August 19 New Teeth and Self feeding

Lacie continues to change every day. I write that on every new entry don’t I? But she does. When we first met, she had no teeth. She now has two on the bottom that she uses to grab the rubber-covered spoons and hold onto it for dear life. She is getting another on the top and I am sure that it will soon be followed by a second on the top. My guess is that we have some busy months ahead of us with cutting teeth and sleepless nights. I think this is why last night she woke up at midnight and wanted to talk. She does that sometimes, just wakes up and decides she wants to have a slumber party without the slumber. Imagine, God blessing John and me with a child that wants to talk all the time – wonder why? ha ha ha Is it that He has a sense of humor? I brought her to bed with us thinking that she was going to fall back to sleep and I would carefully put her back in her crib. NOT! She talked till 2:00 a.m. and would have continued if I were not about to fall off the edge of my bed trying to share with both John who was snoring and Lacie who was talking. I finally decided to put her back in her crib, turn on her lullaby CD and see what happens. She cried for only a minute and then talked a little more and then drifted to sleep. Thank God! Mommy just cannot be that good a mommy without her sleep.

I let her feed herself some bananas today. That was messy and needless to say when snack time was over we both needed a bath. I read in a book loaned by my cousin that they need to get into their food and be able to make a mess and play in it and this begins to teach them how to feed themselves. I am scared to let her play with rice cereal but that will be our next venture after we practice with bananas a few more times. She is beginning to master the Gerber fruit puffs and gets about every other one in her mouth. If I just put them on her tray she will “rake them” into the palm of her hand and hold them. However, if I hold one out to her, she can pinch it between her thumb and index finger and stick it in her mouth. So, she has the pinching thing down but she just needs to figure it out when food is on the tray. We find more fruit puffs in the chair and the dogs love to sit and wait patiently next to her high chair for the ones she drops on the floor. They think she is the treat queen. John and I no longer rank – Lacie is the one who offers more in their eyes. She still does not like fruit, except bananas. We are going to try avocados soon. They are supposed to be good for little ones. I love that book.

We have been working on the sippy cup and she is getting the hang of that. She still needs a little assistance. I do not particularly want her using one right now – she is my baby after all and I want her to stay my baby as long as I can keep her that way. But she is preparing for daycare and I think being able to use a sippy cup will be useful for snack time and lunch. The director said that they still allow bottles for her age group though. She will be almost 1 when she goes to daycare. Mommy has cried a few tears in the past few days thinking about this issue. I think Lacie will do so well though cause she loves children and loves to watch them play. She gets so excited when children are around her.

Mommy obsession of the week: daycare said that they give marshmallows and raisins for a snack. The most solid food she has had is a hard-boiled egg yolk, bananas and fruit puffs. I have read in two places that children should not have raisins or marshmallows and many other chocking hazard foods till they are at least three and supervised. Besides, Marshmallows are full of sugar. That can’t be good for a little girl with growing teeth. I am going to have to talk to daycare and let them know that she can’t have certain foods and snacks. I am sure that I am going to also have to get a doctors note.

We have no pictures downloaded to share this time. We have tons of new pics, just need to down load them.
Lots of love and hugs,
Vonda, John and Lacie

