Quick Update

Nathan was so nice to bring us all home a nasty cold from school on Friday. Addison started to get sick on Sunday and Bob and I followed behind. Nathan has been out of school all week and will probably stay home most of the week. The only good thing is that Bob is still home and has been able to help out as well. He has taken Nathan to see the Dr. both yesterday and today.

Addison continues to do well. She is now sleeping in her own room in her own crib. She cries once or twice during the night but we are able to calm her down pretty easily.

Bob goes back to work on Friday. It has been so nice having him home these past few weeks. The military gives families who adopt a three week permissive leave. It has certainly helped with bonding between Addison and Bob. I am a little nervous for him to go back to work, but I am sure I will manage.

A little more than a week.

I know that all of you have been waiting patiently for an update. It is hard to believe that it has been over a week since Addison and I have come home. She continues to settle into our lifestyle and us into hers. She is still a little bit weary of Bob, but she is getting better. If he feeds her, she is fine and when I sneak out of the room she is okay for a few minutes. It may take a little while, but I think she will be a daddy's girl one day.

Addison is also getting better with the dogs. She walks around them and doesn't seem bothered. However, just like the dogs, she will eat anything. I was giving the dogs a treat the other day and they were sitting there nicely waiting for me to feed them. Along comes Addison with her mouth wide open...she wanted her treat too!!! I am going to try to get a picture of her doing it, it is too funny.

We took her to see the Pedi on the 20th. Poor girl got four shots, but handled like a trooper. The Dr. was a little bit concerned because she was less than 3% on the weight scale (19.5lbs), but when I looked on the Asian she was about 5-10% for her weight. Her height was 30.5inches. The Pedi asked about her cleft and wanted to know if we had been in contact with the craniofacial team. We let her know that we were meeting with the plastic surgeon on the 13th. Overall, she said Addison looked great. She didn't mention too much about her development, but she seems to be right on target except for speech.

The Dr. did give us a little sheet that explained what a child her age could/couldn't do. She was doing most of everything, but we hadn't seen her pull a toy behind her while she walked. So we went out and bought a little telephone (dial - like we had when we were kids) for her to see if she could pull the toy or not. The video shows that she can!! She is catching on to some signs - more, food, mom and all done. Today she said "uh oh." Until her palate gets repaired it will be difficult for her to make many sounds. We are praying the surgeon will be able to get us in quickly.

We love seeing Addison discover new things everyday, but at the same time it is a little bittersweet. At time it reminds us that we will never get to see Nathan do those things. Nathan has truly amazed us over the years and we celebrate EVERY little milestone he meets, but it is a challenge for him to make any progress. I think his struggles has made us appreciate Addison's progress more. Nathan has taught us not to take things for granted and that is what we are trying to do with every new adventure we have with Addison.

Thankfully, Nathan has remained healthy. He seems to like his baby sister most of the time. He doesn't like Addison to climb on our laps when we are holding him, but he loves to hear her sounds. She is doing pretty good with him as well. She hands him his toys if he drops them and will pat his head when she sees us doing it.

I want to thank you all again for your continued support and comments! I will try to update the blog more. For sure I will do it on Sunday nights.

Home Sweet Home

We all were so happy to be home after our 26 hour trip home from China. Addison did very well on the flight home. It helped that she wasn't the only baby on the plane...there were several other families bringing their babies home from China. The 15+ plane ride wasn't that bad, but it is something I don't want to do anytime soon!!!

Bob and Nathan met us at the airport. He was a little late so we had to wait for him to bring the balloons. He was over the moon seeing her for the first time. Addison is very slowly warming up to Bob. She is okay when she wants to play with him, but she doesn't like him to hold her that much. She is pretty much Velcroed to my hip. When I am in the room it is me that she wants. She has been good to Nathan. He is really enjoying hearing her "talk" and laugh. She picked up and gave him some of the toys he dropped.

Addison really doesn't like the dogs. She screams every time they come around her. I guess like everything else it will take some time.

We take her to see the pediatrician tomorrow. It will be interesting to see how she does. We are really anxious to see the surgeon on the 13th of December.

I am putting some pics up from our last days in China and some of us at home. Thanks again for following our journey and all the great comments!!

Leaving china

Thank you to everyone who has followed our blog while I was in China. I enjoyed reading all the comments! I have pics to post, but I will do that when I get home. We are trying to find places in our suitcases for all the stuff we have bought here:-) It isn't an easy task!

We have enjoyed our time here, but we are more than ready to come home! I am so excited for Bob and Nathan to meet Addison. I know they are both so excited to finally see her in person. We have met some wonderful families over here and we will miss them.

Keep checking back...I will add pics of our trip and of course pics of Addison with Bob & Addison.

Squeeky Shoes!

Here is a quick video of Addison in her squeeky shoes!

3 nights/ 4 Days

We are all so ready to come home! It have had a wonderful time in China, but we miss our families so much. It will also be so nice to get in a routine and not be living out of a suitcase. I also can't wait to go shopping at a good ol' American grocery store....or Target!

Addison continues to do well. The whole adoption journey has been amazing. It is hard to believe that four months ago we were staring at her picture for the first time. It feels like she has been a part of our lives forever. She is certainly going to keep us on our toes! She loves to explore EVERYTHING! Bob is baby proofing the house, hopefully it will all be done by the time we get home.

Yesterday we went to the Guangzhou City Zoo. The grounds were beautiful, but the actual animal cages weren't so great. We did get to see the Giant Panda, but surprisingly he was in a small cage without any foliage. It was sad. We also saw some very scary Pomeranian in cages. I guess a lot of Chinese don't get to see dogs. I posted a picture of all the beautiful girls who were adopted with our group.

Today was pretty lazy, I just had to fill out the rest of our paperwork so that we can get Addison's visa. Hopefully it will all be in order so we can leave on time.

Addison has finally warmed up to my mom. I had to leave her with Renee and my mom why I went to fill out the paperwork. Whey I came home, my mom showed me the pic of her holding Addison and Addison was smiling!!! Grandmas was so happy! It is truly wonderful to see Addison smile....it lights up her whole face!

I am posting some pics of Bob and Nathan's at Nathan's school's Veteran's Day Ceremony. They both look very patriotic!