Getting Adjusted

It's been almost a month since I last blogged. Where is the time going??? We believed that our move west would simplify our lives (closer to family, work, smaller house, smaller community) - but I just feel like we've been even busier! Of course, the first few weeks post-move are always a mess, and even moreso with a toddler. Then there is job of getting all Lia's medical records transferred and set up with new doctors, which in itself could be a full-time job. Dealing with insurance companies, state agencies, and billing depts. to obtain the right referrals in the right sequence, and to the right new doc's and therapists. I'm still wading my way through it all. We are getting closer on having her back in speech therapy (she's now gone seven weeks without), and we have initial meetings set up with all the various cleft "team" doctors she needs to see, since in October she will be six months post-surgery from her last palate repair.

We have also made a little bit of time for fun. I have been lucky to become part of the larger group of "Starfish Families" on Facebook. All of us have children adopted from the Starfish Foster Home in Xi'an. Through this group I learned that one of Lia's foster brothers was recently placed with a family in Vancouver B.C. It so happened that his family was coming down to Seattle for the annual Dragonboat Races, so we were able to meet up with them for awhile one recent afternoon:

Proud mamas and their "Starfish"

Lia scooping up sand with River's sandal!

Then I had the awesome opportunity to finally meet a friend of mine from the "adoption blog" world. Kim and I started the China adoption process around the same time back in 2006. Kim lives in Tennessee, and went on to adopt her daughter from Kazakhstan in 2009, and of course we brought Lia home in 2010. How fun that Kim and her daughter were out in Seattle for a family wedding, and we were able to meet up with our girls for dinner one night! It is almost surreal, when you see these children in person. The hopes and dreams of a family-fulfilled. It was also very cute to see Lia interact with Kim's daughter, (who is 7). Lia is generally shy around kids her own age, but she really warmed up and had fun that night with a friend who was a little bit older.

Lia continues to come out of her shell more and more. She is using more words (especially the word "NO"). She is starting to learn how to spit when brushing her teeth, and she helped me in the kitchen for the first time making brownies the other night! We've been going to the local library storytimes, and while it's much smaller than the group we had in Spokane, this seems to work better for Lia. She is more engaged in the books, and also more willing to participate in the silly songs and dancing. We are back at square one on potty-training. She really is just not that interested - at all - right now. She is not motivated by stickers or M&M's or "big girl" panties...so I figure I'll let that slide for a bit and try again in a few weeks. I'm definitely ready to be done with diapers, but as the doctors and others have told me, there's no point in pushing her if she's not ready. Here are some more pics of her many "firsts"...

First shoulder ride with Daddy

First Princess Nightgown

First pony ride at the grocery store

Some Pics of our New Place

We made the move back to western Washington a couple weeks ago. We are finally starting to get organized and unpacked. Moving is such a hassle - ugh. But overall, we are very happy that we made the move. Lia loves the new house!  Rather than "growing pains", we have experienced some "shrinking pains" since we downsized quite a bit for this move. This house is half the square feet of  our house in eastern WA, but it has an open layout, and we are making it work. The views of the surrounding wooded ravine and towering evergreens are beautiful, and we are just five minutes from the shores of Puget Sound. This town has a slower pace of life, and we appreciate that, but the city is also only 20 minutes away, which allows us the best of both worlds. We feel very blessed to be living here, and the weather has been beautiful...

Our American Citizen...One Year Ago & Today!

A year ago today, our plane from China landed in Seattle and Lia officially became an American citizen. My, how our sweet baby girl has grown and changed in the past year! Last September we had a developmental assessment done. At the time, Lia was 22 mos. old and her only word was "mama". Her hearing was 85% blocked, and she came in at a 17 mos. old level for gross and fine motor skills. Yesterday we had a second assessment, and our lively, chatty, 33 mos. old is now doing things that many 3 yr olds can't do! The only area where she is behind is speech (which we will continue to work on in the coming years). You've come a long way baby - WE LOVE YOU!    

Lia's first time at a local park...one year ago tomorrow!



...and in our backyard on her very own swing - TODAY!



Our First Family Day!

Lia: Then and Now

We successfully got moved across the state last weekend, and now we just have a huge mess of boxes on our hands. With all the craziness, I didn't have a chance to blog about our first Family Day on Monday. We DID celebrate (Chinese dinner with Grandma & Grandpa). It was low-key and perfect. Lia doesn't really "get it" yet, but it was certainly important for us to mark the occasion. She was just thrilled with the Disney Princess balloon that grandpa brought for her.  :)

A lot of adoptive families celebrate "Gotcha Day", but I deliberately chose the term "Family Day". Mainly, because our "gotcha" moment in Xi'an wasn't really something to celebrate. Of course we will always remember that moment, but it was intense and upsetting for Lia and for us... She was terrified, sad, and screaming, and we were nervous and worried and sad for her. Not exactly a moment you want to "celebrate" for all time...