Ten Months Old and First Swim

Our Lacie bug turned ten months on the 13^th. Ohhhh how time flies. I saw photos this weekend for the first time that my mom took as she dropped us off at the airport on July 9^th, when we left to go get Lacie and also photos of when she picked us up at the airport on July 24^th. I also looked back at our photos from July 13^th, our “forever day.” She has changed so much in just a month. It is amazing how much. Yesterday for the first time she began saying ma ma ma ma ma ma ma. Of course it touched my heart but I also realize that is just a chant to her. She has progressed to that and naa naa naa naa naa. Before that her sounds and words were daa daa daa daa. She also said, day day day and duh, and a-bah and Buh! She growls like a lion when she is wanting me to feed her faster than I am and sometimes she scrunches her nose and does a sniffing sound if I am not moving the spoon to her mouth fast enough. Lacie also now responds to “Lacie” and that sort of made me feel a little bit of loss for her – that she no longer appears to respond to her first and only name for nine months (SuMan or ManMan). I know for her, she has a good new life but sometimes I still wonder if she had a choice in her life at that age, what her thoughts would be. What would her conditions be? What would she have to say about it all? I feel more now today than any day before that she is OUR daughter. For a while I felt like I would wake up and it would be all a sweet dream, but that is fading. As Lacie becomes more real to me as my permanent child I hope that I am becoming more real to her as her permanent mommy and John her permanent Daddy, because we are a forever family. She was meant to be our daughter and she brightens our hearts and lives each moment we are with her. We love her so much. BTW – another sweet thing she does: when I pick her up in the morning after she has slept all night and sometimes later in the day when she is a little tired, she will pat my shoulders and bury her face in my neck, like “ahhhh – you are here and I missed you.”

We finally got some photos of Lacie with her dogs. They really like her and seem to be protective of her. They stay near – but also keep their distance – just in case she may try something, they could get away if they needed to. Our family is complete now – with our wonderful four legged children and now our most beautiful and wonderful and forever prayed for two legged child.

My sister and nephew came in from Chicago to meet Lacie and are staying a long weekend. It is wonderful to see them. Robin was so sweet and bought Lacie some clothes to grow into. They are so cute. I think she loves having a girl to love on and spoil. In my family we have all boys until Lacie joined our family. Jonathan, my 12 year old nephew took to Lacie and she took to him so fast. As I have said, she loves children – and although he is almost a teen-ager and not officially a “child” any longer, Lacie still knows that he is not an adult. I was very impressed also with Jonathan and how much he seemed to know how to hold her and play with her and to take care of her. I guess you could say that I am so very proud of both of my very wonderful nephews for accepting her and loving Lacie so fast and so eagerly. The two of them have been the highlights of my life for so long – and I wondered what it would be like to share them and have them share me and so on. We all are handling this very maturely.

Robin and Jonathan got a room at the Embassy Suites. Lacie and I went for a visit and took our swim suits. It was her first swim and her first time in her pretty and stylish swim suit. Lacie just LOVED the pool. She squealed with delight and kicked her feet and was in no way scared. She loves baths, so it did not surprise me. Robin and Jonathan and I all took turns “swimming” with her. Of course it always warms my heart when someone else has her that she turns looking for me, and she also and most times holds her hands out to me for me to take her back. It also makes me proud of her that she is friendly enough to go and be loved on by her cousins and grandparents and aunts and uncles. They all love her.

Attached are photos of Lacie with her dogs (Jonah and Misty) and in her swim suit and of course more of these fun photos can be found in our photo album. Let me know if you can’t get to our photo album.

Love and hugs to all our family and friends at home, China and everywhere!

Vonda and John and Lacie

Four weeks ago today

Today is a special day! OK – every day is a special day. However, four weeks ago today we saw and held Lacie in the flesh for the very first time. When I put her in bed for a nap this morning and I turned on a lullaby CD – one that my friend had made for us and it says her name throughout each song multiple times – I teared up as I thought about how our lives are so different and what a special gift we have been given. It is so amazing how much time flies and it is also so amazing how much we have all changed and grown since that miraculous day.

John and I have learned to love a child in a way that we could love no other. We still love so many children in our lives – some that are grown and some that are still small and our love for them will never change. We have learned to share. We have learned to share our lives, our time and our energy. We are learning to share more with each other. We have also learned that no matter where we are in the world – that we have family all over the world who love us and are praying for us and encouraging us. Not just individuals who are traditional relatives but also our extended family who have touched our lives in so many different and beautiful ways. We also have family we left behind in China – extensions of our lives and hearts, those met and not met.

John has learned to change a diaper, make a bottle, fix cereal, feed a baby and that being a dad is so much more than being a human jungle gym. John and I have both learned that drop in liners full of formula sometimes do fall out!

