Baseballs and Ballerinas

Speech Update

2011-03-27T19:59:00.001-05:00

Sweet T is coming along in her speech.

She still goes to ST 2x a week and enjoys it very much. I just had her yearly IEP meeting with her OT and ST and it went very well. She has improved some but still has a long way to go.

I’ve debated on whether or not to send her to kindergarten this fall. I can hardly believe she’s going to be 5 in just a few short weeks!! Then in June it will be 3 years as a forever family! Wow!!! Anyway, I’ve debated on sending her because of how far behind she really is. You see, we don’t notice it when we are together. We understand her when she wants something and if not she’ll sign it to us. She’s saying sentences now that we can almost understand, she’s come a looong way! But, when I saw her with her peers at a birthday party I was shocked! I had to go to the bathroom because I was crying.

Her teachers all say to send her, she’ll be fine. So, we’ll send her. She’ll have her IEP, we’ll meet with the new ST soon, and I’ll talk to her new teacher this fall. I don’t want any special treatment for her, but I do want her teacher to understand exactly how far she’s come!

Here are a few video’s…

More Pictures with the Family

2011-01-04T20:56:00.001-05:00

I talked the kids into getting dressed and going to the park for some pictures. I really wanted to walk up to the stone bench but both girls wanted to play more than take pictures. My oldest would NOT smile for me when he was with his brother. I played around in photoshop with these pictures but I’m not liking the results yet so don’t be surprised if you see them again. I have plenty more pictures to look at and will get those up shortly.

Christmas and Snow!

2010-12-31T18:37:00.001-05:00

Just a few quick pictures for your enjoyment. We got about a foot of snow the day after Christmas, but it was still very pretty. L and Little T both enjoyed Christmas morning. We surprised L with a 2007 Jeep Wrangler! This is his Christmas, birthday (January), and graduation gift all wrapped up into 1!! The grands are here and we have been enjoying visiting with them. I’ll be sad to see them leave on Sunday.

Christmas Photo Out Takes

2010-12-21T20:01:00.001-05:00

I dressed up Little T and L and asked them to sit by the Christmas tree so I could take some photos for our Christmas card. After about 100 shots I finally got a few I could use. Here are some out takes.

Good smile from L…funny face from Little T

Little T…look at me!! Oh crap, focused on the tree and not them.

Big T…please get KaCee and hold her!

Little T is shocked by what her big brother just whispered in her ear!!

Where are you going Little T??

No more funny faces!!

That includes your kissey face Little T!!

Not sure what she was thinking here…

Me: Hey L, its not working with her on your lap like that!

L: Mom…she keeps pushing me backwards!

Momma…are we done yet??

New Blog Design

2010-11-10T21:13:00.001-05:00

I finally won!! Yeah me! Diana over at Diana Rambles does custom blogs. She emailed me and told me that I won her blog makeover giveaway. Check out her work at Custom Blog Designs. She’s doing another giveaway, this time for a custom holiday photo card.

It’s been pretty busy around her. L is always going over to his girlfriend’s house but her parents are strict so on school nights he has to be out of there by 7. I think I like these parents! Tonight he can hang out until 11 because there is no school tomorrow. Then he plans to go over to his BFF’s house and spend the night there playing some war game. (isn’t she a cutie?)

Little T is humming right along. She enjoys her school and really enjoys her big brother picking her up everyday. Today she came home and told me she was the class helper. Oh my, was she exited! Her gymnastics is getting better and better. They are starting to challenge her which is great. These pictures aren’t the best but at least you get an idea.

We took her to a small fall festival a few weeks back and she had a wonderful time. Her facial expressions crack me up all the time. Here are a few that I caught while at the fall festival and then during another trip to the park.

She has also been playing dress up in her room lately. Here is one get up she came out with.

Little T was a lady bug for halloween but she actually missed the whole trick-or-treat outing! We made a quick trip to NY over that weekend. I was hoping that one of the communities up there would do the festivities one evening during the weekend like they do down here. Then it dawned on me….we live in the bible belt so trick-or-treating is usually NOT done on a Sunday. Our area held it Friday night and another community held theirs Saturday. Up in NY? They held it Sunday, the day we headed back home. Oh well…she really didn’t miss it because we don’t make a big deal of it at all. She did dress up for her Nana and her Aunt Judy though!! (and no, I don’t have a picture!!)

Ok, that’s it for tonight. She is sitting on my lap because you know, there is NO where else for her to sit. She doesn’t have a room full of toys, she doesn’t have her daddy down in the living room who would play with her, nope, she doesn’t have any of that. So she HAS to sit on my lap, or touch me, or be in the same room with me, but mostly sit on my lap and pretend she is making chocolate milk for me…or baking a cake…or bringing her baby to me….ya’ll get the picture. She is a momma’s girl which is absolutely wonderful except sometimes this momma needs a break!!!!!!! Calgon??!! Anyone??

Different Things

2010-10-09T19:14:00.001-05:00

We went and visited the T’s up in WV. It was a great visit and we really enjoyed meeting Baby A and seeing his big sister H! Are you ready for some sweetness? How about I start out with the toes?

I know!! Aren’t they the sweetest little toes you’ve ever seen??

Awww….just look at him!! Here is little man sleeping.

And here he is wondering who the heck is holding him and why he looks so weird!! :)

I swear, he had the longest toes and fingers I’ve ever seen! He’ll end up wearing a size 14 shoe like his dad…just because of the toes (just like his dad!)

Ahhh….how is the big sister handling the newcomer? Very well. She loves him and wants to hold him, feed him, and play with him. Of course she gets jealous, I mean as cute as Baby A is, wouldn’t you?

But she is going to be a great big sister. I laughed when she and Little T saw each other. They ran up and hugged each other like you wouldn’t believe. Then, oh my, then the jealousy kicked in! They both wanted our attention, fighting for our lap and arms. I LOVED IT!!! Heh….we call H the little bruiser. She might be Little T’s niece but she can take her down like you wouldn’t believe! It was so cute to see them hug and then fall on the floor with their arms still around each other laughing away.

The entire drive up Little T kept asking when we would see H. She loves her so much and enjoys playing with her when they are together. I hope they continue this relationship as they grow older.

Just look at that face! She was so happy and really going crazy running around.

I can’t wait to see them again.

As you know Little T started pre-k this year. She is really doing well and enjoying the class. She has a best friend – can a 4 yr old have a best friend? She cracked me up yesterday when I asked her if she played with her best friend. She said “no, shalotteives not bes fend. She no ay me!” (no, girls name not best friend. She no play with me!) ahhh…so in order to be a best friend at the tender age of 4 you have to play together! I’m sure on Monday they will be bes fends again!

I didn’t share her first day of pre-k picture. She was so excited!

I have no clue why she is tilting her head lately when I take her picture! So funny!

Much Over Due Post

2010-09-15T18:36:00.001-05:00

Wow…have I been slack or what? Do I even have any readers out there anymore? Hopefully I do.

Things are wonderful here. Let’s see. I last posted in May. In June we celebrated Little T being home 2 years! Has the time flown by or what? She has grown so much and we are so proud of her. Her speech is coming along, slowly, very slowly, but we do see improvement. She started the More At 4 program which has her going to pre-k from 8:30 to 2:30. She absolutely loves it!

In July we watched baseball and enjoyed being outdoors even though it was quite hot. L did well in Jr. Legion baseball but I was glad when it was over! We could finally have our weekends back!

Yes – it was that hot!! Even our feet needed the shade!!!

We also went to NY to visit Big T’s mom in July. It was a welcome break and we enjoyed just hanging around and talking with her. I was also able to visit a good friend while up there who adopted twice from China. The biggest thing I did though was to go to the house I grew up in. I found out that a girl I graduated with from high school bought my parents house! How awesome is that?? So, I contacted her and was able to go see what they’ve done to the place. It really makes my heart feel good knowing that someone is in the house and taking care of it.

We did some swimming during the summer. Little T took some lessons at the Y. She loves the pool and is a little fish!

We also got a visit from the T’s and Baby H. Well…Baby H isn’t much of a baby anymore. She’s 2 and as big as Little T!

They also surprised us with the news that they were pregnant and expecting a son in September. Well it seems that this little one couldn’t wait until September and he made his way into the world on August 27th weighing in at 8.5 oz and 20”!!! Please welcome Baby A!!

I’ve found myself looking at the waiting child lists, seeing so many children. I’ve asked Big T if we could adopt again and he said no but I’ve prayed about it and I’m at peace with it because I know that God is working on his heart and I just have to wait for His timing. In the meantime I’ve become more involved with a wonderful organization called An Orphans Wish (<---click me!). I’m volunteering each month and we are sponsoring a beautiful little 3 year old girl who has club feet. I’m completely taken by this one.

Big T is doing well and enjoy every minute he can with Little T. It still makes me smile when I think about the first time he met her. She kissed him and that was it – she had him wrapped around her little finger from that moment on.

Well, I think that just about catches everyone up! I’ll try to do a much better job at keeping the blog up to date.

MIA

2010-05-16T08:16:00.001-05:00

Sorry guys – been real busy around here. I do have some pictures but I haven’t even gotten them off the camera yet! Baseball is going full force. L’s team is in the play-offs. Then he starts Jr. Legion. Summer is right around the corner!

I wanted to put up a few quick videos. I got myself a Flip and I really like it! Its small, easy to use and even easier to upload to the pc. T likes it because I can put her on the TV!

The first video is T telling me about her day and a story.

This second video is for my sis! She sent Little T a cute ladybug umbrella.

What is Her True Special Need?

2010-04-12T19:43:00.000-05:00

When we decided to adopt from China we got into the healthy as young as possible line. We didn’t even think about going special needs. In fact, the words “special needs” scared us. We were logged in on May 30, 2006. At that time we were told we would have our referral in 9 to 12 months. As we all know this didn’t happen and we waited and waited. I started doing some research and talked to Big T about getting in the special needs line. I especially wanted a heart baby because of all I learned about the heart when my mom was so sick. Big T? Well, he wanted nothing to do with a heart baby. When we got that call, that wonderful call, I called him and told him to get to a computer so he could see his little girl. After he saw her picture I told him she was a heart baby. Was he mad? Yep, just a little but he knew she was his daughter so he got over it pretty quick.

Once we got home with her we made an appointment with our pediatrician who referred us to Wake Med and a pediatric cardiologist. (We were under the impression that her heart hadn’t been fixed but when I got to China I found out she had been operated on about a month before we got her.) So, we go to the pediatric cardiologist and get some tests done. He was very pleased with China’s work on her heart and told us that she is fine and he didn’t need to see us anymore. Praise the Lord!! We were so happy!!

As we went along our merry way I noticed she wasn’t talking. Yes, she just spent 2 years of her life in an orphanage where they spoke a different language. But she understood us, would do what we asked her. What was going on? She was referred to EI where they started her on speech therapy and occupational therapy. The OT was for chewing because at 26 months old she didn’t know how to chew.   That is another story for another time. The EI was happening 2x a week. Then when she turned 3 she went under the county and started speech therapy with them 2x a week at her pre-school. I wasn’t happy with her progress so I made an appointment with her old EI speech therapist for another evaluation. That is when we learned she has verbal apraxia.

Wait a minute!! That isn’t her special need! No one said anything about verbal apraxia! But there it was, in black and white. Little T, who will turn 4 next month, can not talk like a normal soon to be 4 year old. She can’t carry on a conversation, she can’t tell me about her day at school, she can’t tell me if someone was being mean to her. Since I’m with her all the time this doesn’t bother me but when I’m around another 3 year old that can talk your ears off, my heart just aches for her.   Its so hard for me sometimes when I hear a young child talking and laughing with their mom or dad. Will she ever be able to do that?

We didn’t put verbal apraxia as a need that we would “accept” on our little checklist we gave to our agency. In fact, it wasn’t even ON the checklist!    But here it is, in our lives, as her true special need.

Snow!!!!

2010-02-13T11:55:00.001-05:00

The weather man was right for a change!! We got around 5 or 6 inches of snow and its the good packing, throwing snowball, building snowman type of snow. Little T loves being out in it. When she walks around it makes that crunch sound and she just giggles away.

The Dirty Snowman!!

KaCee catching a snowball. Stupid dog…

Little T making a snow angel. Every time she would fall off the boogie board she would make one!

The southern way to sled….boogie board!!!!!

Wipe out!!

Another wipe out!

Lets talk about talking

2010-02-01T21:05:00.001-05:00

I had Little T evaluated by another speech therapist. I just haven’t been very happy with her progress through the school ST. She sat down with her and had her point out different things in pictures like where is the boy under the table or where is the girl going up the stairs. Little T did awesome in this! She asked her to point to her different body parts and a few other little things. Then she got down on the floor with her and just played with her. She listened to her interact with me, watched her while she played and continued to ask questions to Little T and then to me about her. When it was all done and said she told me that she understands everything and can follow complex instructions. (ok – nothing new there!)

