The Final Piece of our 'New Normal'

Yuck! Yesterday the final part of our 'new normal' began and it was t-o-u-g-h!!

I have taught piano for the past 11 years and last evening we started our new semester. The HUGE difference this year is that I am back at work now which means that Grandma picks Hannah up from daycare on Thursdays and takes her to her place while I come home to teach. In the end we were apart for more than 12 loooong hours! I hadn't been away from her for more than about 9 hours until yesterday so it was a new challenge for both of us.

Hannah seemed to handle it much better than mommy. Kids are just that way. (She had a rough period in the night which could be due to our separation...or teething, or whatever but the guilt makes me think it's because of our separation. Oh the guilt!!) Hannah loves her grandparents so spending time with them is always a treat for her. I did well being apart until Mom called to ask a question and suddenly I was sitting there with a student at the piano and me with tears in my eyes. Oops!

I enjoy the teaching and it was fun to get back into it and the extra income just helps ends meet a little better right now but being apart from her is still yucky! One thing that I changed this year and am happy that I did is that all my students are on one night now so that Hannah and I only have to be apart one evening and I only have to ask my parents to care for her one evening a week too. That part is a good change.

So, we're into our new routine and I know it will be just fine. Thursday's will be long but Friday's and the weekend will be just around the corner and we'll have lots of time to share together then! Yay for Friday!!!

This weekend we have one of those 'We can't wait until Hannah is home to do this with us........' events coming up! Stay tuned for lots of pictures and stories of our time together.

5 Months Ago Today....

Tears filled my eyes today as I looked back at this picture. One excited mommy and one tiny little girl not really understanding what was happening. Thank you Lord for Hannah XiaoFen!!!!! She is a blessing beyond measure!

Oh How I Love This Beautiful Face!

This past week I've taken a few pictures that capture Hannah's wonderful personality so well!

In this one I see eyes full of love.

'Hey Mom! Look what I can do!!'

Oh how I love my Hannah XiaoFen!!!

The Sweetest Word EVER!!!

Today Hannah began to say, 'Mama'!!!! And, she knew it was me!!! For a long time when someone would ask her, 'Where's Mommy?' she'd look at me and smile but the words just weren't there. She was getting closer as last week she could say, 'Mum mum' for her cookies but I knew she meant her cookies and not me.

Today all that changed and for the very first time in my life, my daughter, my daughter...called me 'Mama!!!!' My heart melted, tears sprang to my eyes and Hannah was pulled into a great big (Mama) bear hug and praised up and down!! As you'll see from the video she still uses it sparingly but she uses it and oh the joy that fills my heart!!!

The Bottle Dance!

It just kinda happened. As I would prepare Hannah's bottles each time I began to do a little jig and soon she was doing it too! I have a feeling it happened because she was pretty anxious for mommy to get that bottle ready so I would dance to entertain her while I prepared it. Soon 'The Bottle Dance' was formed and even friends know the 'tune' and can be heard singing along. Okay...I'm not a budding jingle writer but it works for us!

I tried often to catch Hannah doing the bottle dance but she normally became camera shy. This time with my mom holding the camera she danced and squealed with delight! My little lamb is one smart cookie as very soon after she began doing the dance in her high chair she picked up on the fact that I first shake it one way and then switch to another! Brilliant I tell you!! (Okay....mommy's little brilliance is oh so normal and just got stuck under my chair while I was typing this and needed help to get out. :o) Have I mentioned today how much I love my amazing daughter??!!!



I think Mommy enjoys bottle time as much as her little XiaoFen!

Yup! I'm a Mom!

Sometimes I find myself saying things that just make me laugh and think, 'Yup! I'm a Mom!' One of the things I find myself calling down the hall a couple of times each day is...

'I'm just going pee pees. You can hear me if you listen!'

Heh...I love this mommy gig!!!

First Doctor's Appt.

