Monkey see , Monkey do!

Today we escaped the confines of our home and ventured off to the zoo! I have found it difficult to go too far with Pei due to her bad relationship with the car!

Pei + Car = vomit!!!!!

I have been saying that God definitely has a since of humor! Anyone who knows me, knows that I absolutely H.A.T.E. vomit. No one likes it but I have been known to leave a restaurant if I see someone puke! So, God leads me right to my beautiful daughter, who happens to suffer from major motion sickness and barfs every time we get into the car!(I think I hear him laughing!!) Maybe he thought I needed some help in this area. Well, since being home with Pei I have tackled my fear of vomit . I have to say I am doing quite well!

So ,entered my little friend Dramamine and we were off ! We met up with Nikki and Quinn . We all had a great day visiting and seeing all of the animals.

Quinn checking out the girls! Yes Quinn you are correct they are DOUBLE TROUBLE!!!!!

Well on to the petting zoo. Where my two were looking for just the right victim!

Picture of the victim

Run little guy!!!!

Pei giving her assessment of his vulnerability!

Yes, he will do !

Well ,all I can say was that this little guy did not seem to mind going to the beauty shop. And yes he was alive! And no he did not have to wear a lavender bow! Lucky guy!

Farewell little guy!

Here is to more puke free outings!!!!!!!!

Thanks Dramamine!

1 month home !

I can hardly believe that it has been one month since we arrived home with Pei!Wow what a difference this time has made.
I am not going to lie, this was hard.
Really hard.
I think having been through one adoption already had prepared us in many ways for what we had experienced but in many ways it had not. I know it can take a least six months before everyone starts to feel the new norm. So me being the patient gal that I am ;) locked in for the long haul.(Okay maybe patient does not always describe me but I am tenacious!)
Waiting and hoping that by some miracle that Pei would begin healing ,trusting and embracing her new life. Now, that is a tall order for a little girl who just had everyone and everything she has ever loved ripped away just six weeks ago.
At times I wondered has this little girl been shown affection. I know , I know she has only known us for a little over a month now ,but the questions about her life before us do come and go.It is like reading a book but you have never read the beginning.At times you feel kind of lost.
We have seen the most amazing things unfold within Pei in just this past week. She is such a sweet and loving little girl.This is a far cry from the little girl we met just weeks ago that was grieving ,hitting and guarded.There are several stages of grief and she went through them all.
I now know that she was completely riddled with fear ,sadness and anger/frustration over the loss of her world.
Just a few weeks earlier ,Pei would scream if Bret would try to hold her. Now, when he comes home Pei runs to him calling "Papa" and kisses him on the lips! That is some major progress!!!!!
When she first would approach me she would stand at a distance waiting for an invitation to climb in my lap and then she would back into me . Even though I was the one she had initially clung to she was so anxious . As she would stand and stare at me she would look down at the floor ,chew on her fingers and then sit so still in your lap. Almost like she was fearful that if she moved I would put her back down. Now , she runs over to me like a baby girl should run to her mama , lifts her arms up and smiles the sweetest smile as she climbs into my lap. Her anxiety has been replaced with confidence, her tears replace with giggles.
I know we still have a way to go .
I can hardly wait to see where we are at in six months from now. I am finally seeing the rainbow!

I am so thankful that God sent me many people along this journey just at the right time to ease my fears .He closed doors that were not meant to open and led me straight to my little girl. I look at our sweet girl and could not imagine a life without her in it :)!

Treasures from China

While in China we were blessed to receive some photos of Pei as a baby. What a treasure these are to have! As you look at them you can kind of piece together her life before joining our family. Of course there are pieces of this puzzle that we will never fully know .These pictures span from her life as a baby to just hours before she met us.

As the weeks go by we are seeing the most amazing little girl unfold before our eyes. As she starts to trust us more and the walls are coming down a sweet ,silly little girl is emerging.
So here is just a glimpse into Pei's life before she become part of a family.

Our blessed family.

Enjoy!

Straight from the trenches of motherhood!

We have been really busy over the past week! We have been potty training , going to doctor appointments,refereeing, wiping tears and boogers, and just getting to know one another.Did I mention there has been a invasion of Barney and Elmo that has spread like a bad virus! I am up to my neck in the trenches of motherhood!

First off potty training a two and three year old at the same time is not fun! Ava was almost done with her training before we left for China. Well lets just say that the squattie potties unraveled all of that work! Pei came to us potty trained but the emotional strain took it's toll so it was back to square one for her too. So my days are spent with many little people potty breaks and lots of skittles rewards!

We have been to the Pediatrician and the ENT specialist. Pei had every test known to mankind and passed with flying colors! She is in the 75th percentile for height and 25th for weight. Her blood work looked great too! We then went on to the ENT specialist. The doctor assured me that most of these kids with microtia do not have an eardrum in the affected ear. So, we went on to audiology. Audiology was amazed at the results of her hearing tests. She can hear ...in both ears! So, back to the doctor who then said "HMMMMM?" She has the option to do reconstruction on her ear at 6 -7 years old. Personally I think she should be older and be able to help make the decision. So we were pleased as anything with these results. We walked into this not knowing to what degree she could hear. The orphanage director denied us a copy of the ENT report from China. So we were prepared for possible deafness in one or both ears. So this report was a wonderful report :) As far as the facial palsy it is so minor !He said I would not do anything about that till later. I have to be honest I was not planning on doing anything at all about that. If she wants to address that as an adult I will support her in that decision. I have to say that she has one of the sweetest smiles this momma has ever seen!

As far as everything on the attachment front we have been seeing improvements everyday. Pei is becoming more and more comfortable in her new surroundings and with her new family. As hard as this has been for us I am reminded daily of just how much more difficult this is for her. There is one thing here that I am bewildered by.

Pei and food.

She has no full button. Her behavior around food is very much like a child that has been in an orphanage. Our pediatrician said she is thin . During the first week with us she was so anxious and nervous so her not eating really well was not a surprise. She would often hold food in her mouth but then again you were not sure if it was different than what she had been used to and the emotional strain that she was under. We are now at home and have a very predictable eating schedule. I have the girls eating three meals a day and two snacks. Of course food is always available but regardless she has no full gage. She is not sensitive to textures at all. But she constantly asks for more . I am hoping this will resolve itself over time as it did with Ava. But it does make you wonder how much time did she spend hungry.

Here are some pictures from today and as you can tell the girls are becoming more like sisters each and everyday! As each day passes we are hearing more and more giggles!