We had to send in a post-placement report to our state within 45 days of placement/getting home. We got a copy in the mail this week, and I just read it.
It ended with, "I recommend this placement continue."
I'm so glad. I would hate to see them try to pry Katie out of our arms! Someone asked me recently if I was bonded to her or not yet. I looked at them quizzically, and then I realized what they were asking. When we had the boys, I felt like I was just babysitting them while in the hospital and it took a few days to feel like "Mom" to them. I think that is what they were asking. With Katie, it took until around Wednesday/Thursday in China to feel like "Mom" to her. Honestly, the first time I felt like Mom was when Momma Bear came out...they gave her a shot in China on Thursday and she cried so hard and I jumped off the seat and grabbed her as soon as they let me. Monday and Tuesday in China (Monday was "Katie Day") it felt just like it did with the boys in the hospital - like I was babysitting her. So yes, she's mine. Just like the boys are mine.
2 more post placement visits to go.
1 "re-adoption"
and apply for her US passport!
then...maybe? finally? the end of the paperwork for Katie's Adoption!
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Catching up on Project 366
I'm posting these on another blog...but for now here are the recent ones of the kids (well Katie)
Monday, February 11, 2008
2 months with us
I can't believe I forgot yesterday that Katie has been with us for 2 months. She has done amazingly well, but every once in awhile I am reminded that there are issues lurking beneath the surface for us.
1. Katie will not fall asleep with us holding her anymore. She did so in China, but now, she refuses. She squirms, she tries to get up, she fusses. She wants to lay down in her crib and fall asleep...alone. I'm not entirely sure this is a good thing.
2. She will not give us kisses. She will give us hugs, without us asking for them. But she will not give us kisses. :(
3. She hates to be cradled and rocked. She will gaze into my eyes though if I can sit still with her cradled. She much prefers to sit facing out.
4. She fell down (you know, from squatting) today and cried. I picked her up and loved on her, and she snuggled on my chest...with her face INWARD. This was a huge step, but it only lasted about 5 seconds. She turned out, and then soothed herself.
5. We are not hearing the teeth grinding as much at home. I hear it when we go to the doctor's office though. I think it is definitely a "stress" thing for her. Makes me sad to think how stressed she was when we brought her home.
6. We are not seeing the dissociative looks as much these days. THAT is a good thing! When we do see them, they are much briefer.
7. She still soothes herself with the sucking on her tongue with fingers/hand up next to her mouth but not touching it. She isn't doing this as much in the house or with us. We see it at night, when she's tired, when she's not feeling good, when she is sad...and in new situations, such as standing in the grass.
8. We think we found a food aversion - slimy textured foods. I can't stand mushrooms because they are slimy. Yet another "fit" for our family. We will work with that if it becomes an issue. It seems that only the Gerber graduate peaches, pears, and carrots are affected by this aversion so far. Although I've not tried other fruits cut up.
9. We've not left her with anyone else yet, but there have been a few moments where one of us has stepped out of the room at church nursery (to get a coke or go to the bathroom). She did not mind. However, she gets upset during the transition times, and when other kids are dropped off by their parents and those kids cry. She gets a little teary sometimes. It's not as bad as the little babies getting dropped off, that really made her cry hard.
10. In new situations, or stressful situations, Katie still prefers Daddy to hold her. She will come to me, but I can tell that I do not calm her nearly as well as Daddy does. She simply does not trust me as much yet. She cares about me, but I'm not sure she completely trusts and loves me yet. For that matter, I'm not sure if she 100% there with Dh as well. I truly do not feel like she knows we will always be there for her at this point....it's a work in progress, and it is much better than when we were in China.
1. Katie will not fall asleep with us holding her anymore. She did so in China, but now, she refuses. She squirms, she tries to get up, she fusses. She wants to lay down in her crib and fall asleep...alone. I'm not entirely sure this is a good thing.
2. She will not give us kisses. She will give us hugs, without us asking for them. But she will not give us kisses. :(
3. She hates to be cradled and rocked. She will gaze into my eyes though if I can sit still with her cradled. She much prefers to sit facing out.
4. She fell down (you know, from squatting) today and cried. I picked her up and loved on her, and she snuggled on my chest...with her face INWARD. This was a huge step, but it only lasted about 5 seconds. She turned out, and then soothed herself.
5. We are not hearing the teeth grinding as much at home. I hear it when we go to the doctor's office though. I think it is definitely a "stress" thing for her. Makes me sad to think how stressed she was when we brought her home.
6. We are not seeing the dissociative looks as much these days. THAT is a good thing! When we do see them, they are much briefer.
7. She still soothes herself with the sucking on her tongue with fingers/hand up next to her mouth but not touching it. She isn't doing this as much in the house or with us. We see it at night, when she's tired, when she's not feeling good, when she is sad...and in new situations, such as standing in the grass.
8. We think we found a food aversion - slimy textured foods. I can't stand mushrooms because they are slimy. Yet another "fit" for our family. We will work with that if it becomes an issue. It seems that only the Gerber graduate peaches, pears, and carrots are affected by this aversion so far. Although I've not tried other fruits cut up.
9. We've not left her with anyone else yet, but there have been a few moments where one of us has stepped out of the room at church nursery (to get a coke or go to the bathroom). She did not mind. However, she gets upset during the transition times, and when other kids are dropped off by their parents and those kids cry. She gets a little teary sometimes. It's not as bad as the little babies getting dropped off, that really made her cry hard.
10. In new situations, or stressful situations, Katie still prefers Daddy to hold her. She will come to me, but I can tell that I do not calm her nearly as well as Daddy does. She simply does not trust me as much yet. She cares about me, but I'm not sure she completely trusts and loves me yet. For that matter, I'm not sure if she 100% there with Dh as well. I truly do not feel like she knows we will always be there for her at this point....it's a work in progress, and it is much better than when we were in China.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Another Karate Tournament
The boys recently went to another Karate Tournament, and while it was with the same 2 dojos it has gotten more popular with them.
