1-year ago versus now

This photo of "Little One" was taken in July of last year:

Look at her one year later:

She's walking! (aka: Waddling...hehehe)

Now, we can actually say she's started to walk (aka: waddle). The following are several photos we thought sums up what she has been doing the past month:


1. She's getting pretty good at controlling her remote control school bus around. "Little one" loves to play with remote controls. She's quite a high tech baby. If we allow her, she enjoys sitting in front of the laptop computer pushing the keys and using the mouse, also!

I bet you're thinking that this is the school bus she's controlling. hehehehe.. Nope, this is not the remote controlled school bus. It's a great photo of her laughing and having fun.

2. She enjoys hanging in the pool on hot summer days. This one is a rare photo of her with a hat. "Little One" doesn't like to wear hats.

3. "Little One" cruising around the family room (aka: 2nd playroom). She's holding the Little Einstein DVD but she doesn't really like it too much. We think that it is not enough music throughout the DVD.
Her favorite and only DVDs she watches is "Baby Signing Time" volumes 1 & 2 and Diana Krall's Live in Paris Concert. We don't know why but she seems to like listening to the Jazzy and deep voice of Diana Krall.

3. This photo is "Little One" walking with the guidance of "Daddy" on our front yard. She's actually very curious about grass and the water hose. That's why she's looking down while she's walking on it.
4. This is a photo of her, taking off from the sofa.
5. She's pondering what she wants to do next.
6. On July 4th, we took "Little One" to our city's annual "Kid's Day Parade & Picnic." In this photo, she's waving her American flag and clapping as the parade proceeds.
On the communication side, she's really picking up the sign language. She's signing eat, drink, banana, milk, more, bear, hat, thank you, and a bit more. There are certain signs she knows how to do but doesn't know when to apply them quite yet. Some examples are Hurt, Sorry, and Please. She's mimicking quite well.

"Hubbie" & I think she has a pretty good memory because she'll anticipate what's next in the many books we read to her or on the "Baby Signing Time" DVD. As far as verbal skills, she's picked up a couple more words this month (i.e. bear - "bearbear," bird - "jerkjerk"(in Cantonese) or "birdbird," and flower-"faafaa" (in Cantonese).

Her favorites this month are: (a)Mommy singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and the "ABC" song. (b) putting things in and out. (She's starting to fit the pieces into puzzles and shaped toys now a days). (c) feeding herself (She's making such a big mess on the high chair.), and (d) having mommy & daddy read Baby Elmo's So Big! book repeatedly.

"Little One's" Many Faces

This month's favorite photos and what's happening with "Little One's" development into "Toddlerhood:"

1. Mommy decided to try a hairband on "Little One" one day. We had to take a picture of her, because it made us crack up. She looks like a disco girl about to go out to the roller rink in the 70's.

2. Interesting photo of "Little One" in front of her gate....smiling and trying to shake down the prison gate.
3. "Eeeh." (AKA: "Hello"). She's becoming increasingly interested in having us read books to her or in flipping the pages on her own. This picnic table is not only a desk.....it has become a climbing apparatus for "Little One" too. She also likes to imitate us with her play phones.
Just yesterday, "Little One" chose 3 books for "Hubbie" to read. Her favorite books are "Moo...Baaa...LaLaLa," Baby Elmo's "So Big!", and a book about ducks. "Little One" pointed to her reading books in her playroom signaling that she wanted him to read to her. "Hubbie"picked one book at a time and she would shake her head "no" until he chose the one she wanted. It's amazing! We actually are now starting to understand each other! (Sometimes)

4. Here she is standing in front of her toy box. She's picking out her toys. "Little One" is now standing on her own without having to hold on to something. She used to lean against furniture but now she's becoming more stable on her two feet.

The day care person, "Hubbie, and I are working hard to get her walking independently. Most of the time, we hold one of her hands to help her along. "Little One" does well when she takes her time with her steps, but once she starts going fast, she becomes like a drunk person and falls over. Recently, "Little One" is taking 1 to 2 steps on her own before she collapses.

5. We had placed this elephant toy high up on a tall shelf in her closet. However, one day after I picked out her clothes for the day, she pointed to the elephant toy signify that she wanted to play with it. I brought it down from the shelf and ever since, she has enjoying playing with it.

6. "Little One's" first experience in a pool during one very hot May weekend. She was a little afraid, initially......but once Mommy brought out her toys, she began to realize that she could play in the water. She started to enjoy playing in the pool and even complained when we finally took her out.She's been trying to imitate whatever we do that interests her. It's been really amazing to see that happening.

