My to do list is growing by the minute. Unfortunately, the to do list is not written down on paper because that would mean that I would know where to find a pencil and paper in the mass clutter in my house. Instead the list is in my head, just playing over and over like a broken record. I can not believe how behind I am in every single daily task of my life. I just sort of walk around from room to room in bewilderment on where and how to start. I think I'm making progress and then along comes Hannah. Ahh, life with a toddler. She is such a sweet, precious baby but that does not keep her from getting into EVERYTHING!!!! She just follows me around all day long babbling and making messes. And just like every other baby on the planet she requires lots of attention. She needs to eat, needs to be changed, needs to be held, needs to play....you get the idea.
And speaking of miss Hannah, she is doing great. We have had her first doctor visit and was given the official all clear that she does NOT appear to have any medical concerns. We also went through a developmental screening and she is right on target developmentally in all areas with only a very slight delay in speech (which is certainly to be expected given we don't speak Chinese!!). It is obvious that she now understands what we say to her, but she doesn't say any words yet other than MA MA MA MA MA MA MA MA, and she says that all day long as she follows me from room to room. Well, she also says 'bye' on occasion and something that sounds very similar to TAAAAA, which we think is her version of Tara. But really she is doing amazingly well considering all she has been through in the past 2 months. She is doing much better with Matt now, although we all still have our pecking order...Tara is her numero uno for sure, then I usually come in 2nd, Alex is 3rd, and Matt is 4th. I really suspect that will change as she gets more comfortable with Matt each day. Somehow I think though she will always have a special connection with Tara, and even Alex. They both have a different type of relationship forming with her and it is obvious that she adores both of them (and they equally adore her!!) They both help me so much with her and I am so blessed to have them.
Tomorrow is the first day of school. WOO YOO!! Tara starts 4th grade and Alex starts 7th grade. Tara is a little nervous and Alex is just mad that he has to get up so early. He just can't seem to understand WHY school has to start so EARLY??? Matt is also taking a college class (only 2 more to go until he graduates!!!) and between working 60+ hours a week and this class he is staying busy.
So anyway, if you have emailed me recently (or not so recently) and I have not replied, I promise you are on my to do list that is spinning in my head. I will eventually reply, just not sure when?? But I do appreciate all the emails, comments, prayers, and words of encouragement that everyone has offered over the past several months. Knowing that I have such a strong support group filled with friends and family is such a comforting feeling. I won't lie, life with a new toddler is hard. Our lives are very different than they were a few months ago. But we can't imagine it any other way. A dear friend asked me tonight if I still look at Hannah and can't believe that all of this is real. I just laughed and said yes, it is all very, very real to me now. I dreamed about her, prayed for her, thought about her for so long. Now the chaos in my house helps to show me how incredibly real she is. But I know that she belongs in this house. She belongs in our family. She is ours. She is loved, wanted, and cherished. Even in the chaos.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
3 continents in 30 days
One thing is for sure, Hannah is a well traveled little girl. She has logged in more air miles in 30 days than many people fly in their lifetime. Just over one month ago her life was probably very routine, structured and organized. Now, she never knows from one day to the next what house she might wake up in, not to mention which state or even continent!
So here is a quick update of our recent travels and events:
We received Hannah's U.S. passport in plenty of time for our return travel to Italy. This was a HUGE relief as we could not travel until we got her passport. We have officially completed every detail of our adoption journey. Now it is just life as usual, whatever usual is????
Our last few days in Oklahoma went by quickly. Probably the most exciting event was when Hannah was playing with the phone and we hear a knock at the door...it was a police officer stating that they had just received a 9-1-1 hang up call from this address. There stands Hannah at the door with the phone in her hand, which is why they were not able to call back to verify the call. Thankfully, the police officer was understanding about the situation, but he did tell me that I should not let my daughter play with the phone. Lesson learned.
We also got to spend the day with our good friends the Mencers. They live in Oklahoma City and drove to Miami to see us and and meet Hannah. The kids all enjoyed seeing each other again and Lisa and I had the chance to visit (which had to be done quickly with 7 kids in the house!!)
On August 2, we said goodbye to our family in Oklahoma and loaded up our 6 suitcases, stroller, car seat, portable crib, 3 kids, and headed to Indiana....