Samuel, an orange with black stripe belt, was in a division with orange and orange stripe belts. I think there were about 7 or 8 kids in it. He placed first in forms! Shocking as we thought the 2nd place child actually did better. He does such a good job, and hopefully this coming week he'll finally be able to test for yellow belt. He need to make sure he knows the basic form kata (he forgot it), his kicks, and his self defense moves. In sparring he placed 2nd this time (no kicks to C's head). It was a division based on size/weight, and he was in the major heavyweights. He weighs 36 pounds. LOL He and C are the only two in the under 40 pound division so 2nd out of 2...and he did not score any points while C scored 6. LOL
JM, yellow belt, was in a division with about 15-20 kids. It was HUGE. He did not place, but I would venture a guess that he did well (top 10 at least). He just wasn't as intense, his thumb was out a little too much, and his horse stance wasn't quite deep enough...the form was done correctly, just the details got him. Sparring he was in a division with about 10 kids. He did not place in that either. He sparred against a girl (oh my gosh all that training on being a gentleman!). That little girl won though! She has a perfect roundhouse kick that she used and kicked all the boys (it was her against 9 boys) and she got them in the stomach/chest numerous times. So good in fact that both Senseis would ask the boys "Are you okay?"
Other cute updates from Karate class are that one time Samuel was doing something and Sensei actually had to tell him "not so hard!" Since Samuel weighs a whopping 36 pounds and is 42 inches tall, he just does not ever get enough momentum or strength behind kicks and punches...so this was good to hear! He must kick/hit harder for higher belts.
Samuel still can not do a sit up. We've worked with him and worked with him, and he just can't do it. Sure he can if you put a finger behind his shoulder and nudge it up a little. But alone? He can't. We do our best to contain laughter while Samuel looks like a turtle on it's back trying to do a single sit up. Sensei keeps working with him to get him to do them.
JM refuses to stretch at home. Stretching at home is a must to be able to kick higher. We're just not sure what to do to make sure he understands that relationship. Doing the splits is crucial in being able to kick over your head.
JM is doing well with sparring in class, but he loves Jedi Battle game. LOL I think he takes delight in "extending" the death of attacker (if you hit an arm or leg with the blocker thing they can't use it anymore). He hits each arm, then each leg....then he hits them in the chest or on top of the head (LIGHTLY of course). Poor Samuel just doesn't stand a chance with this game either...he's the shortest by FAR in the class.
Katie? She just runs around, and every once in a while she's bow with the class. Trying to figure out when she does it. I suspect it's when Sensei calls out the Japanese words for "ready" and "bow" though.
Samuel, an orange with black stripe belt, was in a division with orange and orange stripe belts. I think there were about 7 or 8 kids in it. He placed first in forms! Shocking as we thought the 2nd place child actually did better. He does such a good job, and hopefully this coming week he'll finally be able to test for yellow belt. He need to make sure he knows the basic form kata (he forgot it), his kicks, and his self defense moves. In sparring he placed 2nd this time (no kicks to C's head). It was a division based on size/weight, and he was in the major heavyweights. He weighs 36 pounds. LOL He and C are the only two in the under 40 pound division so 2nd out of 2...and he did not score any points while C scored 6. LOL
JM, yellow belt, was in a division with about 15-20 kids. It was HUGE. He did not place, but I would venture a guess that he did well (top 10 at least). He just wasn't as intense, his thumb was out a little too much, and his horse stance wasn't quite deep enough...the form was done correctly, just the details got him. Sparring he was in a division with about 10 kids. He did not place in that either. He sparred against a girl (oh my gosh all that training on being a gentleman!). That little girl won though! She has a perfect roundhouse kick that she used and kicked all the boys (it was her against 9 boys) and she got them in the stomach/chest numerous times. So good in fact that both Senseis would ask the boys "Are you okay?"
Other cute updates from Karate class are that one time Samuel was doing something and Sensei actually had to tell him "not so hard!" Since Samuel weighs a whopping 36 pounds and is 42 inches tall, he just does not ever get enough momentum or strength behind kicks and punches...so this was good to hear! He must kick/hit harder for higher belts.
Samuel still can not do a sit up. We've worked with him and worked with him, and he just can't do it. Sure he can if you put a finger behind his shoulder and nudge it up a little. But alone? He can't. We do our best to contain laughter while Samuel looks like a turtle on it's back trying to do a single sit up. Sensei keeps working with him to get him to do them.
JM refuses to stretch at home. Stretching at home is a must to be able to kick higher. We're just not sure what to do to make sure he understands that relationship. Doing the splits is crucial in being able to kick over your head.
JM is doing well with sparring in class, but he loves Jedi Battle game. LOL I think he takes delight in "extending" the death of attacker (if you hit an arm or leg with the blocker thing they can't use it anymore). He hits each arm, then each leg....then he hits them in the chest or on top of the head (LIGHTLY of course). Poor Samuel just doesn't stand a chance with this game either...he's the shortest by FAR in the class.
Katie? She just runs around, and every once in a while she's bow with the class. Trying to figure out when she does it. I suspect it's when Sensei calls out the Japanese words for "ready" and "bow" though.
Friday, February 08, 2008
Happy New Year!!
Xing Nian Kuai Le
"Gong Hei Fat Choy". - The literal translation of "Gung Hei" is "to wish" and "Fat Choy" is "to prosper". So saying "Gung Hei Fat Choy" means "I wish that you will be prosperous". (Thanks Diana!!!!)
I realized today, while trying to find red envelopes (yet again) that I failed miserably at this first Chinese New Year family celebration. I managed to get reservations for PF Changs though (and might I say that no one there seemed to know it was Chinese New Year...should have gone to the Chinese restaurant Dh likes so well). Katie wore her traditional outfit tonight with squeaky shoes and looked adorable...as usual.
Other than that, today was a day full of errands.
What did we think of PF Changs? It was very good, and probably will become one of our top choices for big family celebrations. It was cute to watch Katie shove in the mix that goes in the Lettuce Wraps, to see her put as many noodles as possible in her mouth from the Lo Mein. Quite funny to see her spit out the veggies though. With the stuff from the Lettuce Wraps, it was cute to see her face. It was like "where has this stuff been for the past 8 weeks? These people were holding out on me!" She loved it!* I gave her part of my fortune cookie and she got quite irritated that I didn't have more for her. I ate it before she demanded more. Oops.
Samuel, who has never even tried the noodles at our favorite Asian restaurant, loved the Mu Shu Chicken. He told us "We have to come here EVERY NIGHT and get this." yeah, Samuel, I would like that too!