The term "Family Day" just makes more sense for us. It is the day we became a family...and that IS definitely something to celebrate!

Yep! It's Happening Again...

That's right, we're on the move again!  For those who have been following this blog since the very beginning (Nov. 2006) - this will be my sixth move in five years...*sigh*.  This time however, it's not because of a job. It's just a quality of life issue. While we've enjoyed our three years in eastern Washington, we are ready to head back to the west side of the state. My job is headquartered there (although I'll still be working part-time from home for the most part), and Steve is able to run his consulting business from anywhere - so given that our current landlord decided to sell the house we've been leasing, we had to make the decision to move to another house here in town, or move back closer to family and friends on the west side of the state.

It was not an easy decision. Moving is always expensive, and because all of Lia's medical providers are here, the thought of setting up new relationships with all new doctors and therapists was daunting. But with the help of some great contacts here in town, I've been able to make connections on the west side which I feel will be good for Lia. We were also sad about leaving our local friends who traveled with us to China last year, but we hope they will visit us at our new home so our girls (and we!) can stay connected.  

I was a bit worried about how Lia would handle all the hustle and bustle around the house. Packing and moving boxes, various rooms and surroundings changing...but she has not seemed the least bit stressed about it. We've told her that we are moving to a new house - mama, daddy, Lia, the dogs - and all her toys, and her bed, and our TV and all the food, etc. and she seems OK with it so far. I'm not sure she really understands it yet, but so far, so good.

I think I've had the hardest time with all of it. I don't like feeling "pushed" out of my home, especially my daughter's first home with us. I also took a nasty fall while packing last week and ended up at the ER! Let this be a lesson to you all - never underestimate the damage that can be done by slipping onto your bathroom floor. A sprained ankle, bruised tailbone, and big bump on the head later...UGH! It could have been a lot worse, and I am thankful that it wasn't, but I am still sore 10 days later...

In better health news, at Lia's visit to her ENT last week, her palate was looking really good (still 100% closed) and her audiology tests came positive as well. Her right ear appears to have perfect hearing, while her left still shows a little bit of impairment (but not too far outside the "normal" range). Hooray!

We also finished our final 12-month post-placement report with our social worker two weeks ago. This fulfills our final requirement with the Chinese government. I was thrilled to send along four terrific photos of our happy, smiling girl for the government adoption officials to see. It's hard to believe that one year ago today we were boarding a plane to China!

Splish Splashing Away!

Way up here in the Northwest, we've had a cool summer thus far. Too cold for an unheated pool anyway. We bought a kiddie pool for Lia last summer before we left for China, but by the time we got home it was September and the weather was already cooling down. So we were happy to bring it out this weekend, our first truly warm weekend this year - and Lia loved it!

Summer 2011 - July 4th

Last week we packed the car and headed west to spend the holiday weekend with my parents at their beautiful island home. An anonymous donor on the island funded a spectacular fireworks show over the marina, which just happens to be located in front of their house. So we all had "front row" comfortable seats on their deck for the show!

You couldn't have asked for more beautiful weather on Independence Day in the Pacific Northwest. I remember MANY Fourths growing up as a kid that were rainy and/or cold and cloudy... But with sunshine and temps in the 70s, we really had a perfect weekend this year.

Sunset on the marina

View of Mt. Rainier from the island

We had wondered how Lia would react to the fireworks...and whether our sensitive and sometimes over-stimulated little girl might get scared and I had been prepared to take her in the house, turn up some music and wait it out. But we needn't have worried. She was completely enthralled by all the "pretties" and "boom booms" lighting up the night sky. Of course Lia always enjoys spending time with grandparents who dote on her:

Her first picnic in the park with Grandma

Waiting for the fireworks to begin with Grandpa

We also had the chance to visit with Lia's great grandma, great aunt & uncle, and "aunt" KC (my cousin):

The car trip went better this time than in the past. We rigged up a DVD player in the backseat with all of Lia's favorite cartoons, and also provided some "surprise" snacks and toys (such as a "travel" magna doodle sketch board - which was a HUGE hit!) So she kept busy or slept the entire trip. 

Really fun this time around, was that Lia was awake for the ferry ride to my parents' house. When we traveled in December, it was dark both times we rode the ferry and she slept through it. This time she was wide awake and loving every minute of it. We parked the car and walked up to the deck where she could watch the seagulls following the boat and feel the wind whip through her hair. We had a blast!