Weekend Update

This weekend was pretty uneventful.  We stayed home on Saturday and did laundry, so I wouldn't say that was a fun day.  Sunday, we went to church, my aunt and uncle brought us lunch, and then we had a play date with the neighbor twins after Amelia's nap.  Amelia had a wonderful time playing with Owen and Anna Grace.  Anna Grace was so sweet and drove Amelia around in her battery powered car.  I think both girls really enjoyed themselves.  Amelia will obviously need one of these cars for Christmas when she is 3 or 4 and is able to reach the peddles. :)

Today, we ran a few errands and then came home for a nap.  It was such a beautiful day that we decided to play outside until it got dark.  Amelia loves her cozy coupe.  David took the bottom out of it to allow her to try to use her feet to propel herself.  She does was really excited to control where she went by herself, but she could only go backwards.  David tried to show her how to move her feet forward, but she just couldn't get it.  David would pick her up and move her to different places on the driveway so she wouldn't run into things.

After dinner, we gave Amelia her first mango fruit pop.  We thought it might feel good on her gums where she is getting a new tooth.  She wasn't sure about it at first, but quickly changed her mind.  She was so funny because she would make this face and then give a little shiver.  I guess she wasn't sure what to think about the cold.

One Month Ago Today...

One month ago today, a precious girl was placed in my arms with the words, "Here's your baby."  I can hardly believe that Amelia has been in our family for a month.  In so many ways, it seems like she has always been with us.  We are so in love with our daughter and feel that she is really settling into her new home and family.  We have seen so many changes and are so grateful to Our Lord for bringing this child into our lives.dxddd

As I look back over the past month, we have seen Amelia

- begin to walk!  She uses her walking toy to make circles in the house, but she has taken 15 steps in a row without falling.  She will be cruising on her own before long, and we are so excited to be able to experience this development milestone.

- move from being ALL about Mama to actually reaching for Daddy when Mama is holding her. :)

- take only a bottle and rice cereal to eating everything she can get her hands on (minus goldfish).  We just knew she should have gained at least a pound after being with us, but she must be burning it off with all of the walking.

- go from sleeping in a room with others to sleeping in a room by herself (and for 11-12 hours at a time!)

- learn to blow kisses and wave hello and goodbye.

- adjust to riding in a car seat.  Car seats are not really used in China, and she was NOT happy about being strapped into one at first.  Now, she actually falls asleep in the car.

- have her first injury.  Her bite is looking great and all of the doctors agree that it is healing nicely.  It was a huge jolt into parenthood to have to rush your child to the doctor on your 3rd day home.

- love baths.  She had never had a true bath before joining our family.  The orphanage sponge bathed the children (we asked).  She was never afraid of the tub or the water and has been a little fish from the start.

- leave her Mandarin behind and pick up some English.  She is now saying "Mama", "Dada", "Ba Ba" (Bailey), "Tan U" (Thank you), "Uh Oh" (her favorite), "Pop" (Poppy), "Hi", "Bye", and signing the word "more" (but not consistently).

- get 2 new teeth and learn to brush them.  She LOVES to brush her teeth and gets super excited when she sees the toothbrush come out.  I wonder what her first dentist visit will be like...

- really let her personality shine, especially during the last week.  She is very determined, busy, happy, sweet, and curious.  She really likes music and dances to whatever she hears.  Amelia wants whatever we have and gets very upset when you don't give it to her.

- dislike the words "no" and "lay down".  I think she learned what these two words meant first and was not happy about them. 

- settle into her new life with parents who adore her.
 

One month ago on Christmas Eve, we celebrated Gotcha Day.

 

 Today, Amelia is settling into her forever family.

International Adoption Clinic Visit

Today was a VERY LONG day.  Amelia had her appointment at the International Adoption Clinic with Dr. Chambers.  We were there for almost 5 hours (through lunch time and nap time)!!!  There was a lot of waiting, but we were able to meet with the family therapist and Dr. Chambers for a long time.  Amelia had to have 7 vials of blood drawn which was difficult for all of us.  She had a vein that kept rolling, so they had to try the other arm.  It was torture, but we rewarded her with a Smart Smart. :)

Dr. Chambers said that Amelia looked great.  She still only weighs 20 pounds, but has grown an inch and is now 29 inches long.  She is in the 3rd percentile for all measurements, so she has some growing still to do.  Amelia has a few moles and skin tags on her body, which we assumed would be permanent.  Dr. Chambers said it had a name (something very long and medical), and it is actually viral.  Her body should eventually heal and those places will go away. 

