She's 16 months today!

Jade turned 16 months today and she has blossomed! We have been very blessed with her progress. She has reached all of the milestones for 16 months except for language, which was to be expected. She does say daddy, mommy and Otis (of course!) and she babbles constantly. I have a feeling she's going to be a talker! She's a very happy little girl and we're very lucky that she's adjusted so well. We've gone to play groups and also to my exercise class each morning and she's very social. Each day gets better and better!

2 months with Jade!

On Saturday we will celebrate 2 months with Jade! It seems such a short time and yet as if she's always been here. She's doing so well now. She is only clinging when she's tired. She's into everything but that's normal! She takes her shoes off continuously now. I have to search each time I take her somewhere for shoes. We went to WV last week to see the family. She did so well during the car ride. No one was with her in the back seat to entertain her, either! She did so well with everyone. My favorite moment during the trip was when she played the piano with our dear friend Naomi! I'll post pictures as soon as I get them.

This Saturday we will be attending the EAC adoption picnic. Several of Jade's friends from China will be there. We can't wait to see how the other girls have grown and adjusted. We'll be sure to post pictures next week!

First Long Car Ride

Jade went on her first long car ride this past weekend. We went to visit Jillian & Jo. She didn't cry as long as she was entertained! It's a 6 hour ride side. I'd be bored, too! We also went to a new pediatrician today. I really like her. She said Jade's head was proportioned with her body. She's just going to be petite. She said if she had a bigger head she would look very odd!

I reposted some of the pictures so you could see them. The one of Jade eating the Padua cake is the latest. We took that this past Thursday. We thought that since we couldn't celebrate her first birthday she could eat this one. She loved it! I'll keep posting as I get new pictures. Well we are going to go sit on the porch with Otis. She loves to climb on him! He takes it very well. Sometimes he gets up and moves but for the most part he just puts his head down. I think he enjoys the attention!

We're in May!

I was finally able to post some pictures. They are small but at least they are on there! Jade is finally settling down and beginning to enjoy herself. We went to church Sunday and she was very good the first half of the service and slept through the second half. I wish the church picture was a little bigger because she really looked cute in her dress. She learns tons everyday, and tries very hard to speak. She'll get there! She has me for a mother and you know how I love to talk!

Every day is getting better!

Good morning! So far we've had a great one! Every day Jade seems to do better. She cries less and laughs more. She's not quite as clinging as she used to be. Right now she's playing in her walker which is an accomplishment in itself! Jack and her went to the store together yesterday and she didn't cry for me once! I went to Jazzercise while they were at the store in the evening and it was great! I definitely needed the exercise. I think all of the prayers are definitely helping so keep them coming! We've gone on short trips to the store and library and she's done really well each time. I hope it continues!

Home for over a week

We've been home for over a week and some things are progressing nicely. She eats better now. We're trying to switch her to whole milk but at the present are doing 1/2 soy and 1/2 milk. She loves spaghetti and will eat as much as you give her. She's babbling quite a bit and laughs, too. She's trying to walk. She crawls alot and tries to stand and take steps often. We still are having problems with her clinging. She does really well at the beginning of the morning. She'll crawl around and try to stand and play. Around 10am she gets whiny and I literally can't put her down or she'll cry continously. She doesn't want to eat, etc., until around noon. She'll be clingy like this until I feed her at noon and put her down for a nap. When she gets up, she'll be happy again for a while and as time progresses she'll start clinging and whining again. I just keep praying that she'll get a little more secure and won't want to be held so much. I've tried sitting her down for a few minutes and she'll scream her head off. It's frustrating at times but I keep trying to tell myself it's only been a little over a week. I keep saying Brother Mike's mantra in my head often. "We're good, getting better every day".

We're trying to adjust!

Good morning! It's Wednesday morning and we're trying to get on some type of schedule! It's been rough! Jade usually wants to sleep from 2pm til 3am. Slowly she's getting used to the new schedule. She's been pretty fussy since we came home. I'm hoping this will change as soon as she becomes more comfortable. Right now she's in a walker. She's been there about 5 minutes and is just now starting to get fussy. It's hard holding her so much but I suppose it will get better eventually. We went to the dr. yesterday. She had to get 4 shots. All her shots have to be redone. Her dr. is concerned with how small her head is. Of course I'm worried to death about this. She said we'll wait and see how she progresses over the next month. I'm going to try to post pictures. Let's hope it works! Keep us in your prayers. Especially pray about her head!

Our last day in Guangzhou

Today is our last day in Guangzhou. I am very happy that we are coming home but at the same time I'm feeling a little sad for Jade. We're going to be taking her 1/2 world away from everything she has every known. We hope to come back some day and show her where she is from but so many things can change between now and then it's hard to say what will happen. She is from such a beautiful place. I really hope she can see it some day.

