So much to be thankful for...

A year ago as we prepared for the Thanksgiving holiday, we waited anxiously for pre-approval to adopt our baby girl. The wait was nerve wrecking…we just didn't know how to act. We had no idea how we were going to keep from falling in love with a child we had no idea if she would be ours to love forever someday. It was easier said than done because once we received her picture and saw her beautiful little face we just knew she was our baby girl. We knew we had to consult specialists to discuss her medical needs, but most importantly we knew we needed a waiver from Chinese officials in order to move forward with the adoption process…the wait for pre-approval/waiver was unbearable!  What was going on through our minds during that time? How do we stop ourselves from looking at those precious pictures? How do we stop ourselves from fantasizing about the future, a future that included her? How do we pretend to go about our business as if nothing was going on when all we had in our minds was Her. 
We thought about a precious child that lived so very far away; we talked about a child we knew we may never be able to hold in our arms…
Lord, it was h-a-r-d! We've been through so much with our adoption process, for the first time since we started our journey we had the picture and possibility of a child of our own, yet nothing was for sure... 

         It was difficult keeping the news of our referral a secret but we wanted to make sure that we were able to move forward with our China adoption program.. 

         A year later we are so blessed and so thankful! We have our little princess home with us and we couldn't be happier. She is all we dreamed of and so much more. 

          The adoption journey was crazy but she is so worth it… 

          We didn't hear the good news about our PA and waiver until December 4th but it was the Thanksgiving Holiday last year we struggled through the most...
         A year later, talking about Thanksgiving we were busy home cooking and chasing a very energetic toddler all day, making sure she was entertained ;o) No time to post anything on our Lil blog on that special day but  we managed to take some pictures...

          

Baking and sharing cookies with Lisa was so much fun!

      

       Before we met you, we dreamed of you, we prayed for you. 

Now that you are here, we hope for you, we love you, we Thank God for you!

            

Priceless!

We received this precious pictures from Love without Boundaries…. So Thankful!

 

 

 

So sad that we missed our baby girl's first year of life but so happy to have these pictures! So stinkin cute...

How time flies!

Writing an entry on this Lil’ blog at this point is easier said than done- Busy is the word around here! We have been taking lots of pictures but  never find the time to organize them. Back in the day :0) we had agreed to document our girl’s first year home using Project Life but right now, the project seems pretty daunting… by the time Baby girl goes to sleep we are exhausted!

Our days are full of precious moments, giggles, hugs, songs and so much more. Time passes by way too quickly so we have to make time to document happenings more often or we will regret it!

Our baby girl keeps us busy that’s for sure :0)

Random Pictures this month...

Trip to Aquarium, so much fun!

Fall Arts & crafts

spaghetti... new favorite food :o)

First we had each other. Then you became ours. Now we have everything!                                       

Eight weeks later...

It has been 8 weeks since the day we met our baby girl, yes 8 weeks! It’s crazy! Eight weeks doesn't seem long at all, yet it feels as if she has been with us forever…

Our lives have changed forever in a good way. We can’t imagine life without our little Cupcake. Funny, it's hard to remember what life was like before we became her parents, everything seems like a blur (maybe because we are tired after chasing her all day :0)

Two months after Gotcha Day…

She light up when she see us and constantly shower us (without being asked)with the sweetest kisses and bear hugs.

She is attached to both of us. She is so sweet! She melt our hearts every time when she calls for her Mommy and Daddy :0)

She knows were home is and feels very comfortable in her new environment. When we arrive home after an outing (even if it is just a short drive to the supermarket) our girl points and says “Home” a lot… she sounds like E-T :0)too cute!

She finally met her extended family; she is accepted, loved and spoiled of course…  She has everyone wrapped around her cute little baby girl finger!

She understands and communicates very well with us.

Gracie is such a cute little bundle of energy ready to explore, and learn. She is such a bright little girl!( It is so cute when she says “good job” when she accomplishes new tasks).

We are amazed...we are in love with our baby girl!  

