Quiet Day

We had a good day today. Not much for tantrums. Miss Maia was up early this morning - I was awake at 4am and decided sleep wasn't coming back at around 4:45am so I got up to do my devotional while M&M (Mark and Maia) were still sleeping. Who should come crawling up the stairs at about 5:15am? Yep... the princess herself. I am thankful that most mornings she wakes very cheerful. It doesn't always last long, but usually she starts out the day smiling.
Slight meltdown at breakfast, but she recuperated all right. Mark had to go to work for a little while this morning so we were on our own. Mostly, played hide and seek. Maia seems to be catching on to things quickly. She learned how to shut the doors and tries very hard to open them, but she just isn't tall enough and her little hands aren't quite strong enough to turn the door knob.
First American (non-name) word came out today. It was a little bit off, but close enough for me to know what she was saying. After breakfast, I told her it was time to go "potty." She said, "Dotty - dah (which is Russian for "yes"). I was tickled!
Went down for her nap without much complaint. She cried for less than 5 minutes before falling asleep. We had company this afternoon - my first in-laws stopped by and got to meet Maia. Wish I had taken a picture, but Maia had fun coloring and reading with Bonnie. Later this afternoon, Gail (good friend of my mom's) and her daughter Lily came over with bags of clothing for Maia - so greatly appreciated! I've only bought a couple things for her, waiting to see what Gail passed on to us. Mark is happy because it means I won't have to go shopping for a while - lol!
Dinner time caused the major tantrums today. At the orphanage, caregivers pick up food from the kitchens and bring it back ready to serve. So Maia has no concept of food preparation time. She sees me walk into the kitchen to begin cooking and expects the meal to be waiting for her. Mark intervened to take her downstairs and distract her, but it was too late and our girl was not happy. She LOVES carbs so finished leftover mashed potatoes and tried pasta (new dish for her) without eating her meat. I tried explaining that she could have more noodles if she ate her meat. That caused another meltdown.
Mark lucked out - I was going to leave him in charge of meds, bath, and bedtime tonight while I went to my monthly circle meeting. But, I've got a nasty cold so didn't want to subject the other ladies to any germs. Instead, I stayed home and subjected Maia to them - lol!
Overall, I think Maia is adjusting well. We continue to pray that God will just strengthen her bond and attachment with Mark and me. I'm absolutely wiped out tonight so I'll close here.