I have learned that as much as I knew about babies and children – there is still so much more to know and learn every day. I have also learned that I can still feel rested after interrupted sleep, and that there are better addictions than Chai tea.

A few of the most important things we have learned as parents is that there is nothing more special than the smile of our child in the morning when she first sees us, or her laughter when we are playing with her, or the sweet scent of her perfume mix of baby formula, baby shampoo and a day of play, or the soft touch of her cheek to ours as she tries to fall asleep next to us at night.

Lacie has learned a lot too. She has learned to accept total strangers and learning to trust us as people who will love and take care of her. She is learning that she has a voice and we will respond to her needs. She has learned that to get somewhere she just needs to roll over and over again and she will reach her destination. She is learning that rolling only gets her somewhere sideways and that if she wants something ahead of her she won’t reach it. Lacie has learned that when she cries for more than a minute or so (sometimes less) we will come to comfort her or assist her. She has also learned to cry without tears – trying to fake us out to get something she wants. She is learning that crying without tears does not have a huge affect on mommy. She has learned to feed herself a fruit puff - which is a huge deal.

The three of us together are learning to become a family and that it is becoming more comfortable each day.

Lacie has grown physically too. I took her to the doctor today and they measured her at 29 inches long and 18.10 lbs. I asked the doctor if she could really grow two inches in less than a month. In China they measured her around 27 inches. Our physician in Lexington measured her at 28 inches and today she measured at 29 inches. The pediatrician today said that he did not think that she grew two inches in three weeks and that measuring techniques vary. So, how tall is our almost 10 month old anyway? Lets just say 28 inches. That is a good average between 27 and 29. I took her to the doctor to check the infection in her ears and he gave the all clear. He liked how well she looks and appears and said developmentally that she is right on track. I asked about crawling and he said not to worry – he has four children and his child who crawled the latest walked the earliest and vice versa. Do not worry about crawling for another month or two. He thinks she is fine. By the way – she is getting her first two teeth on the bottom.

Last night we went to our first FCC (Families with Children from China) family monthly dinner – with Lacie. It is definitely a different feeling going with a child than going childless. Lacie was one of the few who were not yet mobile. That did not sway her determination to be on the floor with the others. Mommy had to get over the thought of her being on a filthy floor - yet was encouraged that she is still not putting things in her mouth voluntarily. At one point I held her hands as she stood on the floor watching the children run around. She began to move and kick her feet like she was about to take off after them. She just giggled and giggled at the children and I truly believe she felt at home, seeing children like herself who were also giggling and having fun. She lights up when she sees any other baby or child, those from China or those from the U.S. She just loves children. And I have to remind myself – that her favorite people for the first nine months of her life were babies like herself – probably those in cribs on either side of her.

John and I are so excited to see what the next four weeks of life is like with Lacie, how much more we all grow and learn and where our journey continues to take us. Each day is a bright new day of discovery for each of us – and especially for Lacie as she begins each new day with a whole new world to see and people to meet, foods to try and places to travel.

We thank God for our most wonderful blessing in life!

August 8 Home update

Yes, yes I know, it has been awhile! We have been so busy and actually doing nothing for a week and then got busy doing something for the weekend. Our first week home we of course had jetlag and a lot of visitors and phone calls and just trying to continue to get to know each other. We did great but as I stated in my earlier post – she was not napping very well. Last weekend I told John that we needed a quiet week of just trying to get into a routine and do things consistently so she will know what to expect, etc. We started a morning and night time routine. And low and behold – my dear sweet angel began napping! She began her usual two hour morning nap and also gives me a 1.5 to two hour afternoon nap. Thank God! So, why have I not done my work and updated my blog? Well – mommyhood is a busy job even when baby is sleeping. There is laundry and dishes, and organizing and still unpacking and oh – YEA those two sacred hours are also the times the mommy gets to shower and wash her hair and to eat! I must say that being a stay at home mom (even for a few special weeks) is a hard job and so very well worth it.