 

 

End of October update…

 How are we?

Great!  We are tired, very busy, but so happy!  Gracie fits in our family so well.  She is very affectionate, active, loud, and so very sweet! We just love being her parents.

She is eating very well (and doesn't mind trying new foods) She is sleeping better, although at times still wakes up crying (but goes right back to sleep after we comfort her)

She is a smart little cookie! It is so much fun watching her as she learn new things, everything is new and exciting for her… there’s so much to discover and learn!

Attachment is going well, although we feel it is at this point insecure attachment. If she doesn't see one of us, she gets a little freaked out.

We are finally on a schedule and things are starting to go more smoothly!

She finally had her post-adoption assessment and is doing better that we could have imagined. She scored high on the assessment and ages/stages with the exception of gross motor skills, she is still a little wobbly when she walks… we will be working on it soon enough, for now we will continue to enjoy holding our girl as long as we can for as long as she allow us to do so (she always wants to GO!)

There was a Mandarin speaking translator present during the appointment. I must admit, when I found out she was going to be there I was concerned that our girl was going to want to be with the Chinese lady and not want Mommy any more. I was worried she was going to be “Mommy shopping” :0(

Well let me tell you, as soon as the pretty Chinese lady started to talk Mandarin to our girl, her eyes got teary and she promptly climbed on my lap and did not want to move from there! Every time the lady spoke to our girl, she looked down or would hide her face.  We were surprised about her reaction. We wondered what was going through her little mind; she seemed so confused and nervous. We wondered if she thought we were going to send her back to China?

The appointment lasted approximately 4 hours, we were all in a big room and the team consisted of the translator, a doctor, a social worker and an occupational therapist.

Our girl was shy as it was expected but was able to do the activities, always checking back with Mommy and Daddy to make sure we were by her side. The team was very impressed with how much she has learned in such a short period of time.

More about our girl…

     She is starting to ask for specifics such as milk, water, juice, cookies, crayons etc.  We are so glad because when she wanted something she would say “pleasee” and expected us to guess what she wanted while getting upset because we were not giving her what she wanted (so frustrating!) We continue to encourage her to use her words when asking for things.

    She says: please, thank you and excuse me (polite little lady :0)

    

    She is not potty trained but let us know when she has a “poopie diaper” (after the fact of course, never before, but that’s a start...)

    She is really good about her routine and will remind us about what’s coming next such as brush teeth, snack or story time! If we skip a page of her favorite story she will “remind” us about the missing page. She is definitely on top of things.

   She asks for the TV shows she wants to watch, so now we have to use our TiVo just in case Miss Gracie is in the mood to watch a specific show.

    Favorite shows: Dora the explorer, Ni Hao Kai-Lan, Peppa Pig, Mickey’s Club House and Yo Gabba Gabba, sometimes Blue’s Clues. Note that our Lil’ Cupcake doesn’t watch TV by herself, so we have to stop what we are doing so that we can join the fun with her, sing/dance etc. yeah, imagine that!

    She loves anything artsy from coloring with crayons, finger-painting, doodling with markers or scribbling with pens (thanks Daddy!)

   

    She loves singing and memorizes songs with ease

    She doesn't like taking pictures but love to see them once they are taken

   Our Favorite word: “I-bo-bi-who” (I love you)

    New game hiding and then saying”I see you”

   Still loves to have “tea” with Minnie

   Hates blankets even if she is cold, doesn't like to keep socks or hats on

    Loves clothes and shoes :0) when we go shopping she wants to hold her clothes and carry her own bags… too cute! What’s even cuter?  Hearing her say “so pretty” or “so cute” when we show her clothes, shoes or accessories at the stores.Daddy is not going to think it’s so cute once she gets a little older :0)

    

    She must go to bed with her Winnie the Pooh (she calls him “Wee-Poohee” :0)

We bought this costume a month before Halloween,

 but she wanted her red one... Kids!

 More pictures...

First hair cut

Waiting for her post-adoption assessment 

Gracie, You are our greatest adventure!