We have a follow up visit in 3 weeks to discuss all of her blood results and meet with the developmental specialist. 

19 Months

Today, Amelia turned 19 months old.  Her personality is really coming out more and more each day.  We love her so much and are enjoying every minute watching her blossom.  Poppy came over today to play and take us for a girl's lunch.  Amelia loves her outings and was excited to go to lunch.  After lunch, she and Poppy played in the playroom while I began a sewing project.  David and I did not like the look of the new baby gates and thought they needed some improvement.  We also didn't like that the gates were so open.  I could just see Amelia poking Bailey's eye out and then Bailey biting Amelia's finger off in return.  We decided to cover the gates in a nice outdoor fabric (because babies and dogs are messy) and let them be a little more stylish.

Here are the before and after photos of the project.  I think they look much better (and safer for everyone).

 

Along with Amelia turning 19 months old today, she is also becoming a walker.  We are so excited to be able to experience this with her.  I took this video of her in the playroom today walking to me.  Last night, she took the most steps - 15 - that she had ever taken.  She was walking from me to David in her bedroom after her bath.  She was so excited!

Kari and Wren Whitaker brought dinner to us tonight.  I think Amelia enjoyed being with Wren in the playroom.  She thought dinner was fantastic and couldn't get enough of the beef and vegetable stew. 

Amelia went to bed an hour early tonight.  She actually fell asleep in my lap while I was reading her a book.  She woke up an hour earlier this morning (at 8:00 instead of 9:00), so I am thinking she needed the extra hour.  Tomorrow, we have our long visit with the International Adoption Clinic.  Wish us luck and say an extra prayer that she survives the doctor visit!

Amelia's New Walker

Amelia had been trying her hardest to walk by herself. She managed 15 steps independently tonight. We decided to buy her a walker to help her gain some independence (and wear her out). Here is a video of her using it. She thought it was the greatest thing ever!

We also took her to Kobe for her first Japanese hibachi grill experience.  She loved the fried rice!

Amelia is watching the fire intently and is not very sure about it.

She decided to grab my arm for support because she still wasn't sure about the fire, but decided to stay in her own seat.

Pictures from the Weekend

Tuscaloosa and Play Date

Amelia has slept 12 hours straight for 3 nights in a row. We are super excited about it! Thanks to everyone who prayed for her sleep schedule. We hope this continues.  She was super late going to bed tonight, because we packed a lot into today. 

We took an unplanned visit to Tuscaloosa to visit family who have really wanted to meet Amelia Mae.  The first stop was to see RuRu.  RuRu has been very sick and was in the hospital for a long time and then in a rehab facility while we were in China.  She was able to go home on Wednesday, so we were very happy to get to visit her in her house.  Amelia was very hesitant to be in a new place, but she really liked finding the toys that RuRu had in her house.  She also liked that RuRu had snacks, so I gave her some some pimiento cheese and crackers.  Yes, she liked it. :)  RuRu tried to give Amelia some love, but it wasn't happening.

After visiting RuRu, we went to see Amelia's great-grandfather, Baboo.  She LOVED trying to walk on his new hardwood floors.  He had Christmas presents for us, so Amelia was able to play with the tissue paper and put things in boxes and pull things out of boxes.  She was quite happy.  Amelia didn't want to be too close to Baboo, but she did manage to give him some high-fives and waves.

Once the visit with Baboo was complete, my tired girl thought the trip was over, but we had to go by one more place.  We stopped by Grammy's house to exchange Christmas presents.  Amelia was scared of Bella, Grammy's pup, so there were a few tears at first until Bella went to her bed.  Amelia still wasn't giving any love away, but she enjoyed playing with the shape stacker and taking a few steps.  Grammy was nice and let Amelia take the stacker home, and she really seems to like pulling those shapes off.  We hope she gets better at putting them back on the stick. :)

Amelia slept a good bit of the way home.  Once here, we gave her a snack before Aunt Sue, Uncle Leo, and Ella came with dinner.  They were picking up Chinese on the way and coming for a play date.  Amelia was very excited about dinner.  She truly enjoyed the Moo Shu Pork and rice.  She also ate some Mongolian Chicken and dumplings.  After dinner, Amelia and Ella played in the playroom.  They were so precious!  Amelia did NOT like it when David or I held Ella.  She would call out Mama or Dada and want us to hold her.  David was holding Ella at one point and I had Amelia.  Amelia patted David, pointed at Ella and then pointed at Leo as if to say, "She belongs to him."  It was so funny!  David said she had the funniest look on her face and did not appreciate that he was holding someone else.  I am looking forward to the girls getting together again.  I know they are going to be great friends!