Then she asked me if I continued to hear the same sounds like she was – the d’s and some other sounds when she was babbling. I said yep. She asked her to say momma and then milk. Momma came out wonderful, milk came out “il” (and of course she signed it!). The therapist then asked me what I knew about verbal apraxia. Actually, I told her, quite a bit! Every time I did research on the internet about her being non-verbal I came back time and time again to this same thing.

The ST then went on to say that she didn’t want to put Little T in this “box” as she called it. She didn’t want to put a label on her because once a child has a label like this it becomes hard to change it. I told her to go ahead and do it because then the insurance would pay for private therapy which was my ultimate goal in the first place!!

Verbal apraxia – scary stuff. What does this mean for our sweet girl? It means nothing in the sense that she’s still our beautiful little girl that we love and adore. It does mean that we will have to work harder with her and for her. She’ll be going to speech therapy 4x a week instead of just 2x a week. After more research I learned that fish oil can help her so I’ve started giving her Nordic Naturals ProEFA (omega 3,6,9) and EPA. (You guys should see me squeezing the oil out of the pills. She holds the spoon, I squeeze and she takes it and waits for more.)

What will the future hold for her? Only God knows that answer. I do know that this won’t stop her – she’s to much of a little spit fire to let anything as trivial as this stop her. She gets her point across through sign language and attitude. Will she ever talk normal? Yes, I think she will but again, it will take hard work and dedication by both of us.

Christmas and a visit from the T’s!

2010-01-04T19:18:00.000-05:00

Little T enjoyed Christmas this year though she seemed to be a little overwhelmed again. She opened up her Itty Bitty baby from American Girl and got so excited! She also got a backpack with it that had a few other pieces of clothing. Oh my, I think I changed that doll’s clothes a hundred times Christmas Day!

The above picture is Little T taking a picture of me while I was taking a picture of her! She loves her new camera!

My oldest came home a few days after Christmas for a nice visit. We can’t believe how big Baby H is getting! She’s not quite as tall as Little T but she weighs about 3 or 4 pounds more and is as cute as a button!

As you can see from the above picture Little T was very excited to have Baby H here!

Heh…here they are waiting for their daddy’s to come home. They were at the window yelling “Dada!!”. In fact, Little T is right here and when she saw this picture she yelled “DaDa!!”

I love the picture below!! Look at those eyes on my babies…

And if you can stand any more cuteness here are some pictures of my girlfriends little girl. Isn’t she just adorable??!! I crack up every time I see her in pink because her momma does NOT like pink at all. Too funny!

Discrimination

2009-12-20T21:36:00.001-05:00

I never thought I’d experience discrimination. Sure, I’ve been teased, picked on, all that but discrimination?

Let me start from the beginning. Many of you know that we are friends with some Chinese people who own a few restaurants here in town. They are great people and and we enjoy their company. Recently his brother sent his two kids over from China. An 11 year boy and a 9 year old girl. They are very sweet kids and are trying their best to get used to America. Can you imagine being thrust into a school where you don’t even speak the language? They started school a few days after they arrived. How brave is that??

Anyway, Pan brought the boy over to my house on Friday and said that he hurt his elbow, had no strength in it. The poor kid just looked at me and I could tell he was miserable. Instead of taking them to the hospital I took them to my pediatrician. When we went up to the receptionist she asked if we had an appointment and I said no and explained to her what happened.

Here’s the conversation:

Snotty Receptionist (SR): Have we seen him before?

Me: No, he will be a new patient.

SR: We need his records from his other doctor.

Me: We don’t have any of his records. They are in China.

SR: You mean you don’t have any records for him, even from where he was born? Has he NEVER seen a doctor before?

Me: Not here in the US. He is from China and all of his records are there.

SR: Well, I don’t think we will be able to see him without his records.

Me: Why not?

SR: Well…do they have insurance?

Me: By “they” do you mean his dad? No, he does not but he will pay cash today.

SR: They have no insurance?

Me: No, but he will pay cash today.

SR: Well…I can’t believe they don’t even keep records!

Me: Yes, his parents have records but they are in China.

SR: Can’t you call over there and have them faxed here?

Me: No, sorry, its not that easy.

Finally an angel in the back said it was okay that we don’t have his records and for us to have a seat and someone would be with us shortly. The doctor was extremely nice as was his nurse. Their receptionist needs to take some lessons on manners! I was shocked at her attitude towards Pan and this sweet boy. I can’t imagine how they would have felt if I wasn’t there. When I told Big T about the incident he said that he was glad I was with him to help out. By the way, after x-rays we were told that nothing was broke and we needed to get his shirt back on so they could put his arm in a sling. When trying to manipulate his shirt Pan grabbed his arm and kind of pulled it back and we heard a “pop” and then a loud scream (heh…boy…can he scream!). After that he was fine! The doctor ran back him and we told him what happened and he said that obviously the elbow was out of joint and we popped it back in. Jeez…. :)

Later that evening I started thinking about the whole thing. Is this something that Little T is going to experience or will she have it easier because she speaks English? What if she never talks and has to use sign language? Will she be looked down on like the SR did to Pan? Is this what he faces everyday because he is different? How do I protect her from the ugliness that is abound in this world?

That’s a hard question and I’m not sure I can protect her. I can prepare her though. I can teach her that everyone deserves respect no matter who they are or where they come from. I can help her grow up to love herself for who she is. I can teach her about God and his love for her and then, I can pray that the lessons I’ve tried to teach her will help her handle the difficult times.

Nap Time is No More!!

2009-12-12T11:21:00.002-05:00

Well, I think Little T has decided she no longer wants to nap. This is good and bad. Bad in that she is home while I'm working in the afternoon so I'm going to have to come up with something to keep her busy for a few hours. Any ideas? And then good because she will go to bed at 8 which means I actually have some down time!! Yeah!!!!!

This morning while cruising around I saw a blog who "Elfed" themselves. Then I remember doing that to the boys a few years back and thought what the heck, I"ll go do it to them again. This time I added a few extra people! Enjoy

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Halloween, Thanksgiving and some other stuff

2009-12-05T12:34:00.002-05:00

We dressed Little T up her the costume she wore last year. Since she really doesn’t remember last Halloween I could get away with this. Next year? Who knows!!
We let her clean out her pumpkin this year too. She really didn’t know what to think of the stuff inside. You can see L’s hand helping her. Oh..and she’s wearing her gymnastics outfit!

For Thanksgiving we went to my BIL’s house. It’s always nice to spend a holiday with your relatives. They have accepted Little T into the family in such an easy way that its like she has been here since day 1!!

She made her first gingerbread house this year!!! Not bad for her first time – she actually had candy left to put ON the house instead of IN her mouth!

And here’s a picture of what happens when you have a 3 1/2 year old and you leave her alone for a bit while you are working!! Yes, she was “working” to and decided to tape up her work on the TV!

I’m actually done shopping for everyone except for the stocking stuffers and the usual socks and undies. We can’t wait for Christmas morning this year! She will not be as overwhelmed as she was last year so it should be a hoot! We got her a new Ittby Bitty Baby from American Girl, a Jeep Rubicon, a bike glider (heh…she’s riding that right now! better put it away for Christmas) some puzzles, books, clothes, crayons, etc. I can’t wait!! I’d tell you what L got this year but he might actually decide to read the blog so I better not. Today or tomorrow I plan to get the Christmas photo done of L and Little T so I can get the cards out by next week.

On another note, this time of year is always bitter sweet for me. Putting up decorations, hearing Christmas carols, decorating the tree…it all brings back the flood of memories that I have of my mom and dad. I wish they were still here with us, enjoying their favorite time of year and enjoying their newest granddaughter and their great-granddaughter! Yes, I know they are watching over us and are very happy in heaven but I’m a tad bit selfish and want them here!

Its hard to believe that Little T has been with us for almost a year and 1/2!! She’s changed and grown so much since those first few days in China. Everyone comments about how tall she’s getting (yeah!) but she’s still so small compared to the other kids in her pre-school. And her talking? No, its not there yet though she is trying. I’ve not been very happy with the results of the school’s ST so I’m looking into getting her back into some private ST. We actually saw her old therapist and she said that she was disappointed because it seemed to her that she has not progressed very much. Yeah…trust me…I know! I think it has to do with the atmosphere of her therapy. She’s in a room that other people go in and out of during it. How can you teach and expect a 3 1/2 yr old to pay attention to you when people are constantly walking in and out of the room? Yep, you can’t. Plain and simple. I’ve watched her therapy a few times and it felt rushed to me. Like the therapist was just going through the motions with her – does that make sense? I’ve also decided to learn American Sign Language. I’m hoping that this will help her communicate better. I talked to my oldest about it and he thinks that maybe this would encourage her NOT to speak but I’m not so sure. What do you guys think? What else can I do to help her? I swear, if I hear one more person say “she’ll talk soon” or “she’s only been in here for 1 1/2 years so she doesn’t understand the language yet” I’m gonna scream! She understands the language people!!! She understands what you say to her, she can follow complex instructions (go put your coat in your bedroom on the back of the chair and then go wash your hands for dinner). She just has expressive language issues.

Ok – enough. Sorry – went off on a tangent there. If anyone can think of something else that I can do to help our sweet girl talk please let me know!! And no…I do NOT allow her to point to what she wants. I make her tell me mostly by her signing it but sometimes by her babble so please don’t say that we are “talking for her”.

What have I been up to?

2009-10-22T19:26:00.001-05:00

Since momma has been busy with work and baseball and gymnastics and keeping everyone happy I decided that I would update everyone! So, what have I been up to? Let’s see. I’ve been posing for momma and giving her cheesy grins.

I’ve been going to Gege’s baseball games where I eat lollipops…

and at another baseball game I decided to wear my hat!

When I wasn’t at the baseball field I played in the dryer,

posed pretty for momma outside on the back deck,

and went to the park and played.

I also went to a pumpkin patch where I picked up a heavy pumpkin and jumped in corn!

Then I went to the State Fair where I jumped,

got kisses from Gege,

and fell down and bumped my mouth.

I also made a new friend

and I got into a car accident with Gege….boy, is he a crazy driver!!

Here I am checking out what could be momma’s new office….she’s laughing right now but I don’t know why!

I saw lots of animals at the fair and even watched J show her goat!

I guess waking up at 7:30 and taking no nap finally caught up with me because I fell asleep while sitting on Dada’s shoulders!!

While I was sleeping Momma and Dada decided that it was time to go. On the way back to the van Momma saw this guy and decided to take one last picture.

Well, as you can see I have been one busy little girl!

Beaches and Baseballs

2009-09-13T20:49:00.001-05:00

Big T and I decided to take Little T to the beach on Saturday. It was so pretty out with the high in the 80’s and a wonderful breeze. She didn’t like the water at first until I got her used to it by playing with her in the surf. Once she realized that it was fun she was ready to go “woowooo” which is swimming in Little T speak. We only stayed for a few hours because Big T is very pale and burns quickly. The big dummy didn’t put on any sunscreen even after I told him to at least 10 times! He kept saying that he was fine until Sunday when he saw exactly how “fine” he was – yep, he got burnt.

We decided to go back on Sunday and invited some friends but L got called to play in a baseball tournament so off the the field we go. He only got to play for 3 innings the first game and one at bat for the second game but that was to be expected as he was called up to pitch. For the next month or so we’ll be watching him play every weekend. Little T enjoys watching her big brother though she enjoys running around much more! I think we went to the bathroom 30 times or more!

Here’s a conversation we had recently with Little T. Let me preface this by saying that “popping a bubble” is passing gas – which in this family happens quite often. We were playing in the living room and all of a sudden I get a whiff of something pretty nasty.

me to Little T: Little T, did you pop a bubble?

Little T: No…dada!!!!

Yep, she was passing the buck to her dad!

Here are some pictures of the beach and baseball.

We are Still Here!!

2009-09-09T04:11:00.001-05:00

Yep, we are alive and kicking around these parts. I can’t believe that it is already September! The time sure does fly by.

The wedding was beautiful. T & T are such a great couple and I really think they compliment each other. Baby H and Little T had the best time running around, dancing, and just being plain cute together. I cried a little – that is my oldest baby!! Big T, he just grinned the whole time. We are so proud of these two and their accomplishments. We can’t wait to see what the future holds for them!

We had our first ER visit with Little T a few weeks ago. She got mad at me because I was still working and she was hungry so she threw a temper tantrum *gasp* and banged her head on my computer desk. She ended up slashing her eyelid open so off to the pediatrician I went. He sent me on to the ER because he was afraid of putting a needle that close to her eye. Oh, get this, when we were checking in the receptionist asked me for her birth certificate!!! I asked her why she needed it and she said it was hospital procedure. Umm…I think not. I asked her if she got the bc of every child that came into the ER and she said no. Its a good thing she didn’t push the issue because I would have started to make some noise!! Anyway, back to Little T’s eyelid. The ER doc said he would try to glue the gash open but if they were unable to keep her still enough they would have to put her out to put some stitches in. I told Little T to lie down and be still, the doc straddled her little head and the other doc glued it! Yeah! She’s going to have a scar but it will be small.

