The month of Anjulily!

Our sweet daughter, Anjali Sadhana Janardhan (a.k.a. my Anjulily), joined our family on January 16^th, 2015. It is one of the happiest days of our lives. Janardhan, Dhruv and I have been with our sweet little button for over a month now. Waiting for Anjali was hard but now that we are united with her, I feel sheer bliss! She wasn’t born of my womb but is born of my heart. I am very proud to say that I am her mother! 

Anjali has truly shown us what strength is and how to stay happy despite the huge changes she has experienced in the past month. In a month, Anjali has left the only home she had ever known (her orphanage in Bangalore), left all her loving caretakers and friends to journey to four new cities, met lots of new folks and finally settled in with the craziest three! Anjali has smiled right through all of it and when I hear her walking around the home cooing in her baby voice, my heart stops beating and wants the moment to last forever. For me, Anjali has gone from being a dream, a wish sent out into the universe, from a photo to a funny, mischievous, comical little doll whom I cannot live without.

The month of Anju has been full of it's ups and downs. Adoption is not easy! Transitions are hard on everyone as we need to adjust and find a new 'normal.' Anjali has experienced a life without us in it and every time she does something, I wonder whether it is out of her nature or nurture. I don't know what my daughter is thinking sometimes and I feel guilty that I am not being the mother I am supposed to be. The initial heartache that I felt when Anjali refused to come to me for the first week has been replaced with the absolute thrill of feeling the warmth and softness of Anju in my arms. It feels great to have a baby at home!When she snuggles in really close and I hug her super tight as we head upstairs for her morning nap, my heart does it's happy dance. I get my share of 'Anju' time before Dhruv comes home. Anjali and I have bonded ever since Janardhan returned to work three weeks ago. The four hours that I get alone with my baby girl is full of fun and adventure. The chaos for the day begins when Dhruv returns from school and I change into mom-the-mediator. Dhruv and Anjali have a cute relationship filled with moments that make me lose my mind and pull my hair out and moments when I see the joys of a relationship between siblings. Nothing beats the happiness of sharing life with a sister or brother. Dhruv has gone from being jealous to being protective and affectionate toward Anju (Phew! We actually get to sit for a few minutes at times!).

In the few weeks that we have been together, here is what I have learnt of our sweet ball of love:

Anjali loves;
- Her nana (daddy in Telugu).  She is a daddy's girl and if she could sit on his lap the whole day, she would. She absolutely adores her dad and she is his princess. Anjali bonded with Janardhan from the moment they met.
- Her brother Dhruv. Anjali's favorite thing to do is to steal his cars and run away! She wants Dhruv to chase her all day long. The first thing Dhruv does when he wakes up is look for his baby sister and the two of them shower each other with kisses (before fighting for the rest of the day).
- Getting kisses. She loves getting kisses and points to different parts of her face where she wants them. She also loves being tickled.
- Eating bananas (she will eat bananas all day long if she could).
- Drinking milk and eating food. I have to say that I am delighted to see that she has such a healthy attitude and appetite. She loves her desserts.
- Creating havoc. Be it toys or books, she explores them in unique ways (including throwing and tearing). Being a neat freak, this part of her personality drives me nuts!
- Playing peek-a-boo, hide-and-seek and chase.  She is the fastest tiniest almost-two year old ever!
- Playing the park. She is not afraid of anything and will climb and jump off any surface.
- Living life. She truly has a zest for life. Despite all the changes she has been through, apart from the first two days with us; she is such a happy, spunky child that she fills our hearts with joy.

Anjali doesn't have words yet but I long for the day when she can tell me what she wants, needs and thinks. She has matured so much and gone from whining to signing for things. She is learning different parts of her body and that things have names. She has gone from throwing and tearing books to reading them. She seems to thrive in the daily rhythm that we have set in place. I pray that our sweet angel understands how much we love her as we enter the second month of our lives together as a family!