I AM REAL

We are in the process of transition of adopting two new daughters. We are doing weekend visits until they are out of school. This gives us time to "get to know each other" and see if we are a good match. I can tell you that we have already fallen head over heals for the girls.
But I am not naive enough to believe that everything is going to be perfect. I am not perfect. They are not perfect.
One thing that I didn't think I would have to address yet is whether or not I am real.
We are open about how our children became a part of our family. No secret adoptions here. Being adopted myself, I feel I have an understanding of the importance of knowing where "I came from".
But I wasn't expecting yesterday's conversation.
The girls know that we have adopted three of our six children. One being our 4yr old "Baby Girl". After I picked the girls up for our weekend visit, our 9yr old STAD (soon to be adopted daughter), "Little Miss" began bombarding Baby Girl with questions.
She kept asking her what was her "real" mommy's name.  Baby Girl just had a total look of confusion on her face. Little Miss says "You know you're adopted right? You have a "real mommy". What's her name? Where is she? What does she look like?"
The questions were flying so fast and I was so stunned, it took me a few seconds before I could interrupt her. I reminded myself that Little Miss is "new" to the "adoption thing". She doesn't understand what adoption means yet.
I told her that yes, Baby Girl does know she is adopted. She has seen pictures of her biological mommy. She knows she had a "first mommy", but she doesn't remember her time with her because she was a baby when she was adopted.
 I will have to look those links up that I posted on my Facebook page and read them again!
This is WHY I have stressed to DH that it is important to give our children this information. I always talk to Baby Girl about her adoption in a way that she can understand. She knows that she is adopted. She knows she had a "first" mommy and that she has other brothers and sisters. I show her pictures and tell her what I know when she asks.
One day she will get to meet them again. It could be next week, next month, year or after she is 18.
But I AM her mommy. I am the one who buys her the cheese sticks that she likes. I am the one who reads her a bed time story. I am the one who helps her hold the washcloth over her eyes when I wash her hair. I am the one who she crawls into bed with in the middle of the night when she wets the bed. I am the one who wakes her up with Eskimo kisses and giggles. As long as daddy isn't there I am the one who she runs to when she gets a little scrape on the knee and she thinks she is bleeding to death....because she is a total daddy's girl.
I am not fake. I am not plastic. I am real. I am here. I am Mommy.

One day I hope that she can build a new relationship with her biological mother. I know there will come a time that it will be important to her. Her biological mother loves her. I don't doubt that. I make sure Baby Girl knows that too. She wasn't adopted because her biological mother didn't love her. It was because she DID and I am mommy now. I am REAL.