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!