Ellie Walks!!!!

Ellie has been very stubborn about walking. She's had the balance and the capability but just wasn't interested. I say this because she's figured out how to stand up by herself in the middle of the room and she's been bouncing on her toes for a couple of weeks - but no walking. Okay, she has taken at most 2-3 steps before now but I didn't count that as walking - more like falling toward the sofa. Yesterday she officially walked and more than once! Below is a video I took of one of her cruises. So, while it is not her first steps - it is from the first day of walking. I wish I had this for Jordan. I'm so proud of my little girl!!!

Just a few pics...

It's about time to either store or throw away the suitcase we got from China. Although Ellie and Mauser do find it to be a great place to play.



How to make your face reddish-orange like this: A little penne pasta, italian sausage and peaches. Yum!

Happy Adoption Day / Family Day!!!!

This weekend, 4 years ago, I became a mother to the most wonderful baby. Well, my baby is now a happy, healthy, funny, and smart little 4.5 year old. Before I adopted her I was certain I wanted to be a mom. Now, I am so happy that I am not just a mom but HER mother!

We celebrated with a lot of eating out. Dunkin Doughnuts for breakfast yesterday (and the remains of the Munchkins this morning), lunch today at the restaurant of her choice (Mexican - because she loves their salsa).

Tonight the girls had a bath together. A slow process, but they are slowly becoming sisters and we are solidifying into a family of 3.

Two Hours

Wow - Ellie slept for two hours this afternoon. I think that is a record. Now admittedly, she slept those 2 hours while laying on my chest strapped in the carrier while I was on the sofa. But it sure as heck beats the 30 minute nap she was doing. AND she was asleep at 7:45pm tonight (fingers crossed she sleeps through the night).

Meal time

Hey there to all my fans out in internet land. This is Ellie...live from my highchair. Looks like another great snack - carrots!



Let me introduce you to my sidekick - Mauser. The coolest cat in the universe (because she lets me pull her tail and grab her fur).


Check out these carrots! Would you like some???

Man, I cannot get enough of these carrots!

Well, I'm just going to sit back and relax and finish this yummy snack. See y'all later!


As sidekick, Mauser is responsible for cleanup after the show. (Unfortunately, Mauser does not share Ellie's love of carrots. The camerawoman was left to finish this task after the photo shoot).

Jordan in the Pool

Jordan has been taking swimming lessons for a year now. They are group lessons twice a week with typically 5 other children lasting 30 minutes at a time - so 5 minutes of time each lesson with Miss Julie - the teacher. In other words - it has been slow but steady progress. The best thing about swim lessons initially was that it made washing Jordan's hair SO much easier. Being petite - she still cannot stand up in the pool with her head out of the water.

Last week Jordan started the second level of classes. No longer will she have to start each 4 week session with new kids who have never been in a pool and are scared to death. To get to this level, you had to be able to swim 10 feet on your own. Well, Jordan amazed me when she swam (backstroke) the length of the pool (that's right - not the width but the length) by herself. I made a video tonight with my camera to so you can see her in action. The only time the instructor has to touch her is to re-direct her (she can do the backstroke - but she can't always swim a straight line).

I am so proud of her!

A Belated Congratulations to the Gators

For Christmas, my girls received Florida Gator attire from their great-aunt and uncle in Gainesville. I made sure they wore their outfits on January 8th for the bowl game. I'm sure that the fact that Jordan insisted wearing hers to bed to sleep in that night is the reason the Gators were able to win - and win big.

So, if any other relatives or friends would like to help their favorite sport team win by using my daughters' amazing abilities - just send us the outfit. There are a few teams I will not allow them to wear (ie. Dallas Cowboys, sorry, but I was born and raised a Redskins fan). But college teams are definitely up for grabs.

If anyone wants to send me some Texas Longhorn stuff - I'd love my girls to model it.

Toothless no more!

