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!