On a lighter note she continues to blossom every day. She is much happier and chatters all the time. Jack can hold her for longer periods so I don't think she's going to have any problems when we get home. I think the biggest will be getting her to go to bed! I just spent 1/2 hour getting her to go to sleep for a nap. She fought sleeping the whole time but finally surrendered. We'll see how long she naps! Last night she slept from 9pm 'til 4:30am. She went back to sleep pretty easily, too. I almost think the medication that the doctor gave her for congestion makes her stay awake. She isn't sleeping as well since we began giving it to her. She sure hates taking it, too! I'm ready to cry by the time we finish giving it to her. Luckily we only have to give it to her through today. She sounds less congested, too.

Today we will go to the embassy and officially adopt Jade. She becomes an American citizen today even though we'll have to legally change her name when we come home and readopt her in the US. Our ceremony is at 3pm and then we'll come back to the hotel to pack. We leave at 5am tomorrow morning. We haven't bought too many things. It's hard to shop when you have a baby who reaches for everything! Who would have ever thought I wouldn't want to shop? Well, I guess the next time we'll post is when we are home again. We leave at 5am tomorrow morning (which is 5pm Thursday) so keep us in your prayers as we travel home. I keep praying that Jade likes to fly!

Night owl!

Last night Jade went to bed wonderfully. She was asleep in less than 3 minutes. She slept from 8:15 until 3:00AM! Way too early to get up! Usually I just lay her back down and soothe her and she goes right back to sleep but last night when she woke up she wanted to play. I tried to rock her back to sleep but then she bit me hard! I have a bite mark on my chest from her! This seems normal because we have a few biters here but it's definitely a habit I'm hoping to break. She finally went back to sleep at about 4AM and then slept until 7 or so. Hopefully this is not a trend! When we went out walking around 10 this am she wanted to sleep but I kept waking her up. She's napping at her regular nap time right now so hopefully she'll be ok for tonight. Otherwise I guess we'll be doing a lot of sleeping on the plane. We have tomorrow and then we start for home! We can't wait to see everyone! Keep praying!

High Chair Triumph!

Today when we went to dinner Jade sat in her high chair the entire time! What a triumph! She was perfectly content to sit, babble and eat in the chair the entire time we were at dinner. We've done 10 to 15 minute stretches but this was at least an hour. It was the first time I think I've eaten a meal since we got her. She had a very good day today. She is very active most of the time now. She talks and is constantly playing with something. Paper is her favorite thing. She'll sit and play with paper for as long as you let her. She still searches for me no matter what she's doing but she is definitely more comfortable with Jack. The only bad part in all of this is that when we get home she'll have to go through a whole new routine again. So many changes for such a little girl! She seems happier now, though. Every day gets better for her. I think it gets better for us, too. We're becoming pros at changing diapers while she wiggles and enticing her to eat more. By the time she's 20 we'll have the hang of it!

I can't help thinking today, though, about Gram. Today it's been one year since I last spoke with her. It's hard to believe one year has passed since she had the stroke. I look at Jade and I often wonder what she would think of her. I look at her little face and I think that perhaps Gram had a hand in picking her out. She favors Melanie quite a bit. I wish that I could post a picture of her so you could see her. I will when I get home. In the meantime, keep us in your prayers, especially as we begin traveling home on Friday or should I say Thursday afternoon your time at 5. Hopefully Jade likes flying!

Dr. Checkout OK

Today Jade had her Dr's checkup. She didn't cry at all until the very end when he checked her tongue. She weighs only 17.5 pounds. She has a little bit of conjestion so we need to give her medication. She's beginning to eat very well now but still clings at times. She'll sit in the high chair for about 15 minutes and will ride in her stroller for a brief period of time but still wants to be held mostly. Last night she didn't sleep well at all. She kept waking up. We just keep taking it day by day. We'll be home in a few short days! We can't wait!

Saturday, March 31

We've had baby Jade for 5 days now and things are going smoothly for the most part. She goes to sleep very easily but doesn't eat very much. We finally discovered that she likes mashed potatoes but not much else. She still copies everything she sees but still clings quite a bit. She has ridden in the stroller quite a bit but fusses after a little while. I'm still amazed at how small she is. 9 month clothes are probably the best size for her. We keep trying to find something she likes so we can fatten her up! Hopefully we'll find something soon! Right now she's napping and she looks so sweet! Keep us in your prayers!

Day 3 with Jade

Day three with the baby started out better. She still clings like crazy but she will laugh and babble and play as long as she can be very close to me. She won't leave me at all. She's so small! You cannot even imagine until you see her. I taught her to do patty cake yesterday and she's starting to wave when I say to wave. Jack and I were doing rasberries to her and she was trying to imitate that. She still smiles often too as long as I'm close. She didn't get much sleep last night so night time tonight was rough! It took about an hour for her to finally fall asleep. We tried everything but I think in the end she was just wore out and fell asleep despite all of our best efforts! We just have to keep trying though. She's just the sweetest little thing!

