So what happens in 9 months?

Wow, so its been almost 9 months since our last post. What has happened in that time frame? Well, alot. We opened our home to Maureen Hsu, an exchange student from Taiwan. She is attending Berkner High school, and has really taught us alot about different cultures, and life with a teenage girl! I think it is a hint at what we will see in about 14 years with Gracie. But Maureen is great, and has tried to teach us Chinese, but Gracie seems to do better than Jen and I. This is Maureen and Gracie, Gracie is wearing her birthday outfit that Maureens parents sent all the way from Taiwan.


So speaking of birthdays, Gracie turned two and had a birthday party that was...memorable. Jen got sick the day before we were going to welcome 20 people to our house. She went to the Dr. and she said that Jen was highly contagious and should not be around anyone. We find this out 2 hours before the party started. So Baba and Maureen and the grandmothers did the best they could in hosting, and we all survived. So then we make it through Halloween...



And Christmas...




And then a few days ago, one of the highlights of the year...Ciaran Like Price joined the family! My brother Mark, and Mary Kate had their first child! He was born 9 lbs 15 oz, and 24 in. long. They made it back to Dallas yesterday and Gracie couldnt wait to meet him...



So those are the highlights. We really apologise for letting this blog get so lax, but there never seems to be enough time in the day to get it done. We will try and do better, but Gracie seems to be gaining steam and we are just trying to keep up!

Steve and Jen

Gracie loves reading about dinosaurs...

and other things, too, but mainly dinosaurs:) I hope you enjoy this little movie we made.

Jennifer

Gracie Is Swimming!

Great, mom is taking pictures again!


These jets are awesome. (mom's passe word, not mine)


Now I am having fun!


Freebie pose for mom.


Where are my shades when I need them!

Ok, she isn't actually swimming yet. She is learning all about the pool and water. It is a slow process, but she does enjoy it. We recently joined Lifetime Fitness. We like it because it has things for the little ones, and the usual classes and machines for the big ones--ummm, no pun intended.

Gracie is still reticent, but every time we get in the water she seems more comfortable. This pool has a zero depth section where she can stand and walk around.

We start waterbabies (through the City of Richardson) next week--it is only for two weeks, but we are looking forward to that, too.

Besides playing in the pool, we like to go to the park, visit our grandparents, feed Nyron (Grandma Judy's neighbor horse), and she likes watching The Jungle Book. She has only watched it one and a half times--we can only sit still for so long (like 5 min.)-he, he. And one of her favorite things is to read--ahhh, a girl after my own heart:) I will post more pics soon.

All our love,
Jennifer

Visiting with two of our travel families!

Grace, Jenna Kate, and Peytie-instead of the red couch, it is the red wagon...and just as hard to get them to all sit still for the picture:)

And now we have big sis, Claire, in the picture, too!

Mama Robin and Peytie relaxing.

Another picture of the our picnic-thanks for organizing everything, Robin!

Claire and Jenna Kate playing ball together. Last time we saw Jenna Kate (in China) she wasn't walking yet--and now she is running very well. It is amazing how fast they grow!


We had a wonderful time visiting with two of the families we traveled with when we got Gracie. It was so special to catch up with them and especially to see how the girls are doing--which is great! Peytie and Gracie are from Ruijin SWI and Jenna Kate (or is it Cate?) and Claire are from other SWI's. We all had a lovely picnic at the Ft. Worth Arboretum and then went to the zoo. This was Gracie's first trip to the zoo back in the States (remember the Safari trip in Guangzhou?), and she had a blast--I thought her favorite animal would be the elephant, but no, it was all the different kinds of monkeys--gorillas, orangutan, chimps, lemurs...

In Our Easter Bonnet....

What a pretty smile!


So what exactly is in these eggs? Mmmmmmm... candy....


In her pink Easter dress--a girl can't have just one Easter dress.


In her green Easter dress, trying on Mama's slippers.


At the Arboretum--a flower amongst the flowers!



We are all doing really well. Gracie is growing up waaay too fast. She repeats so many words...we are amazed at how fast she has learned English. We have been involved with a class with the City of Richardson called Gym Dandies. She really enjoys this--we play with toys, have circle time and sing songs, play on the parachute--all kinds of good stuff. We also joined a playgroup consisting of other girls adopted from China and she has made several new friends. Our typical day is to wake up singing, snuggle with Mama and Baba, eat breakfast and fuss about the Yo Baby (she is getting tired of these, but I am still pushing it), watch Sesame Street--epecially Cookie Monster, the Count (number of the day-ha, ha, ha), and Elmo; go to class, lunch, nap, play, dinner, clean up, brush teeth, bed. Boy, that is a good life...don't you wish we could all have that schedule? He, he...we have a good time:)

We have also had some visitors--her Uncle John (my brother)came to visit in February and her Grandpa John (my dad) came in March. Steve and I have both battled colds, but luckily Gracie hasn't caught it (knock on wood!). For Easter we went to an Easter Egg Hunt in Rowlett with Gracie's cousing, Katie. Gracie was frightened at first, but got the hang of things quickly. When she realized there was candy in the eggs, she was really excited. We had to work fast to get all the candy before she did, and then we doled it out a little at a time. The next weekend we went to the Dallas Arboretum to a concert on the lawn for kids--it was a beautiful day and she had a great time. That evening Grandma Judy, Grandma Sandy, and Grandpa David came over for dinner.

