Sweet Surprise

We ran into our friends Daphne and Ben at the park. Oh my Hannah Grace was so excited to see Ben. They ran, played, rolled in the grass, went down the slide and played on the swings. Later we went out to dinner.

Halloween

Helping Dad carve the pumkin

The sweetest baby girl in the world

This is so much fun



I like candy

But my favorite part is ringing the doorbell.

Yep...not the candy the doorbell. After the homeowners would come to door she would turn around and say tail. If you look in the picture above she has a stinger on her bumble bee costume. She kept calling it a tail and wanted everyone to notice and make a comment.

Halloween marked the last "first holiday" as a family. In other words, we have almost been home for a year! So very hard to believe.

Trunk or Treat

I think I have this Trick or Treat thing down.


In the bouncey house.

I cannot tell you how wonderful it is for Mike and I to see our daughter act so independent. She was walking up to the cars at our church's trunk or treat and just acting like she knew what she was doing. Too cute!

Then she just walked right up to the bouncey house and begged to get in. We thought she would want out immediately....NOPE. She walked right in there and started jumping like she owned the thing...too cute.

So, I guess you are thinking this is great. Well, the snapshot that I described would indicate that huh? What you do not see is the anxiety of this week and the week before. Any type of over stimulation (good - the zoo or bad - eye doctor) causes nightmares and night terrors. Within these two weeks Hannah had nightmares 10 out of the 14 nights. Mike and I are exhausted. I know this is having some kind of negativity on her as well. Goodness, it makes you feel bad for putting her in situations that she becomes anxious. What is a mom to do?

Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday after the eye drops no longer affected her eyes, we went to the pumpkin patch. Hannah Grace, went in the hay maze, saw farm animals, played a game of corn cob toss, went on a hay ride and picked her pumpkin. Little Miss HG picked a small little white pumpkin. We all had a great time.

Eye Exam

There were several things I have dreaded once we got home from China. Vaccinations, the dentist, first hair cut and the eye doctor were a few of them. Well, I finally decided to get them over with but saved the dentist and eye exam to last.

Because her eyes are so dark, it took 5 drops in each eye. To intensify the issue, they gave 3 drops and we had to wait for 20 minutes, then get 2 more and wait another 20 minutes before the exam. I guess you get the picture.

Hannah Grace screamed during the eye drops and kept saying dis way (this way) while pointing to the door. The she cried home home. It was difficult to say the least.

I had to hold my child like a wrestling move. Holding her legs and arms was difficult but the hardest was holding her head still. I do not know how in the world the doctor could do the exam but somehow he did. The news was good...not great but good. The health of her eyes are great but she will probably have to wear glasses when she is about 6 or so.

The picture above is her afterwards with the sunglasses on!

Getting Ready

Yep, about that time. We let Hannah Grace pick the color and sit in it at the store, Unfortunately, she wanted both Mike and I to sit on it. So Mike was on the green one, I was on the white one and Hannah was on the pink one. It was a cute special moment until a woman walked down the aisle we were "sitting" and stared at us for several minutes. Wow, that was a little embarrassing.

We have a little prep work before we actually start the training but we are asking her to sit on it before she gets in the bath. We tell her what we are expecting from her. She says...OTay, so we will see.

Leave me some suggestions for potty training PLEASE!

Halloween Fun at the Zoo

Cutest Bumble Bee Ever

My First Piece of Candy and my First Trick or Treat



Riding the Train and Holding on to the Candy

The First Time I saw your Face......

First pictures of you we saw on October 17, 2008

My dear precious daughter. One year ago today, I saw your sweet face for the first time. I will never forget the feelings and the emotions as we got the call from our agency. When the phone rang, I about jumped out of my skin and said something like...... tell me everything. She kept saying, she is beautiful.

Your dad was on the phone with one of the VPs. I finally had to email him! We left and the short drive to the agency seemed to take forever. We practically ran from the parking lot to the office where Michelle, our case worker, was pacing the floors. As we walked into her office she had placed your little "mug shot" on the China map in the Hubei province.

As I stared at you, I somehow knew you. Oddly, you were familiar. You were the baby girl in our dreams (day dreams and those dreams in our sleep) over the last few years. I felt every emotion that you can imagine, the most prominent being the need to go and get you. I needed to hold you, to kiss you, and mostly to protect you. Wow that emotion was so strong....to protect you. I knew at that moment, I was your mom.