Speaking of scars, Little T is a dare devil! I swear that the boys did NOT do the things she does. She loves to jump off of everything, she’ll vault over the back of the couch and then pop up laughing, she climbs up on the counter by using the shelves inside of the cupboard. Check out what I caught her doing playing in the playground at a baseball game! Yep, that’s my girl going down the slides backwards!! I believe we’ll be visiting the ER quite often with her!

Here she is telling me what for about something. She’s so funny!!

L made a traveling baseball team so our weekends are filled with going to ballgames. Ugh. Yes, I’m glad he made the team but I was hoping to have some sort of break between ball seasons! Oh well, he’s a Junior this year so I better enjoy him while I can. Pretty soon he’ll be out of the house!

My manager sent me down a cooler for employee appreciation. Little T liked it so much she decided to crawl into it!!

Little T

2009-08-23T10:30:00.001-05:00

More NY Pictures

2009-08-04T06:53:00.001-05:00

Here are some additonal pictures from NY. While there we were able to visit her and her.

Jonni laid out quite a spread for Big T, Little T and myself. The food was great but the company was even better. I don't think either one of us shut our mouths the whole time we were together. Sofia and Little T played well together. It amazes us how different these 2 girls are. Little T is wide open, jumping, running, swinging. Sofia is quiet and laid back. When we put Little T in the swing she laughed and started jumping so Sofia did too. They were so cute together. I can't wait for Sofia's sister, Samantha, to come home! Now, believe it or not, but I really didn't get any shots of the delish food or the girls together. I know, I know, its hard to believe with two camera toting mamas but its true! I did manage to get a few parting shots of the 2 girls but Jonni and I were messing around with my camera so they are terrible! I've processed a few so here you go.

On Saturday during the reunion I snuck out to go meet with Cheri. She was just 10 minutes away so there was no way I wasn't going. Lia is a doll and she is doing great thanks to a wonderful mommy and daddy. She took my hand and lead me into her house, yes, my heart just melted. Little T played with Lia and Cheri's other kids outside for a bit until I looked at her pants and realized she had an accident! oops...yep, potty training is still going on. She is really doing well but when she's busy I think she just forgets. What is amazing about this family is that they are in the process of adopting another waiting child from China. His name is Evan and he is so cute. Check out her blog for a picture!

Yep, you are right, she is a very pretty girl!

More random pictures

Family Reunion

2009-07-20T05:24:00.001-05:00

What a blast it was seeing everyone again. We drove up to NY on Thursday. Little T did pretty good on such a long trip. L slept the whole way only to wake for food. Jeez....to be a teenager again! Big T's mom is doing well. She looked great and is getting around pretty good. She loves it when all her kids and relatives get together like this and just sat there basking in her joy.

While we were there I was able to get up with my brother. Wow, have his kids grown! The 3 younger ones are getting so big and the oldest one is going to college. Hard to believe that we have kids old enough to be in college. It had been 2 years since we talked and it felt good getting caught up.

Here are some pictures - I'll post more in another post!

Little T with a gummy lifesaver on her nose!

Little T with Jasmine and L. Jasmine loves to be on your shoulders when we go on a road trip.

This is my brother's 4 kids. The big guy next to L is the oldest and is the same age as T. The three in the front are triplets with the girls being identical. And yes, you are seeing red hair - don't you just love it??

The next pictures are random shots at the reunion.

A Few Pictures

2009-07-15T18:42:00.001-05:00

I have a ton of pictures from our trip to NY and our family reunion. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed seeing everyone again. I am taking pictures for T & T's wedding so I'm practicing shooting RAW and then making changes. Here are 2 pictures that I played around with tonight. Other pictures of the reunion to follow shortly!!

Happy 4th of July!!

2009-07-05T17:57:00.001-05:00

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July! We hung out here at the house, cooked out, swam and enjoyed some fireworks in the backyard. I was going to take Little T to see the big fireworks but when we went outside and she heard the booms she got scared so I quickly nixed that idea. Interesting that last year we had been home a few days and she seemed to enjoy them.

Some friends of ours have moved to Alaska. We just became close these past few months when our boys were playing baseball together. Funny, we went to the same church but never really talked. I guess spending every single night at the ball field will do that! Her husband asked her to marry him again on their last Sunday at church with us. How sweet was that? He got right down on his knee and proposed in front of everyone. They did the ceremony and then had a nice little cookout afterwards.

Speaking of being married, Big T and I just celebrated 23 years together. It's hard to believe that we've been married that long! He's a great husband and an even greater dad. He's my rock and I know that he will always be there and support me.

June 16th

2009-06-21T18:53:00.000-05:00

June 16th is a day that will forever be etched in my mind. This was the day that our sweet Little T was walked out to us in Guangdong. She was dress in a cute yellow outfit with blue sandals on and she just looked around with her sad little eyes. I knelt on the floor and took her into my arms and cried. J and L just smiled and stared in awe at her. We stayed there for a little while and then went back to the hotel room where L got the first of many smiles out of her. When she looked at me it felt as if she was saying "What took you so long to come get me" with her dark brown eyes. That first day she wouldn't look at me for 10 or 15 minutes but once I gave her her bottle she made eye contact and didn't stop. That scared tiny girl has blossomed into a beautiful little girl who fills our days and nights with smiles and laughter.

Little T has come so far since those first days. She's learned how to chew her food, started to babble and is now starting to say words. She's learned that rain isn't scary, dogs are fun, and nieces can be even more fun. She runs around the house laughing and teasing her big brother. She goes to ballgames to cheer him on. At church she folds her little hands and closes her eyes and tries to say amen when we are done praying. She is potty trained for the most part and gets very upset if she has an accident. Little T still takes a good nap in the afternoon. She enjoys being "pretty" and loves to put makeup on like her mommy.

Her daddy loves her to pieces and she can have anything she wants as long as she gives him kisses. He tells me all the time how amazed he is by her, how far she's come, and how much he loves her. Little T is a momma's girl but she does love her daddy to.

She's gained 7 pounds and grown 5 inches in this last year. She is wearing 24 months on top but 12 to 18 months on bottom. Little thing has no butt! She is saying more and more words though I'm not sure if everyone would be able to understand them. Juice, dye dye (bye bye), mama, dada, Kacee, Jasmine, love you (makes my heart melt!), eat, Hannah, nana, sponge bob, yo gabba gabba, hi, hey, stop, no, yes, poopoo, three, please, want, amen, more...she isn't forming sentences yet but she is signing sentences so the words will come.

Sweet sweet Little T. We love you so so much and are so happy your are part of our lives!!

MIA

2009-05-30T16:26:00.001-05:00

Umm....yeah...sorry about that. Life has gotten in the way of this blog!! There has been so much going on that I really haven't had time to do anything.

Where to start....ok, I'll start with L! He's doing great, school is almost out so he's pretty happy about that. His grades could be better if he actually put in some effort! JV baseball is done but he was pulled up to Varsity baseball for the state champion playoffs and guess what? His team plays next weekend for the championship!! Go EW!! He's not playing but he's there cheering them on. He's also playing Jr. Legion ball so you guys can guess where we have been almost every single night!

T & T have visited us twice! I know - I'm such a bad blogger!! I haven't even put up pictures of their first visit yet! Baby H is now walking and turned a year old in May. She is such a pretty and happy baby. T & T get married August 8th! We are so excited and happy and PROUD of both of them. They have so much on their plates yet they are both getting on the Deans list at college and working and taking care of our sweet granddaughter. They are off for the summer but will start back to school in the fall. T has now decided that he might want to do research instead of being a pediatrician. He's only done one year of college so we'll just sit back and wait and see where he ends up. Whatever he decides to do I'm sure we'll be proud of him.

Big T is doing great also. Business has been a little off but he seems to be generating the sales. He's such a sweet husband and daddy! He loves all his kids and he supports them and me with everything he has. I'm doing great, loving my job still, loving working at home and playing with Little T everyday. God is good!

I have a ton of pictures to process. The 365 project went by the wayside when I and Little T got sick. I ended up with some ulcers on my throat and just couldn't pick up the camera!! Oh well, maybe next year will be better. Here are just a few shots to pacify you.

Don't be hating because she so beautiful!! Love my granddaughter!! (Picture taken by her daddy - not too bad!)

Isn't this a great shot?! We were at the ball field and I happened to catch her looking at me through the bleachers!

These dresses were bought last year when we went to WVA to visit T & T. They still fit!

Here the girls are last year - boy have they grown!! Look how much they've changed - wow!

We went to Relay for Life last night and Little T got her face painted. She got a ladybug on one side and a baseball for her big brother on the other side!

We went to an agricultural type fair in Raleigh this weekend and Little T had a ball on the rides! Last year when she rode one of these she cried. My baby is growing up!!

1 Year Ago

2009-04-15T16:33:00.002-05:00

At 7:15 in the morning I got a phone that would change our lives forever. It was Pam from CCAI saying she had a file of a little girl who was looking for her mommy. I started screaming and crying and people at work had no idea what was going on. Pam said she would email the information along with a photo. The second I got off the phone with her I called Big T and told him to get home and get home NOW! He said that he got shivers and the hair on the back of his next stood up when he heard me say "We have a daughter!". He called me when he got home and we opened the email at the same time. Wow...just look at her! We were both crying and laughing, talking over each other. Good thing it was the second to my last day at work because I was useless!! All I did was stare at this precious little girls picture. The next few months flew by. I started a new job, became a grandmother, and flew to China!

God is so good! He orchestrated this adoption from the little seed in my heart in 2005 to Big T saying yes, to the long wait, deciding on special needs, a new job, flying to China - everything!!

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11

Little T Turns 3!!!

2009-04-14T07:55:00.001-05:00

3 years ago, in a country far far away a young woman was in labor. She dreamed of this day for 9 months, knew the pain she would go through and fought to bring her child into this world. What did she think when she saw her daughter's face? Was she married? What did her husband think? Were they upset that their child, the one they dreamed and talked about, was a girl? What about her grandparents? Her aunts and uncles?

I have no doubt that Little T was loved when she was brought into this world. She spent 7 months with her family. 7 months of being cuddled, cooed to, loved. 7 months of hearing her mom and dads voices singing to her. 7 months of playing peek-a-boo with a face that she loved unconditionally.

I sit here and think about what I was doing the day she was born. I know we were still paperchasing for her. China was slowing down in their referrals and I wasn't listening. I looked back at my blog and see I was trying to think of another name for the blog. Such trivial things when you think about it.

I woke Little T up this morning by singing Happy Birthday to her. She opened her eyes and smiled and blew like she was blowing out her candles. Tonight we will celebrate this day with her. Give her presents, cake, and ice cream but still, my mind wanders to a country half way around the world. I'm thinking about her birth parents and what they are doing today. Do they think about her? Do they still mourn her? Do they know how grateful we are? I'm so humbled by them.

Cuddling with Little T this morning, looking into her beautiful brown eyes, I smiled. This little girl is such a gift to us. She is smart, beautiful, happy. She is loved. Most of all, she is our daughter. Happy Birthday to our sweet Little T!!!

Scary Smart!

2009-03-17T21:15:00.000-05:00

Little T is scary smart! She's not talking yet but she is so smart. This afternoon I was on the phone and my cell phone rings. She ran up to the kitchen, grabbed my phone out of my purse, opened it and started babbling away. Good thing it was my son on the other end. This evening L asked her to go get him a mountain dew. She took my hand and brought me to the kitchen then signed for me to open the fridge door. Once it was open she pointed to the dew box. I grabbed a diet coke and she said no and pointed again to the dew box. I took one out and she ran with it back into the bedroom to give to L. I just don't know what we are going to do once she starts talking! :)

Swing Set

2009-03-11T19:15:00.001-05:00

We bought Little T a swing set this past weekend - boy people, they are expensive!! We got one that has a little trampoline (she loves to jump), 2 swings, a slide, and a glider. I wanted one of those real nice wooden ones but 500 bucks? Not gonna happen!!

Little T helped us put it together and she really enjoyed it. The weather here for the past few days has been in the 80's but it is supposed to get back to the 40's this weekend. We are enjoying it while we can! She loves to be outside, picking up leaves, throwing them, putting leaves on her slide so they can slide down with her, putting them on her swings. She has even brought her baby out to swing and slide! We put her on the glider and pushed it and she giggled away. When it slowed down we told her to push with her feet and she did!! You would have thought she was eating chocolate with her laughing once she realized she could control the speed herself! Then we put her on the swing...hmmm..she wasn't so sure about that. I realized that the other swings she has been on has a front and back to it while hers is just a seat. So I carefully put her on and began to give her some little pushes. After a minute of "NONONO" she started to smile and then laugh. Of course, as soon as she started to laugh she leaned forward and fell right off onto her belly! I cracked up, the look of surprise on her face was just priceless. She didn't cry at all, just got up, wiped herself off, yelled at the swing, and went about her business. That's my girl!