To be able to blog now – Lacie and Daddy are asleep together. She was in her bed – but she has had a very busy day and I think she is restless. So she woke up and just needed a person to be near. So they are snoozing and I am blogging. If I rest with her to get her to sleep then my brain becomes mush and I do not feel up to blogging and downloading pics. By the way – I am downloading pics on one computer as I write on the laptop. It makes the process go much faster.

Enough about me, huh? As I said, we had a slow week last week. And by the weekend we were having cabin fever. Or at least mommy was. Special friends came to visit at the end of the week for short and very wonderful visits. Even with visits, mommy was still a little restless. So, on Saturday I took Lacie out the first time by myself – we went to Chuck E Cheeses to meet my mother and 5 year old nephew Nathan for pizza. Lacie loved it. We sat in a corner and Lacie loved watching the kids walk by. Nathan shared his tokens with her and let her ride on one of the rides (with him.) He was very protective of her and I was very impressed.

Sunday, Lacie went to church for the first time. She was awesome. She was very good and only talked out loud one or two times and I think she was just in agreement with the preacher cause it sounded like an “Amen Brother!” Ha Ha. Really – she began her dadadada chant. She was greeted with excitement from friends who have been praying for her for a very long time and maybe even before she was born. Lacie was of course, as usual very friendly and greeted everyone with her sweet and ready smile. She never holds that back, even when she is very tired. After church we went to my mothers for lunch and to see my nephew off and to meet my step dad for the first time. He loved her – of course!

Today was a very special day for Lacie and mommy! We went to see my mamaw at her assisted living home about an hour away. She has been very anxious to see Lacie and all the residents at the home have been excited through my mamaw’s excitement to meet the “little girl from China.” My mamaw has been a very bright spot in my life, especially these last few months as I have gotten the opportunity to spend more time with her. She has taught me a lot about life and living and family. I hope that someday I can share some of what she has blessed me with – with my own daughter. Of course, if not, Lacie will have her own grandmothers to share special moments with - and she has plenty to share with too! Lacie loved mamaw and let her hold her. After she studied her for a minute and realized that mamaw was ok – she gave her one of those smiles. It was hard to get Lacie to turn away from Great Mamaw to look at the camera. I think she really liked her. I look forward to more visits.

Oh, while there, one of the residents asked what her name was. I said Lacie. Then I said, we named her after my grandfather, Lacy Scott. And a man from across the room said, “I know Lacy Scott!” And we talked for awhile. His mother was also in the assisted living home. It was special to share that moment with that man, who was a stranger till then – someone who knew my grandfather.

Anyway – these were three active days for Lacie and both mommy and Lacie are over their cabin fever and are ready for a slow and down day tomorrow and Wednesday.

About daddy – Daddy is still doing great. He is back at work – working both is real job and also his evening seasonal job as a server/bartender. After I got her in bed the other night (FINALLY) and when he came home from the restaurant, he said, “I miss the little one. I wish she were up so I can see her.” OH my – of course I jumped on that one. If she wakes up in the middle of the night – you can go get her. And he did. He does great soothing her back to sleep in the middle of the night. And of course, if she sees me, she will not go back to bed either. She is truly a mommy’s girl – but does so love her daddy. At church on Sunday she kept leaning over to him for kisses. That was special to watch. They are bonding.

Every day, she seems more comfortable with us. And every day, she is more special to us. My love each day gets deeper and more intense. I can tell that she is trusting us more and she is encouraging more contact and special moments, like reaching up to touch our faces while we feed her a bottle, or staring intensely into our eyes as she jabbers/talks at night before she falls off to sleep. Generally when she falls asleep with one of us she is close but not touching. The other evening she cuddled up close to me and grabbed onto my shirt like it was her blankie and fell asleep. It was a special moment for me I must say. It is also very special that she prefers to cuddle than just be put in bed. Sometimes I can just lay her down for a nap, but she most often prefers to be near us when she falls asleep.

We have uploaded some additional pictures in our photoalbum. I have attached a little of what you may see.