2 More Feet

I got called this afternoon at 4:30 about a placement. They didn't even have the children in the office yet, so there was only a limited amount of info that our placement worker could provide. All she said was that they wanted to place an almost 2 year old healthy girl with us, and I said yes. So as soon as Rob got off work we ran over to Wal-Mart to buy a toddler bed, mattress, blanket, and a spare set of bigger diapers.

About 8 PM the worker showed up with the little girl I will call L for now, and her big brother, S. L was curled up in a little ball being carried by the case worker. She didn't have on any shoes, and looked absolutely frightened. She's a small, thin child. S looked us over and then looked around the house. He was being so brave and being a good big brother making sure that his little sister was going to be safe. He tried hard to hide his tears, but couldn't. We promised him that he would see his sister in a few days when we get all the kids together for a visit. I really wish we could have taken them both to keep them together, but we just don't have the room for 3 kids. The CW hurried through the paperwork, and told me to call in the morning for more info because she didn't even have all of it right now. I've got my list of questions already for her.

L sat next to me on the couch sucking her thumb for about 20 minutes watching Blue's Clues, and then she just burst into tears. She cried and cried while I held her and rocked her. She wouldn't talk at all. I tried to get her to color with me, but every time I tried to talk to her, she started to cry again. It was heartbreaking. I gave her an Oreo that she devoured, and then started to cry again. I gave her some apple juice, and that seemed to calm her down a little. Then I changed her diaper which was soaking wet, and she started to warm up to me after that. She sat on my lap and played with me after that.

Rob's mom brought us dinner and brought L a happy meal. L and I sat on the floor while she ate her dinner. She smiled at me and let me help her with her food. Then we played some more. She enjoyed playing "pick up the toy" with Fuzzy. Then Rob, L, Fuzzy, and I played with a ball for a while. Then Rob and I got both kids to bed after some work. I'm praying that they both sleep through the night because I need some sleep. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow. I need to give L a good bath, and her hair needs a lot of care. I'm going to try to get L to the doctor for her physical. I have to meet the CW at wal-mart in the morning to get L lots of clothes, hygiene stuff, a car seat, and a lifebook. Well, it's already late so I'm going to bed. I'll keep everyone updated on how things are going.