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!