Ok Daddy, I'll hold this part while you tighten that bolt!

Oh jeez Daddy, you can't tighten it? Here, let me do it!

Now I gotta open this box of springs. What? You don't like me mooning you with my diaper?

Hey Daddy!! I put some springs here and I'm going to test them out for ya!

Hmmm....Momma.....I'm not too sure about this! Are you sure it's safe?

Momma!! You were right! This is fun!

This is just a sweet picture I took of Little T. It's in our living room and I used natural lighting.

365

2009-02-28T16:12:00.002-05:00

ell, I decided that putting each picture into a scrapbook page was just holding me up from getting them out here on the blog so I decided to just post them! Before you look at them run over to NiHao Y'all and congrat Steph and Chris on their newest addition!

February 1st - Me and my wheat thins!

February 2nd - Being silly on the couch

February 3rd - Throwing a temper tantrum

**February 4th to come later**
February 5th - Such concentration as she walks up the bleachers!

February 6th - My 3 favorite girls

February 7th - Mom!! I can't believe you took my picture!

February 8th - Playing before church

February 9th - Helping daddy pick up pine cones

February 10th - Sleeping with your baby

February 11th - Little T!! Where are your pants??!!

February 12th - L's science project. Yes, that is one of Little T's head bands!!

February 13th - Playing outside and wearing the hat momma made for you.

February 14th - Happy Valentines Day!!

February 15th - Looking so sweet in the dress momma made for you. We are getting ready for church.

February 16th - Shaking up your lemonade like your big brother does

February 17th - Look momma, I got a hold of the salt shaker!!

February 18th - Daddy put this piece of cloth around your head thinking it would calm your crazy hair down!

February 19th - Helping momma get breakfast ready

February 20th - Wearing a silly headband.

February 21st - Myrtle Beach

February 22nd - Checking out our swimsuits at Myrtle Beach

February 23rd - Sick little girl

February 24th - Playing with momma on the floor

February 25th - Pretty in orange

February 26th - At the baseball field

February 27th - another wild hair day!

Final Decree of Adoption

2009-02-18T19:03:00.000-05:00

With abosolutely no fanfare we received Little T's Final Decree of Adoption. Some states or even counties have you go into the judges chambers and have a nice little ceremony but not here. *sigh* Oh well, Little T has been adopted by both of us now and in a few days we should get information about getting her BC. Then we'll take on the SS office and get her SS card.

Lightroom

2009-02-18T18:19:00.001-05:00

I've had Lightroom for awhile now but have never really used it. Jonni over at The Chronicles of Mommia uses it quite often so I thought I'd give it a try. Here are 2 pictures that I did. What do you guys think??

365 and Some Funnies

2009-02-17T20:24:00.001-05:00

I'm still doing the 365 project, I'm just having a hard time getting them set up in a scrapbook page! Maybe sometime this week I can get caught up.

This morning I brought Little T to pre-school. The parking lot was rather busy so I said "Ok Little T, lets run!" She loves to run. Well, no sooner did I take two steps she's saying no, no. So I stop and look down and there she is...mooning the whole parking lot!! Her pants had fallen down to her ankles. Everyone got a giggle out of that little show.

This afternoon I put her in her bed for nap time. Big T was home getting some lunch and I was working on the computer. All of a sudden I hear this little giggle and pitter patter of feet! Big T came down and said that when he turned the corner to go into the bedroom she was standing in the hall. When she saw him she giggled, ran back into her room, jumped on her bed and covered herself up. So cute!

Update on Tin WVA - he goes to the orthapedic doctor next monday for his arm. He actually broke the bone right up by his elbow. Yes, it probably means surgery...ugh!

I just love this picture of her sleeping. She loves the feel of this blanket that I made for her. So sweet!!

So sweet

2009-02-15T08:56:00.000-05:00

I was sitting her this morning reading some blogs and listening to Big T and Little T talk. He is looking through some receipe books for something or another and she is sitting on his lap doing the same thing. It does my heart good to see her with him, to see her play with him and go to him! When they are done looking at their books they go back up to the kitchen, him leading and her following. He'll do a little skip and she'll try to do the same thing - monkey see monkey do!

My heart just bursts with the love I feel for my husband.

*side note - T called last night, he fell down the steps at his soon to be in-laws house and broke his arm!

Mmmmmmmm...Chocolate!!

2009-02-11T20:58:00.001-05:00

Little T and I made brownies the other night. I gave her the bowl and she dug right in with both hands!

The potty training is going very well. She is in undies during the day except for nap and bed time. She's only had a few accidents so we are very excited for her. We've also decided to take down her crib and put her in the big girl bed. We took the frame off of our queen bed and just put the box springs and mattress right on the floor. She has been sleeping on this for about a week now. During the day I put her in for her nap and she goes right to sleep....NOT!! Ha - had you fooled! No, she does pretty good though. She will play with her babies and settle down after about 10 minutes or so. She doesn't get out so that is a blessing. For bedtime I've bed laying down with her and tonight is the first night she's in there by herself. No, she's not happy but she's starting to settle. I keep telling her I'm right here and she can see me from the bedroom. I'll probably go in there in a few minutes and cuddle with her...you know....twist my arm!!

Enjoy the pictures!!

CNY

2009-02-02T20:00:00.001-05:00

Yeah, I know, this post is late. We celebrated CNY by making won ton soup on Sunday and then going out to a Chinese restaurant on Monday. Little T wore her Chinese dress and looked beautiful. We got a weird reaction from the wait staff at this place though. First we were asked if she was Chinese and when they saw her face they asked where her parents were. Ok, I understand that question fine but when we told them that WE were her parents they asked how we got her. We explained where she is from and that we went to China and adopted her. They once again asked where her parents were and were completely SHOCKED that Little T was in an orphanage. They said that they had heard of orphanages but never knew that people could adopt from them. They asked if she would go visit her parents (yeah, I'm getting a little ticked now - we.are.her.parents!) and we said if she wanted to go back and visit China we would help her do that.

During the dinner the waitress kept coming over and saying how lucky she was that she is living in the US. We are so blessed with Little T and feel that we are truly the lucky ones.

Here is a weeks worth of 365!

Another 365

2009-02-01T20:46:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to put up another 365 - I'm behind on scrapping them but I have been taking pictures everyday. More to come later...

365

2009-01-26T22:49:00.001-05:00

Here's another installment of my 365 project. I'm enjoying doing this so far but it's only the 2nd week so we'll see how I feel a few months from now.

Last week we got snow here in NC - about 3.5 inches!! The whole eastern part of the state shut down. L had exams the previous week so he only went to school 1 day and last week he went to school on Friday only!! Today was our first day back to our regular schedule in 2 weeks. Good grief! Little T was a bit apprehensive at first but soon had a blast playing in it.

Here's a picture of our street. This is at the beginning of the "Great Snow Blizzard of 2009".

I talked with T up in WVA today. They have tentatively set a wedding date of July 23. Yes, that's a Thursday but its the only date available for the place they want to get married at. We are so excited for him!!! As the plans become more concrete I'll let you know. Oh, and of course Little T is going to be the flower girl. We are hoping that Baby H will be walking by then so they can both walk down the aisle together or as T put it...Little T can drag Baby H down the aisle!

Project 365

2009-01-19T22:19:00.001-05:00

I decided to do the 365 project. Well, I decided it a few weeks late so I guess I can call it the 351 project instead? Anyway, here is the first layout I did for week 1 which is really week 3.

This past weekend I invited myself down to my friends house in South Carolina. Little T and I packed up and left Friday around 5 and didn't get back until Sunday night. We had a great time with her and her two cutie patootie boys. I got so tickled at those 2 boys and their antics. It reminded me of my boys when they were that young. Her youngest is full of himself and if he knows he has an audience look out! Her oldest is the same way - so she has her hands full. Ha - we were driving around in her car and all of a sudden her youngest yelled out "HOT DAMN!" OMG - I busted out laughing. Keep in mind he'll only be 3 in a few weeks. What a little stinker! Her oldest, C, was so sweet with Little T. We went to McD's for lunch and after they ate he took her little hand and helped her in the play area. It was so sweet. K pointed out to me that Little T has come a long way. When she first met her Little T wouldn't go play in the play area, she just stood there and watched. Now, she'll go right in and play!

Potty training update: I was going to go buy some panties for Little T so that on Saturday we could have a day of one-on-one training. Since I invited myself down to SC this didn't happen. Today when Big T came home from picking up her at daycare he said that they need a change of clothes and some panties. I said you mean diapers and he said no - panties. Apparently at daycare she doesn't want to wear her diaper! And they said she does very good so tonight I went out and found the smallest panties I could find!! I'm so excited! We tried them on her and they are a bit big but they will have to do.

I don't think I've given an update about T's stitches and his lump. It came back as just fatty tissue. The stitches ended up getting infected because he waited too long to get them out (you dummy!!). He's fine now, stitch free.

I'll post some more pics of the weekend in a couple of days.

Look how I've grown!

2009-01-08T12:43:00.001-05:00

June 2008: At amusement park in China

July 2008: At play ground - home at last!

August 2008: At a friends house

September 2008: Home

October 2008: At baseball field

November 2008: At playgound

December 2008: I can wear pig tails now!!!!

Christmas

2008-12-28T12:08:00.001-05:00

What a wonderful day it was! Little T was a little overwhelmed but quickly sat down next to big brother to open up her gifts. Her favorite by far was her little mommy doll. The minute she opened that present she stopped and wouldn't open another one until we got that doll out of the box. Then she sat there and sang to it for a bit then fed the bottle to her. It was so sweet!! L was a great big brother and helped her by giving each present a little tug so that the paper was ready to tear for her.

This is a picture of an ornament that used to be my grandmothers. The note on the box says 1962. There are 3 other ones that go with it, 2 round ones and another oblong one. Grandma is here with us in spirit and I love that I can also have her here through this ornament.

Speaking of ornaments, every year my mom used to get me a new one for Christmas. I came to be a tradition between the two of us. When she passed away in November of 2006 and then my dad in June of 2007 I inherited all of her Christmas decorations. Now she is with me through out the year but especially at Christmas, which was also her favorite time of year. Miss you momma!!

This is one of my favorite ones that she got me.

Here are some ornaments of the boys when they were little visiting Santa Claus. L decided to hang them all together this year. Weren't my boys cutie pies??!! Ha - L was not very happy in that one picture!! T was always my "little man". And that picture where L is not crying - look at the mischief in his eyes. T is as cute as ever in it also - can't believe he's a daddy now himself!

Here's Little T's first visit with Santa Claus - very guarded, no tears though!!

Her favorite baby

J and D came over and gave Little T a bunch of toys that their daughter J no longer plays with. They also got an adorable outfit for her - here's a picture of the shirt - too funny!!

J got a Nintendo DS for Christmas so we got her two games to go with it. Here she is opening one - she was so excited!!

This is a kitchen set that Aunt J and Uncle D brought over. Every time we go over to their house Little T runs to this set and plays with it so they decided to give it to her for Christmas. They also gave her all the stuff that goes along with it!! Thank you so much guys! We love you!!

Uncle D holding one of Little T's baby dolls and yes, it has a diaper on!!

She's sitting with her baby watching the KaCee chew her bone.

Feeding her baby.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas this year.

The Mountains

2008-12-28T11:14:00.001-05:00

I forgot how serene it is where our friends live. It's absolutely beautiful and Murphy is a quaint little town. We enjoyed ourselves immensely and they fell in love with Little T. Of course, everyone who meets her falls in love with her! The only thing I did not love was the winding roads. I'm not talking about the lazy winding roads you might see on TV, no, I'm talking about hairpin curves! And most of the curves going up to their place are like that. Good grief! Oh, and when you are riding in a big old conversion van up a mountain don't.look.down! OMG!! If you do you might think you are going to go off the road and crash because the stupid van is so big and the road is so skinny!!

While we were there we wanted to go to Rock City to see the lights but because it was so cold we decided against it. It got down into the teens which is way too cold for this transplanted NC girl!! Instead we drove around (in the back of a jeep...on winding hairpin curve roads....) for a bit and saw the sites. At night we played pinochle which we haven't done in 3 years. Fun game, good food, great friends - couldn't ask for a better quickie vacation!

Beautiful creek that runs on their property. When we visited in the summer we opened the window in our room and we could hear this creek at night.

This is their house. It has a huge front porch that is nice to sit out on. Oh, and that big blue van? Yep, its ours and I really dislike the thing. When it's windy outside and you are driving it - you are pushed all over the road - not fun going up a mountain!!

This is the road going away from their place - I bet it was gorgeous during the fall!!

Their "backyard" has bird houses. There must have been 50 or so finches that were flying around!

Big T and Little T having fun with cards.

While we were there L bought Cranium - run right now to a store near you and get this game!! We laughed so hard playing it. You act out different things, or you use play dough to create the object you want your partner to say, or you use your partner as a puppet to act it out, or you hum a song, or you draw the object on a piece of paper with your eyes closed - you get the idea.

