handsful

Yet another month has gone by with Lainey Q!  She was in the orphanage for the first 19 months of her life, so we’ve almost had her half that time.  Experts say that children need to be with their family at least as long as they were in the orphanage, to start feeling like “this is it”. 

Marley shares her ice cream with her lil’ sister.

I don’t think I remembered to mention before, but something amazing has happened between her 8th and 9th month with us.  She’s finally full.  Remember how she used to eat like mad, always cleaning her plate?  That has stopped being so consistent recently.  She eats much slower, plays more, and seems more picky about what she wants to eat.  Don’t get me wrong, she’s still an awesome eater…she’s just eating more like a “normal” toddler now. :) 

Patiently waiting by my computer…wheels on the bus, please??

Lainey has her last visit at the infectious disease clinic tomorrow!  She’s almost done with her INH therapy medicine that started back in March.  She’s on this due to testing positive for TB at her initial pediatrician visit.  She had a chest x-ray, which came back clear…but, it’s customary to still be put on the medicine for the whole 9 months.  She’s tolerated it perfectly, absolutely no side effects at all.  Her last dose is mid December.  

I haven’t weighed her in a little while, but she’s HEAVY when I carry her upstairs.  She’s still making slow and steady progress in the speech/communication department and doing well with the potty… though, she’s still not TELLING me she has to go so that’s the big hurdle to get over!  Maybe by her 10th month?  I can hope!

One last thing…Lainey’s story is on a new website started by Stephanie (the link to her personal blog, Ni Hao Ya’ll, is on the sidebar).  She had a desire to have a website dedicated solely to helping educate others about special needs through personal stories of others adoption experiences.  I think it’s an awesome idea, and wish it would have been in place while we were in the researching stage of our SN adoption.  There’s nothing like learning the “real deal” through the eyes of someone who has gone before you.  Click below!

www.nohandsbutours.com

 

 

Another month has passed, and Lainey has now been with us for 8 months!  A few tidbits on her now:  she can now do a forward rolll…she can use a straw to drink (most of the time)…she weighs about 32 lbs…she loves lollipops and clementines…she has a different “favorite” blanket everytime she goes to bed…she rarely wants her stuffed animals in her bed with her anymore…her favorite sign (and thing) is “cookie”…she is a total copy cat and imitates everything we do…and one of her favorite things to do is steal your chair :)

Like we told a friend today, she is our joy.  We wonder what we did for dinner table entertainment before she joined us…she’s a stinker and a ham and loves to make us laugh out loud. 

She loves playing “airplane” with her sisters…

Marley teaches her the fine art of computer games

Lainey enjoys EJ’s baseball game this morning

Nice hit, EJ

Stealing 3rd base…they won 13-3

If you want to compare Lainey now to other month anniversaries, look on the “Categories” sidebar and click on “Gotcha anniversary” to see them all.  :) 

Another month has gone by since that amazing day on 2/18 when Lainey was placed in our arms.  We grow to love her more everyday, and continue to be in awe of God’s perfect gift to us.  As we like to say, we undoubtedly have the goofiest child from the Bengbu City SWI!  God knew what He was doing…our other children are also certifiably goofy.  :) 

Here are a few tidbits about Lainey these days…

• she LOVES ketchup…she dips her fry, licks, dips, etc. before actually biting it. 
• she’s always been attached to him, but dada has been extra special these days.  She does the happy dance when he walks in the door!  He works from home, but lately has had lots of meetings and a few trips away. 
• when she gets especially mad or frustrated, she’ll hit whatever inanimate object is closest…the table, toy, etc.  I try not to laugh. 
• have I shared this one yet?  If you tell her to “talk”, she immediately sticks her tongue out.  Kids taught her that little trick. 
• a new word…boo boo (comes out moo moo…too cute)
• she is more frightened of strange noises, especially some toys that make noise.  This is new.  On the other hand, big lightening and thunderstorms don’t bother her in the least. 
• she still loves playing with her play kitchen.  Her favorite thing to do these days is to wipe my face and hands with a napkin after “feeding” me. 
• When we put her down for nap or nighttime, we have to play the Which Blanket game.  She has quite a few, and you never know which one she might choose.  She’s the same way with her animals…she might want them all or none.  She’s a gal who has preferences. 
• Potty training is going well…if we take her right after lunch, she almost always goes.  She’s told us (using the universal sign for “I need to go”) twice and has gone both times. 
• Still eats anything, but has her favorites…oatmeal, graham crackers, Gerber meat sticks, all veggies especially carrots, mandarin oranges…there are many more! 

