Girl Sleep-Over

Liliah decided that she wanted to have a sleep-over with mommy! I asked her what a sleep-over was?  She said, well the first thing you must start with is a tent...that's the first thing! When I told her we don't have a tent, she said, we can sleep on the couch then.  We found a blow up bed and she was happy with that.  The other thing she wanted was sweet popcorn (kettle corn) and special cookies and to watch a girl move, like Minnie & Daisy because they are girls. She started talking about this out of the blue on Thursday evening.  This is something new for her to request to do something specific. So her daddy and I made sure it happened. She was so excited to be doing this with me.       

We did our hair the same with a side pony tails, painted our nails and wore our jammies and ate kettle corn.

Liliah is becoming quite a mommie's girl.  She is really initiating lots of hugs and kisses with me multiple times daily.  She tells me all the time, "mommy I love you all day and all night. When I ask her to help me with something she will say, I will do anything for you mommy....whatever you ask me. It is so sweet and I am loving it. Just as this is happening, we are starting to enter into new territory with her.  She knows the facts that she was born in China and adopted.  We are all very proud of that.  We have always told her that God has blessed us and made us a family. She wanted to know when Jesus visited China! Last night she asked me, where were you adopted from?  She is having lots of pretend conversations on her Minne phone the past couple of days.  She tells me that lots of her friends have hair color like her and a couple of her friends have hair color like me. And so, we are talking about adoption much more these days.

Talking. . . .About China . . .

Liliah is 9 months old and pictured with her foster mom in their home..  I just came across this picture tonight and was blessed and amazed to see Liliah with her hands on the scripture in Psalms 4:8 "He will give you sleep, peace and a safe place to dwell."  What a faithful Heavenly Father to bring this to pass in her life!  I believe that Liliah was loved and treated well by this family and for that, I am VERY thankful.

Liliah is starting to talk about China a little.  The other night, there was a PBS special on the Yangtzee River dam.  Her and I were headed to the kitchen and I drew her attention to the screen and said, look, Liliah that's China and isn't it pretty.  She agreed and as she was being a little helper stirring something, she asked, did daddy and mommy go there?  I told her that yes, we did...that she was waiting for us to come and bring her home.  She then asked if she could go to China and I said, yes we would take her someday.  After that she wanted to know if she could go by bus - very cute!  

Tonight, Liliah and I were eating dinner (daddy had not gotten home from work yet) and enjoying the slide show on our computer screen.  She brought my attention to a picture and I said, yes that is China.  She said, that's Liliah's China.  I was so happy to be talking with her about this.  I always want to be truthful to her in amounts that she can receive.  I decided to go get the CD we received on the day we met with the officials of her life in China as a baby.  We don't have any accompanying information about them, but they are dated so we know how old she was.  Anyways, I thought it would be a good time to show her cute baby pictures of herself.  She laughed out loud and was excited to see them.   I pointed to the other little girl in this picture saying that she had been adopted too and was no longer in China.  That she was with her family.  By this time she was playing in the water at the kitchen sink and then, she told me, God gave me a Momma!  I was really stunned. . . .(and blessed) by that comment.  I have never said that phrase to her! It was at this point, I reaffirmed what she was saying and that she had a China mom and then us as her daddy and mommy forever.  She was happy while we talked and played . .  . . .I wanted to get this down as these are the first significant talks with her about her history. (we have told her some facts.  She also can't help but glean information as she is a magnet in public and people want to stop and talk...I'm starting to think I need to keep this and any info I share to a minimum while she's around)

 What a journey this is . . .

Happy Gotcha Day

One year ago today, this was Liliah's first real eye contact with us.  She was calm, but you can see the concern in her eyes and that her wheels were turning.  We never experienced any obvious grieving with her.  One of the traits her foster mother made in the notes was that she was easy going.   The above clip is our first meal together just a couple of hours after we met. 

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1 Year later . . . what a transformation

  

You finally settled on your pose

Happy, Happy Gotcha Day

Miss Liliah YingXia (yeen saw)

Daddy & Mommy love you to the moon and back

Celebrating 10 Months & 1 Year Ago

Mommy let me brush my pink pony's hair

 

I can't look now Mommy, I'm concentrating!

 

C H E E S E

Today we hit 10 months together as a family.  Tomorrow, November 13 is the day that we received our Letter of Acceptance from China officially stating Liliah was ours!  This is a picture taken of her that day at her foster family's home.