13-Month-Old Pre-Toddler

It was a busy March and April. We were still passing around cold germs. But...Hopefully now that the weather is getting warmer, we won't be coming down and sharing our colds for awhile.

She's happily crawling around now a days. However, this means that "Hubbie" & I have to keep a closer eye on her. On top of learning how to crawl, she's learned to pick herself up to a standing position. However, she's not learned how to sit herself down quite yet. The day care person says that even though she's tired, she'll keep standing and whining until the day care person comes to sit her back down.

Our little girl is calling me, "Mum" and "Hubbie", "Daa." She says "Tac" for Cat, "Dug" for Dog, Duc for "Duck." She's, also, signing "All Done/Finish", "Milk," and "Bird." She understands the sign for "Eat" and "Drink." But...I must say...She's mostly whining but it is a form of communication. I'm hoping she'll continue to pick up more verbal and signing communication skills because the whining can be pretty hard on the parents ears.

There is one thing I'm hoping is a phase. It is her crying whenever she sees strangers or people she does not see constantly. I'm hoping that this is a phase. My reasoning is that she's beginning to identify people in her life and probably doesn't feel comfortable for people she doesn't recognize or see often.

Our little girl seems to be teething constantly. This previous weekend she had two bottom teeth spring out simultaneously. According to the pediatrician, she's got a lot more in the back that looks like will be sprouting out soon. Poor thing! She's got a low tolerance for pain. We're getting ready for more whining, neediness, and irritability.

The following are the latest photos of our little girl.

1. This was her Easter dress. It's not a fancy dress but it's one of the rare occassions she's been dressed in a dress because of warmer weather that weekend.


2. She loves to play with the TV remote control. This is the rare occassions that she was allowed to touch the remote control. During these times, she'll hold it up smiling proudly to show that she's the Queen of the Remote.
3. She's happily playing with her toys.
4. The "home girl" is playing with her Care Bear cards.
5. This is a photo of her and her first gate. This gate blocks her from going into the kitchen. She's shaking it to see if she can knock it down.
6. She's rocking away on Elijah, the Elephant.
7. This one is where she shaking her links while hanging onto her musical chair for stability.

She's a one-year-old now!

"Baby" is a one-year-old! She has made some progress since last month. "Baby" seems to be stronger and puts more effort into crawling. She has learned to sit up on her own and takes every opportunity to "cruise with assistance." She has not figured out how to balance her body quite yet but has,at times, expressed interest in wanting to do it on her own....hat's the dangerous part, because sometimes she gets ahead of herself.

February Update

I can't believe it's February already. Our little one will be a 1-year-old next month. She's growing up.

"Hubbie" & I already noticed that we'll be in trouble once "the Little One" is walking.
She prefers to be upright than "tummy time." I feel that there's hardly any progress with her crawling abilities but I have noticed that she's not as uncomfortable being in the crawling position as before. Lately, she's been trying to get up from her little musical chair to a standing position on her own. She's trying to grab on to parts of furniture to stabilize and mobilize herself but because she doesn't really know how to balance herself quite yet, "Hubbie" & I must be there to guide her otherwise she'll be falling onto the floor or off of furniture.

The following photos that from this month:
1. This is one of her silly facial expressions.



2. This photo she's playing with her Lego dumpster truck.



3. The photo below is one where she's flipping through a magazine.


4. As described above, she's sitting on her musical chair in this photo.

December 2007

It's been a whole month since we've posted on our blog. It's been really busy, busy, busy. Our Christmas came and left really quick. We've all come down with our first winter "colds" (even "The Little One"). Here are some photos from this past month:

She's hanging out in bed.

She's using a carrot stick to soothe her teething pains. It's the only thing that really works for her.


She's just relaxing on Hubbie's big armchair.


Baby has made such developmental strides within the last 2 months. Let's see what 2008 will hold for all of us. Happy New Year!

Baby update

We've been home with baby for a little more than 2 weeks now. She is doing well, but it has been a challenge for Yvonne and I. We've been trying to make sure that baby is eating okay, getting her rest, and enjoying her play time. We're trying to introduce different activities to her--reading time, music time, etc. Combined with food prep, clean up, diaper changes (& blow outs), we are usually pooped by the end of each day. Baby is now a little more comfortable at home and can sit up now as well as grasp her toys better with her hands. She is trying to crawl but doesn't really go anywhere. Baby is also starting to show her true colors ---stubborn and cranky! At times, she will get fussy when she is tired but doesn't want to nap, when she is eating and doesn't particularly like the food we're giving her, and when she is not getting enough attention.

We arrived home!