Me, Alex, Tara, and my mom made the 12 hour car journey to my sister's house with Hannah strapped safely in her car seat. Hannah is doing much better riding in her car seat, but after a few hours of driving she was more than ready to get out! Usually we put her in the car and she falls right to sleep, but on this particular trip she opted to cry it out rather than sleep. Normally we can't get her thumb out of her mouth, but on this trip we couldn't get her to suck her thumb for anything (this is the only way she can fall asleep, and no, she will NOT take a pacifier). Anyway, we eventually arrived in Upland, Indiana...just a little frazzled and really, really tired! Hannah was greeted by her cousins and showered with more attention and love. Amazing how quickly she has adjusted to being the center of attention!
After 3 days in Indiana we drove to Chicago for our return flight to Italy. Our friends the Ferris' met us at the airport for a short visit. It was nice getting to see them and we wish they were still living upstairs in our building here in Naples!! Our flights all left on time, but the plane ride to Italy was very different than the plane ride from China. Hannah is such a different baby than she was 6 weeks ago and she expressed that in full force on the airplane. She was a little wild child! Mostly, she just wanted down, as do all babies once they learn to walk. She didn't sleep much (she does not like to be held while she sleeps, which is about the only option on a plane) and she was not a very happy baby (something to do with lack of sleep and being forced so sit???). But we made it home....only she doesn't realize (yet) that this is home. For her it's just another place to explore until we load her up and go to the next house. Considering all that she has experienced, she is doing amazingly well!! But she is having a hard time adjusting to yet another time change and is wanting to sleep at all the wrong times. We are all in this zombie like state from lack of sleep. Alex and Tara are thrilled to be home and have been on the go since the minute we arrived. Hannah is already adjusting to the constant coming and going. In Oklahoma Tara was never far from her (in fact, she was usually holding her) and now Tara pops in for a quick second and she is off again. Hannah is getting use to Matt again and enjoying her new toys and house. I quickly realized how much baby proofing I still need to do!!
So, three continents in 30 days....I don't recommend it, especially with a 16 month old baby, but we FINALLY have our baby home.
So here is a quick update of our recent travels and events:
We received Hannah's U.S. passport in plenty of time for our return travel to Italy. This was a HUGE relief as we could not travel until we got her passport. We have officially completed every detail of our adoption journey. Now it is just life as usual, whatever usual is????
Our last few days in Oklahoma went by quickly. Probably the most exciting event was when Hannah was playing with the phone and we hear a knock at the door...it was a police officer stating that they had just received a 9-1-1 hang up call from this address. There stands Hannah at the door with the phone in her hand, which is why they were not able to call back to verify the call. Thankfully, the police officer was understanding about the situation, but he did tell me that I should not let my daughter play with the phone. Lesson learned.
We also got to spend the day with our good friends the Mencers. They live in Oklahoma City and drove to Miami to see us and and meet Hannah. The kids all enjoyed seeing each other again and Lisa and I had the chance to visit (which had to be done quickly with 7 kids in the house!!)
On August 2, we said goodbye to our family in Oklahoma and loaded up our 6 suitcases, stroller, car seat, portable crib, 3 kids, and headed to Indiana....
Me, Alex, Tara, and my mom made the 12 hour car journey to my sister's house with Hannah strapped safely in her car seat. Hannah is doing much better riding in her car seat, but after a few hours of driving she was more than ready to get out! Usually we put her in the car and she falls right to sleep, but on this particular trip she opted to cry it out rather than sleep. Normally we can't get her thumb out of her mouth, but on this trip we couldn't get her to suck her thumb for anything (this is the only way she can fall asleep, and no, she will NOT take a pacifier). Anyway, we eventually arrived in Upland, Indiana...just a little frazzled and really, really tired! Hannah was greeted by her cousins and showered with more attention and love. Amazing how quickly she has adjusted to being the center of attention!
After 3 days in Indiana we drove to Chicago for our return flight to Italy. Our friends the Ferris' met us at the airport for a short visit. It was nice getting to see them and we wish they were still living upstairs in our building here in Naples!! Our flights all left on time, but the plane ride to Italy was very different than the plane ride from China. Hannah is such a different baby than she was 6 weeks ago and she expressed that in full force on the airplane. She was a little wild child! Mostly, she just wanted down, as do all babies once they learn to walk. She didn't sleep much (she does not like to be held while she sleeps, which is about the only option on a plane) and she was not a very happy baby (something to do with lack of sleep and being forced so sit???). But we made it home....only she doesn't realize (yet) that this is home. For her it's just another place to explore until we load her up and go to the next house. Considering all that she has experienced, she is doing amazingly well!! But she is having a hard time adjusting to yet another time change and is wanting to sleep at all the wrong times. We are all in this zombie like state from lack of sleep. Alex and Tara are thrilled to be home and have been on the go since the minute we arrived. Hannah is already adjusting to the constant coming and going. In Oklahoma Tara was never far from her (in fact, she was usually holding her) and now Tara pops in for a quick second and she is off again. Hannah is getting use to Matt again and enjoying her new toys and house. I quickly realized how much baby proofing I still need to do!!