JM, who has just started venturing into the more Asian foods when we eat out, loved everything he tried. He told us that it was the best dinner he's had in a long time. (gee thanks since I've been trying to cook all meals for the past month) With the gusto he showed at PF Changs we think he would have thrived in China with the food. Samuel would have as well (he handled the rice okay tonight and loved it!!!).**
The traditions surrounding Chinese New Year, I failed at. I cleaned today (had to since I did not get a chance yesterday, or the day before). I could not get in to get my hair cut until tomorrow morning...there went that one. Katie had to have a bath tonight as we didn't get to it yesterday. Oh well. I will try to do better next year!
* While in China she was so sick that we didn't try much beyond her formula and congee. Had we known she loves chicken like that we might have tried it. Needless to say, once home, we have not had much opportunity for her to eat Chinese foods. We knew she loved noodles from eating at the Asian restaurant, but we tend to get Vietnamese or Thai foods there.
** Samuel was allergic to rice as a baby. We avoided it for 4 years and the doctor had wanted us to test it. We've been slowly testing it, but tonight was the first time we gave him a spoonful. He did just fine. Phew!
"Gong Hei Fat Choy". - The literal translation of "Gung Hei" is "to wish" and "Fat Choy" is "to prosper". So saying "Gung Hei Fat Choy" means "I wish that you will be prosperous". (Thanks Diana!!!!)
I realized today, while trying to find red envelopes (yet again) that I failed miserably at this first Chinese New Year family celebration. I managed to get reservations for PF Changs though (and might I say that no one there seemed to know it was Chinese New Year...should have gone to the Chinese restaurant Dh likes so well). Katie wore her traditional outfit tonight with squeaky shoes and looked adorable...as usual.
Other than that, today was a day full of errands.
What did we think of PF Changs? It was very good, and probably will become one of our top choices for big family celebrations. It was cute to watch Katie shove in the mix that goes in the Lettuce Wraps, to see her put as many noodles as possible in her mouth from the Lo Mein. Quite funny to see her spit out the veggies though. With the stuff from the Lettuce Wraps, it was cute to see her face. It was like "where has this stuff been for the past 8 weeks? These people were holding out on me!" She loved it!* I gave her part of my fortune cookie and she got quite irritated that I didn't have more for her. I ate it before she demanded more. Oops.
Samuel, who has never even tried the noodles at our favorite Asian restaurant, loved the Mu Shu Chicken. He told us "We have to come here EVERY NIGHT and get this." yeah, Samuel, I would like that too!
JM, who has just started venturing into the more Asian foods when we eat out, loved everything he tried. He told us that it was the best dinner he's had in a long time. (gee thanks since I've been trying to cook all meals for the past month) With the gusto he showed at PF Changs we think he would have thrived in China with the food. Samuel would have as well (he handled the rice okay tonight and loved it!!!).**
The traditions surrounding Chinese New Year, I failed at. I cleaned today (had to since I did not get a chance yesterday, or the day before). I could not get in to get my hair cut until tomorrow morning...there went that one. Katie had to have a bath tonight as we didn't get to it yesterday. Oh well. I will try to do better next year!
* While in China she was so sick that we didn't try much beyond her formula and congee. Had we known she loves chicken like that we might have tried it. Needless to say, once home, we have not had much opportunity for her to eat Chinese foods. We knew she loved noodles from eating at the Asian restaurant, but we tend to get Vietnamese or Thai foods there.
** Samuel was allergic to rice as a baby. We avoided it for 4 years and the doctor had wanted us to test it. We've been slowly testing it, but tonight was the first time we gave him a spoonful. He did just fine. Phew!
Monday, February 04, 2008
Making the grandparents happy...
Practicing my hi-key lighting, I see the mistakes. My little girl being herself today. This was her "coming home" dress and I needed to get a photo of her in it.
more to come as I proof them....err process them. Yes, grandparents, these will be up on the gallery as well. Well the good pretty face ones. ;)
more to come as I proof them....err process them. Yes, grandparents, these will be up on the gallery as well. Well the good pretty face ones. ;)
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Winter storms in China - effect on orphanages
http://www.halfthesky.org/work/littlemouse.php
I'm trying to find out information on Katie's orphanage and foster care village, I suspect they are okay though.
Here are some excerpts from the above link...
Zoey's orphanage (link to the left):
Nanchang, Jiangxi – asks for warm floor mats and disposable diapers. They need a working room heater. Their electrical supply has been sporadic and with only a small generator, they’re not confident they can continue to provide heat to keep the children warm. UPDATE: Their boiler for hot water supply has broken down. They ask for funds to purchase a new one.
Charlotte's orphange (link to the left):
Yangchun, Guangdong - reports a need for space heaters and hot water bottles for 88 babies at two sites.
Journey to Noelle's orphange (link on left):
Hefei, Anhui – reports that they have everything under control and the children are warm and well-fed. UPDATE: The orphanage now realizes they will soon run out of disposable diapers. They ask for funds to purchase 7500 diapers.
Maggie Mae's orphanage (link on left):
Chengdu, Sichuan – is experiencing the coldest winter in memory. They need a large room heater, diapers, shoes, socks and winter jackets. UPDATE: Chengdu repeats their request for a large heater and disposable diapers. They also request 80 warm quilts.
that's just 4 of the kids on my list who are either living in these orphanages OR came from them. Half the Sky is a great charity, and they are disparately trying to help these orphanages out during the coldest weather in 50 years in China. It would be like South Florida having almost 2 months of 30 degree days. Like Atlanta Georgia being under 2.5 feet of snow with more expected...and everyone from Tennesse south to Florida living without heaters in their homes.
Put on top of that living in a country where the main heating source is by coal fires, and carbon monoxide poisoning is common.
Another thing to keep in mind...no electricity? Nothing to run the water boilers, so no clean water. You must have a fire to boil the water, and thus, more problems.
Half the Sky, at the bottom of that link, has set up a donation place to help these orphanages. If you don't want to, or can't, please just pray for them. Tell others if you want as well. My heart is breaking for these kids.