Here's Big T with R. He was supposed to be using R as a puppet acting out bobbing for apples. Don't ask me what he was trying to do with his mouth! I kept taking my partner S and putting her head to the table! :)

L is rolling out some play dough getting ready to make an umbilical cord!

Okay - one of the things we all had to act out was a nutcracker. Picture this, Big T and L pretending to punch themselves in their "nuts and then making a face while trying to crack them! Oh my - I was laughing so hard I almost peed my pants!!!

This is Little R with play dough on his cheek - don't even ask me why!!

Build a Bear Contest

2008-12-18T16:24:00.001-05:00

Mom to 3 Angels is doing a Build-A-Bear contest. You can win a $25 gift certificate just by commenting on her blog about which animal you'd like to have. I choose the big ear bunny - so cute and cudley! I happened accross her blog by Diana's blog (thanks!). Go on, hurry up!! Go check out Mom to 3 Angels!!

Decisions, decisions

2008-12-16T17:34:00.000-05:00

So, I know that some of you are wondering what the decision was that Big T had to make. I got a phone call last week out of the blue from our agency asking us to consider adopting a little boy. He's 1 1/2 yrs old with some developmental delays. Now....don't get too excited (Jonni), we decided that at this time it's just not right for us. Yep, my heart was broken, he's such a cutie pie! But, I told Big T I would yield to him on this decision because my heart was already in love with the little guy. Big T made some good points as to why we can't adopt him right now and I do agree with him. We prayed about it for almost a week and just felt that God wasn't leading us to adopt him. But...BUT, Big T did THINK about it! Hmmm...maybe another adoption isn't out of the question!! We'll see next year! :)

Update on T - he went to the surgeons on Monday and that doctor doesn't think it's an infected lymph node, he thinks its some type of fatty tissue/tumor thingy. No, not the C word, both doctors don't think that but he is going to cut it out next monday. Please keep him in your prayers!

Here are some pictures - the first one is her school picture and the last three are some pictures we had taken in July!

Have You Heard About Coco Bons??

2008-12-12T17:51:00.001-05:00

This is a very cute and whimsical line of clothing. Plus Diana over at Diana's Daily Rambling is doing a Giveaway! (click!!). I love their lines of clothes for little girls. Coco Bons is having a great sale right now so go check them at at Coco Bons then head back over to Diana's blog and enter to win!!

Decorating the Tree!

2008-12-11T22:25:00.001-05:00

Little T caught on pretty quickly when it came time to decorate the Christmas tree. She was amazed that we had a tree in the house and when we put lights on it she just kept smiling and pointing. Of course the ornaments she hung ended up all in a row on the bottom.

Keep T up in West Virginia in your prayers. He has an infected lymph node down just lower than his belly. As you might remember he had MRSA almost 2 years ago that landed him in the hospital and in surgery. Since then he has had it 3 or 4 more times. When he was around 8 months old he had an infected lymph node in his neck that also landed him in the hospital for 10 days. (Oh the memories. Poor kid is allergic to the tape that they used to hold down the IV. What did our wonderful staff at the hospital do? Put the same tape on his other hand - never mind the first hand was red, swollen and had peeling skin.) Anyway, they tested him for some off the wall disease (Chronic Granulomatous Disease or CGD)and it came back inconclusive so now we aren't sure what is going on. He goes to the surgeon on Monday to have it cut out and sent off for tests. He's rather excited because he's going to watch them cut it out but I'm a bit nervous.

Also, keep Big T in your thoughts and prayers. He's got a big decision that he needs to make that will affect the whole family. He knows my thoughts on this but I've yielded the final decision to him.

Here are a few pictures of Little T.

Thanksgiving Week

2008-12-01T23:02:00.001-05:00

Wow - I have so much to be thankful for!! My wonderful family, my husband, my 3 beautiful kids (3 - love that number!), my gorgeous granddaughter, my soon to be wonderful daughter-in-law...and so much more. What a great week we had with the kids. Little T and Baby H did real well together though Little T did get jealous a few times when I would hold the baby. That's good though - shows good attachment.

Thanksgiving at my BIL's was also very good. It's always great to see family and friends. Everyone was so excited to see Baby H and Little T and oh my how the A's, C and G have grown!! Little A is only 10 months old and he's been walking for 2 months now. Look out world! Big A is just as handsome as he always is and so full of energy. C is always shy at first but warms up quickly especially when we give him a big tickle hug, and G - her eyes and her curls will steal some boy's heart one day. See? So many things to be thankful for!!

I took a ton of pictures and will post some tonight. We also went and had some family pictures taken. I know I promised Little T's school photo but I haven't had the time to scan it yet - sorry! I'll do that tomorrow and get that along with the family pictures up. In the meantime here is a bunch to enjoy!

Little T and Baby H:

Baby H

Baby H showing us her tongue!

Baby H - she smiled all the time!!

Little T giving me "the look"

Little T on the wrestling mat - she had a ball running and rolling around!

This is Foy - he is a friend of T's and came bowling with us. He's a great guy and we always enjoy his company!

Umm...mom...I'm not sure this car seat is mine!

Little T choosing her bowling ball.

At my BIL's house I told his son B that I was going to take his picture and post it to my blog - this is the pose he gave me!! Such a clown!

Little T helping Baby A drink some water. Baby A is 8 months old and almost as big as Little T!!

Little T on the swing at my BIL's house. She finally loves to swing!!

I know - too cute!! This is Baby A!

I tried to get a picture of the two girls together but that was just about impossible. They were both too busy!! This is probably the best shot of them and Little T is flying out of her chair!

My beautiful granddaughter.

Yep - another one - can't help it - she's just too cute!!

A good picture of T with his daughter.

Playing with cars

Baby A standing on the wine rack. J & J had to remove the wine glasses because he stands there and shakes it!!

Ahh Big A - his smile will brighten anyone's day!

Thursday already?

2008-11-20T22:12:00.001-05:00

Oh my, time has flown by!! I'm sick but thank goodness Little T hasn't caught it, which actually surprises me since she is all over me every minute of the day she is with me. Yeah, that's a little whine because sometimes mommies need a break especially when they don't feel good.

So next week is Thanksgiving. I can't wait even though this time of year is hard for me as this is when my parents would come down. We'd spend the day before cooking the pies and then gorge ourselves Thanksgiving day. On Friday mom and I would usually head out to the pottery where we would bump, push, and pull with everyone else who was looking for a deal. Yep, I do miss those times!! This year we have Little T and Baby H!! I'll miss mom and dad but I'll be busy with them. We'll load everyone up in the van and head on to my BIL's house to spend time with family. They haven't seen Baby H yet and I'm sure everyone is excited to meet her.

Speaking of Baby H the 2 T's are coming in on Sunday!!! I can't wait to see them. Both Big T and I have taken the week off so it will be very relaxed and enjoyable. Don't worry, plenty of pictures will be taken. Oh, and speaking of pictures Little T got her first "school" picture taken. It's so cute!! I'll have to scan it tomorrow and post it so you guys can enjoy it too.

In the meantime here are some pictures from two weeks ago. I took her to the park and she had a blast. I've also got a shot of Baby H! Not the best quality but hey, beggars can't be choosers, right? *

Baby H and her beautiful mommy:

Yep, I'm slack too!!

2008-11-12T16:41:00.005-05:00

Ok, I'm blaming this on Jonni!! She's slack so I thought I could be too!
I took Little T to her first parade yesterday. She enjoyed most of it but didn't like the loud music. Each time a band came by she would grab my hand and pull me back into the crowd. She did enjoy waving to everyone though and it seems that she has the princess wave down pat!! She's also starting to tease more now. It's so funny to watch her and her brother play. She'll grab something of his from his room and go running down the hall laughing and he'll chase her and say "Mom!! She's in my stuff again!" How funny!
Not much else going on around here. I'm speaking tonight at church about adoption for National Adoption month. I've made a quick "Little T Day" video of our trip and will show it after I talk.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

My Family

2008-11-05T17:29:00.003-05:00

Get your own Family Sticker Maker & MySpace Layouts.

Another short video!!

2008-11-04T18:00:00.000-05:00

Again, not the best quality...looks like a camcorder is on Santa's list for Baby H's mommy and daddy!!

Halloween and a Tag

2008-11-01T17:05:00.001-05:00

Okay, I get it!! I've been tagged by Carla over at Katie Bug and Alyson over at Imagine Alyzabeth An...It's easy if you try. The tag is to share 7 weird things about yourself. Hmmm...that will be hard to do..NOT!!

1. I grew up in a village in central NY that only had one stop light.

2. This village is also the home of L. Frank Baum, who wrote the Wizard of Oz.

3. There are yellow brick sidewalks in the village now so we can experience following the yellow brick road.

4. My ring finger on my right hand was broken many years ago. Now I have to have my rings customized with little "bumps" on the inside so they don't slide around because they have to be bigger than normal to fit over the hump!

5. I used to play the viola, violin, cello, and bass. Yep, all 4. I was best at the viola and actually played in the Syracuse Youth Symphony.

6. I used to own a mustang that had the letter "C" painted on both sides of it. Umm...yeah, you don't have to say anything, I already know!

7. I am terrified of spiders. I don't mean just a little bit scared - I mean terrified. I can't stand them. If I see one I start screaming and run away!! My bff lives out in the country and I have actually went out a different door because there was a spider near her front door!!

I'm supposed to tag 7 people but the thing is everyone has already done this. So, if you haven't consider yourself tagged!! Leave a comment so I can go read yours!

Little T got the hang of trick or treating very quickly once she realized that people put CANDY in her bag. She tried to say trick or treat and also signed thank you each time. She looked so cute in her panda outfit. We were out and about for an hour or so and then we had to head up to the football game. Poor thing didn't get to bed until 9:30!!

Oh, and what's up with kids coming up to the door at 9 PM?? And adults too?? There was this one little old lady, not even dressed, who had a bag and was getting candy - at 9 PM!! OMG!!! I just don't get people like that.

Here are some pictures:

This is J. Look at her beautiful eyes - gosh, just love this girl!!

Little T thinking if she likes what's in her mouth. Notice anything different?? Look real hard! :)

Little T running around at a fall festival we went too.

J and Little T eating stuffing. This isn't the clearest picture but I love that they are both eating off the same plate. How cute!!

J was the game Twister and Little T was a panda bear. I had her dressed in layers so she wouldn't get cold. She had on footie pjs, black tights, and her panda outfit.

Another picture of the 2 girls. J has a great smile in this picture and Little T is wondering why we are torturing her!

Hehe...the backend of Little T. She looked so cute walking away after she got her candy!!

Video of Baby H!!

2008-10-24T05:47:00.001-05:00

T sent us a video of Baby H! I miss him so much but its great to talk to him on a pretty regular basis and not just when he needs money!! :D

Baby H is beautiful and we can't wait to see them next month for Thanksgiving. Enjoy the video! It was taken on his phone so the quality isn't the best but it is still cute!!

No Tears?

2008-10-23T09:38:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I wanted to put this out there while I was on break at work. Yesterday I had Little T's urine checked (no pee for 5 1/2 hrs??!!) and some blood work done. The pee issue was a concern because she wouldn't pee from 9:30 until she woke up from her nap (dry) at 3:00! When she did I ran it back up to the doctors and her urine check out fine.

We also had her blood drawn for some additonal tests. The doctor called poison control when I told him why we wanted a test done on her pee and they advised him to get a few blood tests done too. Anyway, we went over to the hospital and when the nurse saw who she had to draw blood from she called for backup. Little T sat on my lap while one nurse held her arm and the other nurse probbed for a vein. You'd think that a 2 yr old would cry - no, not Little T! When they stuck the needle in she just looked at it then up at the nurse. No tears, no screams, no nothing! Of course the nurses said what a good girl she was - but I just saw her shut down. Now that I think about it she shut down when the other nurse put a bag on her to catch her pee.

What do you guys think? Should we have her evaluated for some sensory issues? Big T said it really bothered him that she didn't even cry but feels I am being silly about the sensory stuff. But jeez...no tears when they stick a needle in her little arm?? That doesn't seem right!

Camping at Lake Gaston

2008-10-20T21:48:00.001-05:00

Yep, we braved the weather and went camping this past weekend. Big T and L went up Thursday night and Little T and I followed first thing Friday morning. It was cold and misty for most of the day Friday. By nightfall the rain started. We were already in the camper so it didn't bother us one bit but boy was it cold!! brrrrrr...... Saturday morning we woke up to a wet campground, gray skies and lots of wind. It didn't rain again though so we enjoyed the campfire, played ping pong, ate some marshmallows, and explored. Little T had a great time and didn't seem to mind the wind and cold at all. When Sunday rolled around it was still cold and windy but the sky was blue!! Of course, that is the day we had to pack up and drive back home.

I've got a bunch of pictures for you to enjoy!

Here's Big T all bundled up by the campfire - do you think he was cold??