So, three continents in 30 days....I don't recommend it, especially with a 16 month old baby, but we FINALLY have our baby home.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Life with a baby....again!
Ok, I know the real reason everyone checks this blog is for the pictures, and I will try and post some very soon. I haven't taken any new pictures lately because I lost my camera, but I found it yesterday so now I have no excuses. Now I just have to get Hannah to cooperate, which is not always easy for an active 15 month old baby!
Life with a baby is so very different for me, but I am enjoying every second (all right, maybe not EVERY second, but you get the idea). Hannah is an absolute sweetheart. She is showing more and more of her personality every day. Everyone here is simply amazed at what a different baby she is from even one week ago. She is officially walking now, which means she is constantly on the go. She is into everything and loves exploring her new world. She is smiling all the time, laughing and beginning to display her strong will and determination to have it her way! She is like a sponge absorbing all that is going on around her. She loves to imitate people and even has her own way of teasing each one of us. She is the center of attention and seems to be loving every minute of it. She certainly has us all head over heels in love with her.
I can't even begin to explain the range of emotions we feel in finally having our daughter. I have moments of sheer happiness and moments of extreme grief and sadness for thinking of all that she has lost. Sometimes I look at her in complete and utter amazement that we were chosen to be her parents. I continually thank God that we have been so blessed to have a healthy, smart, beautiful, happy little girl. And not just Hannah...we are also blessed with two equally healthy, smart, beautiful and happy biological children. We have had a child by cesarean section, naturally and by adoption. We wouldn't have it any other way. All three of them arrived in our family by God's plan. All three of our children our equally ours by His grace. All three of them are equally loved by us and by Him. Sometimes it takes something small to make us realize how big our God really is. For us, it came in a little 20 lb. body with black hair, black eyes and a million dollar smile.
Life with a baby is so very different for me, but I am enjoying every second (all right, maybe not EVERY second, but you get the idea). Hannah is an absolute sweetheart. She is showing more and more of her personality every day. Everyone here is simply amazed at what a different baby she is from even one week ago. She is officially walking now, which means she is constantly on the go. She is into everything and loves exploring her new world. She is smiling all the time, laughing and beginning to display her strong will and determination to have it her way! She is like a sponge absorbing all that is going on around her. She loves to imitate people and even has her own way of teasing each one of us. She is the center of attention and seems to be loving every minute of it. She certainly has us all head over heels in love with her.
I can't even begin to explain the range of emotions we feel in finally having our daughter. I have moments of sheer happiness and moments of extreme grief and sadness for thinking of all that she has lost. Sometimes I look at her in complete and utter amazement that we were chosen to be her parents. I continually thank God that we have been so blessed to have a healthy, smart, beautiful, happy little girl. And not just Hannah...we are also blessed with two equally healthy, smart, beautiful and happy biological children. We have had a child by cesarean section, naturally and by adoption. We wouldn't have it any other way. All three of them arrived in our family by God's plan. All three of our children our equally ours by His grace. All three of them are equally loved by us and by Him. Sometimes it takes something small to make us realize how big our God really is. For us, it came in a little 20 lb. body with black hair, black eyes and a million dollar smile.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
We are in Oklahoma!
After 32 hours of traveling, we finally made it to Oklahoma. It was an extremely long, tiring day, but we made it.
We didn't have internet service our last 2 days in Guangzhou, so I wasn't able to post on my blog. Our last day in Guangzhou was for our appointment at the American Consulate to get Hannah's visa. We drove for 30 minutes to get to the consulate, went through the security and then raised our right hand to swear that all the information we provided in our adoption paperwork was true and accurate. A few minutes later they handed us her (Chinese) passport with the visa, and we were officially done with all the paperwork. It was time to go home.
