If I don't get at least one picture posted while I think of it, another FFF might be missed. So, here we go.
We took Lili to have her one year photos taken and I thought I'd post one of my favorites.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
As Promised
Here are some new pictures of Lili.
And they called it puppy love.
Some good friends found a store in Bloomington, IL that sells various items made in Guatemala, including the bibs Lili is modeling in the following two photos.
One concern we had before Lili came home was how she would react to the dogs. Here is another photo to show how much she loves her dogs.
And they called it puppy love.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Happy Memorial Day
It's Memorial Day and we're finally experiencing our first hint of summer here in Central IL. This Spring has been so up and down weather-wise that I was beginning to think Lili would never be able to wear any of her cute summer clothes, but alas, she is wearing them today.
Unfortunately, the plan to have the pool open by today didn't work out as planned. We pulled the winter cover off and discovered that one of the parts on the inlet was broke and would need to be replaced. Of course, the pool store was closed by the time we discovered this so now we have to wait until tomorrow to get the part. Hopefully we'll have it all up and running before the end of the week. Then we have to keep our fingers crossed that we'll have consistently warm weather so the water can warm up enough for swimming. I'm very anxious to get Lili in the pool.
Lili still isn't walking on her own, but she is certainly much more vocal. We're not quite sure what she is trying to say, but there is voice inflection, facial expression and every once in a while a mama or dada thrown in. Between all the baby talk and her love of books, I'm thinking we might have talker on our hands. Once again, I don't think we could have hand picked a better fit for our family.
I'll try to get pictures posted this week, so keep checking in.
Hope everyone has had an awesome Memorial Day!
Unfortunately, the plan to have the pool open by today didn't work out as planned. We pulled the winter cover off and discovered that one of the parts on the inlet was broke and would need to be replaced. Of course, the pool store was closed by the time we discovered this so now we have to wait until tomorrow to get the part. Hopefully we'll have it all up and running before the end of the week. Then we have to keep our fingers crossed that we'll have consistently warm weather so the water can warm up enough for swimming. I'm very anxious to get Lili in the pool.
Lili still isn't walking on her own, but she is certainly much more vocal. We're not quite sure what she is trying to say, but there is voice inflection, facial expression and every once in a while a mama or dada thrown in. Between all the baby talk and her love of books, I'm thinking we might have talker on our hands. Once again, I don't think we could have hand picked a better fit for our family.
I'll try to get pictures posted this week, so keep checking in.
Hope everyone has had an awesome Memorial Day!
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
What's New?
I know I don't update my blog as often as I used to, but let's face facts, I'm just a little busier now that Lili is home. LOL! Still I want to keep everyone updated when I can on what's happening in the World of Weeks and there are some new things happening as of late.
Before I fill you in on the "what's new?" what hasn't changed is Lili's continued growth. I spent some time yesterday pulling most of her 12 month outfits out of her dresser and putting them away. There are a few that still fit her and of course she can still wear most of the dresses, but for the most part she is easily in 18 month outfits now.
Ben decided to share his head cold with Lili and since she hasn't been feeling well, we've gone back to her wanting to nap with either Dave or I holding her. She was pretty restless the first couple nights of her cold, but is now starting to sleep better. Today is the first time in the last several days that she's actually let me lay her down in her crib without immediately waking up.
Because Lili likes to share, she shared her head cold with me. No wonder she wasn't napping well :-( This stuff is terrible. I'm hoping it doesn't take me long to get over it because I have lots I need to get done.
A few weeks ago I posted some information about our oldest son, Ryan. While things are still up and down for him right now, we are seeing some positive improvements. We've been working with the agency that provides services for him and have asked them to move him to another home that is better suited to meet his needs, but they have not made a final decision in regards to a move for him. In the meantime, we are seeking services from an agency in the Chicago area. They have a wonderful reputation and actually have homes for adults with Autism. I've been in contact with them and they will be putting together a team to come down to meet Ryan and to talk to us, hopefully in the near future. While we would rather he be living closer to us, the most important thing is that his daily needs to being met in a such a way that he is allowed and able to meet his full potential. Unfortunately, the agency he's with now does not have the necessary services in place that will allow that to happen for him, so a move in the future may be necessary.
Now for the "what's new?" For those who have been reading my blog, you are already aware that we have plans of adopting at least one more time in the future. Since Lili's brothers are older, we really wanted her to have a sibling closer to her age. In addition, we didn't want her to be the only child in the family who is adopted. Lili is going to have various feelings about her adoption as she grows and while we hope that they are all very positive feelings, we are also realistic and know that she is going to have feelings about things that we really won't understand completely. They will understand each other in a way that Dave, her brothers and I won't and we feel it is important for Lili and her future sibling to have that common bond with each other.