As of today, I can officially feel Ellie's first tooth - still can't really see it - but definitely can feel it. Ellie has been waking up the past couple of nights once or twice - I'm hoping some of it is due to her tooth emerging. Crossing my fingers for tonight.
When I was listing food Ellie has eaten I failed to mention her absolute favorite - fish. The girl eats it with gusto! She ate a piece of salmon the same size as all of us adults last week. She also loves smoked salmon cream cheese and she's not the only one. Jordan has decided that the smoked salmon cream cheese beats out peanut butter or wild berry cream cheese on her bagel. On Sunday she was eating a bagel and giving Ellie finger-tip sized bites of the cream cheese. As a fan of smoked salmon myself - I'm very happy both my girls share this appreciation.

Chow-hound goes to the doctor and the wonders of the Kozy Carrier

We've been jokingly calling Ellie our little chow hound due to her incredible eating habits. She has determined that being fed food is not for her - she must pick it up and eat it herself. So - out goes any canned baby food I had. Oh - and at 11 months as of yesterday - still no teeth (although I do believe they are imminent). The good news is she can chew very well and she doesn't stuff her mouth. So - we've been making everything bite-sized and seeing what she'll eat. Some of the food that she has liked include: sweet potato, lima beans, carrots, peas, mashed potato, corn, black eyed peas, really cooked down to mush collard greens. She has not liked canned green beans or asparagus (but I'm holding out hope). She says no to applesauce but yes to fresh grated apple. Bananas are always a hit. Tofu gets a big yay (just don't make it spicy) as does meatloaf, minced chicken, meat sticks and the toddler ravioli.

When she got home she had diarrhea (it started about the same time as I switched her to American formula - and at the same time that her cold really started). I switched to soy formula and it cleared up. Uh-oh I thought - she is going to be lactose intolerant or have a milk allergy. But I knew that sometimes colds can make a baby temporarily lactose intolerant. So, I waited a few days and tried the regular formula again - this time with no problems. I don't know if it was stress, the cold, temporary lactose-intolerance or what. But I'm glad I had a can of soy just in case and really glad she's back on milk-based formula.

So we went to the doctor yesterday for Ellie's first check-up. Of course, she's doing great. She's just under 50% for both height and weight on the charts. She now weighs 19.75 pounds and is 28.5 inches tall with a size 4.5 shoe. At the same age, Jordan was 16 pounds and 27 inches tall. Ellie can wear some 12-18 month clothes and 6-12 month clothes. Jordan didnt get into 12-18 month clothes until she was 18 months old - so the season thing might just work out between the two of them. She got her flu shot and we have to go do labs this week. I hate this part - they need to take so much blood - just hoping for a good phlebotomist.

And finally, I just have to give a nod once again to the carrier I have - the Kozy Carrier. It is a mei tai-type carrier and it rocks. I can put Ellie in it when she is cranky and she calms right down. I'm learning how to use it on my back better (mostly use it as a front carrier right now). Yesterday I had her on my back while taking ornaments off the Christmas tree and I had her on my back this morning while unloading and loading the dishwasher. She fell asleep in it yesterday and slept for about an hour in it while I was moving around. It is very comfortable. But I will admit - I'm looking for a wrap now that she's getting heavier. With Jordan I had a baby bjorn but didn't use it much once we got home. Ellie really likes the close contact - so a carrier is wonderful - my arms just can't hold her for as long as she wants. I'll try to post a picture of me using the Kozy.

Christmas Eve - Home at Last

We made it home unscathed! We were greeted at the airport by my dad and my friends Kris, Christine and Brig (and their daughter). All of us went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast and then home. I managed to stay up until the afternoon (as did Jordan and Ellie) and then we all crashed for about 3-4 hours waking up for dinner. My mom crashed early but then was up and getting us all up as well. While my children were great - we had some sick people on the plane. Plus, travel that long just wears the body down. So we all had colds beginning. Out comes the Zicam and vitamine C!!!

It is odd coming home Christmas Eve - and if it wasn't for Jordan and the fact that Santa would be coming - we probably would have held off on gift giving a day or so. But, Santa was coming and we had to get ready!

