Life with a GIRL!

Josie and I are both experiencing new things. Everything is new to Josie and having a girl around is new to me. I LOVED having boys and never even longed for a girl. People would always ask......."are you going for a girl?". I honestly never thought I was missing out on anything. I just wanted one of our children to have their dad's beautiful black hair and brown eyes. Well, guess what? Josie gave us that beautiful black hair and brown eyes but she also given us the joy of having a girl.

See, what I didn't realize is that girls are very different to raise. She LOVES shopping, she LOVES cooking, she even LOVES cleaning! She really is the opposite of what I remember about our boys at this age. She likes to color, cut, draw and use her fine motor skills. The boys just wanted to run, kick, shoot, and use their gross motor skills. It really is different but it's a lot of fun!

Now for the fun stuff, I am including our first family pic! I can't believe it took us more than a month to take a pic with our new, larger family! We took Josie to Oceans of Fun with our friends the Millers and we had an AWESOME time. I am also including some of Josie cooking and feeding the chickens. Is she the sweetest little cowgirl ever?

Almost One Month Home!

Well, I can't believe we've been home almost a month already. It has gone by fast but it also seems like Josie has been a part of our lives forever. Someone asked me the other day if it feels like she's my daughter or if it still feels like we're babysitting. Well guys, this little girl is our daughter! I know it doesn't always happen this quickly but I can honestly say that she is 100% our daughter and part of this Borgmann family. We love her with all our heart and are settling in nicely!

I do want to be realistic about the challenges we've been facing. The entire time we were in China, Josie slept like an angel and really behaved like an angel in every way. Since we've been home, this has changed a little. She is still a joy but is definitely testing the limits. She is strong willed and does have an opinion about things. She has decided that she will not take a nap most days and will go to bed when everyone else does.......no sooner. Her eating has also changed. We are struggling with this daily and trying to find things she will eat. She has lost 1 1/2 lbs in the last couple weeks so we are really trying to push the food. She likes to pout and refuse to answer if she doesn't get her way but overall, she is pretty easy.

Her English is coming along and she understands a lot of what we say. She doesn't freely use her own words but will repeat what we say or name things if we work with her. She is pretty quiet in general so I'm sure that will all change soon. Tonight she was working at something until she finally got it. She then said "there we go". It was so cute!

She experienced her first trip to the cabin and LOVED the boat. She was sporting her new sunglasses and looked so stinkin' cute!

Her favorite "American" thing so far is Dora. She LOVES Dora. She also likes Diego. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that she now LOVES Griffey. Most of the time when she talks on her own, it's because she's talking to or about Griffey.

I should also mention that I am SO proud of the boys. They are all wonderful with Josie and love her to pieces. I love watching their relationships blossom.

I need to download some more wonderful pictures and post them. She has met so many friends and family members and loves them all. Those pictures will be coming soon.