The next morning we had a mix up with our luggage that caused us to miss our flight to Beijing. The problem was resolved by our guide and we got on the next flight to Beijing. We met my niece Emily in Beijing and we all flew to Chicago. Emily was so happy to be the first family member to see Hannah. She had fun holding and playing with her on the plane (we all got to sit next to each other). Hannah did great on the 14 hour flight...she slept for about 5 straight hours, which was nice. We arrived in Chicago on time and went through immigration with Hannah. This process just required us to give the immigration officials all the paperwork we got from the American Consulate in China. It took about 5 minutes and the guy said, "Congratulations, your daughter is now an American citizen." An exciting moment for us, but Hannah didn't seem to notice the difference...imagine that :)
After an 8 hour delay in Chicago due to storms in the area, we finally arrived in Tulsa at 2:00 a.m. A big thank you to my mom for driving an hour and a half to come get us in the middle of the night. I don't think Tara could have waited another minute. She was thrilled to finally have us home and to meet Hannah. We got to my mom's house at 4:00 a.m. and woke up Alex so he could see Hannah. We all stayed awake until 5:30 a.m. At that point I could have slept standing up.
It's been a hard 2 days trying to work out sleep schedules for us all. Hannah is doing well considering she is sleeping at all the wrong times. We are trying to get her adjusted, but it's hard when she is so sleepy. Alex and Tara are having fun playing with her and she has already shared her smiles, kisses and giggles with them.
Our biggest hurdle right now is getting Hannah use to a car seat. She absolutely screams hysterically when we put her in the seat. She cries so hard she makes herself throw up. She wails, kicks, screams...it's really the only time I have seen her have such a huge screaming fit. I know it will just take time for her to get use to being strapped into a seat rather than having someone hold her. We drive to Henryetta tomorrow to see Matt's parents. Could be a REALLY long 2 hours.
Will try and post some pictures in the next few days. Right now I'm just trying to get caught up on sleep, laundry, unpacking and repacking, and figuring out Hannah's eating/sleeping/playing patterns. But overall things are going very well and we are so very happy to be home from China with our baby!!!
We didn't have internet service our last 2 days in Guangzhou, so I wasn't able to post on my blog. Our last day in Guangzhou was for our appointment at the American Consulate to get Hannah's visa. We drove for 30 minutes to get to the consulate, went through the security and then raised our right hand to swear that all the information we provided in our adoption paperwork was true and accurate. A few minutes later they handed us her (Chinese) passport with the visa, and we were officially done with all the paperwork. It was time to go home.
The next morning we had a mix up with our luggage that caused us to miss our flight to Beijing. The problem was resolved by our guide and we got on the next flight to Beijing. We met my niece Emily in Beijing and we all flew to Chicago. Emily was so happy to be the first family member to see Hannah. She had fun holding and playing with her on the plane (we all got to sit next to each other). Hannah did great on the 14 hour flight...she slept for about 5 straight hours, which was nice. We arrived in Chicago on time and went through immigration with Hannah. This process just required us to give the immigration officials all the paperwork we got from the American Consulate in China. It took about 5 minutes and the guy said, "Congratulations, your daughter is now an American citizen." An exciting moment for us, but Hannah didn't seem to notice the difference...imagine that :)
After an 8 hour delay in Chicago due to storms in the area, we finally arrived in Tulsa at 2:00 a.m. A big thank you to my mom for driving an hour and a half to come get us in the middle of the night. I don't think Tara could have waited another minute. She was thrilled to finally have us home and to meet Hannah. We got to my mom's house at 4:00 a.m. and woke up Alex so he could see Hannah. We all stayed awake until 5:30 a.m. At that point I could have slept standing up.
It's been a hard 2 days trying to work out sleep schedules for us all. Hannah is doing well considering she is sleeping at all the wrong times. We are trying to get her adjusted, but it's hard when she is so sleepy. Alex and Tara are having fun playing with her and she has already shared her smiles, kisses and giggles with them.
Our biggest hurdle right now is getting Hannah use to a car seat. She absolutely screams hysterically when we put her in the seat. She cries so hard she makes herself throw up. She wails, kicks, screams...it's really the only time I have seen her have such a huge screaming fit. I know it will just take time for her to get use to being strapped into a seat rather than having someone hold her. We drive to Henryetta tomorrow to see Matt's parents. Could be a REALLY long 2 hours.
Will try and post some pictures in the next few days. Right now I'm just trying to get caught up on sleep, laundry, unpacking and repacking, and figuring out Hannah's eating/sleeping/playing patterns. But overall things are going very well and we are so very happy to be home from China with our baby!!!
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