Granddaddy was so, so happy to FINALLY get to hold Ellie. My little girl who started out screaming if anyone but me held her was all smiles for her grandfather.

Here is Ellie standing by the Christmas tree in her Christmas pajamas.

I think that the fact that Santa could only come if she was asleep helped Jordan fall asleep our first night back! Of course, Santa couldn't come until we finished wrapping presents (around 2am).

Our Trip Home

Jordan had had several meltdowns on our way to China (the first being at the ticket counter as we began the trip). I learned a lot from that trip so I was prepared for a very long and painful flight home now that I had two girls. To try to help, I bought a stroller for Jordan for our trip back. With two 4+ hour layovers (one in Hong Kong and the other in San Francisco) - I wanted a place for Jordan to crash if I needed it. This turned out to be the best decision I could have made.

The trip back was fabulous (well, for a 29.5 hour adventure). Ellie never cried. She was happy on the short flights and literally slept all but the first 15 minutes and last 45 minutes on our two long flights. Jordan didn't have a single meltdown and also slept most of the flights. I honestly couldn't have asked for anything better.

Ellie is ready for takeoff on our short flight from Guangzhou to Hong Kong. I was happy this was the only flight where I had a lap ticket. Ellie had her own seat for the rest of the way.



Ellie likes the premium economy seat she has on Eva Airlines!

Both girls spent most of the flights like this. Ellie was almost always on my lap while asleep.

Last Day and Night in Guangzhou

Friday was departure day for all of our travel group - except us. We couldn't get a plane out until Saturday from Hong Kong so we chose to depart a day later than the rest of the group from Guangzhou (the White Swan was cheaper than a hotel in Hong Kong). So we spent our last day shopping and relaxing and enjoying final day together.

Here is Jordan resting on the curb in front of Jordon's store. By the end of the trip, the Jordan that I know and love was emerging once again. It is tough to suddenly get a sister and have to share attention - let alone in another country away from your own bed and toys. But Jordan is a trooper and is turning into a great big sister!

And Ellie also was adjusting pretty well by the end of our trip in China. Once she felt comfortable in a hi-chair and could feed herself (at least a little) while Mommy took a few bites of food - life was good. By the way, lack of teeth does not stop this girl. She loves noodles, fish, rice, tofu - pretty much anything she could get her hands on.

We FINALLY got to see the light show over the Pearl River from the banks of the river. While it was fun to watch it from our room at the hotel - now we could hear the music that went along with the lights. It was a great sendoff.

Roomies

Ellie shared a room at Dao County SWI with two other babies. That's it - just 3 babies per room, each with their own crib and 2 nannies to take care of them throughout the day and night. Amazing - really. Jordan's orphanage was good and I felt that the nannies their wanted the best for the kids and that she was taken care of. But Ellie was a very, very lucky girl indeed to be at Dao. Every one of the babies that came from their looked healthy and developmentally on target. They likely received more attention than most children living in an orphanage and it showed. I was, and am, still amazed and so incredibly greatful for the care that Dao gave to my daughter.

Both of her roomates were referred at the same time she was, and all three girls were in our travel group.

So here they are, the last night before our travel group began to depart from Guangzhou. Ellie, Zoey, and Myah.

Consulate Appointment - Disaster Averted (Barely)

I'm starting this post off with pictures of both my girls on their respective consulate appointment days. Jordan is on the top, Ellie is on the bottom. Yes, it is the same outfit. My sister probably would like me to not write this post - but it is a story worth remembering. We got back from the zoo and grabbed lunch before getting ready to go to the consulate appointment. I will readily admit that I am still trying to adjust to two children and that I cannot get ready by myself. So, my mother and sister were helping me. I asked Elizabeth to grab my passport and put it in the ziploc bag that I was putting a diaper and cheerios into. My mom and sister couldn't go and I could not bring much with me to the consulate due to security reasons - so my agency suggested putting everything into a clear ziploc bag. Finally, with moments to spare, Ellie and I make it downstairs and head onto the buses for the consulate. We get on the bus and Maggie and Jason tell us check to make sure we have our passports - I look at the plastic baggie - yep, it's in there. The buses then start heading out. Just as they head out on a whim I actually pull my passport out of the bag and look at it.

