping my sister can come visit soon. She hurt her knee skiing, and hasn't been able to make the 2-hour drive. We're hoping to see her next weekend -- it will be interesting to see how Kavya reacts to seeing her again.  She has talked to Alicia on the phone since our trip, but it will be great to have her here in person.
 

One week home

We've spent one week at home together!  It seems both shorter (it's very new to have a toddler in our family again!), and longer (seems like she's always been part of our family) than that.

I continue to be amazed by how brave Kavya is.  She has such good humor and vitality when so many things have changed for her, in every part of her life.  Familiar faces, sounds, smells, sights, and tastes have been replaced by new ones.  She loves to look out the window into our backyard, and I wish she could tell us what she's thinking as she looks at our white, snow-covered world.

We've had some bumpy nights due to the time change -- on Tuesday, Kavya woke up at 2:00 a.m., ready for the day, and on Wednesday, she was up at 3:30 a.m.  The rest of the week has been a mixture of 5:00, 6:00 and one glorious 7:00 a.m. wake-up . . . hopefully she will continue to do that!

Kavya is a quick learner, and is repeating many sounds.  Sometimes she knows what she's saying, and sometimes she's just imitating us.  She says "socks" (sock-ohs) and is very fond of them, for some reason.  Anytime she plays with dolls, they need to wear socks.  She also says "spoon," (spoon-oo), "uh-oh," "oh no," "again," and has her own versions of the boys' names.  Nathan's name pronunciation varies, but she calls Aaron "noodle," for some reason -- too cute!

If she wants someone's attention, she will say (loudly and enthusiastically) "Yaay!!!"  She did this on the flights home, trying to get Peter's and my sister Alicia's attention, and she does it here too, especially for the boys.

She knows the word "coffee" (she says 'coppee') a little too well . . . it's been a survival tool for me in the early mornings!  When I made hot chocolate for Anya, Kavya said, "Anya coppee?"

While we stayed at the orphanage, we saw one funny thing in action -- thankfully, Sr. Lucy explained it to us, or we would be wondering what in the world Kavya was doing.  When I change clothes, Kavya wags her finger at me and says "Say, say say!" with a grin.  Sr. Lucy told us that she's saying "Shame, shame, shame!", and that they would say that to Kavya.  Now I'm wondering if they said that when kids took off their clothes at the wrong time, or took of their diapers or something . . . since the only time she says it is if I'm disrobed!

We also hear some Kannada words from her -- "akka" for sister, "anna" for brother . . . and, though this isn't on our list of Kannada phrases, she says "kaka" every time she has a stinky diaper, so we can figure out what that means!  She also calls her dolls "baboo."  She continues to do the Indian head bobble, which is fun to see.  And instead of nodding her head up and down for "yes," she does her own unique imperial nod -- just a single nod, like Jeannie in "I Dream of Jeannie," if anyone else remembers watching re-runs of that program.

One of the biggest joys this week has been watching the kids together.  When they're away at school, Kavya points toward the door, or points at their pictures and says their names.  She really likes having them around.

It's been fascinating to watch their personalities show up in how they interact with Kavya.  Aaron, our conscientious eldest child, is most concerned about her safety.  He is the one who tells us she's trying to stand up in her highchair, for example.  He likes to carry her and explain things to her, too.  Nathan, our social guy who loves small children, takes great delight in spinning her around while she laughs and laughs.  When we were in India using Facetime with them, he laughed hysterically as she tore up the hotel room.

Anya has some little games she plays with Kavya.  She draws circles in the air and says "Lolli-, lolli-, lolli-POP!", and snaps her fingers or claps. Kavya loves to join her doing this.  She's also joined Kavya in a lot of play with dolls and other things.  It's been fun to see how she's willing to jump in, and how she still exclaims over how cute Kavya is.  Today, she woke up with some wild, curly bed-head, and Anya just loved it.