L looking at the fire

Some of the color we enjoyed. We are not at peak season yet so we were happy to see just a touch of fall color!

Little T with her big brother messing around

Campground decorations

Little T sitting on a "spider"

Just Little T

Little T and Big T playing ping pong

Looking out our camper - we were able to camp right next to the lake!

KaCee enjoyed camping too - but she was sad because we wouldn't let her swim!

Sneak Preview

2008-10-15T15:38:00.001-05:00

So, here's the sneak preview of Little T's costume!

She looks just adorable in it!

L is finished with fall ball and starting wrestling. He didn't really want to wrestle this year but we asked him to give it another year and see what happens. I think that because he lost so much last year that he doesn't want to get beat again this year.

Little T is getting into everything now and is climbing up on everything!! Good gracious - she gets up on the back of the couch and jumps, gets up on the coffee table and spins, stood up in her high chair (eeek!) and even put her leg up on the railing of her crib but put it back down when I caught her! She'll be out of that crib sooner than not.

We sent in our money to our homestudy agency (no Jonnie - don't get excited - we are not adopting again!) for our re-adoption. I emailed them on Monday to see if they received it and they had but today's Wednesday and we haven't heard from the social worker yet. Grrr......this is the same problem we had with them before. It's not the agency but the social worker.

This weekend we are going camping! I can't wait. Little T loves it outside so she'll have a great time. Big T and L are driving up Thursday night and I'll follow with Little T on Friday. Three wonderful days up at Lake Gaston. The weather has been in the high 80's here but we will have a serious cool down tomorrow so the weather will be just right!! I'll take plenty of pictures!

Here are a few that I took this past week.

Above is a picture of a sweet little 2 year old. She and Little T played, well, she led Little T around! She is a beautiful little girl.

Here's Teddy watching the cell phone for us!

Little T with her lollipop.

Little T and Big T at the ball game.

Mom! Are you taking another picture of me?!

Caught ya! She was digging dirt in the front yard!!

Here's Little T's friend. Little T is actually 8 months OLDER than she is...

Here's L playing his last game. He's getting so big. He's 6 ft 1/2 inches tall now. The wrestling coach didn't even recognize him!

Fair Time!

2008-10-07T13:26:00.001-05:00

I love the fair - the smells, the sights, the PEOPLE!! I could sit there for hours and just watch the people around me. They are so funny!!

Little T had a good time. She rode on the merry-go-round and a train. She didn't like the merry-go-round. She was pretty uncertain about it at first but towards the middle of the ride she started to cry so I had to get her off. Poor little thing!! She enjoyed looking at the animals and touching and petting them. I think she was overwhelmed by all the lights and noise actually as she just looked around at everything.

Ok - this doesn't seem too bad mom...

umm...no....wait...nope, I don't like this!!!

Not much else happening here. I want to take her to a pumpkin farm but Big T said we didn't take the boys so why would we take her? Umm...because YOU wouldn't let me take the boys!! grr...sometimes men can be so frustrating!! I'm going to take her anyway - I'll get J to go with me on a Saturday.

Oh - speaking about pumpkins - I ordered her costume and it came in the mail. As usual Big T wanted to know how much it cost but I just ignored him, took it into the bedroom and proceeded to put it on Little T. When she walked out he died laughing - she was so cute!! Now it doesn't matter how much it cost! See - you gotta know how to handle Big T when it comes to money! I'll take a picture of her in it tonight and give you a sneak preview - it really is cute (and it only cost 27 bucks!!)

Quick post - doing on my lunch hour - more pics to come!!

Tricky Little T

2008-09-28T10:59:00.001-05:00

She is so so funny. We have a sunk in living room. When we first got home she maneuvered the steps (2) by sitting on her butt and scooting down. In only 3 months she now literally runs up and down the steps. She is just amazing.

Little T will sit on the top step and point next to her then point to her daddy. She wants him to sit next to her and hold her hand and sing. This is a game they have been playing for about a month. Now she's put a little spin on it. She'll go to the step then sit and point like she normally does. The very second Big T starts to walk over to sit with her she'll pop up and run laughing the whole time. OMG! The first time she did this we all laughed so tears were flowing!! She loves to tease her daddy. He'll ask her for a kiss so she'll walk over there and pucker up. When he bends down to kiss her she'll run away laughing again.

She's still very much a momma's girl *grin* but she loves to play with her daddy too.

I love this picture of her. She's watching her brother play baseball and she seems to be so intent...YET she has her phone waiting for that all important phone call...

Here's a shot of her and daddy sitting in the bleachers.

This is just a shot of her playing. She's finally got a little bit of a Buddha belly going on!!!

Baseball and Festivals

2008-09-23T22:17:00.001-05:00

Saturday was a fun filled day. First L had baseball. Since this is fall ball they don't keep score but his team did pretty good. He played first, third, right field, and pitched a few innings. He also hit 2 for 5, not bad. After the game we went home, ate lunch, took a nap and then headed out to Whitley Church for their fall festival with J&J.

Little T had a blast running around and playing. She rode a horse for the first time and went into a jumping thingy for the first time too. Little J helped her jump by holding her hands. Once she got the hang of it she enjoyed it.

On a side note - comments from strangers. Good grief!! If I hear "OMG - look how small she is and she's walking!" one more time I'll scream! Yes, Little T is TINY but she is mighty! People are amazed when I tell them she's almost 2 1/2 yrs old. I can't wait for Little T to start talking so she can say "Yep, I'm small but I have a big attitude!" Hmm....maybe I'll go get a tee-shirt with that printed on it!!

I've got some great pictures - hope you enjoy them!

My first story board!! (above)

These first 2 pictures are of J's daughter. Her face is so expressive and she has the prettiest brown eyes you will ever see. I'll have to go back through some pictures so I can show you a close up of her.

Little T thinking at the ball game.

Little T put her phone in her purse and brought that along with her teddy bear to the baseball game.

Little T jumping.

Beautiful...

You Can Take the Girl Out of China...

2008-09-23T19:17:00.001-05:00

but you can't take China out of the girl! I was getting Little T ready for her bath and as usual I let her run naked for a bit. She always laughs and goes down into the living room to show daddy and laugh some more. Usually she comes back and stands next to me while I get things going but tonight she was unusually quiet so I turned around and there she was...squatting...and peeing! I about died laughing! She was just looking at me with a smile on her face and peeing away!

*I hope this doesn't offend anyone - it's not meant to!!*

Friends

2008-09-19T16:33:00.001-05:00

I have some Chinese friends who own a few restaurants here in town. They are extremely nice and always welcome Little T with big hugs and kisses whenever we see them. They have a 17 month old boy who lives in China with his grandmother and Benjamin, a 5 year old boy who has been here in the states for a year.

Benjamin started Kindergarten this past month and is doing as well as can be expected for someone who doesn't speak English. I gave his mom and dad my number if they needed any help and the day after he started I got a call. They wanted him to come over to my house each day so I can start teaching him English. Wow - I'm so so honored!! Benjamin has been coming over for about 3 weeks now and we all enjoy him very very much. He is full of energy and tries very hard to understand what we are saying to him. Little T tries her best to keep up with him but he is like a Tasmanian devil running around.

We've been working on shapes and colors since school started. We sit down for about 30 minutes because I feel that is enough time and I don't want to overwhelm the little guy. After that he hangs out with us, watches Ni Hao, Ki-lan and runs around. His dad comes to pick him up around 7 and takes him back to the restaurant. Just being around us and hearing us is helping him. At home all he hears is Mandarin and his dad's providence dialect. For TV they have satellite and only tune into Chinese stations. He's a very smart young man as he can speak and understand both Chinese dialects. I'm sure given time he'll pick up English!

Here is a scrapbook page I did of Little T and Benjamin:

This next picture is Little T being happy with a cookie and her sippy cup.

And here she is BEFORE I gave her a cookie!! Yes, one little pout with a sad face and she can get anything she wants - we are in so much trouble!!

From out of no where

2008-09-18T21:40:00.001-05:00

the pain will hit me. The other day I went into my mom's buffet table to get a lighter for a candle. I noticed some papers in the back of the drawer so I pulled them out. They were some of the poems my dad wrote for my mom. As I sat there and read them the tears started to fall. Oh how I miss my parents. The emptiness is so unbearable at times. I must have sat there for 20 minutes reading and then re-reading the few poems that I have of his. I walked into the bedroom where Big T and Little T were playing and he immediately hugged me and asked what was wrong. As I told him I picked up Little T and hugged her. She looked at me with her beautiful eyes and once again took her little hands and wiped my tears away. Of course, this only made me cry more.

I have some pictures of Little T and I need to document some more of our trip to China but tonight I think I'll share one of my dad's poems to my mom.

To My Love

Please my Love don't ever go away

I need you with me everyday

I used to like to be alone

Now when you are gone I stop near the phone.

When you go I'm so lost

I need you with me at all cost

My love for you is hard to show

But in your heart I think you know

I cannot find the words to say

Home much I love you each day

When you're tired and feeling low

Up is the only way to go

I try my best to get you to smile

With luck you might laugh after awhile

Maybe its God's plan, these ups and downs

I love to see you smile and hate your frown

We're meant to be together through thick and thin

Because while together we will always win

I.N.S.L.Y

It's not the best poem in the world but you can see the love my dad had for my mom. The I.N.S.L.Y means "I'll Never Stop Loving You". This is something that they wrote to each other, on a card, on a note, in the snow, where ever. I always thought it was so sweet to see that little "I.N.S.L.Y" written in different places.

Mom and Dad I.N.S.L.Y!!

Where are my manners?

2008-09-15T21:29:00.001-05:00

I'm sorry!! I can't believe I haven't posted in almost 2 weeks!! Where are my manners? We have been so busy with baseball and appointments and work and well...just life!

Little T is doing great. She is starting to play more with her little friends at daycare though I still see her shutting down some. At church this past Sunday I brought her into the nursery. This is the 4th or 5th time she's been in there. I showed her a toy, waved bye-bye and went out to enjoy the sermon. When I went to get her just 30 minutes later she was in the same spot staring into space. She had shut down completely. Poor baby!! And shame on those nursery workers!! They should have tried to talk to her and get her to play with the other kids, but noooo!! They just let her stand there! I will have to show them next week how to interact with her. I didn't like her shutting down like that and I thought we had gotten past that. Shame on me too.

Her play therapy is going to move to the day care next week. Aunt J noticed that she acts different when I'm around her. She had her last Friday for the afternoon and she said that she played with her but just didn't act the same - it was like she was having fun but she wasn't all there. Partial shut down I guess. We are hoping that play therapy will help her interact better. J is so wonderful!! It's good to know that I can count on her to point out little things to me - things that I don't see because I'm too close. I love J!!!

L is doing very well in school so far this year. He's playing fall ball and is enjoying being with his friends. He keeps telling me he has only 6 SHORT months before he can drive by himself. Oh help us all!!

T calls us quite often and I really enjoy talking with him. College is going well and he starts his job (yeah!) this Thursday. He'll be working as a life guard at the YMCA. Baby H is also doing well and is starting to eat baby food already. Wow! He said she really likes peas. Funny - he won't eat food that is green but his daughter loves it! His fiancee is also doing well and they seem to be adjusting to their new life.

Okay - I know you want some pictures - here are 2 layouts for you from Labor Day. I know....I'll get some more recent ones up soon.

Scrapbook page

2008-09-04T21:35:00.001-05:00

Here's a page I created using a template I got from Digifree. What, you haven't heard about Digifree yet? It's an awesome blog that scans the net for free digital scrapbook papers, embellishments, overlays, templates, and quick pages. I love it!! Click HERE to go to the website and check it out.

Labor Day Weekend

2008-09-02T21:43:00.001-05:00

We had a wonderful weekend. Saturday we went to Big T's brother's house and had a great time. We made some German potato salad that morning and left it in our fridge!! ugh! We also left the pictures we were going to give out. I have no idea where our brains were.

Big T's brother and nephew came along with their families. It's always nice to spend a pretty Saturday afternoon outside talking and laughing. The food was great and the company was even better. Two other friends also came by who we were very happy to see. They are such a sweet couple and we enjoy talking with them.

We stuck around after everyone left and was outside talking to Big T's brother about his stint in the service. He retired a CW04 (I think that's right - please correct me guys if I'm wrong!) from the marines. Anyway, he met a ton of very interesting people and was given a pair of cufflinks from President Ronald Reagan. What's amazing about this is that he gave these to L!! Big T and I were both awe struck that he did this and we are so thankful for it. J & J had decided that since they have 2 sons and 2 grandsons that their godson should get the cufflinks. Wow! Thank you!!

On Sunday we had planned to go to the lake but the weather was a little bit unsettled so we hung out at home and cleaned up a bit. Monday we went to a nearby state park and cooked some hamburgers and hotdogs. It is a very nice park that has a swimming area too. L brought his best friend with him and they enjoyed diving off the diving board. Little T enjoyed wading and watching everyone.

Having Fun in the sprinkler

Don't you just want to squeeze his little cheeks?!! Such a happy baby!

