One thing we noticed when we were at Eli's orphanage was that the nanny's were fastidious about keeping the children clean. Faces were clean, all the girls hair was done, clothes were straight and tidy. The children got scolded if they got dirty. I am not complaining about this mind you. This showed us that they cared about the children and wanted them to look nice. This is a direct contrast to pictures I have seen and stories I have heard from other adoptive parents who had children in not so nice places.
With that being said, when Eli first came home he would get very upset if he got dirty or wet, crying and holding out the part of him that was wet/dirty. Over time, we were able to assure him that it was okay with us if he was wet or dirty, and he has slowly but surely become more okay with it.
We are putting a little patio in our yard, and lots of dirt comes with that. Gwen decided to play in the mud, and Eli joined in. It warmed my heart to see him so happy to be dirty, no hesitation, no crying or upset. He is our son, and every day we see more little signs that he is truly settling in here, after almost 6 years with no family to call his own!
As you can see in the video below, when I ask him if he is dirty his first reflex is to deny that he is dirty. I think this may take a long time before it goes away, but we are okay with that. I know this summer he will have many many opportunities to be dirty ;)
awesome-gotta love his "nooo" :)
ReplyDeletePraying for your new additions and that you can go get em real soon!