This weekend we are going to see two of the families that adopted girls when we did. Both families live in the Ft. Worth area, but we haven't seen them since last November. I can't wait to see how the girls are doing and how much they have grown. I can't believe that Gracie has already grown almost 3 inches since coming home!

Jennifer

No, really, we are alive...

We have been so busy having fun and celebrating or family, that posting to share all of it just fell to the wayside. So here I am to try and catch everyone up.

I think the last post was before Christmas, so Ill start there. We had a wonderful Xmas with Gracie. She got to see her Great Grandma Arnold again and she met her Uncle Mark and Aunt Mary Kate for the first time. They drove in from South Carolina.


We also went to Baton Rouge to see Grampa John and Grandma Carol and her family. Gracie was of course the center of attention.





So we made it through the new year in one piece. We settled into a new "normal" routine, and are just having a blast. When the weather cleared here in Dallas and got a little warmer, we discovered "puddles"



and Parks



And then we made it to yesterday for the Chinese New Year, and celebrated with the family. Gracie was a little under the weather so we just ordered in some food and celebrated! Here is Gracie with a beautiful bracelet that Grandma Sandy gave her..



So today we are headed downtown to the New Year celebration and the Lion Dance and dinner with the Waiting Families group. Oh, and if you would like to see all of the pictures we have taken so far, I have them (1700 of them :)) on Flickr. Send me an email at my Gmail address to add you to the list :)

And I promise more updates...no really!

What are they up to?

Gracie loves the computer--takes after her father!


Honey, don't you think she is a little young for World of Warcraft?


This is what I woke up to several mornings ago...Mom wasn't amused but Gracie sure was (and Daddy, too).

Enjoying Gracie and Being a Family

The excitement is overwhelming. Gracie likes the slide oh, so much more.

A small birthday party for Gracie after we arrived home. She is a neat girl--she didn't want to just grab the cake with her fingers, so I had to feed it to her with a spoon. She loved the cake, though.

Gracie with her great-grandmother. It was so special to have all four generations together for Thanksgiving.

An early Christmas present from Grandpa John and Grandma Carol. She loves riding the elephant!

Thanksgiving turkeys;) Gracie also loves her cousins-Ethan and Katie!


We have recovered from our infections and are now on good sleep schedules. I have learned that this is critical. It took about a week for us to get on Dallas time and another week to get our naps figured out. She now sleeps through the night (95% of the time)and takes 2 naps. I think that is wonderful. I know that will change soon enough as she grows up, but it is hard being a mom! I am laughing now because the rewards are wonderful, but right now Gracie is what some call "velcro baby"--she sticks to me. According to all the literature I have read, that is a great thing--it shows she is attaching.

We have had such fun with her the last couple of weeks and are excited about Christmas. Every year we have said that once we have our girl home we would do extra decorations, sing songs, go see the lights, etc. etc. And now that it is here, we just can't seem to get things together, so we set aside this weekend to get a Christmas tree and decorate the house. Plus, we have figured out that with a 1 year old, it will take two adults just to keep up with her! It is always a new adventure. We hope you have fun adventures and we wish you a very happy holidays!

Jennifer

We're Home!!!

We made it home safe and sound on Friday late afternoon. That was the hardest traveling we have ever experienced. Gracie slept the 1 hour flight from Guangzhou to Hong Kong and then was wide awake for the next 17 hours. We tried to get an upgrade from Hong Kong to San Francisco, but no going. We were packed in like sardines and Gracie was wired. Steve and I literally were taking turns with her so the other one could get a few minutes of shut eye. But we made it home and our luggage did, too. We came straight home, ate, and went to bed. I should say that the traveling was hard for Steve and I, but I know it was hard on Gracie, too and she was such a trouper. She was always smiling and she likes to wave hi to people. We received many nice comments from strangers about how she is so cute and sweet.

Saturday we introduced Gracie to the house and the cats. She was very happy with her room--she started laughing and smiling. It made us feel so good. I was worried that she would miss her friends and foster mother. I am sure she does, but doesn't seem to mind not having to share her toys. The cats are very curious about this new member to the family. They follow Gracie wherever she goes, but they stay at a distance, except Emily. Emily has taken on a new persona-the grumpy old girl is very maternal. Emily lets Gracie pet her, even though Gracie grabs at her fur. I have been teaching Gracie to "just pet" (holding her hand flat and making the motions) instead of grabbing. Yesterday Gracie even said "just pet"-it was so cute-my heart melted!