Anya has had some jealousy of so much of my time being occupied with Kavya . . . I think future weekend nap times will involve some craft/art project time with Anya, or some dates.  She is missing time on my lap, and time with me reading chapter books aloud to her.  On the nights when Kavya has gone to bed around 7:30, we've had time to read together . . . but the later nights haven't worked out as well.  We will continue to iron out the glitches as time goes on.

The weekend was just us three girls.  Back when we thought we'd be travelling in the fall, Peter committed to being the speaker for our church's middle school retreat this weekend.  We never dreamed that he would be one week back from India at this time!!  Crazy.  So he and the boys spent the weekend in the far north, and the girls holed up here.  I didn't leave the house except to shovel during Kavya's nap on Saturday!  Anya was my lookout, in case she woke up unusually early.

Everything went pretty well, except that Kavya woke up once each night crying like her heart was breaking.  She cried for about 10 minutes, and I held her and talked to her, and she fell back asleep.  It seemed like either grieving, or night terrors -- she wasn't really awake either time.  Or it could've been a nightmare . . . two dear friends of ours from college were in town, and stopped by for an hour on Saturday. They brought their 8-month-old white terrier with them, and she is adorable . . . but Kavya was afraid of her.  Maybe she was stressed out?  We will see how the next few nights go -- the rest of the night, she slept well.  Who knows?

We are expecting some severe cold this week -- my kids are hoping for school to be cancelled Monday or Tuesday.  It would be kind of nice to have them home after the boys have been gone this weekend -- and I think Kavya would love having her people home during the week too!

Home, sweet home!

Friday was our last day in Delhi.  We stretched our legs a bit before our flights by visiting Humayan's Tomb;  he was an emperor and a significant historical figure.  His tomb is the building that the Taj Mahal was modeled after.

We visited in 2007, but wanted to return to see the results of a restoration project since then.  The tomb building was in significantly better shape than when we saw it last -- there were domes that had been rebuilt, and ceramic and paintwork that was 3D imaged and redone.  There was also an exhibit about how they conducted research and decided what to refurbish.  

The other portion of the grounds hadn't been restored, but the grounds and walkways and signage were much improved -- it was fun to compare to our memories.  And it was a great excuse to walk around before our 30 hours of travel to go home.

There was a wall around one portion of the grounds, accessible by very steep stone stairs.
Outside the wall, we saw wild peacocks:

We stopped at the embassy to pick up Kavya's visa, and headed to the airport.  In the interest of helping future travelers, I wanted to share that we had some issues with motion sickness.  Anya doesn't get carsick at home, and has been on many amusement park rides with no problem -- but the combination of fatigue, air pollution, and the stop-and-start, weaving nature of city traffic did her in.  

She was sick three times during the trip, (once on the plane, where fatigue was a huge factor).  Kavya got sick twice in the car.  I was SO glad that I had brought along little rolls of plastic bags (found in Target's baby section).  I was planning to use them for stinky diapers in our hotel room and on the planes, but they were a godsend for carsickness too!  If you have kids traveling with you, it might be a good idea to be prepared.  I only "missed" once -- the first time Kavya got sick, I thought she was just fussy or tired . . . but I was ready a few days later for the second one!  TMI, but I thought other families would like to know!!

What can we say about the trip home?  LONG.  Tiring.  But Kavya was such a trooper -- she only cried for about 15 minutes as we landed during one of the long flights.  I think her ears were hurting, and she didn't appreciate being seat-belted.  And our last jumper flight home was cancelled due to snow in Chicago . . . but my sister's boyfriend was picking her up, and kindly agreed to drive us to Milwaukee, where some dear friends picked us up and drove us the rest of the way HOME!  

We were missing our boys terribly, and the friends who had them for the weekend brought them home to us.  We spent 9:30-midnight watching them meet and play with Kavya -- she had slept for 2 hours on the drive home, and needed a little awake time before bedtime.  And we were all so happy to see each other, there was no way we were going to bed right away!  They love her so much, and can't believe how cute and funny she is. We spent all of Sunday at home together -- Peter's parents and our friends Todd and Tina cooked for us, which was so appreciated!  And my mom had vaccuumed and straightened up so we came home to a neat house.