Of course the dilemma has been where Lili's sibling will be from. The U.S. has closed adoptions from Guatemala because Guatemala is not Hague compliant and while they appear to be working on a Hague compliant system, there is no guarantee they'll have that system put in place in the near future. In addition, there are still questions surrounding what the adoption process will look like, so with sadness we've decided that an adoption from Guatemala, at least in the near future, is not going to happen for us. So, we have researched and discussed then discussed and researched more trying to decide what country could possibly touch our lives in the way Guatemala has. Finally, we have decided that we are going to pursue an adoption from Ethiopia. Since an adoption from Ethiopia will most likely take about the same amount of time as our Guatemala adoption took, we plan to begin the process in the next few weeks. We have selected an agency and are waiting on paperwork from them. We have also decided that we will be adopting another baby girl, so Lili's outgrown clothes will get more use in the future.
That's "what's new?" in the World of Weeks.
Before I fill you in on the "what's new?" what hasn't changed is Lili's continued growth. I spent some time yesterday pulling most of her 12 month outfits out of her dresser and putting them away. There are a few that still fit her and of course she can still wear most of the dresses, but for the most part she is easily in 18 month outfits now.
Ben decided to share his head cold with Lili and since she hasn't been feeling well, we've gone back to her wanting to nap with either Dave or I holding her. She was pretty restless the first couple nights of her cold, but is now starting to sleep better. Today is the first time in the last several days that she's actually let me lay her down in her crib without immediately waking up.
Because Lili likes to share, she shared her head cold with me. No wonder she wasn't napping well :-( This stuff is terrible. I'm hoping it doesn't take me long to get over it because I have lots I need to get done.
A few weeks ago I posted some information about our oldest son, Ryan. While things are still up and down for him right now, we are seeing some positive improvements. We've been working with the agency that provides services for him and have asked them to move him to another home that is better suited to meet his needs, but they have not made a final decision in regards to a move for him. In the meantime, we are seeking services from an agency in the Chicago area. They have a wonderful reputation and actually have homes for adults with Autism. I've been in contact with them and they will be putting together a team to come down to meet Ryan and to talk to us, hopefully in the near future. While we would rather he be living closer to us, the most important thing is that his daily needs to being met in a such a way that he is allowed and able to meet his full potential. Unfortunately, the agency he's with now does not have the necessary services in place that will allow that to happen for him, so a move in the future may be necessary.
Now for the "what's new?" For those who have been reading my blog, you are already aware that we have plans of adopting at least one more time in the future. Since Lili's brothers are older, we really wanted her to have a sibling closer to her age. In addition, we didn't want her to be the only child in the family who is adopted. Lili is going to have various feelings about her adoption as she grows and while we hope that they are all very positive feelings, we are also realistic and know that she is going to have feelings about things that we really won't understand completely. They will understand each other in a way that Dave, her brothers and I won't and we feel it is important for Lili and her future sibling to have that common bond with each other.
Of course the dilemma has been where Lili's sibling will be from. The U.S. has closed adoptions from Guatemala because Guatemala is not Hague compliant and while they appear to be working on a Hague compliant system, there is no guarantee they'll have that system put in place in the near future. In addition, there are still questions surrounding what the adoption process will look like, so with sadness we've decided that an adoption from Guatemala, at least in the near future, is not going to happen for us. So, we have researched and discussed then discussed and researched more trying to decide what country could possibly touch our lives in the way Guatemala has. Finally, we have decided that we are going to pursue an adoption from Ethiopia. Since an adoption from Ethiopia will most likely take about the same amount of time as our Guatemala adoption took, we plan to begin the process in the next few weeks. We have selected an agency and are waiting on paperwork from them. We have also decided that we will be adopting another baby girl, so Lili's outgrown clothes will get more use in the future.
That's "what's new?" in the World of Weeks.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Favorite Photo Friday
So many pictures to choose from. However, I just took this one a few days ago and thought those of you with small children and dogs would appreciate seeing it.
Lili loves to give the dogs their chewies and treats. Sometimes, she even trades her treat for their treat. She's so good at sharing. LOL
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Life Keeps Moving Forward
It seems as if the days are just speeding by and before I know it 5 days have gone by and I haven't posted anything.
Lili continues to do well. She is still cruising around the house while holding on to furniture or hands and although she's taken up to 8 steps by herself, she is still a bit wobbly and doesn't feel secure enough to venture out on her own completely. That is fine with me as she gets around quite well now and will most certainly be able to move even faster once she is walking on her own.
Yesterday and today we spent some time outside enjoying the warmer weather. She "loves" being outside and can throw a royal fit if someone goes out without her or you bring her in before she's ready. She isn't quite sure about scooting around in the grass, but is happy being carried, holding your hand so she can walk around or just holding onto her little picnic table and cruising around it while outside. I think our next purchase is going to be a swing set and baby swing so she has some other things to do outside other then trying to pull grass and eat it.
