Colette's POV
It's officially been a month since we adopted Charlie. Thirty days. Thirty days since we let another light known as Charlotte Faye Butler come into our lives and change us forever. It's been a true blessing, to watch another child grow up, even if it's only been a month.
She has her moments though, the ones where she's nervous or scared, but we've stepped over that hurdle plenty of times. The older kids, specifically Emmi and Avia, keep asking why she gets that way every once in a while, to which Shay and I explain saying, 'She's not used to this yet, it's a different atmosphere than what she's used to.' Gavin understands, we know he does, and he sometimes tries to explain it to the girls, too. Brock could care less, however, and is just happy he has a playmate around. Daxton, of course, is an infant, and doesn't realize what's going on.
Vidcon was alright with her. She obviously was really shy for the first few days, but I think she adjusted to the attention really well for a girl her age. We almost decided on not going, until the other kids convinced us. Their reasoning was that Charlie needed to open up soon, or else she wouldn't at all. And I think Vidcon worked, she hadn't had an episode since we've been back. We're off to a good start.
The Fourth of July was an amazing experience for us, too. We had gone camping in Wyoming, as well as seeing fireworks. Charlie handled them well, saying that they were loud and pretty. Shay and I were relieved she didn't throw a fit, and she took it so well. While Shay took the kids on a hike a day or two later, she stayed back with Kayli, Gage, Winston, Daxton, Brock, and I. We hung out, went on the huge slide the kids found. She enjoyes herself. And that had me enjoying myself, too.
Charlie still hadn't taken to calling Shay and I 'mom' and 'dad' yet, but we figure it will happen all in good time. It must be hard for a girl her age to go through having no parents, to having some. We didn't expect her to want to call us by those names anyway, though we're looking foward to the day she finally does.
"Charlie!" I yell up the stairs. The girls were all watching a movie upstairs, I limited the physical exertion due to what happened last time, unless Gavin, Shay, or I were up there to watch them. At least until Charlie was old enough to tell whether she needed her medicine or not. "It's time for your nebbie!" A 'nebbie' was what we called a nebulizer treatment. Charlie wasn't quite old enough for an inhaler yet, so we'd have to do regular treatments every six or so hours. It was a struggle sometimes, but usually it all worked out in the end.
Charlie comes running down the stairs, a smile on her face. "We watched Frozen!" She giggles. "Avi said I Anna now!"
I chuckle at the smiling three year old in front of me. "That sounds wonderful, sweetheart." I take her hand and lead her into the family room. We're back in Idaho now, staying at Shay's parent's house until our new house is finished being remodeled. "C'mon, sit on the couch."
She did as told, climbing onto the couch, her little feet barely reaching the edge. "I ready." She said bravely, crossing her arms.
"Good." I laugh and give her the mask. She holds it up to her face and makes a straight face, focused on getting this done so she can finish her movie. She breathes in the normal pattern she would. In and out. In and out.
"All done." I say, and she gives me the mask back before running back to the stairs. "No running!" I call after her. She registers what I'm saying and slows down, climbing the steps slowly.
Gavin's POV
I jump on the trampoline in the back yard, plopping down and stay there for a while to just stop and think.
I thought Charlie would make everything worse.
It sounds rude to say, but it's honestly how I felt when Mom and Dad told us that they were adopting another kid. Obviously, I would never say it to their faces, but I wasn't exactly the happiest person alive. We already had five kids in the family, did we need any more? It was rare as it was for me to have any alone time at all with Mom and Dad beforehand, aside from the ocasional Scouts meeting.