If you would like to help an orphanage that is not under Half the Sky care, email me and I will get you in touch with someone who can help a specific orphanage. I'm going to see if I can find out how the Yunnan province is faring. It is not a Half the Sky province, and Love without Boundaries does not have much going on in that province either. Hopefully they are doing okay. Kunming is not know as the city of eternal springtime for nothing!
the reason for so many request for disposable diapers when they normally use cloth or nothing? Well, they can't dry the diapers that are soiled and need cleaning. The diapers are freezing after being washed. THAT is how cold these rooms are that the babies are in.
I'm trying to find out information on Katie's orphanage and foster care village, I suspect they are okay though.
Here are some excerpts from the above link...
Zoey's orphanage (link to the left):
Nanchang, Jiangxi – asks for warm floor mats and disposable diapers. They need a working room heater. Their electrical supply has been sporadic and with only a small generator, they’re not confident they can continue to provide heat to keep the children warm. UPDATE: Their boiler for hot water supply has broken down. They ask for funds to purchase a new one.
Charlotte's orphange (link to the left):
Yangchun, Guangdong - reports a need for space heaters and hot water bottles for 88 babies at two sites.
Journey to Noelle's orphange (link on left):
Hefei, Anhui – reports that they have everything under control and the children are warm and well-fed. UPDATE: The orphanage now realizes they will soon run out of disposable diapers. They ask for funds to purchase 7500 diapers.
Maggie Mae's orphanage (link on left):
Chengdu, Sichuan – is experiencing the coldest winter in memory. They need a large room heater, diapers, shoes, socks and winter jackets. UPDATE: Chengdu repeats their request for a large heater and disposable diapers. They also request 80 warm quilts.
that's just 4 of the kids on my list who are either living in these orphanages OR came from them. Half the Sky is a great charity, and they are disparately trying to help these orphanages out during the coldest weather in 50 years in China. It would be like South Florida having almost 2 months of 30 degree days. Like Atlanta Georgia being under 2.5 feet of snow with more expected...and everyone from Tennesse south to Florida living without heaters in their homes.
Put on top of that living in a country where the main heating source is by coal fires, and carbon monoxide poisoning is common.
Another thing to keep in mind...no electricity? Nothing to run the water boilers, so no clean water. You must have a fire to boil the water, and thus, more problems.
Half the Sky, at the bottom of that link, has set up a donation place to help these orphanages. If you don't want to, or can't, please just pray for them. Tell others if you want as well. My heart is breaking for these kids.
If you would like to help an orphanage that is not under Half the Sky care, email me and I will get you in touch with someone who can help a specific orphanage. I'm going to see if I can find out how the Yunnan province is faring. It is not a Half the Sky province, and Love without Boundaries does not have much going on in that province either. Hopefully they are doing okay. Kunming is not know as the city of eternal springtime for nothing!
the reason for so many request for disposable diapers when they normally use cloth or nothing? Well, they can't dry the diapers that are soiled and need cleaning. The diapers are freezing after being washed. THAT is how cold these rooms are that the babies are in.
Friday, February 01, 2008
Katie at 18 months!
Katie can say:
Uh-oh
Yum-yum (num-num)
Thank You (day-ooo when she hands me something)
Ma-ma
Da-da
up (with arms raised)
EIEI-Oh (Eeee I, Eeeee I, Eeee I)
My (as in My Ma-ma)
Meow (ma-ow)
Those are words she uses fairly frequnetly. If you count head shaking as saying "no" then there is that one as well. She will also nod her head but rarely. She also waves hi and bye very well.
These are some of the things she has said in repeating after us but not initiating them:
pretty (extremely CLEARLY one time)
wow
oh
bottle (ba-dah)
milk (mi)
eat (eeeee)
baby (baaa-eee)
ugly (ug-eee)
doll (dah)
star (dar)
Words she recognizes:
Bo-bo Li-li (something like come here little one)
Ni-Hao
Hi
Bye bye (both languages)
eat
drink
bottle
brother
John Mark
Samuel
baby doll
ugly doll
open (as in open your mouth and spit out what you just put in there)
Night-night
nap
rock
cookie
cracker
juice
cup
Katie can do the following:
Walk
Run
Crawl
Sit
roll over
get from laying down to standing
bend over and pick something up
squat
sit on a short chair
kick a ball to someone
roll a ball to someone
put a small ball in a hole/cup/container
walk backwards
use a spoon correctly
Can feed herself IF we put the food on the spoon
pick up foods with fingers
drink out of bottle
drink out of sippy cup
hold own bottle or sippy cup
wave hi and bye
shake head no and nod head yes
hug her doll
love on her doll
brush her hair (well make the motions to do it)
brush her teeth (sort of...more like chewing on the toothbrush)
can "help" with laundry (yeah she helps by pulling it off the couch and shaking)
turns the pages of her books
dances to music
sings songs
bow in Karate class correctly (imitates Sensei and the kids)
rubs hands together (like for lotion or hand sanitizer)
gets items you ask her to get (like "bring me your baby doll")
knows where her belly button is (we're working on eyes, nose, and mouth)
can crawl up stairs
rides on small riding toys
knows which buttons to push to make toys play music
holds the phone up to her ear to "talk"
Just wanted to write it down somewhere what all she was doing when she turned 18 months, and since this is turning more into my family scrapbook storage place of all facts about our family...you get to read our list!
Uh-oh
Yum-yum (num-num)
Thank You (day-ooo when she hands me something)
Ma-ma
Da-da
up (with arms raised)
EIEI-Oh (Eeee I, Eeeee I, Eeee I)
My (as in My Ma-ma)
Meow (ma-ow)
Those are words she uses fairly frequnetly. If you count head shaking as saying "no" then there is that one as well. She will also nod her head but rarely. She also waves hi and bye very well.