The 1 year molars still haven't found their way through the gums and there is a lot of finger chewing that happens everyday. So far we haven't seen any real indication that they are bothering her and hopefully they'll pop through without a problem.
Nap time and night time sleep are still problems, but we've made a little progress. Lili still falls asleep while I'm rocking her and will now stay asleep when I lay her in her crib (most of the time), but she still isn't taking very long naps. Night time is basically the same. She'll sleep in her crib anywhere from 1-3 hours before waking and then wants to be with me. She will then wake briefly another 2-4 times during the night and once she realizes I'm still there will find a comfortable position and fall back to sleep. Honestly, this is an improvement since she is settling down much more quickly now.
She is also trying to say more and more words all the time. Dog is sounding much more like dog now; ish is fish; dut is duck; and of course she still says momma, dada, ada (Jada), and is starting to imitate other sounds like shhh when the dogs bark.
That's all the updates I have for today. Now I'll post some long overdue photos so you can see one of Lili's favorite past times while mommy is trying to clean the kitchen.
Look mommy, I cleaned out the drawer for you.
Yep, it's empty.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
6 Weeks Ago Today
Lili touched down on U.S. soil and became a U.S. citizen. This also means that 7 weeks ago today she was placed in our arms forever. I'm continually amazed at how well she has adjusted to being with us and just how well she fits into our family. I thought it would be fun to list some of the things we've learned about Lili over the last 7 weeks.
1. She loves books. She loves sitting and looking at them as well as having them read to her.
2. She loves music and dancing (this may be an understatement).
3. She has a good appetite and likes many different foods.
4. Her favorite t.v. show is Hi-5.
5. Dogs are her favorite animal and she calls other 4 legged animals dogs.
6. She is a smart little cookie and is picking up language much more quickly than we anticipated.
7. She loves baths.
8. She has a temper and can throw a good tantrum.
That's just a few things we've learned about our little princess over the last 7 weeks and I'm sure she'll continue to amuse and amaze us over the years.
1. She loves books. She loves sitting and looking at them as well as having them read to her.
2. She loves music and dancing (this may be an understatement).
3. She has a good appetite and likes many different foods.
4. Her favorite t.v. show is Hi-5.
5. Dogs are her favorite animal and she calls other 4 legged animals dogs.
6. She is a smart little cookie and is picking up language much more quickly than we anticipated.
7. She loves baths.
8. She has a temper and can throw a good tantrum.
That's just a few things we've learned about our little princess over the last 7 weeks and I'm sure she'll continue to amuse and amaze us over the years.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Quick Update
Time is limited, but I wanted to get a quick post out with an update on the World of Weeks.
Lili had her 1 year check up last week and while the check up itself went well, the lab work after the appointment wasn't so great. Here are the details . . .
Lili was in the 5% in weight when we brought her home and her doctor wanted to see her put on some weight. If she didn't he said he would keep her on formula until she was 15-18 months old. Apparently we have a good eater on our hands because he is now in the 25% in weight. She was also in the 75% in height and is now in the 70%. Her head circumference was also in the 5% when she arrived home and is now the 10%. As a result, we are now moving her over to whole milk and off formula and her doctor was "thrilled" with her progress. Our next hurdle will be taking the bottle away from her, but I told the doctor that I wanted to wait just a little longer before we tackled that one. He agreed but said he would like to see her off the bottle by 15 months. That gives me 3 months to get her to use the sippy cup more often. So far she's not impressed withe the sippy cup, but she does enjoy taking drinks from a regular cup so I might just skip the sippy altogether. I did the same thing with the boys and it worked fine.
Now onto the labs. I told the doctor I wanted to have titers done before we proceeded with any shots. Again, he agreed and ordered the titers test along with some other tests recommended by our agency. For those who don't know what titers are, it's basically a blood test to make sure that she has immunities to the various diseases she received immunizations for in Guatemala. To have all these tests completed the lab needed 5 - 5 1/2 tubes of blood. So, after waiting for 1 1/2 hours to get the labs done (that is another story that I won't bore you with), Lili feel asleep. Of course this was the point that they finally came out to have her come back to get her blood drawn. She was so tired that she slept through them doing tons of stuff to her including putting her in the papoose. Then the needle went in the vein and all bets were off. She was not a happy camper at all and kept looking at me wondering why I wasn't picking her up so they would leave her alone. It was all I could do to fight back my own tears. Unfortunately, she has tiny fragile veins and after getting 1 1/2 tubes of blood the blood flow completely stopped. This meant they would have to try another vein. UGH!!! They took the papoose off and I immediately picked her up. She wanted out of that room, but did manage to calm down a bit while they gathered supplies to try the other arm. Round 2 was as bad as round 2 and they were only able to get another tube of blood before the flow stopped again. That was it for the day. They were not going to poke her again and I wasn't going to allow them to poke her again. This does mean that I have to take her back to get the rest of the blood drawn and I'm not looking forward to that trip at all, but we need to get it done to make sure that she is completely healthy and to determine if she needs to have any shots redone.