We have her!

Sorry I haven't posted sooner! We got her on Monday and everything went very well. She came to us right away and laughed and giggled immediately. When we left the building, reality set in for her. She began to whine a little and by the time we came to the hotel she was in full defense mode. She refused to let me put her down. She's been like that since. She hugs my neck as tightly as possible when she's scared, worried, etc. If she begins to feel comfortable, she'll start playing and babbling but she has to be very close to me in order to do anything. She lets Jack hold her briefly but will begin to cry for me. I feel so bad for her! Hopefully she'll begin to get more secure soon. Sh's beautiful though! Right now she feels comfortable enough to watch me type. She's right around my neck though! Keep praying for us!

We're in Guangzhou!

We just arrived in Guangzhou. We spent the day at the Forbidden City. Beijing is extremely beautiful. We flew out around 6:30. Our plane was late so we're just now in the hotel room. It has a little crib for Jade. I'm very nervous but Jack is extremely calm. Just a few more hours and we meet the baby. I still haven't learned how to post pictures yet. The screen is in Chinese so I just started clicking buttons until I got the post screen. Eventually we'll figure out how to post pictures. Keep us in your prayers! We need lots!

We're in China

Hello! We arrived in China Friday afternoon around 3:30 P.M. (3 am there). It was definitely an extremely long flight but we met a very nice stewardless named Elizabeth. She gave us a pair of wings for Jade! Another sign! We felt pretty good last night and woke up very early this morning. We walked the Great Wall today for around 1 mile. It was all uphill. Jack kept calling me Grandma b/c I kept stopping. It was straight uphill! Coming down was much better of course. We also saw the Olympic Stadium for 2008. By tonight jet lag has finally caught up with us. We're both pretty tired. I'll try to post some pictures later. We'll meet Jade in 38 hours. Unbelievable!

The Padua Family!

Today Padua threw a send-off party for Jack & I. We were so touched by the generosity of Padua! The 100 wishes quilt and the thoughts and prayers that were written for Jade on the quilt and the pink cards will be something that Jade will cherish! I can't wait to hang the plaques with her Chinese name. I know that someday she will read everything that was written, and will have no doubt that she was wanted from the moment she was created! I'm so thankful that I work at such a caring place! The clothes and the bath toys will be definitely used. (We're going to have a great time with the bubble bath!) I know that many have lived through this journey with us and that as we travel to bring Jade home, we will be in many prayers. What a wonderful gift that is, too! We are so blessed to have such a caring community (my very own little town!) support us during this journey! We cannot say thank you enough!

We are China bound!

We found out last night that we will be traveling to China on March 22 and will return home on April 6. We will meet Jade for the first time on March 26. Isn't that amazing! Jade will be home in time for Easter! We have anxiously awaited approval and now I can't believe we'll be leaving in less than 2 weeks! We're almost completely packed but we need to get quite a bit done. The 22nd will be here before you know it!

Updated measurements

We received updated measurements and a new picture of Jade on February 17. They were taken some time in February. At that time she was 26.6 inches tall & she weighed almost 19 pounds. She's really little but so cute!

About Jade

We don't know too much information about Jade but we have learned a little. On February 28, 2006, the Hedong police station in the Maonan district in Maoming received a report about a baby abandoned across the street from a government-owned hotel on Yingbinlu Road. She was wearing a light blue infant outfit & was wrapped in a red blanket when she was found. The police looked for her parents but couldn't find them. She was taken to the Maonan orphanage where she has been living since then. The medical staff gave her a physical examination and estimated that she was born on February 27. She was given the name Nan Cai Qin. (Qin is her first name, which means musical instrument) She has 5 teeth now and weighs approximately 18 pounds. She is murmuring and can walk if she's holding onto something. Her caregivers say that she is very lovable, easy-going and that she smiles and giggles often. She also loves music (Just like Jack!) We can't wait to meet her!

On Chinese New Year our friends Danielle, Debbie, Holly and Linda threw us a surprise baby shower. I was completely surprised! We always have "girl" time every month and I thought the shower was our monthly meeting. Jack knew the whole time but kept the secret! I cannot thank them enough for all that they did to make the shower so beautiful! The theme was perfect and the decorations were wonderful! She couldn't have asked for a better party! Jade received so many beautiful gifts from everyone. We were very touched by everyone's generosity. She is a very lucky little girl to have so many people who care about her already!

We're waiting on TA

Hello! Jack and I want to welcome you! We are very excited to begin our journey to China for our daughter Jade! We began the adoption process in April of 2005 so it has been a very long process and we are finally coming to the end of the road. Because so many of our family and friends have been a part of this process, we wanted everyone to be able to follow along as we travel to China to bring home Jade. We will be posting our photos and experiences during our stay. Thanks for sharing our journey!