Thursday, June 21, 2012
Jie Jie Just Gave Me Her First Bottle
Jie Jie Tyanna just gave Amaris her first bottle... now they are snuggling. Amaris is DEFINITELY a Mama's girl, but she is at least allowing Jie Jie to bond with her a little. Food helps!
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
First Bottle with Baba
I captured Baba giving his first bottle to the baby.
Her eyes are still on Mama... capturing this photo... but, soon, she will be making more eye contact.
The bonding process in adoption is different for every child, but for most, no eye contact, and no talking, is the norm. This is the expected and anticipated behavior, but the majority of the children will bounce out of this by day 3 or day 4 with their new family. Oh what a joy it is to watch the transition of a lost and hurting child begin to understand trust, love and affection, some for the very first time.
The bonding process in adoption is different for every child, but for most, no eye contact, and no talking, is the norm. This is the expected and anticipated behavior, but the majority of the children will bounce out of this by day 3 or day 4 with their new family. Oh what a joy it is to watch the transition of a lost and hurting child begin to understand trust, love and affection, some for the very first time.
I-Pad Entertainment
While the girls have literally played together for hours now (or atleast side by side), Gabriella did ask for the I-pad... so, we gave it to her.
Looked who joined her!
Looked who joined her!
The Bachelorette is Viewed in China...
As I was getting things organized after a long day, I noticed Tyanna intently watching something on the computer... She had her ear plug in one ear and the other ear plug in the baby's ear.
Uh... probably not appropriate for the 2 year old to be watching The Bachelorette Tyanna!
Uh... probably not appropriate for the 2 year old to be watching The Bachelorette Tyanna!
Amaris' Finding Ad
I will have our guide, Eva, translate this ad for us. I am hoping we might learn something new from it.
This is what is posted in the local newspaper for 2 months prior to adoption paperwork being created. I generally see Finding Ads with 10-12 babies posted... this is not a complete Finding Ad.
When our guide David Su read Gabriella's Finding Ad, we learned that she was given a name by her birthmom. We hope that this name will help us find each other someday.
Tyanna's Sister Skills in Action
Today, Tyanna taught Gabriella how to play the card game UNO while Amaris sat next to them coloring.
It was so sweet to watch them... and not intervene. Amaris is just now letting Tyanna hold her... before today, she would arch her back, start the silent tears, and then the little cries for Mama as she reaches out for me... honestly, since Gabriella wanted little to do with me unless Baba was out of the room when we adopted her, I LOVED it. I tried to capture it on video, but unless she does it again soon, it may be too late... because she is beginning to bond with everyone.
PHOTOS will be posted soon.
It was so sweet to watch them... and not intervene. Amaris is just now letting Tyanna hold her... before today, she would arch her back, start the silent tears, and then the little cries for Mama as she reaches out for me... honestly, since Gabriella wanted little to do with me unless Baba was out of the room when we adopted her, I LOVED it. I tried to capture it on video, but unless she does it again soon, it may be too late... because she is beginning to bond with everyone.
PHOTOS will be posted soon.
Tyanna is Doing Everything to Bond!
Tyanna will be off to college in just a few short weeks. It has been such a blessing to have her on this trip with us and to watch her bond with both sisters.
She has been putting to use her Pre-Kindergarten teacher knowledge while interacting with the little ones. She is so good with them.
Gabriella Got a Boo Boo... Again!
Today at 3pm we were heading to another appointment to take Amaris' photo for her Chinese passport.
As we were getting everyone ready to go, Gabriella was standing up, leaning next to a chair... and fell... right on her chin... AGAIN. This is the 3rd time that she has split it wide open since May. I don't fully understand the doctor's thinking about not stiching it up, but it seems to me that they should. Based on her original scars (in the same place) from China, she fell at least 3 times there as well. She just doesn't have the ability to catch herself yet, and it is impossible for us to be right next to her 24/7 to catch her if she does fall. She falls daily... but, falling on the chin is a problem.
