Octobe
Dear Kaiyuan staff,
I am happy to take the opportunity to update you on Wenjia Sidi! She has been doing very well in the 18 months since we became her parents, and we feel so blessed to have her as our daughter.
Si Di's development since we adopted her has been very good. Physically, she is a very coordinated child who started walking around her first birthday and hasn't slowed down since! She started talking later than most of her peers, but she quickly learned to communicate all sorts of ideas. She is eager to interact with adults and children, and has begun making friends in our neighborhood. She has always been very curious and observant about the world around her, and we are amazed by how much she can understand. Now, as a typical toddler, she is imitating whatever she sees adults doing, and insisting on doing things "myself!"
Si Di's favorite activity without question is playing outside. She loves to swing and climb on the playground, to make friends with other children, and to explore her natural environment. When she is inside, she likes to "help" with household chores, read books, watch TV, and play with toys. She always thinks it's exciting to go out somewhere, whether it's to the zoo or just to the grocery store, and the trip is even better if she gets to ride a bus.
Her personality now is much the same as it was described in the information we received before we adopted her. She still has a lot of energy, she still loves to eat, she still enjoys being teased, and she still easily accepts new food, toys, people and experiences. But her favorite people are always Mommy and Daddy! :-)
When people first meet our daughter, they usually comment on how happy she is, how friendly she is, or how much energy she has. She creates a lot of smiles wherever she goes! Meanwhile, people who know her well also describe her as sweet, intelligent, curious and daring.
All of Si Di's grandparents have had the chance to spend time with her, and they all dote on her. Unfortunately none of them live very close to us, but we visit each other whenever we can. Right now, I am still staying at home and taking care of Si Di full-time. We haven't decided yet when I will return to work.
We have always told Si Di that she was born in China and we came to China to adopt her when she was a baby. In the last couple of months she seems to have really started understanding that she is Chinese. She likes to look at her photos from China, and she tries to "speak Chinese." (She does know a few real words of Chinese, but mostly she says nonsense syllables like she did when she was first learning English.) She proudly says, "MY China!" We have tried to help her keep a connection to her birth culture by spending time with Chinese friends, helping her to learn some Chinese words, and adopting a few Chinese customs (like eating jiaozi with chopsticks--one of her favorite meals!). We are looking forward to traveling in China with her when she is older.
My grandmother has commented many times that it is obvious that Si Di was well cared for as an infant, because she must have experienced love in order to be able to give and receive love so freely. Thank you again for your care for her when she needed it most. She is precious beyond words, and we hope we can bring her back to visit you in the future so you can see for yourselves how well she is growing up!
Gratefully,
Linette Corrigan (and Tim Corrigan), adoptive parents of Esther Si Di Corrigan