Hannah had her first doctor's appt. on Tuesday and she did great!! When Dr. Fitz walked in to see her he exclaimed how happy he was that she was finally here and she greeted him with a big gummy grin!

We talked about what I'm feeding her (currently formula, rice pablum, mixed fruit, bananas, and egg whites. Veggies were added later that day and more things each day. Peas and carrots were met with disapproval but sweet potatoes rock! (Thanks Deb!) Going to try the peas and carrots again tomorrow and see if they fare any better the 2nd time.) She has started eating in her high chair and quite enjoys herself up there! She seems dwarfed by the size of it but it happy as a clam and sometimes mommy is even able to get a few dishes done or bottles made while she plays before or after a meal.

I'm currently mixing her Chinese formula with a little bit of Canadian and slowly transitioning her to the Canadian brand. Dr, Fitz thought that was good so I'll keep doing it. So far, no complaints from my little love about the changes and truly, she's the one who matters! :o)

He weighed her and at 8 1/2 months she is currently 16lbs. 7.5 oz which is about 50th% on the Asian charts. As we thought, my little sweetie is long, measuring 28 1/2 inches and coming in around the 90th% on the Asian charts!! She was in the 90th% for height when I received updated info on her at 6 1/2 months so she's continuing the trend. Looks like she may be tall. Neat!! Her little legs are quite long and she fills out her 9mos sleepers well! Check out those beautiful long fingers too!

Her immunizations records were well kept and Dr. Fitz contacted a paediatrician who handles a lot of China adoptions and he said normally they just continue the immunizations on from there if they appear to be accurate so that's what we decided to do too. Unfortunately for Hannah that meant 2 boosters on Tuesday. Poor little lamb!! He apologized before giving them to her but she still cried....and mommy did too! It broke my heart to hear her cry but she soon calmed and quickly fell asleep in her car seat.

We booked her next appt. in 2 months so that the doctor could track her growth. We then headed downstairs to pick up containers for urine and poop samples. Welcome to motherhood!!

After stopping at home to grab some infant Tylenol we visited Grandma Perkins at the library for a quick bit while Hannah ate her lunch. She was none the worse for those 2 needles but I still hurt for her.

Fast forward to that night and she had a really rough go for about an hour and a half. Not sure if it was the needles or not but the cries of hurt were enough to break mommy's heart! After more Tylenol, rocking, walking, talking, calming, patting and singing she eventually settled and slept until 10 the next morning! Each night Hannah starts in her crib and wakes a couple of times but normally by about midnight she settles for the night, not making a peep.

We're doing as many have suggested and getting lots of sunlight during the day. She naps with the blinds open and we get out a little bit each day so it will just take time for our sleeping to fully adjust but truly, other than the fact that we're getting up at 10am we're both doing great and truly kicking jet lag in the butt!

The little ladybug blanket she's snuggled up with above has very quickly become her favourite. She doesn't mind others but as soon as I cover her with this one she snuggles in, grabs it and a sweet, sweet smile crosses her face. If her passport is ready by Christmas we'll have to hop across the border and pick up a couple at tar-jay. If not, we'll talk to Auntie M3 and I'm sure she'll be happy to help us out. ;o)

Back to the important stuff....we were successful getting the poop samples that evening but mommy was pretty challenged by those little bags to collect the pee. I tried 3 different ones and each time she ended up with a wet diaper and an empty bag. Heh!

Today as we were playing I had her diaper off and she peed on the change table. I was so happy and quickly got some into her little container and we dropped it off this afternoon. Hannah thought mommy was pretty silly when she was excited that she'd peed on the change table!

As I'm sure you can tell I'm loving, loving, LOVING being a mom and Hannah is the light of my life! I'm trying to get her to bed earlier but am the first to admit that part of the problem is that I hate to put her down each night. I'm working on it and slowly she's getting to bed earlier but I tell you, seeing her precious little face each morning still brings a wave of tears almost every day!

I am so blessed and cannot thank God enough for brining Hannah and I together. Wow.....WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!