We arrived home Wednesday evening after a miraculously smooth day of traveling.  Delia did so well on the plane, and we know that was in answer to many specific prayers – thank you!

The kids are so smitten with their new sister.  Coraline led the introductions when everyone woke up on Thursday, excitedly announcing to each of her siblings as they awoke, “Ro-ro… Dee-la!  Neat-o (Niko).. DEE-LA!  Junie.. DEE-LA!!” and so on.  (We were reminded of June’s exuberant response on first seeing Niko in the flesh two years ago: “Niko, Niko, Niko!… Can I pet him???”)  It’s so hard not to compare her arrival to Niko’s, but they really could not be more different.  Delia is, for the most part, a quiet observer so far.  We’ve had a lot less of climbing up on counters to examine cabinet contents and investigating electrical switches… none, in fact!  She enjoys the hum of activity all around her, and has seemed happy much more than sad so far, although she does have occasional moments of tearfulness.  We are thankful that her response to her new environment seems not to be one of grief or fear but of fascination and contentment.

Remember how terrified Niko was of the dog when he first came home?  Well, when Delia saw Gulliver for the first time on Thursday morning, she turned to Trevor with eyes like saucers and an enormous grin on her face that said, “Are you kidding me? We have a dog?!”  She is absolutely tickled by him, and can’t walk past him without trying to give him a (sometimes too enthusiastic!) squeeze.  Thankfully, he has been well broken-in by a steady stream of toddlers over the years and is completely unflapped by her misdirected affection.

What looks like it may be the most difficult part of this initial transition period is sleep.  Delia goes to sleep beautifully at night without any fuss at all except perhaps that bedtime did not come soon enough for her liking.  But she has been waking in the very wee hours and not going back to sleep, which has made her extremely sleepy during the days as well as making me and Trevor… well, not at our best.  Thankfully, this morning she slept until 6:15, and even if it was a fluke it was a welcome relief!  We are praying, for her sake as much as ours, that she continues to find her groove with this.  Despite having survived five newborns, we’ve been surprisingly at a loss and unsettled by having a wide awake seven-year-old in our room in the middle of the night!

To end this update on a joyful note, you should know this about our girl: Delia loves to dance!  There has been very little so far that has captured and held her attention.  Toys, TV, coloring, all of the usual kid activities do nothing at all for her.  But music speaks to our girl’s heart, and we love watching her come alive to it.  Enjoy!