Hey princess,

…and are you ever. Your siblings often refer to you as iella (they leave out the dan). And since iella, pronounced yella, reminds both your dad and I of Old Yeller, we shortened it one step further to ella. You respond and the kids have picked up on it, but we still mostly call you Daniela. I have to admit though that Ella and Danny are much less confusing than Daniela and Daniel. We will see what you want to be called this week when tio Brian can translate for us. Whenever I went shopping for your clothes I had the feeling that I should buy lots of pink. You love love love it. Like I have said before, you would wear a dress every day if I let you. And why not, right? 

When we were being prepped the day before Presentation Day, I was the most intimidated by your profile. Did you know that? The psychologists made it very clear that you were the one who most needed the love and attention of a mother. Granted, daddy was given the pressure of the three others. But still, you were the only one billed as “complicated.” Are you kidding me? How do you begin to parent complicated? :) Daddy and I laughed about that one for quite awhile. We still shake our heads every day at your bossiness, sassiness, and emotions. But the psychologist also said that you were the most excited out of all of the children about the adoption. You asked many questions and really really wanted to be adopted by us.

Fun facts about you:

1. You love polla y papas (chicken and potatoes, of any variety). Whenever a meal is to your liking you say, “insert person who cooked the meal” and wink while giving a thumbs up and nodding.

2. You love babies. Above is a pic of you and Mimi. She is three and you love her. You also love to carry around her baby brother, Gabriel. You’ll be a good little babysitter one day.

3. You can shake your hips like nobody’s business. And yet, you have no sense of timing. When we were clapping along to a song at the dog show you couldn’t keep the time and rhythm for the life of you. It was hilarious because I knew what a good little dancer you are. Oh well, you are only six, right?

4. You love to help clean the house. You would rather stay home and help with the laundry and dishes than go to the park or other places most days. I will enjoy it while it lasts. You like the individual attention it affords, but you also thrive on positive praise particularly centered around accomplishing house tasks–that is how you were praised and recognized at the orphanage.

5. You can scream louder than any child I have ever met.

6. Most nights you need extra cuddles and snuggles, but sometimes you do not want anyone touching you. The trick is that we still cannot read which one you want, and sometimes I think you do not even know. Hence the complicated comment. I am hoping that Uncle Brian can also help with this one. I just need you to understand in Spanish that if you need extra mommy time at night, you just need to ask. I think that will help a lot.

We love you all and are doing great. This is just the first two minutes - we’ll post more when we have a better connection.

This is a one minute clip from our 2nd conference with the kids. The sound is horrible, but you can see them. After the first few seconds, they are singing a traditional schoolchildren’s song. They’re having a great time! We have a great time watching it over and over! We have one more video call on Monday of next week and then off we go! Watch and enjoy.

Hello Princess! I’m not sure what your name will end up being so I am sticking with Princess for now. What do you think? I cannot believe papi and I will be there in a few short weeks to finally meet you. We hear that you are the shy one of the bunch. Your psychologist reports that you are the sweetest little girl once you decide to let someone in. We also hear that you are slow to warm up and won’t speak until you feel comfortable. I hope you will quickly feel our love. I will not be offended if you do not show us love right away. Whether it is one day, one week, one month, or one year–I will wait for your love. You, my princss, are worth waiting for. :)

 I also hear that you are extra close to big brother Daniel. You are so lucky to have a big brother who cares so deeply and tries to protect you. I surely hope that you always remain close to him. You will share a bedroom with Ezzy when we settle in Las Vegas. It will be a grand adventure watching the two of you (only 11 months apart) fight over clothes, boys and friends. I hope I end up being the mom I envision for the two of you–someone you can talk to, laugh with, and most importantly look to as an example of a strong joyful woman, wife and mother.

Princess, I want you as much as you want a mom and dad. I want nothing more than to be YOUR mom. Heavenly Father has led me to your door. Of that I have no doubt! Hopefully, someday you will know for yourself that we were meant to be.