I know that God is in the process of healing her little body and causing her cerebellum to be made whole, but her healing hasn't yet been fully manifested. Thus, she has issues with balance and does not yet walk. When she came to us in July 2010, she had ZERO balance. She has had several times where she has stood unassisted for 3 or more minutes at a time, with one miraculous timed and videoed standing of 6 minutes and 30 seconds. But, the majority of the time, it is 10-20 seconds before she falls. The trials between her healing are frustrating because I don't want to see our little princess suffer. She has already done so much suffering in the first 3 and a half years of her life, more suffering just breaks my heart.
In the vision the Lord gave me 18 years ago of our two, dark-haired, tan-skinned girls, they were standing in the grass with their shoulder length (or just beyond their shoulder) hair next to each other looking ahead as though they were looking at Jason and I. The taller girl smiled and ran in the grass behind her. We know, that the taller girl is Gabriella and that the smaller girl is Amaris... we know, of the 50 million orphans in the world, it was these two girls God showed me. So, we continue to believe for Gabriella's healing to come... we sing about it, pray about it and speak it multiple times a day. With Amaris now here by her side, it makes Gabriella's healing come even sooner.
Thank you for your prayers against infection as well as that her chin will permanently seal.
As we were getting everyone ready to go, Gabriella was standing up, leaning next to a chair... and fell... right on her chin... AGAIN. This is the 3rd time that she has split it wide open since May. I don't fully understand the doctor's thinking about not stiching it up, but it seems to me that they should. Based on her original scars (in the same place) from China, she fell at least 3 times there as well. She just doesn't have the ability to catch herself yet, and it is impossible for us to be right next to her 24/7 to catch her if she does fall. She falls daily... but, falling on the chin is a problem.
I know that God is in the process of healing her little body and causing her cerebellum to be made whole, but her healing hasn't yet been fully manifested. Thus, she has issues with balance and does not yet walk. When she came to us in July 2010, she had ZERO balance. She has had several times where she has stood unassisted for 3 or more minutes at a time, with one miraculous timed and videoed standing of 6 minutes and 30 seconds. But, the majority of the time, it is 10-20 seconds before she falls. The trials between her healing are frustrating because I don't want to see our little princess suffer. She has already done so much suffering in the first 3 and a half years of her life, more suffering just breaks my heart.
In the vision the Lord gave me 18 years ago of our two, dark-haired, tan-skinned girls, they were standing in the grass with their shoulder length (or just beyond their shoulder) hair next to each other looking ahead as though they were looking at Jason and I. The taller girl smiled and ran in the grass behind her. We know, that the taller girl is Gabriella and that the smaller girl is Amaris... we know, of the 50 million orphans in the world, it was these two girls God showed me. So, we continue to believe for Gabriella's healing to come... we sing about it, pray about it and speak it multiple times a day. With Amaris now here by her side, it makes Gabriella's healing come even sooner.
Thank you for your prayers against infection as well as that her chin will permanently seal.
Gabriella is so in love with her baby sister... it just brings a smile to our faces.
Thinking that we had attempted (for the last 3 years) to bring two princesses home simultaneously, our hearts sank when 4 other families had done just that, but we hadn't...
what we have realized in our journey to Amaris, is that God knows His reasoning...
we know that Giavanna's paperwork was not yet ready... so, we wait... we wait for His perfect timing and care for our two blessings we have right now.
Amaris wasn't even born when we had received PA (Pre-Approval) for Gabriella.
Yet we KNOW that we KNOW that we KNOW, she was meant to be ours!
Most of the photos Amaris still looks away in... but, this will change soon.
Here's our princess... without her smile... but, she is looking right at us! She is a bundle of love!
A goodnight kiss from Jie Jie Tyanna!
She Came Potty-trained
While I can't be for sure on this, I THINK she came potty-trained.
Her diaper was still dry by the time we got home on Gotcha Day, so we took her right in and sat her on the potty. She went pee pee in the toilet. She has only had one accident (in the middle of the night). Otherwise, she has used the potty every time.
We had kept a diaper on her though (with underwear over it) because she had not yet had a bowel movement, and those can be extreme...