10 Things We Love About Her.........

1. She ours....what a gift
   
2. Her resilient spirit
   
3. Her sense of humor.....she makes us laugh and knows it!
   
4. Her giggles
5. Easy going and willing to try new things
   
6. Her long eye lashes & rose bud lips
7. She sleeps 12 hours a night since we arrived home from China
   
8. She takes a 2-3 hour nap every day
   
9. Her teenie tiny self
   
10. She loves to be with us
    

Patient Update

Kicking back in my tutu with daddy

Nana & I playing with the swimming turtle she gave me

 My creative team (Mommy & Nana) brought home some play dough to help pass my recovery time

 

 Learning to roll out the dough

 

            Medicine is wearing off  

Mommies creation

 

 Mommy &Nana playing some Yahtzee

Thank you for all of your prayers and well wishing.  Liliah is recovering nicely.  She's been a trooper and has been much happier at home.  We've had a week plus of not getting a full night sleep.  Last night was our first night where she did not awake in pain or crying.  We continue to monitor her closely during her awake hours and she is not allowed to feed herself (which is frustrating for her).  She is now eating soft foods and is refusing ice cream!  She really wants to eat regular food, but we have to keep things simple for her to manage with her palate and keep the pain to a minimal.  We will revisit the doctor sometime next week to check out his work & her progress.  She's stopped saying, GaGa for daddy and gog for maddy our dog.....but she can't pronounce her D's.  She can now say ELMO though and it was actually her first word she said at the hospital once she saw her diapers.  My mom & I got the chills hearing her say this on the first day out of surgery.  She will definitely need to continue her speech therapy.  

We're Home from the Hospital!

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A Tough Day with some Sun Breaks

Me and my Nana out on the town.  Happy Birthday, Papa

I gave mama smiles and perked up on the ride around the hospital.

Today has been a tough day for Liliah.  We couldn't completely wean her off the morphine as she was FEELING the pain.  She got one dose in mid morning so we could get her to eat some ice cream and drink a little liquids.  Most of the day though she was on codeine, but we had to resort back to the strong stuff when it came to getting her to try any little sip of liquids.  In the evening when daddy showed up she perked up again....daddy has the magic touch in getting her to eat and kind of forget the pain.  Man, it is miserable when your child is in such pain and you can't do anything, but hug & love on her....and ask for more morophine, please.  I am hoping for her to sleep longer hours tonight.  She really has been a great patient and trying to have a good attitude.  This evening she started repeating lots of words and is really trying to talk.  My mom and I were AMAZED as she saw some Elmo diapers laying around and said his name very clearly!  My mom and I did make time for a breakfast run and some shopping @ Pottery Barn Kids, where I found a Christmas stocking for Liliah.

Happy Halloween......

The Little Patient

Pre-surgery hanging out with Daddy & Skeeters

Mama putting on my special Bugs Bunny gown

 Mama likes my warm blankie!  Is this a great place to stay or what?

Mommy is dressed and ready to go with me to the ER.  Personally, I think my gown is better than hers!!!

This is what a cleft palette III looks like and the reason I am here.  

Liliah did great pre-surgery.  She had no idea (and she wouldn't have understood anyway) what was to transpire and  was just her happy self, which made it much easier on us.  Skeeters & I got to accompany Liliah into the E.R.  Skeeter got to stay though and I had to go.  It was really cool going into the ER with her and meeting the team that would operate on her.  She was so cooperative and not afraid at all.....we all had masks on accept her so she was quite curious, but not apprehensive.  She ooh'd and aah'd when they taped the pulse line to her finger.  She sat  still when the anesthesiologist administered the strawberry laughing gas.  I was there when she fell asleep and got to give her a kiss on the cheek.  Her surgery began @ 3PM and was finished at 5PM.  It is 6:45 PM and we are waiting in her room where they are to bring her to us soon from recovery.  I will be staying with her overnight and Daddy and my mom (who is here from CA to help - yeah!) will go home tonight.  I'm praying that Liliah will rest peacefully.  We'll update tomorrow and how she is doing.

1 Month Ago - Forever Ours

January 12, one month ago today........was the best day of our lives!!! We carried you in our heart for a long time, and you were in our dreams......but to see you walk through those doors......was just unbelievable and magical...........



When we got back to the hotel, we thought we'd break the ice by giving you a snack. You were sweet and willing to come to us. You & daddy are bonding over Cheerio's.