Long Weekend

2008-08-29T18:25:00.001-05:00

I help out with the high school's booster club when I can and started to get pretty involved with the concession stand last year. This year I'm coordinating the volunteers for the JV and Varsity home football games. This means that I will need to be going to each home game which will be great. I really love to help out where I can. Last night was the first JV home football game but believe it or not they canceled it due to too much rain! Huh?? I was shocked! Isn't football all about getting muddy?!!?? I guess the field was really flooded. Oh well. When I work in the concession stand I have to wear a hat so as I was getting ready I had one on. Little T follows me everywhere so I looked behind me and of course there she is. (and I LOVE IT!!) Anyway - she ran and grabbed her brother's hat and put it on just like mommy! Such a cutie!

We aren't doing a whole lot this weekend. Big T's brother invited us over to his place tomorrow for a cookout and we are thinking of going up to the lake on Sunday. I really wanted to go camping but Big T said no. We haven't been yet this year so I'm just a bit disappointed. What are you doing?

Daycare

2008-08-26T20:37:00.001-05:00

Monday was so hard!! I got Little T up around 6:30, gave her some breakfast, got big brother up and we all got in the car by 7:30. We dropped big brother off at school and headed on to Small World where Little T will be going. I started crying the minute I pulled into the parking lot!! What a wuss I am! Little T didn't understand why I was crying and she just looked at me and kept putting her little hands to my face which only made me cry more. I brought her in and showed her where she would be playing at. She just looked around. Just stood there and looked around. I talked with the owner some and then left. The caregiver shut the door so Little T didn't see me and I peeked in for a bit to check her out. Wanna know what she was doing? Just standing there and looking around with such a sad little face. Oh - my heart was just breaking!! I finally left with the encouragement of Ms. Batts (the owner) and came home. Ms. Batts is so wonderful! She helped me with both boys - they love her very much. The care givers have been there for years. In fact, the one who will be taking care of Little T took care of both boys!

At 12:00 sharp I was back at the daycare picking her up. When I got out of the car Wendy had Little T in her arms and was pointing me out to her!! She laughed at me when she saw MORE tears and said for me not to worry - she'll be checking up on her all the time. Wendy is a dear friend who's son plays baseball with my son. How cool is that?! I knew she worked there, has for years, but she used to be with the older kids. She told me that she decided to move to the younger ones last year. That made me feel so good knowing that she is there watching her!

So, how did Little T do? She did GREAT!! She was so excited to see me when I picked her up but she wanted to play some more and not leave right away. When I got home I had to laugh because her shoes were filled with sand. When I showed Big T he laughed too - both boys would come home with their shoes filled. Plus - Little T LOVES it outside. I knew right there that she would like it there. Today she went in with no problem, smiling away, and ready to play! God is good and answered my prayers many many times!

Here are some more pictures of last weekend! Enjoy!

West Virginia

2008-08-24T21:36:00.001-05:00

That was a quick trip but WVA is beautiful! The kids have a nice little house and are all set up. It was great seeing them and the baby. Actually, we went to 3 different states this weekend. We stayed with them in West Virginia, went to Lowe's in Ohio and ate in Kentucky! Huntington is right on the border of Ohio and Kentucky. It's bigger than we thought but still gives you the small town feeling. I can't wait to go up there this fall and see all those colors in the trees.

Marshall University is very traditional and also bigger than we thought. They have a memorial up for the kids who died from the plane crash. I didn't realize that they were almost home and crashed during the landing. I guess I ought to go rent the movie "We are Marshall". We got them registered, bought their books, paid for the semester and parking pass. Wow - college is expensive!! Thank goodness he got a scholarship and a student loan for most of it. They start classes tomorrow.

The house that the kids are staying in is small but so cute. It's right between her parents and grandparents house so they are being well taken care of. Her parents and her grandparents love my guy and have welcomed him right into their family.

I've got a ton of pictures and will get them up soon. Tomorrow will be a hard day for me. Little T starts daycare and I'm very nervous about it. We went to church today and I put her in the nursery and she didn't do well at all. Last week she just stood by the table and looked around but didn't cry. This week she cried. Poor baby - it broke my heart. When I got her after the service she whimpered some but was glad to see me and held on to me for dear life. Please pray that tomorrow goes okay. She'll only be there for 4 hours but you all know how hard those 4 hours can be.

Tomorrow we leave for West Virginia!

2008-08-19T20:03:00.001-05:00

Yep, I'm so excited. It will be different though. We'll be staying with at T&T's house. Actually, it will feel weird! I'm trying to see myself as my mom visiting me here in NC from NY. Just plain weird!!

Continuing to document our adoption of Little T here is another scrap book page of that first day. We just finished signing some paperwork in our guides room and went back to the Victory hotel where we stayed at. Little T was still so scared but she let me change her clothes and clean her up some. She played with the stacking cups we brought her and would watch us with those big brown eyes of hers. No expressions just staring with those eyes. I wonder what she was thinking? Who are these strange people? Where is my Ayi? When am I going back to my friends? Breaks my heart to think about it! In the evening I gave her a bottle and a bath and rocked her to sleep. She had a little cry that wasn't even louder than a whisper. Oh, I pray I never hear that cry again. It was so sad and heart wrenching!!

2 Months Home

2008-08-18T22:28:00.001-05:00

Wow, I can't believe she has been with us for only 2 months! It truly feels as if she has always been here. Here are some things she is now doing:

can sign more, eat, juice, help, thank you (almost!), and drink
loves to play hide and seek with big brother
can wave bye-bye and blow kisses.
goes to bed at 9:30, up at 8:30 with a nap around 1. This is going to change to an 8:00 bedtime because she will be getting up at 6:30 starting on the 25th! ugh - please pray for me! :)
loves music - this girl is crazy for music. She sings to me and is starting to dance.
looks to us for approval. She will do something and immediately look for one of us so we can tell her she did a good job.
becoming more and more attached to her blankie for bedtime and nap time.
loves to feed her babies. She is also starting to kiss and hug them more and more. We walk each night and she has started to take one with us.
when she is mad - look out. She will point her little finger at you and let you know just how mad she is!! The other night Big T fussed at her and made her cry. She came to the bedroom where I was at and proceeded to tell me that her daddy yelled at her by pointing her little finger toward the kitchen and jabbering away! Too cute!
we can't seem to keep sippie cups around. She takes them and puts them in the oddest of places! In her little scooter seat, in the pantry, in the phone stand, in her closet, in the cupboard, who knows where else!
she absolutely loves to be outside.
she imitates everyone, including the dog. When we go on walks we take our black lab KaCee. KaCee has to mark her territory everywhere so she is constantly squatting to pee even if it is just a drop. When we let Little T walk (she rides in her wagon for the most part) she will run over to the grass and stand there with her legs spread!! She has also tried to eat the grass like KaCee does!!
says mamama,dadada,yayaya,gagaga, and a whole bunch of other that we love to hear! She'll be talking soon, no doubt.
still has a bottle just before bed. I've started to make only 4 oz instead of 8 because that is about all she'll drink. As soon as I'm done with this formula I'll put whole milk in it.
she's chewing now.
has gained 1 pound finally!!
has developed stranger anxiety. When we first came home she would go to anyone but now will just turn away if someone tries to take her from me.
claps her hands and then puts her hands up for us to pick her up. It's like she's saying "hey - pick me up now!".

I'm sure there is more but I can't think of anything else.

How to Share

2008-08-18T22:13:00.001-05:00

Little T loves her big brother, especially when he has food!! The other night he was on the floor eating some sweettarts. Little T saw him, laid down on her belly and made the sign for eat. She wanted some so big brother had to share. The funny thing is that he had to feed it to her! After a few bites our dog KaCee decided that she wanted some so she laid down and started to stare at the other two. It was so cute to see the 3 of them laying on their bellies sharing the candy.

Another beautiful day!

2008-08-14T16:21:00.001-05:00

Today was very pretty outside once again and I had to spend it inside - ugh! At least big brother took Little T outside for a bit. It's so much fun to watch those two play together. He can get her giggling pretty good.

At lunch I let L drive me to the daycare so I could talk to Ms. Batts about letting Little T go there part time. There was concern last week that there wouldn't be an opening for her but we found out today there is! Yeah!! I'm so excited that she is able to stay there. Small World is where both of the boys went when they were little and then after school until they were old enough to stay home by themselves.

Here's another scrapbook page I did of Little T playing at the ball game.

Chewing Update

2008-08-13T19:28:00.001-05:00

Little T is chewing!!! The other day I was getting her pictures taken at Olan Mills and while picking out the poses she got into my purse. No surprise there. Anyway, I had some gum in there and when I turned around she had taken some out, opened it up and had it in her mouth. I started to fuss at her then said (rather loudly) Little T! You have gum! You are chewing gum!!! The poor lady from Olan Mills thought I was crazy.

How did this happen? When EI was here they showed me 2 different things to do with her. One was to rub her gums from the top middle to the back on the right side, then the left side and repeat that on the bottom. This was to help her become less sensitive to things in her mouth. Then they asked for her tooth brush and showed me how to put it in her mouth on the side and gently push down. I did these for a while and it seems to be working! We are just overjoyed at seeing her chew.

Her speech therapy appointment is in just a few weeks on September 2nd. She is starting to jabber a little more and will play and sing to herself. We think that once she gets going she'll catch up just fine.

L starts school on the 25th and I've yet to find a daycare for half the day! The one I want isn't sure they can take her. I'll find out tomorrow on that. If not I'll have to put her in the Y or something. I'm not going to stress about it too much right now. Next week we go visit T&T up in WVA along with our beautiful granddaughter. I can't wait to see how much she has grown. Trust me - there will be a ton of pictures!!

Here's a cute shot of my two youngest walking hand in hand out of the ball game last night.

Indian Baseball Game

2008-08-13T15:39:00.001-05:00

Last night we took Little T to her first Kinston Indian Baseball game! She had a blast running around and making everyone smile. As usual she charmed everyone she met. I took some pictures and will get those up soon but in the meantime here is a shot that will make you laugh!

Lunch, Flowers, and Aching

2008-08-10T14:20:00.001-05:00

Yesterday Little T and I met Karen, her mom and her 2 boys for lunch. Little T was timid at first but not for long! Karen's 2 boys are adorable and were full of energy. After they ate they went into the playground and jumped around for quite a bit. Little T also went in but pretty much just watched them.

After dinner last night Little T and I went to DQ and picked up a banana split! Yummy! She got so excited eating that ice cream. Her first bite was small but oh man, after that look out. She would open her little mouth as wide as she could so I could fill it up with ice cream.

Here are some pictures I took yesterday. I've also put one up of my mom's Peace Lilly. This plant came from some friends when my mom died, made it down to NC from NY and never bloomed. It grew but never, ever bloomed. Big T noticed yesterday that there was a flower on it. How appropriate! Mom is telling Little T how much she loves her!! Oh how I wish that Little T could have met my mom and dad. She would have been so spoiled by her grandparents. Dad used to call her his little sh*it and would grin away!

Ok - sorry I went off on a tangent there, guess I'm missing my parents today.

Regrets and EI Update

2008-08-08T20:53:00.001-05:00

I have a few regrets with regards to our trip to China. One of them is buying things. I had plenty of money and should have bought more. My friend and I both feel this way. What were we thinking??!! That was a once in a lifetime trip and we were worried about money?? Jeez....

My other regret is not going to the orphanage where Little T spent the first 2 years of her life. I guess I was being selfish - she was doing so well that I didn't want to chance it. I should have. I should have gone, taken pictures, and spoke to her nannies. I could have learned so much about Little T's first 2 years and I didn't. I do have some good news, CCAI called me and I asked them if we could get a copy of her birth mother's note that was supposed to have been left. They will contact our guide in China (Grace) and see what they can do. I would love to get that and have something to show Little T how much she was loved by her birth parents.

EI came in on Monday and spent some time with us. They played with her, gave her blocks to stack, showed her dolls, asked her to feed the dolls, hid things and watched to see if she could find them, put things in containers to see if she could figure out how to open them, etc. She did awesome!! God is so good!! Her gross and fine motor skills are that of a 24-30 month old. In fact, they were very impressed with how she handled things in her hands and how well she did. Her vocabulary and chewing is another story though. She is at 12 months for her vocabulary - which is what we expected. All she does is make noises which is okay. She's very smart and has picked up the baby signs I've taught her so the communication is just fine. She will start speech therapy and some therapy to help her with her chewing in a couple of weeks.

Quick funny. The other day after we ate she was running around in just her diaper. Well, she kept pulling at the front of it, keeping her hands in front of it then bending her little back poking her belly out. I went and got Big T and had him watch her and he busted out laughing!! Little T follows me EVERYWHERE including the bathroom. It seems that she also followed Big T into the bathroom and was trying to imitate him peeing!!! OMG - how funny is that??!! This little girl keeps us on our toes all the time.

Here's a scrap book page I did of daddy kissing her.

