2 Years Ago Today

We brought our beautiful daughter home. I remember arriving in Chicago in the late afternoon, surprised to find my Mom & Dad at the gate with a wonderful sign (made by my Mom's students). I can honestly say I have NEVER been so tired in my entire life.

There she is, meeting her Mimi & Papa for the very first time. Can you believe how tiny she was??

Here we are, just about to leave for the airport in Addis Ababa.

I had grand plans to celebrate today, but I think the way it went was pretty darn perfect. I went and got Lila out of bed this morning and she said, "Hi, Mommy. I love you so much, Mommy." Could there be a more perfect start to a day? We all took a nice long nap this afternoon, pet some bunnies while getting Molly dog food, watched Madagascar (while Lila crawled around on all fours declaring herself to be a lion), and then capped off the night with a tubby. Perfection.

I still cannot wrap my head around the fact that 2 years have passed. While I can barely recall my life before Lila, it seems as though my life with her goes at warp speed. A big part of the reason for this blog is so that I can write everything down, remember as much as I possibly can because it goes by SO QUICKLY.

And to end on a truly cheesy note, I love the lyrics to this song...to me it perfectly sums up how I feel about Lila:

If you listen, you can hear

birds sing, and flowers grow.

If you listen, you can hear

my love for you just grow.

I think that when we first arrived home, I was impatient to love and bond with Lila. Now I know that I loved her from the very beginning. And even though it doesn't seem possible, that love just keeps on growing.