Daddy Time

Pretty soon after we came home from Ethiopia it became clear that Aliyah was bonding with me more quickly than she was with Pete.  We figured this made sense since she'd had all female caregivers in Ethiopia.  Plus, everything we've read indicates that it's normal for adopted children to bond with one parent more than the other. 

Fast forward a year and Aliyah still clearly prefers mom over dad.  With the boys, if one of them gets hurt or is sick, they are just as comforted by dad as by mom.  Pete wants that same relationship with Aliyah so he is working to improve their bond.  One way he's been doing that has been putting Aliyah to bed and getting her up most days.  It's really helped to strengthen their bond and one night recently, when Pete was at basketball practice so I put Aliyah to bed, she requested that I read her bedtime story on the floor because that's how "daddy does it".