Are you gonna adopt her?

It only took about 50 hours for someone to ask me this question. In front of the Little Lady. In line at Target. LL (as I may refer to her from now on, just because it's hard to type so many letters) has a way of letting people know she's in foster care. And by "a way," I mean she pretty much just comes out and says it. It only takes a brief introduction and 2.5 awkward moments of silence before she busts out with her announcement. 

It was hard to respond, as you can probably imagine. I mumbled my way through something like, "We don't really know. We take it one day at a time." LL had her own comment, "No, she's not going to adopt me." Thanks a lot, lady, for rushing a conversation we didn't even plan on having for like a YEAR!

I know I shouldn't be upset because she must not really understand foster care or how inappropriate it was to ask us that question, but it's hard not to. 

We debriefed with LL over dinner during our highs/lows. We talked about how much we care about her and how we'll take care of her as long as we can. We also told her that she doesn't have to tell anyone about her story, unless they're someone who we tell her is a safe person to talk to about her family (such as her attorney, whom she met this afternoon.) 

We had another jam-packed, fun-filled day. Oh, well, I guess it was fun after the two hour tantrum/meltdown we endured this morning. LL was frustrated with her hair, began crying uncontrollably, and it took a long time to bring her out of the meltdown. We realized that she hadn't cried about being torn away from her family since she got here. We sat next to her on her bedroom floor as she cried there, we moved to the bathroom floor when she crumbled into a ball there, then on to the living room floor when she lost it again, and so on for several hours. It was so heartbreaking to watch. She was pretty exhausted when she came out of it, we hugged, and moved on with our day. 

We went to Kennedi's 3-year-old birthday party, played with Lucy, met the neighbor when we threw Lucy's ball over the fence, had a shopping spree at Target with all of the gift cards from our amazing friends and family (THANK YOU!!), ate dinner, and flew through the bedtime routine! 

Bedtime is going much better than our first night together. It's quickly becoming my favorite time of the day with LL. I wish I could box up her smell after a bath, along with the sound of Bry's guitar playing softly, the feeling of her comforter next to me as we read a book or the three hugs she requested before falling asleep, and the taste or Mr. Bubbles when she splashes me while I wash her hair. It seems unfair that out of all of the five senses, the only things I can capture are the ones I can see. So for now, I'll just keep snapping away and taking photos until my iPhone says it's full because they may be all I have of her someday. 

Favorite LL quotes/moments from today:

- "This was the best night EVER!"

- "See, I knew they'd have that here. That's why they call it SUPER Target."

We've got a serious climber on our hands! 

Shopping for a gift for Ms. Kennedi! 

Is it just me, or are baby dolls creepily looking more and more like actual babies every year? 

Jumping in the jump house at Kennedi's 3rd birthday! 

Jump house slide. 

Dance party in the living room! 

You've probably noticed that she's been wearing the same, or similar clothes the last two days. Not anymore! I finally won the clothes battle (for now!!) Here's her outfit for church tomorrow, designed by yours truly. I don't think I won the shoe fight, though. She insists that black matches with anything.