These are some of the things she has said in repeating after us but not initiating them:
pretty (extremely CLEARLY one time)
wow
oh
bottle (ba-dah)
milk (mi)
eat (eeeee)
baby (baaa-eee)
ugly (ug-eee)
doll (dah)
star (dar)
Words she recognizes:
Bo-bo Li-li (something like come here little one)
Ni-Hao
Hi
Bye bye (both languages)
eat
drink
bottle
brother
John Mark
Samuel
baby doll
ugly doll
open (as in open your mouth and spit out what you just put in there)
Night-night
nap
rock
cookie
cracker
juice
cup
Katie can do the following:
Walk
Run
Crawl
Sit
roll over
get from laying down to standing
bend over and pick something up
squat
sit on a short chair
kick a ball to someone
roll a ball to someone
put a small ball in a hole/cup/container
walk backwards
use a spoon correctly
Can feed herself IF we put the food on the spoon
pick up foods with fingers
drink out of bottle
drink out of sippy cup
hold own bottle or sippy cup
wave hi and bye
shake head no and nod head yes
hug her doll
love on her doll
brush her hair (well make the motions to do it)
brush her teeth (sort of...more like chewing on the toothbrush)
can "help" with laundry (yeah she helps by pulling it off the couch and shaking)
turns the pages of her books
dances to music
sings songs
bow in Karate class correctly (imitates Sensei and the kids)
rubs hands together (like for lotion or hand sanitizer)
gets items you ask her to get (like "bring me your baby doll")
knows where her belly button is (we're working on eyes, nose, and mouth)
can crawl up stairs
rides on small riding toys
knows which buttons to push to make toys play music
holds the phone up to her ear to "talk"
Just wanted to write it down somewhere what all she was doing when she turned 18 months, and since this is turning more into my family scrapbook storage place of all facts about our family...you get to read our list!
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Fate or Random Chance?
That was a question put to me recently on a forum. Do I think that Katie's referral to our family was fate or random chance?
We started looking at agencies in February 2005 - before I turned 29.
We chose our agency without contacting any of the references, we went with where our hearts were pulling us. The agency that we felt God wanted us to go with. There really was not any rhyme or reason as to why we chose it, other than it was the one that felt right.
We applied to our agency in November 18, 2005, when I was 29.5 years old. We had all intents and purposes of being DTC the day after my 30th birthday. If you are at all interested in what happened there, go read some of the archives here. If you still want to know more, email me.
We were DTC on August 18, 2006. Notice, that is EXACTLY 9 months from application to agency. We didn't make DTC by my 30th birthday.
We got our 171h approval on August 1, 2006. We got the email from our agency that we were approved for SN on August 1, 2006. :)
We changed our "maybe" to a "yes" for heart defect in September 2006 (I think it was early September). I remember we did so after finding out in mid-August that we were comfortable with the heart defects listed in a few SN children referred but we were never asked to review their files because we had it as a maybe. After getting clarification on what Yes meant and what Maybe meant, we changed that one answer as we truly were comfortable with heart defect.
At church, during Mission Friends, Samuel was given a map of China to color. He drew a smiley face on the map. I kept it thinking "wouldn't it be cool if Katie was from that province where the smiley face is." He did this in late August 2006 or early September 2006 as it was the first country studied in Mission friends that year.
Katie was born on August 1, 2006 (the day we got 171h approval and the email saying we were accepted in the SN program with our agency). Which means she was conceived in November 2005 around the time we applied to the agency. Was February 2005 important in her parents' lives in some way? I wish I knew.
She was from the Yunnan province, which is where Samuel had drawn the smiley face in late August or early September 2006. The same time frame she was taken to the orphanage (or declared abandoned). It would have been this time frame that the orphanage made the decision to place her for international adoption.
She entered the orphanage and was diagnosed as having a heart condition around the same time frame we updated our SN application to say YES to heart defect.
Late September 2006 our church hosted a Worldcrafts Village craft sale. I bought some of the crafts from China. They were all from the Yunnan province.
Katie is 3 years and 10 months younger than Samuel who is 3 years and 10 months younger than JM.
Katie has a birth mark on her foot, and the doctor had not seen one before (looks almost like a stuck splinter of wood). I have the exact same mark on the bottom of my foot.
I wake up grumpy in the morning, as do the boys. Since Dh is the one always waking us up, I am not sure how he is upon waking. Katie is possibly grumpier than I am...if you can believe that.
I love chocolate. Adore it. Crave it. So does Katie. Her reaction to seeing the jar with the M&Ms is just too cute (note to self, get it on video soon!).
Fate? or Random Chance?
We started looking at agencies in February 2005 - before I turned 29.
We chose our agency without contacting any of the references, we went with where our hearts were pulling us. The agency that we felt God wanted us to go with. There really was not any rhyme or reason as to why we chose it, other than it was the one that felt right.
We applied to our agency in November 18, 2005, when I was 29.5 years old. We had all intents and purposes of being DTC the day after my 30th birthday. If you are at all interested in what happened there, go read some of the archives here. If you still want to know more, email me.
We were DTC on August 18, 2006. Notice, that is EXACTLY 9 months from application to agency. We didn't make DTC by my 30th birthday.
We got our 171h approval on August 1, 2006. We got the email from our agency that we were approved for SN on August 1, 2006. :)
We changed our "maybe" to a "yes" for heart defect in September 2006 (I think it was early September). I remember we did so after finding out in mid-August that we were comfortable with the heart defects listed in a few SN children referred but we were never asked to review their files because we had it as a maybe. After getting clarification on what Yes meant and what Maybe meant, we changed that one answer as we truly were comfortable with heart defect.
At church, during Mission Friends, Samuel was given a map of China to color. He drew a smiley face on the map. I kept it thinking "wouldn't it be cool if Katie was from that province where the smiley face is." He did this in late August 2006 or early September 2006 as it was the first country studied in Mission friends that year.
Katie was born on August 1, 2006 (the day we got 171h approval and the email saying we were accepted in the SN program with our agency). Which means she was conceived in November 2005 around the time we applied to the agency. Was February 2005 important in her parents' lives in some way? I wish I knew.
She was from the Yunnan province, which is where Samuel had drawn the smiley face in late August or early September 2006. The same time frame she was taken to the orphanage (or declared abandoned). It would have been this time frame that the orphanage made the decision to place her for international adoption.
She entered the orphanage and was diagnosed as having a heart condition around the same time frame we updated our SN application to say YES to heart defect.
Late September 2006 our church hosted a Worldcrafts Village craft sale. I bought some of the crafts from China. They were all from the Yunnan province.
Katie is 3 years and 10 months younger than Samuel who is 3 years and 10 months younger than JM.
Katie has a birth mark on her foot, and the doctor had not seen one before (looks almost like a stuck splinter of wood). I have the exact same mark on the bottom of my foot.
I wake up grumpy in the morning, as do the boys. Since Dh is the one always waking us up, I am not sure how he is upon waking. Katie is possibly grumpier than I am...if you can believe that.