Tina & Todd, and baby R -- our flight cancellation rescuers!
Their baby boy just turned 1, and outweighs Kavya by 4 pounds. 

Aaron and Nathan, with the dear H family, who helped care for our boys while we were gone.
Kathy knit the little cap Kavya wore home from Chicago. We were so happy to be back!

Kavya is sleeping in a "sidecar" crib (three-side crib pulled up next to our bed) in our room, which is working out well.  I can only imagine how confusing this all is for her -- 5 days in a hotel (which, for all she knew, was her new home), 30 hours of waking up in airplanes and airports, then this new place, with new boys.  She is such a brave little trooper, and is doing very well with all the changes.  

At first, she would only eat carbs -- rice, potatoes, idli, cous cous, crackers -- but finally today she tried chicken and oranges.  She's also a big fan of warm milk with a little Nesquick in it . . . I hope that helps her gain a little weight.  She's in the 8th percentile for height, and isn't on the charts at all for weight, so anything that helps her fatten up a little is a good thing.  

Her behavior is also very different here.  In the hotels and airports, and also in the orphanage playroom, she was very sensory-seeking.  She was extremely hyper and mobile, and I thought we were in for a little tornado!  But here, with many toys and new ways to exercise her fine motor skills, she is happily occupied.  It makes us want to purchase indoor toys for the orphanage -- but we don't know if we're allowed to do that while we complete our two years of post-placement reports.

On Sunday, our first full day home exploring toys and play, she didn't want to stop playing to nap.  I brought her into our room, and she didn't cry -- but she stood in the corner of the crib, pointing toward the door.  It was so funny -- her eyes were drooping closed while she stood there!  I got her to sit down, then lay down, and she conked out.  When she woke up, she was happy and excited to see that the toys were still there.

She is doing well with bonding and attachment, seeking comfort when she's hurt or tired from me especially, and looking to Peter for tickling and Daddy-style play.  She loves to snuggle on a shoulder, and is a little jealous if Anya climbs on my lap.  That is good to see so quickly -- we haven't even known her for two weeks yet.  She uses some self-comforting behaviors when she's tired or scared -- she rubs her bellybutton and her ears.  We've had to improvise with pajamas so she can reach her belly . . . most of her pajamas are one-piece fleece sleepers, so we're using lots of comfy two-piece clothing for her to sleep in.  We've also raised our thermostat to accommodate her warm-weather self.

We are settling in pretty well, all things considered.  Peter's and Anya's body clocks are a little messed up -- they were both awake at 3:00 a.m. today, so we didn't send Anya back to school today.  Hopefully, tonight goes a little better for them.  Thanks to all who have followed this final chapter in our adoption story . . . and welcome to the first chapter in our next "book" as a family of six!

Wednesday and Thursday

Wednesday found us back at the doctor, to a negative TB result.  What a relief!  After our quick visit, we decided to make a quick stop at Safdarjung, a dwelling and tomb built by a son in honor of his father.  It was a very atmospheric place, but sadly in a state of disrepair.  There were some workers doing paving -- including women breaking rock by hand with hoes, then carrying piles of rock gravel on their heads to the pathway they were constructing.  This tomb and surrounding walls and buildings are noteworthy for being one of the latest examples of Mughal architecture in India.  It reminded us that the US is such a young country -- I wonder how people decide which places to preserve in a country that has centuries of history.

Anya and Kavya seemed tired, so we called it quits after our brief visit there.  On the way back to the hotel, we experienced a parenting milestone:  Kavya threw up on Nancy.  Our driver didn't seem as impressed by our milestone, however . . .

* * * * * * *

Thursday was our embassy appointment.  It is so different from our last visit -- much more efficient and structured than our visit 6 years ago.  Many modernized features have been added; last time, it seemed we sat in a series of rooms with little directional signs, and hoped for the best.  The video monitors and queue system were terrific, and the employees were really helpful.  Afterward, our phone was saying it didn't have coverage to call our driver, and a security guard let us use his phone.