By day 2, I was getting very worried that she hadn't had a bowel movement... especially since she had eaten some watermelon (well, maybe a teaspoon or two) and had some apple juice. I gave her an oral gel pill to soften her stool, but when I bit in mine (so I knew what she was taking), I almost gagged. So, I retrieved her pill that was still sitting in her mouth. I resorted to prayer, because that was all I had left to offer her. I had forgotten the stool suppositories. Fortunately Facebook friends chimed in: more watermelon, dragonfruit and apple juice.
Well, yesterday, day 3, as Jason took her potty and made the "Chhhhhhh" sound for her to go potty, she went. Then, he proceeded to lift her off the potty and out plopped a poo poo. Woo hoo! We did the potty dance for Amaris!
I could hear him in the bathroom attempting to make the "Chhhhhhhh" sound some more... but, he just wasn't quite saying it right... so I told him. Then I heard him say, "Ch Ch chicken".... now because you weren't there, I have to say, we were all laughing so hard we were crying. In fact, even writing this brings back the intense belly laughs... even on round three of proof reading. It was absolutely one of our most funniest moments ever.
Her diaper was still dry by the time we got home on Gotcha Day, so we took her right in and sat her on the potty. She went pee pee in the toilet. She has only had one accident (in the middle of the night). Otherwise, she has used the potty every time.
We had kept a diaper on her though (with underwear over it) because she had not yet had a bowel movement, and those can be extreme...
By day 2, I was getting very worried that she hadn't had a bowel movement... especially since she had eaten some watermelon (well, maybe a teaspoon or two) and had some apple juice. I gave her an oral gel pill to soften her stool, but when I bit in mine (so I knew what she was taking), I almost gagged. So, I retrieved her pill that was still sitting in her mouth. I resorted to prayer, because that was all I had left to offer her. I had forgotten the stool suppositories. Fortunately Facebook friends chimed in: more watermelon, dragonfruit and apple juice.
Well, yesterday, day 3, as Jason took her potty and made the "Chhhhhhh" sound for her to go potty, she went. Then, he proceeded to lift her off the potty and out plopped a poo poo. Woo hoo! We did the potty dance for Amaris!
Not that you or Amaris probably ever want to see this photo, but I am trying to upload our 1216 photos as fast as possible (at least the ones we want to keep)... in the event that anything happens to our photo cards or computer. And, while I was literally uploading these photos, the power strip "smoked" when plugging it in. What if it had destroyed Jason's computer right then? We would have lost everything. Thus, my case in point... the photo with the poo poo on the floor must be posted.
Amaris Learned to Eat by Day 3
On day three with her family, Amaris finally learned how to eat. She still does not yet know how to drink.
PICTURES soon!
She is 2 yrs. and 4 mo. old and had NEVER had anything other than her bottle with rice cereal... and, reportedly "congee".
When we got her, we realized that when we fed her even TINY bites (5 grains of rice), she just kept them in her mouth. Her tongue never moved. I would give her TINY bites (about the size of your pinky fingernail) of banana, same thing. I had to insert my finger and move the food to her teeth and show her how to chew. Just to eat a meal could easily have taken 2 hours... after an hour, we resorted to her bottle.
The orphanage had brought a box of formula and cereal to show us. I am not sure they intended to actually sell it to us, but you know me, if they didn't give me something, I offered money. These would be some of the last possessions or memories from her orphanage. I will write more about that later.
This is what she has eaten so far:
White rice, banana, watermelon, fruit coctail from the can, mandarin oranges from the can, super tiny pieces of chicken, and a part of a french fry (which was a total bad choice).
I am SO thankful we brought Earth's Best Organic fruit and veggie squeeze meals... that's saved us.
This is what she has had to drink so far:
Babys Only Organic Lactose Free Iron Fortified Toddler Formula, Univera Essentials, bottled water, and a couple sips of apple juice. We will be adding more apple juice to her diet now.
PICTURES soon!
She is 2 yrs. and 4 mo. old and had NEVER had anything other than her bottle with rice cereal... and, reportedly "congee".