I love chocolate. Adore it. Crave it. So does Katie. Her reaction to seeing the jar with the M&Ms is just too cute (note to self, get it on video soon!).
Fate? or Random Chance?
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Keeping Family Happy
She wants to play Wii so badly. Since she still tries to eat the controllers or use them as a phone, we don't let her just yet.
Seems I hear from my family and friends when I've not posted photos of Katie in a few days. So, I'm just doing my duty here...keeping family happy.
I was in a black and white mood today.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
A DARE!
10 things I have done that most have not.
Is that most females? Or most people in general?
10. I have been to Disney World...umm...lets see...10 times so far.
9. Played a solo during our high school band's halftime show my Senior year, and managed to only fall during the last ever marching competition (yes it's caught on video).
8. Took 9 years of piano lessons, if you count those last few years as really taking or not (I refuse to video me playing).
7. Lived 28 years without mowing a single blade of grass (note I'm over 30 now and mourn the fact that I did learn to how to start the mower)
6. Went to 4 different colleges/universities to complete my degree in 4.5 years and 145 credit hours for a 120 credit hour curriculum...and I'm not in a military family.
5. Had my first child 2 weeks before I graduated college. I did not walk across the stage.
4. Homeschool my kids AND run a home business (I don't sleep much and I have a wonderful Dh)
3. Lived under a budget for over 7 years.
2. Quit work to stay at home with the kids
1. Followed my dreams.
I dare you, post your own 10 things on your blog (or in the comments here if you don't have a blog). :)
Is that most females? Or most people in general?
10. I have been to Disney World...umm...lets see...10 times so far.
9. Played a solo during our high school band's halftime show my Senior year, and managed to only fall during the last ever marching competition (yes it's caught on video).
8. Took 9 years of piano lessons, if you count those last few years as really taking or not (I refuse to video me playing).
7. Lived 28 years without mowing a single blade of grass (note I'm over 30 now and mourn the fact that I did learn to how to start the mower)
6. Went to 4 different colleges/universities to complete my degree in 4.5 years and 145 credit hours for a 120 credit hour curriculum...and I'm not in a military family.
5. Had my first child 2 weeks before I graduated college. I did not walk across the stage.
4. Homeschool my kids AND run a home business (I don't sleep much and I have a wonderful Dh)
3. Lived under a budget for over 7 years.
2. Quit work to stay at home with the kids
1. Followed my dreams.
I dare you, post your own 10 things on your blog (or in the comments here if you don't have a blog). :)
Monday, January 28, 2008
We got the COC!!
Katie is officially a Citizen of the US (well she has been since Dec 19th), but we have the documents to prove it...prove it enough to get her Social Security Card now! So, we can claim her on taxes, get her a passport, and then we'll readopt her and get a US birth certificate.
Came with a nice form letter congratulating her on her citizenship from Pres Bush.
the photo though...man she looks sad, sick, and mad. Yeah, that about sums up how she was in China.
Came with a nice form letter congratulating her on her citizenship from Pres Bush.
the photo though...man she looks sad, sick, and mad. Yeah, that about sums up how she was in China.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Katie has an opinion already!
I went shopping for some clothes for next winter for Katie, and a few outfits for the spring/summer. Shocking, I know. I bought quite a bit with the knowledge that I would return some of it. I showed each piece to Katie for her opinion. The pink dress she smiled and clapped for. I showed her the hot pink jeans outfit, she squealed in delight. I showed her (with the same enthusiasm) a lime green sweater with jeans outfit. She gave me this look like "You've got to be kidding me." I showed her the Hot Pink Jeans outfit again, more squeals. The lime green continued to get evil looks. I excitedly held up this blue sweater with a snowman on it (with jeans of course). She blew me a raspberry. I showed her the pink coat - happy claps. I showed her the silver/pink shoes (Stride Rite tennis shoes in a matte silver)...happy squeals and claps. Held up a ladybug outfit - with sparkly ladybugs. It's RED and white...and elicited frowns. If this wasn't enough to convince me...while in Strasburg store (huge clearance sale....), I held up a pink dress and a purple dress. Both gorgeous, both would look great on her ...she picked the pink. Of course she picked the pink one.
Now, most of the time she wears whatever I buy or whatever I pick out. She'll wear it happily, even if it is blue. ;) However, if you give her the choice she wants pink. Or a dress. Or sparkly.
But don't forget, she picked the ball over the tiara. LOL
Now, most of the time she wears whatever I buy or whatever I pick out. She'll wear it happily, even if it is blue. ;) However, if you give her the choice she wants pink. Or a dress. Or sparkly.
But don't forget, she picked the ball over the tiara. LOL
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Giving Challenge
I completely lifted this from a fellow blogger/adopting Mom's blog...but she wrote it out so well that I couldn't help myself.
The Case Foundation, in partnership with Facebook, will be awarding $750,000 to inspire millions of people to take the CHALLENGE and learn how simple technology can be a force for good and giving.
Love Without Boundaries is a volunteer organization providing medical care, foster care, education, and nutrition to orphaned children in China. In 2006, their overhead was under 3% as they work without salaries in order to get every penny possible to the children. In 2006 they helped over 400 children have life changing surgery, had foster care programs in over a dozen cities in China, helped hundreds of children attend school, and provided nutrition to orphanages around China. Donating to LWB truly brings hope to those children who live as orphans. You can be a part of changing lives forever. The $50,000 prize can SAVE THE LIVES of ten innocent babies born with heart disease who are struggling to survive.
All it takes from you is $10, donated through your Facebook account. The challenge ends on February 1 at noon PST.
Did you know that Love Without Boundaries provides Heart Ultrasounds to babies in orphanages, and then provides heart surgeries for those that need it. Katie was most likely one of the babies to get a heart ultrasound. They also sponser foster care. While Katie's foster care village/orphanage was not listed on the the ones that they support for foster care, other Yunnan orphanages are.
The Case Foundation, in partnership with Facebook, will be awarding $750,000 to inspire millions of people to take the CHALLENGE and learn how simple technology can be a force for good and giving.