I’ve been meaning to post about this, we changed Lainey’s room a few weeks ago.  She used to be in a small room with no closet downstairs.  We moved her to the bonus room upstairs, with her “room” being in the back and the rest is her playroom.  It’s working GREAT, she loves the extra space to be free to play.

Here’s a shot of it with me standing near her crib.  We’re still working on getting everything back up on the walls. 

The mandatory after-nap snack.  Today was organic chocolate bunny crackers.  Yum.  Happy 7 months, Lainey Q!   

 

SIX months!  Half a year, baby!  Here are her other Gotcha anniversary pics…

Five Months

Four Months

Three Months

Two Months

One Month

Gotcha Day

Care for a little Lainey overload?  Here are some favorite pictures taken recently:

Taken today…can you say goofy??

It got quiet (which means Lainey is getting into something…) so I went to look for her and she came walking down the hall wearing these.  A pair of my OLD glasses!  She loves eye wear of any kind, no matter how ugly. 

She loves her books, as long as you don’t spend too much time READING the pages.  See how long her hair is! 

Someone is excited to be in the rocking chair! 

I love her delicate eye lashes. 

Taken today, 5 months since Gotcha day! 

Family and friends back in NC will appreciate this :)  Our friend Brandy ordered this adorable bib for Lainey…for those of you confused, Randy went to NC State University (red/black) and I went to UNC-Chapel Hill (blue/white).  They are rival colleges, so hence our divided house.  However, I now pull for NCSU (gasp) since it means so much more to him who wins than it does to me!   

My favorite Gotcha day picture…this was soon after we arrived at the hotel.  We had taken off her coat, and were trying to interact with her on the bed.  Her little tightly clamped lips speak volumes, I think. 

This is today, 4 months later.  Her hair is getting so long, it’s getting down right unruly!  We usually try and keep it up in a tiny pony tail on top, or with a clip off to the side.  We’re in major “hairbow training” right now…she jerks it out, I put it back, she jerks it out…get it?  We’re not doing the bang thing, so she’s either gonna have to get used to them or get used to seeing through hair.  :) 

 

Today . . .

. . . Gotcha Day

3 months since Gotcha…since we heard “here is the one from Bengbu” and we turned to see her coming through the door. Hard to believe the difference 3 months can make. Gotcha day was an amazing day, but the time since has just been extraordinary.

Enjoying her first playtime in the rain today…she marveled at the raindrops hitting her face and arms. We missed a lot of her “firsts”, but the ones we are having with her are extra sweet.

A few notes on Lainey…

she’s no longer scared of Jack, but doesn’t exactly love him. She’d just as soon block him on the head with her shoe as pet him. It’s an interesting relationship.

loves: shoes, pencils, the recycle bin, my purse, running, and food on other people’s plates.

hates: getting licked in the face by Jack, wearing her shoes in the truck, keeping her hair clips in, long rides in the truck, not being picked up when she wants, and just plain hates being still.

she loves helping around the house…she hands me the laundry from the dryer for me to fold; unloads the silverware and throws it in the drawer; holds onto the broom vac while I push; and LOVES throwing her diaper (or anything, really) into the trashcan.

she loves anything that can function as a stool, especially her cube toy (she doesn’t play with this, it’s ONLY her stool). Anything that can make her a little bit taller (and, therefore have access to MORE items on the table) is good with her. Not so good with mama.

she sleeps…I hate to even say this…perfectly. She goes down for her nap and bedtime without fuss, usually waving at us as we leave or just snuggling with her pillow/blanket. She also wakes without fuss…no cry, no demand to get out of her crib. She simply waits until it’s time for us to come and get her, and she smiles as we walk in the door. Effortless. Now, I fully expect this to change as we go through her surgery recovery. For now, I’ll enjoy it.

her favorite activity to do by herself is playing with the plastic cups/plates/bowls in her “allowed” cabinet. She lines them up on the window sill, pretends to eat and drink from them, and loads them into her grocery cart. She also has her own kitchen now (thanks, Angie!) and loves to play there.

she’s making lots of progress in communication! She still uses her signs regularly, but is beginning to copy sounds and mouth movements a lot. Her favorite right now is a growl, when she sees a stuffed animal. So cute! It’s so good to see her opening up with this, and being so willing to try. Receptively, she understands more and more everyday. She knows what so many words mean…for example, she hears “diaper” and she pats her bottom and runs to where we change her. She knows her hair, nose, eyes, ears, bellybutton and understands up and down. It’s such fun to watch her learn!!