Over the last year, you have given us so many gifts.......joy, pride, laughter and love. After all you have been through, I think you are the bravest soul I have ever met. You are brave in that you can love again, to love deeply and unconditionally. I admire and respect you so much. You have taught me so much about life and what is important.

Each day, I cannot wait to wake up as your mother. It is an honor. I never know what the day will bring but, I do know it will be an adventure and somehow you will put a smile on my face. I love to watch you learn and to experience new things....well, I just love to watch you.

I will never be able to put into words just how I felt then and now about you. Somehow I hope you know.

October 17, 2009

To celebrate Referral Day Anniversary and the day you came into our lives, we took you to see When Elmo Grows Up. I think we were more excited than you, watching you experience and to see Elmo in person. You danced and sang, it was so cute. Your dad and I both teared up thinking about how far we have come as a family in this brief time and seeing how happy you were. It was just a joy to be able to share this moment with you....the daughter we have prayed for and waited for. I hope for many more anniversaries as we continue to grow as a family. We love you and so very happy that YOUR picture was in that referral packet a year ago. We are thrilled you are our daughter, the daughter that has completed our family.

Conversation with Dad

Hannah Grace had her first conversation with Dad. Mike said it was scary and great that he understood every word that she said. Are we starting to think like a 2 year old?

Dad: What did you ride on the Merry Go Round?
HG: Giraffe
Dad: Did you go up and down?
HG: No, frog goes up and down. Rabbit goes up and down.

There you go.....

PIF 2nd Ed Vol 2

What to do while you are waiting. At first I was so enthusiastic during the wait, I read, attended meetings, talked with other IA parents, joined the local Waiting Families Group etc. After the slow down, I became extremely lax, which I now regret. So, what do you do while you are waiting? Well, by now, you probably have a good idea of how long your wait will be. Even if you still have a few months or years left, I promise you will need every minute of it.

I suggest that you read! Read every book or article you can get your hands on regarding adoption. Be informed on what issues are out there. You might not ever encounter the issues or every issue but at least prepare yourself. If you are a first time parent, no matter how well you think you know kids or are the aunt/uncle to a million nieces and nephews or have raised brothers and sisters, don't forget to read books on just parenting. Believe me, you will have a hard time distinguishing between IA issues and infant/toddler issues. Don't just take that from me, ask parents that have both IA and bio children. They will tell you they second guess themselves on the IA children constantly.......no matter how many children they have.

Please hear me on this one, I strongly suggest that you begin to advocate to your family and friends regarding the issues you have read about while you find a support group for yourself (and spouse) such as a Waiting Family Group or other IA groups. Pass those books and articles around. I promise you....the issues you will probably encounter go against every traditional thought in raising/disciplining children. Be prepared for resistance from others, especially on a few touchy subjects such as sleep, bottle feeding, and exercising surrounding bonding and attaching. (I will do a post on the Parent Police soon. I can because I was a card carrying Parent Police even before I had children, they are the worst) The support group will help you tremendously. After coming home, it can be a very lonely experience. Not only are you trying to form a bond with your child but others may express to you their difference of opinions in what you are doing to develop that bond. Stand firm on your beliefs on what is best for your family. I promise you it will all be OK, it may take awhile but......it will be OK.

Be careful of PAD....post adoption depression. It comes in a mighty way. You are exhausted, your world is completely turned upside down, you are trying to do what is right for your family, and it can be an isolating time. You may feel alone with your beliefs etc. Then bam....PAD. It all takes its toll. Be careful and watch for it and think about what you might do if it hits you. Please do not suffer and know that it affects the majority of IA parents.

Here are a few things you may want to consider:
1) Make a list of all the projects you want done before you leave for China. Paint the living room, baby proofing, sort pictures, build the deck etc. Because I promise you will not have time when you return. I am a very organized person and I am so glad I accomplished most of my projects before. Just wish I had reserved enough time to get them all done.

2) This may sound like I am contradicting myself but you might not want to do the nursery too soon before your referral. Most moms that did the nursery early, changed it at least once because they were sick of it. Yet others found comfort in just sitting or picnicking in the nursery.
We finished our nursery in July before our Nov travel.

3) Decide early on how you are going to handle such things as sleep, feeding, and eating etc while in China (and of course once home). I suggest a very relaxed way of doing things there, then once home, slowly adjust to a schedule that works for everyone.

4) Have Plan A, Plan B and Plan C for everything regarding the baby. Be prepared from your reading that your baby's habits are NOT want you had expected. It is not like you had your darling from day one and know her likes and dislikes.