When we got her, we realized that when we fed her even TINY bites (5 grains of rice), she just kept them in her mouth. Her tongue never moved. I would give her TINY bites (about the size of your pinky fingernail) of banana, same thing. I had to insert my finger and move the food to her teeth and show her how to chew. Just to eat a meal could easily have taken 2 hours... after an hour, we resorted to her bottle.
The orphanage had brought a box of formula and cereal to show us. I am not sure they intended to actually sell it to us, but you know me, if they didn't give me something, I offered money. These would be some of the last possessions or memories from her orphanage. I will write more about that later.
This is what she has eaten so far:
White rice, banana, watermelon, fruit coctail from the can, mandarin oranges from the can, super tiny pieces of chicken, and a part of a french fry (which was a total bad choice).
I am SO thankful we brought Earth's Best Organic fruit and veggie squeeze meals... that's saved us.
This is what she has had to drink so far:
Babys Only Organic Lactose Free Iron Fortified Toddler Formula, Univera Essentials, bottled water, and a couple sips of apple juice. We will be adding more apple juice to her diet now.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Family Photos in Amaris' Waiting Playroom
It is the day after Gotcha Day...
All the children were behind the curtain of the playroom... waiting, knowingly or unknowingly, for their new family.
We went in on day two to get some family photos.
All the children were behind the curtain of the playroom... waiting, knowingly or unknowingly, for their new family.
We went in on day two to get some family photos.
Notary Office of Guangdong
This is the Notary Office for Foreign-Related Adoption Affairs of Guangdong Province.
This is the sign for the room.
Here we are signing another document!
This is the family only photo we forgot to get yesterday on Gotcha Day...
thanks to Tyanna's attentiveness, we were able to get this photo...
Tyanna has been amazing... she has been our photographer, our videographer, the big sister, and a joy to be with. Plus, she has enjoyed "cheap" shopping with Baba.
Sisters in Green!
My littlest/youngest Chinese Princess and my biggest/oldest Chinese Princess... finally together!
Imagine smiles from both princesses... after a nice nap...we will see smiles in a day or two!
Gabriella can really make the silly faces... we will attempt to get the full out eye rolling and facial expressions. She definitely can bring joy and laughter to just about anyone.
She is such an amazing sister too!
Can you see a smile in Amaris... anywhere?
It came after naptime, while "playing toys" with Gabriella.
The promise of a smile is in that little bundle of joy... I know... because I have prayed.
Do You Promise Not to Abandon and Abuse?
One of the formalities in adoption is to make sure that you are satisfied with your baby and that you promise not to abuse or abandon your child.
At the end of our testimony and signatures, we are supposed to give a gift... I TOTALLY forgot to bring the gifts... it was rather embarrassing. Sorry Eva! I hope it didn't make our sweet guide look dumb... not sure what I was thinking... can I blame it on only 8 hours of sleep in the last 48... actually, I think my math has been wrong each post... it has been 3 full days... 24 + 24 + 24... yep... my math has been wrong... I have had 8 hours of sleep in 72 hours. Geez!
Princess Amaris... it's nap time... we are waiting with other adoptive families.
At the end of our testimony and signatures, we are supposed to give a gift... I TOTALLY forgot to bring the gifts... it was rather embarrassing. Sorry Eva! I hope it didn't make our sweet guide look dumb... not sure what I was thinking... can I blame it on only 8 hours of sleep in the last 48... actually, I think my math has been wrong each post... it has been 3 full days... 24 + 24 + 24... yep... my math has been wrong... I have had 8 hours of sleep in 72 hours. Geez!
Princess Amaris... it's nap time... we are waiting with other adoptive families.
This photo is similar to our official family photo... OH MY WORD... what happened to my hair?
Tyanna wanted them to do the "peace" sign!
Tyanna and Amaris... I should have just had Tyanna pose for all MY photos... Someone asked her the night before about her baby... assuming that she was my husbands wife.
Usually people think that her daddy is her older brother and comment on how cute he is... this though, was a first.
They had a good laugh.
PS. You have to be a minimum of 29 1/2 to even start an adoption for China... does she look that old?
Gorgeous... but not 30.
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