IT IS NOT MY PASSPORT!!!! IT'S JORDAN'S! OH **#$^&**!!!!!!!

At this point I panic and start calling out to Maggie and Jason and waving the passport over my head. The bus stops, Maggie grabs Ellie and I jump off with Jason. We start running back to the hotel. The bus starts going and Jason tells me we'll grab a cab. At this point I should state that I am not in great physical shape and that I have asthma. So Jason tells me he'll meet me at the elevator bank and I give him my room number. He calls my mother from his cell phone and tells her to grab my passport and bring it down to the lobby. I beat my mother by a few seconds (slightly wheezing and thinking I should have asked Jason to have her bring my inhaler down too). We switch passports run to the front of the hotel and grab a cab. The cab goes about 1/2 a mile we jump out reach the bus and jump on to the claps of all.

Well, due to the traffic and the delay I caused, the bus driver decides to take a different route to the consulate when we are about 15 minutes away from it (according to Maggie). The "new" route causes us to hit a bunch of traffic and we sit trying to merge into another lane for at least 15 minutes. By this time, we are all getting anxious and neither Jason nor Maggie is none too happy with the bus driver. Our appointment is at 4pm. We reach the consulate at 4pm and make it up to the 4th floor at 4:03pm. No one is there to meet us. At this point - I'm trying not to cower with guilt at not getting my own passport of checking to make sure it was the right one beforehand (my sister tells me later that she thought she had checked the passport but must not have). Everyone is telling me that I was fast and that the traffic and the bus driver are the real culprits (but would the bus driver have changed the route if I didn't cause him to stop? I don't think so). So what happens if you miss your consulate appointment? I really didn't want to find out. Jason is running up and down stairs/escalators and calling people on the cell phone. Finally, he comes over to us and tells us not to panic - the consulate is going to hold the window open for us. Apparently, they've decided to process all of the other families first and run through the oath and then allow us up and do us separately. And that is exactly what happens. At last, a security guard comes down and let's us go up to the 5th floor where the consulate is. When we get there, all of the other parents are grabbing their brown envelopes, having just completed the oath. Once they clear out, the consulate does the whole show over again for us and we get through it and receive our brown envelopes in record time.

Thank you Jason - I know we made it through due to you. And thank you CCAI for having such wonderful guides.

Guangzhou Zoological Garden

The zoo was the last optional tour while in Guangzhou. I've heard mixed things about the zoo and was ambivalent about going but Jordan REALLY wanted to go - and so we went - and were glad that we did. Yes, it is in some ways like an American zoo from 15 years ago in the U.S. (ie., some of the cat cages were really tiny) but other areas of the zoo were very open. Here are some shots of us at the zoo. Jordan enjoyed feeding the ducks at the zoo (Jason, our guide, had bought all the children food to give them). I wish I had a picture of the funniest part. We were looking at the elephant (seen in one of the pics) and he started waving his trunk. We started waving back at him. Suddenly, he sprays water all over part of the crowd (including Jordan)! It had everyone laughing (and grabbing for the Purrell).

Pearl Market, Qing Ping Market and dinner at JM Chef

With the failure to get pearls in Hong Kong (my old standby - Mabels Jewelry - is gone) - I decided to join the trip to the Pearl Market in Guangzhou. Now, I probably could have gotten better deals, and I certainly didn't do a lot of comparison shopping, but I feel fairly happy with my purchases. I got Ellie a pearl necklace and earrings for $165 (best quality pearls - and closer to the 7-8mm size than the 6-7mm size) for when she graduates high school or some other momentous occasion. I got both girls pearl bracelets for when they are a little older for $30 and I got myself two pairs of earrings. My mom also got a very nice necklace and earrings. My sister grabbed some dyed black freshwater pearls (she would have loved the Tahitian pearls but not the price). We chose to walk back to the hotel rather than take the taxi and Maggi (one of our 2 guides in Guangzhou - Jason was the other) walked our family and the Tinsley's back by way of the Qing Ping market. It was a wonderful walk and I highly recommend families to get off Shamian Island and experience more of Guangzhou. Unfortunately, my camera's batteries died so I don't have any pictures of the actual Qing Ping market (there were cats and dogs for sale - and not as pets - for anyone queasy). Here are some pics of us leaving the Pearl Market on the way to the White Swan. The first is a group photo of the Knights and Tinsleys. The second is a good picture to describe the crowds in Guangzhou. It is a city of over 10 million people - so yes, it is crowded.