Our First Week Home

Happy Birthday, Daddy...you're the best!

First trip to Red Robin and I'm lovin' me some french fries....mommy also shared her hot fudge sundae with me.....good times!

Here I am eating again.....really folks, I do have a few other talents which you can see below on some of my videos! This is how I eat my meals (on the kitchen table) as mommy needs to go buy a booster seat for me

Making sure mom doesn't forget to pack what's important...........my little McDonald's animal that sings, "I want to move it, move it."

We're Home!!!!! Liliah traveled like a champ on the flights home. She only slept a couple of hours, but had her own seat between us which gave her some wiggle room. Meals, snacks & a book & Minnie Mouse phone she had not played with did the trick

Mrs. Beth our neighbor and hopefully, Liliah's Kindergarten teacher! Beth, thank you SO MUCH bringing by a lovely meal and dessert after we'd been sleeping for a couple of days - we needed the help! You were our first visitor and Liliah just loves the musical puppy and book you gave her. We look forward to taking walks with you in the neighborhood!

New Post Coming Soon....

This John Denver song came to us on the drive home from the airport and we sang it as we passed downtown Seattle! Liliah loved us singing and was making some sounds and trying to sing along.
I promise to update our blog soon! We have been recovering from jetlag, a stomach bug and new parenthood......although, that may take some time to get up to speed on! Pictures & videos soon.

Farewell, China......God Bless the USA!,

Today was the day we have all been waiting for......the day we would visit the US Consulate, raise our right hands with our children in hand to take the oath and finalize our adoption. I think there were approx. 75 families present from our country bringing home their precious gift from God! The Consulate told us that they had processed 3,690 adoptions in 2008! When we came up that escalator and saw our flag on the way into the Consulate it was a beautiful site.

Skyline view in Guangzhou

Last night for Liliah in her birth country

Hotel lobby all decked out for the New Year, January 26th

Group picture......what fun we had with everyone. We made good friends that we hope to keep in touch with......

What can I say about Dan, Becky & Bethany. God blessed us with their company & we are really going to miss these guys and all the laughs we had.......

Becky was so easy to be around........I'll miss our her squatty potty stories

Liliah's going to miss room service

View from the 45th floor rotating restaurant, where we had breakfast every morning....western style

Yummy!

I'm off to pack and put Miss Liliah back to bed....it's tough sleeping when Mom & Dad are banging around packing as fast as they can. We are getting our wake up call @ 4:30 AM to depart @ 6AM for the airport and departing for home @ 8:30 AM. Our chariot is scheduled to pull into Seattle @ 6:55 AM where we will get to do Friday ALL OVER AGAIN. We can't wait to come through our front door with Miss L, go get JT & Maddy our dogs and sleep in our own beds......

Thank you for following us along on our journey to Liliah, China & back. It has been quite a journey that I will never forget. We felt your excitement for us and prayers........see you Stateside.........love Darryl, Sharon & Liliah

Day 13 in China - Chen Family Museum

One of my favorite sites in China. I love these red lanterns.....

Chinese doggie......guarding the front entrance to the Chen Clan Ancestral Home. The Chen family is the largest clan in China which makes up 9% of it's population. They are known for their creative and detailed carvings. If it can be carved.....the Chen's did it!

Inside the courtyard

This is a tiny carving from ivory

These walls were so pretty with the carvings & etched glass

We started out the day hanging out in our room until 11AM. Our guides took our final paperwork to the Consulate for processing and we had to be on hand just in case there were any questions. The Hay's (travel buddies) and we hailed a taxi to the nearest Walmart....(we are getting good at this) to pick up some last minute supplies for the trek home. We made sure we had some baby food & snack items for our girl. We stopped for 1 last meal from KFC (you don't know how happy I am to say that) and headed home for a quick rest. Darryl decided to stay back at the room so Liliah could nap and.....watch "24" Season 1, while I headed to the group Chen Museum Tour. They told us on the bus that all of our paperwork had cleared the Consulate and after swearing tomorrow.....we can go home......HIP, HIP HOORAY WE'LL BE ON OUR WAY! We finished the night with a 10 minute walk for a group dinner @ The Banana Leaf restaurant.....great food and lots of fun. The staff regaled us with singing "Daylight Come & Me Want To Go Home"......boy did they get that right....we are all ready to come home to the States......it's been fun, but time to go! I'll have to post the video from home....Good night from Guangzhou, China