Beach Picture

2008-08-05T22:26:00.001-05:00

Reaction to her Video

2008-08-04T21:37:00.002-05:00

We haven't had many problems with Little T. We keep waiting for that other shoe to drop but so far it really hasn't. She has adjusted well. That being said we did see a small amount of grieving in China. There was one day that she cried for no reason and I could not get her to stop no matter what I did. That lasted for about 20 minutes. When she finally calmed down she took a quick nap and then was back to her usual self. I didn't experience that again until after she saw her forever day video. A few weeks back I was showing it to Big T and Little T was sitting on my lap. She watched the whole thing with us along with some additional footage afterwards. She pointed her cute little finger a few times, watched intently for a bit then got down and went to play with her brother. The next day she woke up fine but unusually clingy. Around 1:00 she started crying. I thought she was tired but I could not soothe her. She cried, arched her back, screamed, kicked, nothing I did helped. When Big T came home about 30 minutes into this I was crying right along with her, holding her and pacing the floor. Finally, FINALLY after just over an hour she calmed down and took a nap. When she woke up she was very clingy and acted that way for a few more days afterwards.

Big T and I talked about this and we think this was a reaction to her watching that video. We can't think of anything else that would trigger that type of reaction - no change in routine, nothing. We have been so blessed by Little T and so blessed that so far this has been the only issue we have seen so far. I know that we are not going to allow her to watch it again for quite a while!

Atlantic Beach

2008-08-02T20:04:00.001-05:00

We decided to go to the beach again this weekend. This is very unusual for us because we are really lake people. When we woke up this morning it was so pretty out that we said what the heck, lets go back to the beach. Little T really enjoys the water and the sand. She loves to dig and put the sand in her bucket. I brought one of her dresses with me again and grabbed some shots of her on the way out. Here is a quick page I just did.

Lunch Time Quickie

2008-07-31T12:21:00.001-05:00

NO!!! Get your minds out of that gutter, though, hmmm.....Big T is home for lunch and Little T is sleeping wink-wink!

Okay - back to reality! The other day I put Little T down for her nap. Big brother had been playing with her so you can imagine how mad she was at me. She fussed a bit then was quiet. About an hour later big brother went to check in on her and asked me why I put her to bed naked. NAKED??!! Yep, you guessed it! She took her diaper off and was sleeping in the nude! I grabbed the camera and took these quick pictures which woke her up. Oh well...

Baby H

2008-07-29T21:33:00.001-05:00

Ahhh...here she is!! Our littlest addition to our family - Baby H. My son tells me she is doing great, playing more, smiling and laughing. I miss them so much!! They've only been gone a few weeks but it already feels like a life time. We are going to visit them next month for orientation but that is weeks and weeks away and I don't know if I'm going to be able to wait that long. I've hinted at them to come down for a visit but so far they seem to be pretty dense or are just not getting my indirect hints. Maybe I need to give a more direct one like - Get your butts down here!! :) Anyway, here's a quickpage of Baby H. Isn't she just the sweetest?

A Beautiful Girl

2008-07-29T14:57:00.001-05:00

Before we went to China I took some pictures of J's beautiful daughter. This little girl is so special and she doesn't even know it. We all just love her to death!

She Completes Us

2008-07-28T18:32:00.001-05:00

Another Picture

2008-07-28T15:19:00.001-05:00

Jonni's Template

2008-07-28T14:06:00.001-05:00

Jonni over at Journey to Sofia and Samantha created a template that I downloaded. Here's my take on it!

Outside Girl!

2008-07-27T19:18:00.001-05:00

Baby T loves to be outside. If we go out and don't take her she'll stand at the door, point her little finger, and yell at us! It's so cute! Big T was out mowing the lawn pulling Baby T behind him in the wagon while KaCee our dog was following them around the yard. It was too funny so I quick grabbed the camera and took some pictures.

On Saturday we went to the beach and introduced her to the Ocean. She was scared at first until I took her in and then look out!! She loved it. She would laugh each time a wave came and she would stick her little face right in the water. I took some pictures and will get them up in the next few days.

Bus ride to the Hotel

2008-07-27T11:43:00.001-05:00

After they brought Baby T out to us we sat on the floor and tried to comfort her. Again, no tears, no struggles, just the scared look. We watched other families try to calm down their babies while just holding her. Finally we all got up and went down to the bus to go back to the hotel and do more paperwork. Baby T didn't care what we did with her as long as I held her or was right next to her. Even if I wasn't holding her she would just look around and then make sure I was right there. On the bus she let her big brother hold her and looked at him as he talked quietly to her.

Playing with Photoshop

2008-07-25T17:03:00.001-05:00

This is a picture of L and beautiful Sofia! I was looking at some masks tutorials and decided to try one. I think it came out great!

Sweet Baby T

2008-07-25T17:02:00.001-05:00

First Glimpse of Baby T

2008-07-24T21:46:00.001-05:00

When they brought her out of the little room in the back I started crying. Well, actually I started the minute I heard the babies!! Shoot, I'm crying now! You can see by these pictures and the ones that will follow in the next few days how scared she was. When I watched the video with Big T I watched her. She would NOT look at me. I think it took 10 minutes for her to finally look at me. Big T said he caught her a few times giving me a sideways glance but she wouldn't look in my eyes. The poor little thing was scared and confused. I don't blame her - I was scared and confused too! Our travel mates had cookies with them and gave one to her. That helped and she finally started to look around more. L was amazed, I was crying and laughing, and smiling and J, she was videoing the entire thing for us. I don't know what I would have done with her!

Where is it??

2008-07-22T19:06:00.001-05:00

During my class today I noticed that Baby T kept running in and out of my room. Later in the day L asked me if I knew what she did with his remote. We looked around the house, in his room, in the garbage, and in the toilet. It was no where to be found. That's funny I thought, we couldn't find some other items either, like her sippy cup and some sandals. Finally after searching for another hour I asked Baby T where her sippy cup was. She immediately ran into my room and headed for the laundry basket. When she lifted the top she pointed and said "ah". Didn't I feel stupid?? There was her sippy cup, the remote control, sandals, toys and a few other items. She just looked at me and smiled. This kid is a trip!!

Water Fun

2008-07-20T22:01:00.001-05:00

Baby T loves the water! When I tell her its bath time she gets all excited and heads to the kitchen! She gets her baths in the sink for now. When we go swimming in the pool she becomes a little fish! She will put her face right in the water and just laugh. We are teaching her how to swim and she is just soaking it up.

On another note, before T left for West Virginia he stayed with us for a few days. Baby T loves Baby H to death and every time she sees her she just wants to touch and hold her. We decided to see what she would do if we sat her on the couch and put the baby on her lap. Here are the results!

1 month Family Forever Day!!

2008-07-17T12:43:00.001-05:00

Oh my...I can't believe I missed that! My bff called me yesterday and asked if I knew what day it was. I laughed and said yes, Wednesday, and she said no - it's been one month since we got Baby T!! Where is my brain? Well, to celebrate we took her to the cardiologist and he gave her a CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH!! They did an ultrasound and said everything looked great, no follow-up needed. Isn't that just awesome?? We are so pleased. During her ultrasound the tech sang to her. Keep in mind that this took about 45 minutes to do and they want her to sit still. Baby T did just that! She watched the monitor, would look at me to make sure I was still there, then look at the tech, and then back to the monitor. Such a good girl!

August 5th some people will come to the house, evaluate her some more for early intervention, and then formulate a plan for her. She's making different sounds now, like mamama, bababa, yayaya, ruffruff, etc. We've been told to copy the sounds she makes and have her copy sounds we make. It's a fun game to play with her.

Question on poop - sorry!! Baby T's poop stinks - I mean REALLY stinks. Neither of the boys had poop that smelled this bad. I'm not sure if its because of her system getting used to American food or what but holy cow - she makes a grown man cry!! Any suggestions?

Here are some pictures to enjoy. She loves playing with her brother!

At the Park

2008-07-15T21:30:00.001-05:00

Tonight I took Baby T to the park while the boys watched the all star game. I don't think she's felt sand before and was very interested in the texture. The swing scared her the first time I put her in it but after a while she wanted to go again and that time she just laughed. She loves those bouncy horse things and going up and down the play center. She also wasn't sure about the slide but did try it a few times. When we went back to the car she kept going "ah,ah" and pointing to her shoes. Whoops! Baby T had a bunch of sand in them and was trying to tell me! On another topic, I'm using Windows Live Writer to write this post and I LOVE IT! It's so much easier that blogger and I'm able to insert pictures where I want them and how I want them. If you haven't tried this yet its very easy to install on your pc. Here's the link Windows Live Writer! Here's a page I made of her park adventure.

My Oldest has moved out!!

2008-07-15T10:29:00.001-05:00

Today was a sad day. T&T have moved to West Virginia. AND they had the audacity to take their daughter H with them!! I'm very sad about this yet I'm excited to see him start a new chapter in his life. We will go up and visit him next month to check out where he's living and the college he will be attending.

Here's a picture of the 2 boys and T&H. Too funny - they were wearing the same dress!!

I had this picture blown up to an 8X10. Isn't it sweet?!!

Little T (or Baby T as she is now called) is doing great. She continues to show us her little personality every day. She is also becoming more verbal, no words but just different sounds. CSAD came yesterday and talked with us. This was just a first contact type of interview. She watched how Baby T interacted with us, the dogs, and her brothers. How she showed us what she wanted by using sign language we've taught her. She also saw how her imagination is in full swing!! She loves to play with her baby dolls, feeding them, and taking off/putting on their clothes. She also loves to color and pretend to cook and feed us. Like I've said - she is a smart cookie, just not talking or chewing yet! Today I've got to take her to get some blood work done and tomorrow is her cardio appointment.

Here are some additional pictures for your enjoyment!!

At baseball:

4th of July

Waiting for Daddy to come in

At a friends house enjoying a pig pickin'!! I love this little smirk she gives us.

Doctor update

2008-07-11T08:54:00.004-05:00

Little T went to the doctors on Monday, got 4 shots, a tb test, and a finger prick! Poor little thing. She weighs in at 20lbs5oz and is in the 0 percentile for weight and height and in the 5th for head circumference. I think I'll start calling her peanut!

Next week we go to cardiologist so they can do their thing and CSAD (child services and development) is coming on Monday to evaluate her for some speech therapy and some occupational therapy. She's not talking at all, does not chew her food and is just now sucking on her bottle. Yes, I said bottle. She has 1 bottle at bedtime. The eye contact and me feeding her and filling that need for her is very good for attachment. Anyway, I think the therapy will be very good for her. Little T is adjusting well to her new family and we are completely overjoyed!!

Side note - while in NY we stopped by a good friends house. She also blogs and has a beautiful daughter Sofia. You can check out her blog by clicking on the Sofia link in my sidebar. I have some wonderful pictures to share from that visit and will get them up soon!!

This post is for Amy and Buster!

2008-07-09T10:27:00.002-05:00

I'm not sure if you are reading the blog or not and I'll call you later tonight - but here is the blog I was talking to Buster about. This young lady went through a double lung transplant and I think it would be a great inspiration for Buster to read it.

Love you guys!!

Here's the link Confessions of a CF husband

Quick Picture

2008-07-06T20:18:00.002-05:00

We are home and all is well

2008-07-06T10:19:00.003-05:00

Sorry I haven't posted. We have been so busy with visits and travel. We flew into Syracuse on Friday June 27th, visited with relatives and friends and then drove home to NC on Monday, June 30th. Big T brought my son, his fiancee and little H with him. It was so good to see everyone and to be back home.

The flight from China went very well. Little T is a trooper and did just great. We played, ate, walked the aisle, talked and slept. The only bad moment was at the Newark airport. We had sat her atop of our luggage and didn't realize that there was a slope in the hall we were in. Poor Little T decided to try gymnastics a bit early and did a few flips and fell to the floor. I cried more than she did! She was fine and only had a scratch on her little head.

Jet lag has not been an issue at all. We stayed at the Hilton while in NY while the boys stayed with Big T's sister. We have kept the same schedule as we had in China. Little T gets up around 7:30 or 8, eats, plays, poops (hehe - sorry!!), eats lunch around 12:30, takes a nap around 1 until 2:30 or 3, plays some more, eats dinner, gets her bath and is ready for bed around 8:30 or 9. She is so amazing and we are enjoying watching her blossom every day. L, J, or I did not have any issues either. I'm not sure why we didn't. From everything I read it was supposed to be pretty bad but we all just went about our business like we hadn't travelled for 24 hours.

I'll post some pictures soon. Paulette over at Together Forever is traveling to China on July 11 with her gotcha day set for July 17! I'm so excited for her and her little angel!!! Make sure you check her out and follow along in her journey to her beautiful daughter!

Pictures

2008-06-24T01:39:00.008-05:00

Here are some pictures for your enjoyment. I asked Little T to throw her diaper away and she threw it in the toliet - hence the diaper in the toliet picture. We'll have to remember to keep the toliet lids closed.