We ended the night with dinner at JM Chef back on Shamian Island along with Charles and Caroline Tinsley (Maggi Tinsley bowed out after her bout with drinking tap water) and the Blommers. Maggi Pan (our guide) had written a few dishes out for us to request and we had another wonderful dinner. Now, the problem with the restaurant is that you have to walk through the room of live seafood and other goodies (said loosely - we're talking grubs and turtles and stuff) to get to the dining area. I will admit, having to walk past all those critters is one of the reasons I didn't venture here when I adopted Jordan. But let me tell you, the food is fabulous (sizzling black pepper beef, spicy tofu, broccoli in oyster sauce, fried noodles). Even though they were out of the sweet potato cakes - we were satisfied! I did have to take a picture of one of the items in the menu.

Item #9 - Fish Lips. I have joked with Jordan about eating chicken lips and fish lips. Little did I know that fish lips are a reality and on a menu. Gotta love that Cantonese cuisine. Frog cream (not wanting to know what this is) was also mentioned on several dishes.

Buddhist blessings and other things

When I adopted Jordan, my mom got to visit a Buddhist temple in Changsha but it was raining and I had to stay at the hotel with Jordan due to the lousy weather and Jordan being sick. This time, we had the opportunity to visit a temple in Guangzhou and the weather was great (and everyone healthy). As part of the visit, Jordan had the opportunity to climb a pagoda with her Auntie Boo ("it was like climbing a lighthouse"). I had the opportunity to burn some incense and ask Guan Yin (the Goddess of Compassion and the bodhisattva (female buddha) within Buddhism) to allow my girls to grow up happy and healthy. We also had a Buddhist monk bless our children. While I am a Christian and do not practice Buddhism, I feel that blessings from anyone certainly can't hurt and may help. Here are some pics from the trip.

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Red Couch Photos and Success with the High Chair!

For some reason, I felt the Red Couch photos have gotten a lot more formalized than my first time around. With Jordan, we hurredly got photos and that was that. This time, there was this urge to make sure Ellie had a silk pajama outfit (something I protested first time around - but willingly went along with this time). In the months waiting to get Jordan I read a lot from adult adoptees about their thoughts on the commercialization of adoption and "showing off" adoptees. I never wanted my daughter to feel like an "accessory" so I balked on the silk outfit. But it was nearing Chinese New Year when I adopted Jordan in 2003 and I saw in China first hand children born and raised in China wearing the silk outfits. So, I changed my mind. I've seen biological children in Chinese American families wearing them too for CNY - and so, Jordan has some and now, so does Ellie. This past year is the first year I've let Jordan move from the pajama-like 2-piece outfit to the cheongsam. So, in bought her some for the years to come and bought both she and Ellie linen outfits that I adore. Jordan saw small children in China (locals - not adoptees) on this trip wearing the silk outfits too. She loves them - and if it instills a pride in China and Chinese culture in her, I've come 180 and am all for it.
Here are a few pics from the Red Couch photos (yes, Ellie screamed the moment I set her down). Jordan was beautiful - and I ended up using a picture from this day to get a granite etching done.

We had another hi-light on Tuesday. Ellie sat in a highchair without going into hysterics!!!! I have tried to get her into a hi-chair on several occasions but after much crying and holding of breath - it was a failure each time. But on the night that we went with the group to Cow and Bridge for dinner, there was success and for the first time, I could eat without fear of spilling something on top of Ellie's head.