So it is Tuesday morning and we just now got the laptop set up. That is very unusual for my husband, but there is a good reason for it. Steve and I both came home very sick. We went to Primacare over the weekend and we both have ear and sinus infections. So we are on antibiotics and are now starting to feel much better. We went to the pediatrician's office yesterday and Gracie got a clean bill of health. She does not have an ear infection. How did we get one? We have no idea-one of the plane rides we guess. Needless to say, we have stayed home and have been taking turns with Gracie. Our clocks have not been reset either, so we have been up at around 3:00 am every morning. Gracie has had serious sleeping issues-she hates her crib and wakes up several times crying in the middle of the night. So now that we know it isn't a medical reason (we thought she was ill too), we decided the next step is sleep deprivation. Yesterday, we let her have 1 nap (usually she has 2) and kept her up until 8. It worked like a charm. It is now 5 am and she is still asleep. My mom said we are having parenting trial by fire--we said more like inferno--but once we are feeling better and Gracie is sleeping most of the night, things will be easier.

So Steve and I have received numerous emails and comments on the blog and we want to say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU--for all your well-wishes, love, and support. We weren't able to see the blog while in China, all we could do was create a new post, but my mom would read them to me when I called, and Steve and I would laugh or smile.

The above pictures are called red couch photos. Many adoptive families stay at the White Swan hotel in Guangzhou. The hotel has these long red velvet sofas and at some time in the past families starting taking photos and posting them. So it is now a tradition to get a "red couch" photo. It is not professionally done-we took them. These are all of the babies in our group (10 babies). You can see that they just loved it;) Well, it will be in Gracie's scrapbook, anyway--lol.

Wishing you all a very happy Thanksgiving!

Jennifer

Riverboat cruise around Shamian Island

These pics didn't come out great, but you can see some of what we saw. The lights are great--Guangzhou is a big city with a big city atmosphere. There are lots of discos and restaurants.

A Park on Shamian Island

We had a lovely stroll yesterday around Shamian Island here in Guangzhou. The children are practicing their presentation for the Olympics. And you can see Gracie on the slide. She seemed to really enjoy it. And we were so happy to find Starbucks.

Hello from Guangzhou!

Gracie is ready to go to the zoo! Hi Everyone...just wanted to say thank you so much for all of the kind words for all of us. We are doing better. Gracie was quite sick--very congested--when we first received her, but luckily we had an antibiotic our pediatrician had given us, so we gave her a round of that and it seems to have cleared most of the congestion up. She still has a little cough. On Sunday I started feeling achy and stuffy. We flew to Guangzhou from Nanchang on Sunday and Gracie was great. She slept most of the way, thankfully. By Monday night I was really ill, so I went to the doctor here at our hotel (it was the lady doctor, Traci:) She didn't speak any English, but the nurse translated. She said it was an upper respiratory infection--yuck! So I am hopped up on several things that I have not a clue what they are--the packaging is in Chinese, but the nurse wrote instructions for me in English. I just follow orders-lol. I am on the mend and we have plans later today to do some shopping around Shamian Island, where our hotel is located. Last night we ate at Lucy's and it was good. It is an American restaurant right down the street from our hotel. Tonight we are going on a boat tour around the island. Tomorrow is Gracie's swearing in at the U.S. Consulate. I am not sure what that involves. We leave Friday at 8 am from Guangzhou airport to Hong Kong. Our flight from Hong Kong leaves at 12:50pm. and arrives at 8:30am in San Francisco--yep, back in time! We arrive at DFW at 4:04m. on United 478. We would love to see everyone, but we understand if you can't make it out there. Honestly, we will probably be so tired--it is only a 17 hour trip and it will feel like 2 am to us. Lol--I am sure our hair will be poking out every which way! I will take pics today and post them tomorrow or tonight.

So some info. about our girl? For those who have BTDT--congee-out, squeeky shoes-definitely in:) Congee is a mashed rice with soy sauce that many babies are fed. She ate it the first breakfast, but when she discovered all of the other foods, she won't go back to congee. She loved the steamed egg until she threw it up all over me. Yeah, at the Gloria Hotel in Nanchang. Not pretty. She can eat like a linebacker. She loves fruit and scambled eggs for breakfast, and noodles with soy sauce--I had to feed her this with chopsticks-he, he. So not the best diet, but we get what we can. She had a ham and cheese sandwich and fries last night. As one father said, who is here for his second daughter from China, "your goal is to get them home in one piece, so do what you have to do"...we like that thought. During the day, she is happy and smiling. She walks around well and is very curious. She likes to organize her toys and does not share well. She can be a bit dramatic, though. If she wants something we won't let her have--oh, say--the tissue from the trash can---she will throw her hands up and head back, then cross her arms and put her forehead on them. Poor child! She is a fitfull sleeper. She wakes up 2-3 times per night. We can't figure out what the problem is. Sometimes she wants a bottle--so maybe we aren't feeding her enough? and sometimes we think it is night terrors. She stays asleep but screams to the world. If you try to comfort her, she screams louder. Eventually she falls back asleep. Then when she wakes in the morning she is fine and smiling. She does say some words. She says mama and baba (father in Chinese) and meimei (little sister). She loves her foster sister, Chloe (Xiao Xiao) and always smiles when she sees her. She was saying ba bao in the doctors office and we thought it was baby babble, but the nurse said it was a term of endearment for babies--like honey bear. So that is what we call her now--our little ba bao. Take care and we will post more pics soon! Love, Jen