With nothing else on our agenda, we headed back to the hotel for Kavya's nap.  While Peter was on Daddy duty for our napper, Alicia, Anya and I headed out to do a little shopping.  I wanted to find a tablecloth for each of our girls when they grow up, and we chose a few other gifts for people back home.  I'm not a huge shopper, and neither is Alicia -- but we wanted to make sure to have a few special items to remember the trip.

This afternoon (and one day earlier this week), we went to the hotel's outdoor hot tub -- or more appropriately, the warm tub.  As before, we were the only guests using the pool.  There are always a few employees on pool duty to keep the pigeons out of the pool, and you could tell they thought we were CRAZY for swimming in the winter.  Today was a little chilly (about 58 or 60 degrees), but when we were in the water it was fine.

Kavya was very subdued in the water on Monday, and sat quietly on Nancy's lap taking it all in.  But today she was a wild child!  She was splashing and squealing and having a grand time -- even the pool workers commented on how different she was.  Anya LOVED being in the water, and showed off her swimming skills for us.  It was definitely a treat for us, knowing that our hometown got 6-10 inches of snow yesterday!  

A lull in the action

We had no "official" business on Tuesday, so we decided to make a visit to one of New Delhi's newest  cultural sites.  Swaminarayan Akshardham is a museum/shrine/tribute to Bhagwan Swaminarayan (1731 - 1830 AD).  It celebrates the values, architectural forms, artisans' techniques, and Hindu heritage of India.

It is a complex of buildings that opened in 2005.  The centerpiece is the Akshardam Mandir building, constructed of pink stone and white marble.  It was built using traditional materials and techniques, using no steel at all.  The exterior contains relief sculptures of elephants, tells facts about elephants' social lives, and shares parables about elephants.

Inside, there is a shrine to Bhagwan Swaminarayan.  The shrine is magnificent, featuring an 11-foot-high gold-plated statue (murti) of him.  The entire room is gilded and encrusted with gems, and the ceiling and chandelier are beautiful.  Anya was enraptured by this room, since this was the closest thing to pirate/castle/fairy tale treasure that she's ever seen.

There is also an IMAX presentation (which we did not see, knowing that our 2-year-old would not last through the 50-minute film), and a Hall of Values (also 50 minutes) that includes films, robotic figures, and light/sound displays.  Instead, we chose the 15-minute boat ride, the Sanskruti Vihar.  It presents 10,000 years of Indian culture as though you're riding along the river Sarasvati.  Scenes of early bazaars, village life, and India's first university and inventions appear along the boat route.  Anya really enjoyed it, and Kavya was interested in the scenes as we floated by.

We had no idea before visiting that we would spend several hours there -- it really is an extensive experience, and there was another major section under construction that would've added more time.  It is worth visiting, however -- it's a contrast to the older historical sites we've visited, and it was interesting to see how modern India perceives this person/part of history, compared to the interpretations of ancient sites such as Qutab Minar.

* * * * *

We came back to leftovers for lunch from our hotel fridge, and spent the rest of the day quietly.  Kavya napped, and we played in our rooms.  Some dear friends kindly loaned us two Kindles, and they've been great to have on the trip -- we've read the first two Narnia books to Anya, and begun the third, and Peter has been reading Lincoln, the book by Doris Kearns Goodwin (especially when he wakes up early due to time zone issues!).

Bedtime was a little hairy -- I think we started a little too early, and she wanted to play longer.  It reminded us that she is still new to us, and still accustomed to her routine at the orphanage . . . we think she played until she dropped off to sleep in her tracks.  She tends to get kind of hyper when she begins to get tired, then she abruptly crashes into sleep.

We've been discovering so much about her personality this week, and we can't wait for Aaron and Nathan to meet her!  She is a bundle of energy, which we think is part of her personality -- and she's super expressive and animated and FUNNY.  But observing the kids at the orphanage, we also think she has some sensory-seeking behaviors due to her environment there.  The kids were very rough-and-tumble with each other, and climbed the handles of cabinets to get to the windows . . . and then they climbed the security bars on the windows!  It will take her some time to unlearn the playroom rules from there, and learn our house rules.  Hopefully, having brothers and a sister, and a mom and dad who spend time playing with her (not to mention toys), will satisfy her busy-bee nature and active little body.