Love Without Boundaries is a volunteer organization providing medical care, foster care, education, and nutrition to orphaned children in China. In 2006, their overhead was under 3% as they work without salaries in order to get every penny possible to the children. In 2006 they helped over 400 children have life changing surgery, had foster care programs in over a dozen cities in China, helped hundreds of children attend school, and provided nutrition to orphanages around China. Donating to LWB truly brings hope to those children who live as orphans. You can be a part of changing lives forever. The $50,000 prize can SAVE THE LIVES of ten innocent babies born with heart disease who are struggling to survive.
All it takes from you is $10, donated through your Facebook account. The challenge ends on February 1 at noon PST.
Did you know that Love Without Boundaries provides Heart Ultrasounds to babies in orphanages, and then provides heart surgeries for those that need it. Katie was most likely one of the babies to get a heart ultrasound. They also sponser foster care. While Katie's foster care village/orphanage was not listed on the the ones that they support for foster care, other Yunnan orphanages are.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Playing in her room
Hmmm...I think I'll play with this toy!
First I turn the arms to make them go click-click-click
Then I push the head down...
The arms going click-click-click are more fun...
The head going down is interesting afterall.
...and all the way down....
POP! The head comes back up!!
hmm...I need a slight break, soothing myself is another favorite activity
Hmmm...I'm trying to figure out if this is something I need to be scared of or not. I wasn't sure when it made noise but with it being quiet...well, I need to investigate closer.
First I turn the arms to make them go click-click-click
Then I push the head down...
The arms going click-click-click are more fun...
The head going down is interesting afterall.
...and all the way down....
POP! The head comes back up!!
hmm...I need a slight break, soothing myself is another favorite activity
Hmmm...I'm trying to figure out if this is something I need to be scared of or not. I wasn't sure when it made noise but with it being quiet...well, I need to investigate closer.
Katie-Bug and the Boys
Because I don't want to forget...
*Katie sings...LOUDLY..."Daaaa daaaaa...dadadadada....daaaaaaaaa" We call it the Daddy Song.
*When I went into her room this evening because she was making noises, I found her bent over with her head in the corner of her crib and her feet inching closer to her head. It was like she was trying to stand on her head. I laughed and scared her to death.
*This morning, laying in bed with me, she smiled big and patted me on the chest and said "My Momma." yes, I melted. Into a huge puddle of goo. It wasn't pretty. ;)
*Samuel and Katie will play with each other in the van. They blow raspberries back and forth. LOUDLY. The spittle flies. Doesn't that make you want to ride with us?
*The boys love to announce the obvious. "Mom, Katie's crying again." In the van.
*Samuel popped the bottom of the baby gate at the top of our stairs out and announced, "It's like a doggy door! I can just crawl through." He's my "baby gate jumping" challenged child. Poor thing just can't get over them.
*Katie was not wanting to go to bed (what else is new), and we did the signs for eat and drink asking if she wanted food or a bottle. She laughingly tilted her face up and did a combined sign. Guess she wanted both.
*Katie was given money by my Great Aunt for Christmas. We took her to Tar-jay to spend it. She first fell in love with some Care Bear figures. Then we found Princess Tiaras. Then Princess Wands. Then a Princess tea set. Then a Princess Cell phone. The Cell Phone was "it" until we went down the baby doll aisle. She loved the little dolls that are motion activated and cry and move their heads. I held firm to those big eyes (not to mention those dolls kind of creeped me out). Then the next aisle, Katie got all excited. She saw a ball. A pink ball with Princesses on it. She threw that cell phone into the back of the cart and kicked her feet, squealed, and clapped her hands. She wanted that ball. Since it was actually in the "money budget" she had, she got her ball! :) I avoided that creepy moving doll.
*The boys gathered up all their money, and bought a new Wii game. It's a Beijing 2008 olympics one. Pretty cool.
*Getting the kids to bed is more interesting now. Samuel has a chapter book he's being read to, Katie gets a bottle, snuggle/cuddle, music and put to bed...again and again and again...JM reads while Samuel is being read to, then he and Dad "bond" over a television show. We're raising a Trekkie you'll be happy to know. Ensuring future geekdom for our eldest. Like he had a chance!
*In the van today, listening to Raffi because apparently adult songs are out of my life for the next 5 years or so, I was singing along..."...there were 5 little speckled frogs, sitting on a *something* log, eating the most delicious bugs...YUM! YUM!..." when I hear a cute little voice sing "YUMMMMM YUMMMMMMMMMM!" at the top of her lungs.
*Later on the Raffi CD, I was singing along to the Old MacDonald has a BAND song, and that same little LOUD voice sings "EEEEEEE I, EEEEEEEE I, EEEEEEEEEEEEEE, OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
*Samuel, not to be outdone, while walking through Lowes, starts singing our State Song. He's got the first verse down (well sort of), then he hums the tune. Excitedly he exclaims, "MOM! I just hummed the 2nd verse to the state song!" Yeah, ummm, doesn't that mean he hummed the first verse and since the 2nd verse would sound just like the first...LOL I did praise him.
*Looking at cabinet door hardware (Oh honey, I want to go to Lowes and look at that soon with you), Samuel picked out the BLUE straight handles for his room. They are $8 (not sure if that is apiece or a set of 3). I did find some knobs for Katie's drawers that need replaced...47cents each. They're pink. Katie agreed that they would look good. ;) She clapped for them.
*Katie sings...LOUDLY..."Daaaa daaaaa...dadadadada....daaaaaaaaa" We call it the Daddy Song.
*When I went into her room this evening because she was making noises, I found her bent over with her head in the corner of her crib and her feet inching closer to her head. It was like she was trying to stand on her head. I laughed and scared her to death.
*This morning, laying in bed with me, she smiled big and patted me on the chest and said "My Momma." yes, I melted. Into a huge puddle of goo. It wasn't pretty. ;)
*Samuel and Katie will play with each other in the van. They blow raspberries back and forth. LOUDLY. The spittle flies. Doesn't that make you want to ride with us?
*The boys love to announce the obvious. "Mom, Katie's crying again." In the van.
*Samuel popped the bottom of the baby gate at the top of our stairs out and announced, "It's like a doggy door! I can just crawl through." He's my "baby gate jumping" challenged child. Poor thing just can't get over them.
*Katie was not wanting to go to bed (what else is new), and we did the signs for eat and drink asking if she wanted food or a bottle. She laughingly tilted her face up and did a combined sign. Guess she wanted both.