It was a long flight from Guangzhou to Hong Kong to LAX, but we finally arrived in Los Angeles at about 8am on Saturday, November 10th. Baby is slowly adjusting to her new home, and we're all trying to get back to living in the Pacific Time zone. Baby is doing well and still trying to adjust to yet another move. In the last few weeks, she has gone from the orphanage to a hotel in Nanchang, to a hotel in Guangzhou, to flying across the Pacific Ocean to America. We hope that she'll soon realize that we are home and that we're not moving any time soon.

Our Last Day in Guangzhou

..guest post by hubbie...
It has been a very busy couple of days here in Guangzhou. We arrived on Wednesday evening, checked into the White Swan Hotel, and then we had to get baby's photo taken and complete paperwork which took until 10 pm. On Thursday, we had to get baby's medical exam completed in the morning and then in the afternoon, we went to the US Consulate to get interviewed/sworn in and obtained baby's travel visa to return to the United States. The last couple of days with baby has been really tough on us. Baby has been showing signs of distress, and we aren't sure what is wrong exactly. Yvonne and I sat down last night to discuss some changes that we will try to make so that baby will be happier. Today, we are preparing for the trip back home.

Our last night in Nanchang

..guest post by hubbie....

Tonight is our last night here in Nanchang. Tomorrow, we fly to Guangzhou. It will be baby's first flight on an airplane, and we hope that everything works out okay. She is becoming more talkative with her baby babble, and she surprises us and makes us laugh everyday. She is very good at communicating her needs: when she is hungry, she will start sucking on her thumb vigorously. When she needs a diaper change, she will become upset when you sit her down but calm down right away when you pick her up...when she is upset and wants to be left alone, she will give you the mean eye and flail her arms and kick with her legs. She seems to be getting stronger and was even able to hold up her own bottle for a short period of time today. Teething is still a problem but her cold seems to be clearing up. She seems to have a good memory, because she now becomes clearly agitated when she sees either one of us with a q-tip, nose spray, or kleenex coming her way to clean her nose. Living out of a hotel room and taking care of baby has been very challenging, but we are still alive (barely).

Our guides (Karen and her mom) have been very helpful during our stay in Nanchang. Our visit to this city to meet baby will be one that we never forget (the picture of baby is from the first time that we met her at the civil affairs office).

The latest in Nanchang.

It's been quite a journey so far. "Hubbie" & I thought we were about to pass the bend with "baby's" cold improving. However, today she started to have some teething pain. She's got 2-3 teeth cutting in on the top. She started screaming because the pain was so bad in the afternoon. We did calm her down eventually but it was difficult to hear her cry for so long. Before today, she had only cried for short periods at a time. Overall, she is usually happy as long as she is fed.

We need reinforcements! Hubbie's gone crazy already!

This is the 2nd day we have our baby girl. She's been a challenge for the both of us as new parents of an infant. We definitely know that as long as you feed her on time, change her daiper, entertain her, and allow her to sleep, she is in the best of moods. Our baby definitely is a deep sleeper. She can sleep through anything.

Our little girl has some nasal congestion and coughing right now because the orphanage said she caught a cold last week. She's improving. She's even got her 1st "poopie" this afternoon. That was a first for mommy & daddy. Afterward, she's so talkative and such a happy baby.

However, "Hubbie" has to go take a trip to Walmart to purchase some things. Because we're first time parents, we're more cautious and so we've used more wipes, daipers, and formula than we should have.

Gotta go help "Hubbie" now with baby.

Pre-Baby Day!

We are here in Nanchang in the Jiangxi Province. Today is the day we'll meet our daughter. It's exciting but we're also nervous, first-time parents to be. We hope that we'll be able to take care of her and respond to her needs.

But, let me go back a couple of days.... "Hubbie" & I flew to Hong Kong on Monday. It was the longest flight. We boarded our flight early Monday afternoon, and with the time change, we arrived in Hong Kong Tuesday evening. "Hubbie" counted down each hour. We arrived safely and stayed overnight at the Regal Airport Hotel. It was a very nice room Due to the overcast sky and forecast of rain, we decided to stay on the airport grounds and didn't venture into the city.

On Wednesday afternoon, we boarded another flight from Hong Kong to Nanchang. This flight was much shorter (only an hour and 40 minutes long). Nanchang is quite different from Hong Kong. It's harder to get around without knowing Mandarin and "Hubbie" was able to use what little he knows. Our guide, Karen, was very helpful in making sure that we got to the hotel okay.

Well, we'll soon be meeting baby for the 1st time later this morning. We'll try to provide an update if we have a chance.

Leaving for China

We attended the travel meeting at HAI earlier this week and will be leaving for China on October 29. It has been quite a week....everything is happening so fast. We obtained our travel visas and are now trying to get everything packed. Baby day (the day that we meet our daughter) will be November 1.