Lili has bounced back from her trauma at the lab and still gives me hugs and kisses, so all is well with the world.
Lili had her 1 year check up last week and while the check up itself went well, the lab work after the appointment wasn't so great. Here are the details . . .
Lili was in the 5% in weight when we brought her home and her doctor wanted to see her put on some weight. If she didn't he said he would keep her on formula until she was 15-18 months old. Apparently we have a good eater on our hands because he is now in the 25% in weight. She was also in the 75% in height and is now in the 70%. Her head circumference was also in the 5% when she arrived home and is now the 10%. As a result, we are now moving her over to whole milk and off formula and her doctor was "thrilled" with her progress. Our next hurdle will be taking the bottle away from her, but I told the doctor that I wanted to wait just a little longer before we tackled that one. He agreed but said he would like to see her off the bottle by 15 months. That gives me 3 months to get her to use the sippy cup more often. So far she's not impressed withe the sippy cup, but she does enjoy taking drinks from a regular cup so I might just skip the sippy altogether. I did the same thing with the boys and it worked fine.
Now onto the labs. I told the doctor I wanted to have titers done before we proceeded with any shots. Again, he agreed and ordered the titers test along with some other tests recommended by our agency. For those who don't know what titers are, it's basically a blood test to make sure that she has immunities to the various diseases she received immunizations for in Guatemala. To have all these tests completed the lab needed 5 - 5 1/2 tubes of blood. So, after waiting for 1 1/2 hours to get the labs done (that is another story that I won't bore you with), Lili feel asleep. Of course this was the point that they finally came out to have her come back to get her blood drawn. She was so tired that she slept through them doing tons of stuff to her including putting her in the papoose. Then the needle went in the vein and all bets were off. She was not a happy camper at all and kept looking at me wondering why I wasn't picking her up so they would leave her alone. It was all I could do to fight back my own tears. Unfortunately, she has tiny fragile veins and after getting 1 1/2 tubes of blood the blood flow completely stopped. This meant they would have to try another vein. UGH!!! They took the papoose off and I immediately picked her up. She wanted out of that room, but did manage to calm down a bit while they gathered supplies to try the other arm. Round 2 was as bad as round 2 and they were only able to get another tube of blood before the flow stopped again. That was it for the day. They were not going to poke her again and I wasn't going to allow them to poke her again. This does mean that I have to take her back to get the rest of the blood drawn and I'm not looking forward to that trip at all, but we need to get it done to make sure that she is completely healthy and to determine if she needs to have any shots redone.
Lili has bounced back from her trauma at the lab and still gives me hugs and kisses, so all is well with the world.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Sunshiny Day
We are having one of the most beautiful Spring days I've seen in quite some time. The sky is blue, the temps are mild, and there is a slight breeze. To top it all off, Lili is home enjoying this Spring day with me. To think that a year ago at this time we were just days away from submitting our completed dossier and a month later we would have Lili's referral is unbelievable at times. It seems like it was so long ago. Since that time I've made a lot of new friends and many have brought their children home, some are very close to leaving on their pick up trips, and others are still waiting. I now understand all the emotions of this journey and despite the mega roller coaster ride, I look forward to the day when we can start all over again and add to our growing family. After all, who can look at a face like this and not long to start again?
Friday, May 2, 2008
Lili's 1st Birthday
Lili had quite the day on Wednesday. We went to meet daddy for lunch . . . .
(Lili at the restaurant)
then headed out to do a little shopping. She really enjoys shopping. YEAH!!!!
then headed out to do a little shopping. She really enjoys shopping. YEAH!!!!
Daddy had a meeting and wasn't able to have dinner with us, but mommy fixed chicken, guacamole, and tortillas. Yum, Yum!!!
Early that evening we got on the web cam with Lili's foster family. They bought a birthday cake and all sang Happy Birthday to her in both English and Spanish. It was wonderful!!!!!! While still on the web cam, we gave Lili her presents so they could watch her open them. Unfortunately, she would only open one and since she really liked that gift, she had no interest in knowing what was in the gift bag. Mommy and daddy bought her a Little Friends musical ride along toy, which is a "huge" hit. Not only can she sit and ride on it, but she can push it and practice her walking, which is getting better every day. She is now taking 1-2 steps in between furniture on a regular basis.
The real hit of the evening was the cake though. And now, for your viewing pleasure, I present "Lili the birthday girl in all her birthday cake glory."
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