She has a 1,000-watt smile and laugh, and is a typical 2-year-old who gets focused on  what she wants. Often, that is her toothbrush -- which has come in handy when she's upset or hurt (she slammed her hand in a drawer, for example, and it was the only thing that distracted her).  At bedtime, she kept pointing to her stringing beads, and had a plain old temper tantrum about not being able to play with them at bedtime.  It's good to see that she's feeling comfortable enough to show those kind of feelings with us already.

Kavya is already so much more settled with us -- it shows when she wakes up from sleeping.  The first few days, she was very confused and disoriented, and took a long time to wake up.  She was very cautious and quiet.  Now, she's begun to wake up with a smile, and reach for one of us when she wakes up.  When we go home, she will probably have a few more days waking up confused -- at this point, I'm sure she thinks we live at this hotel, and has no idea we will be going somewhere else.

She is such a little trooper!  What a generous child, to invite us into her heart already.  She already has certain things that consistently make her laugh -- "inside jokes" for us.  She also snuggles up to us at night, and prefers me, Peter, and Alicia to strangers already.  I'm sure some of that because she fears more new things, but it's a gift we don't take for granted.  We have Sumi and the other staff to thank for how well she is doing.  We are so grateful for the way they loved her.  What a blessing for us.

"Doing the needful"

Sunday was spent traveling to Delhi and settling in at our final hotel. Monday morning was all about "doing the needful" (one of my favorite Indian expressions), with visits to a medical clinic and the CARA offices (the national/governmental department that oversees adoptions).

Our visit to the doctor confirmed that our girl is tiny!  At  2 1/2, she is 31 inches tall, and weighs 17 pounds, 10 ounces.  That's less than Anya weighed when we brought her home on her first birthday!  The doctor was kind, and asked a few more questions about her, then a nurse did the TB test. We have it read on Wednesday morning.

The dreaded TB test!

Then we headed over to the CARA office. Most families don't have to do this step, but we'd had some crossed wires about one piece of paperwork that the embassy needs from them. There was some confusion between our Kavya and a different Kavya placed with another US family, so the embassy hadn't received our Kavya's Article 23. After spending over an hour there, the confusion was cleared up, and they couriered our document to the embassy (and gave us a copy too). Anya was a trooper with our morning spent in waiting rooms.

After being cooped up, we decided to get some fresh air. We had snacks in the car for the girls, and we headed to a peaceful outdoor historical site, Qutab Minar. We visited last time, but due to a camera malfunction, all our photos were tinted purple!

We spent an hour or so in the sunshine seeing a magnificent stone tower -- construction began on it in 1193. It is also the site of India's first mosque.  The site is in amazing shape, with beautiful textures and different hues of stone. Everywhere you walk presents amazing views of arches, walls, foundations, and a blend of different architectural styles, all framing the tower from every angle.

The tower has been struck by lightning twice in its history.

Then we headed back to the hotel. We wanted to make sure that a lot of the day contains playtime and just being together in our rooms with Kavya. We ordered some excellent room service for dinner -- they offer a variety of cuisines, but the Indian dishes we've had have been wonderful. Anya's favorite dish at one of our hometown Indian restaurants was featured with a slightly different name, Tikka Murg Mahkni. Delicious!  For future traveling families: be warned that the spice levels here are a few notches higher than in the US!

We also talked to our boys Aaron and Nathan via FaceTime (a feature of Apple devices). It was so great to see their faces, and hear them laugh and laugh at the things Kavya was doing!  My mom was watching them that day, and got her first sighting of Kavya in action -- she was absolutely taken with her. We are just a few days away from going home, and we're really anticipating seeing our family again. *I promise I will add photos, but it's late and my blogging time has been greatly reduced by a certain active, energetic 2-year-old!

Alicia and Peter had a little field trip one day to this spot next to our hotel . . .