Lia is making amazing strides every week - probably more that I can remember to recount here on the blog. But in an effort to keep some kind of record for her in the future I can say this - she loves to play, dance, and eat! Right now her favorite foods are pastas (with any kind of sauce, from mac'n'cheese to lasagna!), Mexican rice & beans, peaches, mandarin oranges, bananas, oatmeal, yogurt, goldfish and peanut butter crackers, Carnation Instant Breakfast, and on occasion - a scoop of vanilla ice cream or an Oreo cookie.
Her favorite TVshows right now are Yo Gabba Gabba, Ni Hao Kai-Lan, The Wiggles, and a Chinese cartoon about goats and wolves, (which - thankfully - we bought the DVD of while we were in China).
This week we moved Lia off of her twin mattress and back into the portable crib - but still in her own room. It became clear that I was never going to get any sleep if we continued down the path we were on. She now falls asleep most nights fairly quickly in the crib, and if she awakens during the night, I just go in and sleep next to her on her twin mattress. With this new system, we have achieved a decent sleep schedule and even some NAPS this week! I guess a lot of this is just trial and error...so hooray for small miracles. :)
Lia hates wearing socks or pajamas with feet - she would prefer to go barefoot most of the time, or barefooted inside her mary janes. We were able to keep a pair of socks on her feet today all day, which was a major achievement (and I think it only happened because the socks had monkeys on them, which she likes). It will be interesting to see what happens as the weather gets colder.
She is comfortable around both dogs about 90% of the time now, which is great. There are still times when they start barking at the sight of a neighborhood cat, or deer in the yard - that the barking overwhelms her. But for the most part she is getting more and more relaxed with them each day.
My parents were in town this weekend and babysat Lia on Saturday afternoon so that Steve and I could have a break. We went out to lunch and went to see the movie, "Eat, Pray, Love". It was terrific. Of course by the time the movie was over, we were both anxious to get home and see our girl! Apparently my dad (the church choir director) and mom (choir member) had been teaching Lia to sing while we were out. My mom was running scales with her, and my dad said she was a great mimic, and her pitch was spot-on. We already knew she enjoys music and dancing, so it would not surprise me if she ends up a singer as well! Our family is very music-oriented, so she will have plenty of opportunity to listen to, play, and/or sing music in her future.
She had her first family doctor appointment on Friday. Everything checked out great. She has already gained a pound since the cleft team coordinator visited us the week before. We are going to get a blood draw done this week, just to run all the typical tests that are recommended for internationally adopted kids, and we got a referral to our preferred ENT, so we will be making that appointment this week as well. After the ENT visit we will have a better idea of what will be involved with her cleft repair, and the timelines for her next surgery, etc.
This week wraps up my maternity leave from work. I return to work (part-time) on Thursday. Since I work in the adoption community, it is a bittersweet return. I want to spend every moment I can with my daughter while she is still little, and new, and adjusting to us - but I also know my job is important, and ultimately I help other children like Lia find forever families... Please send your positive prayers and vibes out to me this week as I try to figure out my work-family "balance".
Here are some photos from this week:
With her "Mei Yang Yang" goat cellphone, driving her Ni Hao Kai-lan car.
Talk about "distracted driving"!!!
Waiting at the window for Grandma & Grandpa to arrive.
Petting Nipper, the RCA Records dog...
Getting ready to go out in the rain with Daddy.
Sleeping with her baby in the dog's bed...
Does this one even need a caption?
1 comment:
wow i never knew our Family Day was that close (the 15th was our Adoption Day)! amazing how she is adjusting and how you are all finding your balance.
i'm sorry you have to go back to work already! will definitely be sending out prayers and positive vibes for you. you will find that new balance :)
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