*Katie was given money by my Great Aunt for Christmas. We took her to Tar-jay to spend it. She first fell in love with some Care Bear figures. Then we found Princess Tiaras. Then Princess Wands. Then a Princess tea set. Then a Princess Cell phone. The Cell Phone was "it" until we went down the baby doll aisle. She loved the little dolls that are motion activated and cry and move their heads. I held firm to those big eyes (not to mention those dolls kind of creeped me out). Then the next aisle, Katie got all excited. She saw a ball. A pink ball with Princesses on it. She threw that cell phone into the back of the cart and kicked her feet, squealed, and clapped her hands. She wanted that ball. Since it was actually in the "money budget" she had, she got her ball! :) I avoided that creepy moving doll.
*The boys gathered up all their money, and bought a new Wii game. It's a Beijing 2008 olympics one. Pretty cool.
*Getting the kids to bed is more interesting now. Samuel has a chapter book he's being read to, Katie gets a bottle, snuggle/cuddle, music and put to bed...again and again and again...JM reads while Samuel is being read to, then he and Dad "bond" over a television show. We're raising a Trekkie you'll be happy to know. Ensuring future geekdom for our eldest. Like he had a chance!
*In the van today, listening to Raffi because apparently adult songs are out of my life for the next 5 years or so, I was singing along..."...there were 5 little speckled frogs, sitting on a *something* log, eating the most delicious bugs...YUM! YUM!..." when I hear a cute little voice sing "YUMMMMM YUMMMMMMMMMM!" at the top of her lungs.
*Later on the Raffi CD, I was singing along to the Old MacDonald has a BAND song, and that same little LOUD voice sings "EEEEEEE I, EEEEEEEE I, EEEEEEEEEEEEEE, OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
*Samuel, not to be outdone, while walking through Lowes, starts singing our State Song. He's got the first verse down (well sort of), then he hums the tune. Excitedly he exclaims, "MOM! I just hummed the 2nd verse to the state song!" Yeah, ummm, doesn't that mean he hummed the first verse and since the 2nd verse would sound just like the first...LOL I did praise him.
*Looking at cabinet door hardware (Oh honey, I want to go to Lowes and look at that soon with you), Samuel picked out the BLUE straight handles for his room. They are $8 (not sure if that is apiece or a set of 3). I did find some knobs for Katie's drawers that need replaced...47cents each. They're pink. Katie agreed that they would look good. ;) She clapped for them.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Since I've gotten so many emails...
Photo of Katie today. She was refusing to look at the camera, but she was fine with looking at the TV. LOL She was being silly, trying to show me just how uncooperative she could be.
Hope you enjoy this cute little face!
(in PIGTAILS!)
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Almost a week?!
I'm so sorry! I've been busy following China blogs, seeing new families together...and dealing with our own life.
We set up the pack and play in our bedroom, and I am now getting a shower regularly. Katie is finally at the point where she will play for about 10 minutes by herself in it. Give me enough time to shower! Yippee!!!!!
We went to visit my parents this past weekend, and my sister came in with her two boys. Katie did wonderfully, and I think my youngest nephew and Katie are going to be trouble together in years to come. I walked in on them standing in Grandma's kitchen once. Katie was pointing at the cabinet where she could clearly see M&Ms through the door. My nephew (who is 3.5 months older than Katie...so almost 2) was standing there looking at it as well. They jabbered back and forth, and I could see Katie encouraging him to get that chocolate out! They followed each other around, and managed to get into different things...did I mention TROUBLE?! LOL
We were worried about how Katie would react to traveling, and she did very well. Slept great. Actually was happy in Grandma's arms, and did not get upset when Dh and I left the house to load the van with our things. She happily stayed with Grandma. Of course that might have been the cookies or the M&Ms. Katie did okay in the van/carseat. She got really upset about halfway through the trip, so when we make longer trips we will definitely have to build in "play times" for Katie. I'm sure the boys won't mind. ;)
I'll get new photos up soon. I know that is what you are wanting.
We set up the pack and play in our bedroom, and I am now getting a shower regularly. Katie is finally at the point where she will play for about 10 minutes by herself in it. Give me enough time to shower! Yippee!!!!!
We went to visit my parents this past weekend, and my sister came in with her two boys. Katie did wonderfully, and I think my youngest nephew and Katie are going to be trouble together in years to come. I walked in on them standing in Grandma's kitchen once. Katie was pointing at the cabinet where she could clearly see M&Ms through the door. My nephew (who is 3.5 months older than Katie...so almost 2) was standing there looking at it as well. They jabbered back and forth, and I could see Katie encouraging him to get that chocolate out! They followed each other around, and managed to get into different things...did I mention TROUBLE?! LOL
We were worried about how Katie would react to traveling, and she did very well. Slept great. Actually was happy in Grandma's arms, and did not get upset when Dh and I left the house to load the van with our things. She happily stayed with Grandma. Of course that might have been the cookies or the M&Ms. Katie did okay in the van/carseat. She got really upset about halfway through the trip, so when we make longer trips we will definitely have to build in "play times" for Katie. I'm sure the boys won't mind. ;)
I'll get new photos up soon. I know that is what you are wanting.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Families are in China!
After coming home, I get the excitement those who are home already feel when people they know are leaving for China. It's the memory of your own excitement, of reliving your own trip, and you truly are excited for them.
With that in mind....
Zoey has her family on the way. They are wonderful people too, and I know that one day Katie will get to meet Zoey and I hope they will one day become friends.
Then there is Caroline. Her family has been waiting so long to get their daughter...a very very long wait for LOA. She was referred the same day we got Katie's referral. THAT long. They should be almost to China by now. I'm so incredibly happy for them.
There are others from my agency traveling as well...so many I've gotten to know. As I don't have their links up on my blog, I'll not link to them.
With that in mind....
Zoey has her family on the way. They are wonderful people too, and I know that one day Katie will get to meet Zoey and I hope they will one day become friends.
Then there is Caroline. Her family has been waiting so long to get their daughter...a very very long wait for LOA. She was referred the same day we got Katie's referral. THAT long. They should be almost to China by now. I'm so incredibly happy for them.
There are others from my agency traveling as well...so many I've gotten to know. As I don't have their links up on my blog, I'll not link to them.
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