We have Travel Approval!

We were informed by Maggie at HAI yesterday morning that "Hubbie" & I have travel approval from China to bring baby home. The next wave of "waiting" will be for Chris, the HAI coordinator in China, to schedule our Civil Affairs appointment in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province and then an appointment with the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province. We'll be finding out more information in a week or two about appointments scheduled. Maggie made it very clear that we cannot book any flights or hotels until we have the appointments scheduled. And so...We're waiting and preparing for our trip and for baby's arrival...But it just seems that things are rolling along in the right track.

This week was pretty exciting. Everyday we have heard from our agency on one thing or another. We have an update on baby's weight, height, head circumference, chest circumference, and foot length. She has gained 3 lbs since July. But...We won't really know exactly how much she weighs until we see her because the physicians weigh her with clothes on. Who knows how many layers of clothes she had that day she was weighed?

Maggie called to say that they'll be trying to schedule our Travel Meeting for next week. We'll be going over exactly what is to be expected of us (i.e. documents, gifts, $$$, etc.) next week sometime. At least "Hubbie" & I know that during the 1st leg of our trip to Jiangxi Province, we'll be traveling with one other HAI family from No. CA. The other 2 families will remain in the Guangdong Province the entire trip. It's getting closer to the day we'll meet our "baby girl!"

Introducing Our Daughter

"Hubbie" & I would like to introduce our daughter! She was born on March 6, 2007 (a "Golden Piggy"). She is currently being cared for in the Guixi Social Welfare Institute in Jiangxi Province, China. We are looking forward to being united with her soon.

These pictures of her are from July of this year.

We have a DAUGHTER!

"Hubbie" & I got the news yesterday afternoon at about 1:50pm. It was a surprise for me. My co-workers & I went to lunch and were shopping at Party City for a Halloween costume for my co-worker's little boy. When we were waiting in line, I received a phone call from "Hubbie" who said that some families were receiving referrals. I informed him that I hadn't heard from HAI yet....and so my co-workers & I rushed back to our office so that I could view what "Hubbie" was talking about on the "net." When I got back, the computer network was down, but I got the call from Maggie, the China Adoption Director at HAI, who said..."I have good news for you...." "Hubbie" couldn't get in on the phone call with me and since I was still in a bit of shock, I asked my supervisor/co-worker to listen in on the referral call. The rest of the afternoon and evening was a bit of a blur. I know that I was still trying to do some work.

Our little girl's DOB is 3/6/2007. She is from the Jiangxi Province (Southern part of China).



We will find out more tomorrow afternoon when "Hubbie" & I meet with Maggie at HAI to go over the referral package.

It's September Already! Another month has gone by.

September is here and we're still waiting to be matched with baby. During the last 1.5 months, "Hubbie" & I have been reading more parenting books. We really enjoyed reading "On Becoming Baby Wise: Book Two" parenting pretoddlers 5 to 15 months written by Gary Ezzo, MA & Robert Bucknam, MD. The book emphasizes that the patterns children develop today will forever impact his/her life. Book Two stresses the belief that the duty of every parent is to raise a morally responsible child who will grow up to be a morally responsible adult.

I've borrowed and started reading a couple of baby food cookbooks from a friend. Both books are good references. The "Super Baby Food' book written by Ruth Yaron is a bit overwhelming for me because I'm not a connoisseur in the kitchen in the first place. No colorful pictures of the recommended recipes to include in baby's diet. I would recommend "First Meals" by Annabel Karmel to be included in the parenting library of books. There are a lot of colorful pictures of "mouth watering" foods to cook for the baby and family too.

"Hubbie" & I are learning to sign so that we can teach baby to communicate basic needs prior to being able to verbalize in words. We have two "Baby Signing Time" DVDs that we're learning from. I hope that signing will decrease the communication frustrations on both ends (baby & us). We will still verbalize the words as we sign so that she can associated the words to the signing gestures.

I really did not hear any news of expedited families receiving their referrals at the beginning of September, referral time. I'm hoping that we'll hear some good news at the begiining of October for expedited families. It's just a couple of weeks away. We're waiting on "pins & needles" guessing when we'll receive our referral. Due to CCAA's more stricter interpretations of the expedited criteria, some families have been denied and are waiting longer than they originally anticipated. We hope that the CCAA workers have included "Hubbie" and I in the expedited pile.

Referrals have arrived again!

It looks like CCAA has included CER families who were logged in June 2006. What does that mean for "hubbie" & me? We can finally say "we're next!" How exciting and a bit scary. I don't know how much longer the wait will be but we're next for CER families.