Taiwan Treasure

Summer Fun

2011-08-05T21:23:00.000-04:00

Summer around here is filled with lots and lots of sunshine and water. Claire is surely a fun in the sun kinda girl.

We went camping again right around our family day. Can you believe that it's been three years since our little angel was placed into our arms. It still brings tears to my eyes when I think about the journey to bring her home. She did great this year, but we were better prepared. I think we bought out the entire section of bug spray in the store. Claire also jumped from the platform at the springs all by herself for the first time. She knows how to swim now, but we told her that in the springs she has to wear some type of floatie b/c it's so deep. She listened and had both her floaties and a doughnut around her waist...it was too precious.

We were also able to meet in person a family we met on the net. Their little girl was also adopted from the same orphanage. The girls hit it off and played and played despite the rain. Really it rained and rained...and rained...but it didn't stop these beauties from sporting the barbie jeep and then "washing" it with sand. Good times...Good times

Summers still not over and in Florida we have many more months...but the next big trip is...wait for it...
We're going to brave D*i*sney for her fourth birthday...that's going to be an adventure, especially since she tells us everyday "I three....when I turn four...we going to D*i*sney world..and see the princess castle, and Mic*key, and G*oofy, and they gonna be big, and we ride on D*umbo...and..and " Oh she's gonna have a ball.

It's been a long long time

2011-07-13T16:39:00.000-04:00

It's been such a long time, but the time just seems to be flying by. Claire is growing like a weed and it's amazing. She is a spirited young girl that is always on the go. We never rest, but it's a good kind of exhaustion. These past months have brought much growth in her development, skills, and speech. At one point I felt that she was a little behind in her speech, but she has definitely caught up. She NEVER shuts up now. And she's able to tell us stories about her day and has a great imagination.

She takes gymnastics and has been for a while. She had her first Ribbon day which is like a recital. She was a little nervous at first as there were a lot of people there to watch. I think Claire had the most family members there to watch her, Grandparents, Aunt, cousins... but she did great and nailed several of her moves.

She was so proud to get her own little trophy and ribbons. Her Daddy got her her first bouquet of flowers and she was particularly proud of those, telling us "Daddy give me my own flowers...they for me". Then we all went out to eat in celebration. So proud of her.

We recently got a small above ground pool in our backyard. Being a Peds nurse I was a little weary about her inability to swim yet. I see things at work that are so preventable. So aside from the other safety measures...like taking the ladder out when we're not using it and extra high locks on the exit doors for the house.. we pushed her to learn to swim without any assistive devices like floaties or noodles. Our little angel learned to swim in one week(now we have had her in the water a lot consistently since bringing her home). So on Father's day after everyone left our house, she took a huge breath and swam the length of our pool. Pictures will follow..Like I said...growing by leaps and bounds

A day(or two) late...

2010-12-08T22:45:00.000-05:00

More pics from her birthday...was that really over a month ago...

3 years old

2010-11-15T22:37:00.000-05:00

Can you believe that our little girl is 3 years old....My how time flies...
I know that I am wayyyyyyy overdue at updating this blog. So this will be quick and I'll add more pics later this week or next.

This is her "3 year old" pic..from a quick, get the shot photos at the park..Claire was super excited about her birthday party. For weeks she would sing Happy birthday to herself..so cute. She had a Dora birthday party and all she asked for was a bumble bee pillow pet...well she got it along with a basketball hoop from her Mommy and Daddy. I have super cute pics of her playing ball in her party dress. She is a very energetic child who no longer takes naps..unless she passes out from sheer exhaustion. It's hard for us because she runs at 90 miles per hour until bedtime. I am not exaggerating. Really I'm not. I'm not sure where she gets the energy. She is potty trained except at night..and lately there are several nights a week when she is dry. She can count to twenty and sings songs we have never taught her...She loves to play outside, play with doll houses and we've introduced her to board games. We finally introduced her to Dis*ney movies..her first one is The Little Mer*maid...she tells me it has a scary shark...not the effect we had hoped. But I will say trying to imagine it through a 3 year olds eyes it does look scary. She is however infatuated with Annie the movie.

For Halloween Claire didn't want a costume...we told her that that's not how it worked. She practiced trick or treating for a month, but wouldn't choose a costume. On try number three after we looked at every costume..we thought we would just have to pick one for her...when I asked about a princess..no...bumble bee..no..witch...no..bannana(it was cute)..no...Claire they have a girl pirate..........ARGGHHHHH...and the costume was chosen...phew....and it was adorable....This is Claire with her cousin and although I had to work that night(ugghhhh) Jon tells me they had a blast....

Yearly update

2010-08-24T14:47:00.000-04:00

So I just sent in Claire's yearly update. That is such a difficult thing to do. How do sum up a year in a letter and 16 pictures? You don't, well actually I didn't. I sent a pretty long letter, several pages and I think something like 40ish pictures. I just couldn't help it. It's such a hard thing to do...to sum up the past year of your child's life. I want them to see that she's doing well and see what kinds of things we do. So 40ish pictures it was...
I've really been trying to talk with Claire about adoption, although she doesn't grasp it at all. I just don't want her to have never heard the word. I was looking through her baby book with her and talking with her about it. In the back of her baby book is an envelope that closes. I have her birthfamily pictures in there that way when she is older she can choose what to share. But, we were looking through the pictures together and there is a picture of her birthmother holding her. Claire looked at it and said "mommy"......now she often will see women and say mommy or men and say daddy, but that was like a stab through the heart. I know it shouldn't have been because no matter how I feel or how I want to clarify or label the relationship, it is her birthmother. But I wasn't sure what to feel. One one hand I know I shouldn't be hurt by that and I should want to be open and all..but on the other hand I'll be honest I don't want her to be calling her Mommy. I just don't. I know it's not politically correct and I know that I should feel other wise, but is it wrong?

164 pictures..

2010-07-26T23:17:00.000-04:00

So in one weeks time I took 164 pictures...really? And the sad thing is that I won't print any of them out...I gotta get better at that. So as you can see we have an apartment of a tent, which like I said before, Claire thought was great in theory...until she had to sleep in it.

I really don't know what happened or how this picture jumped to the top, but this is the result of my "sweet" girl. The bugs just loved her at camp no matter how much bug spray we sprayed on her.

After a couple days of camping, Claire and I headed to my BF's house for another couple of days. There we relaxed, swam, hung out, found an old school playgroud(with merry go round and see saws). We also took the kids to a place called Birthday World, which is like a Chuckie Che*se except there are rides...awesome place to hang with the kiddos.
In the olden days, when my friend and I would hang out, we might go to a club or a bar...the funny thing was that on a Friday night, we were at a place with rides and our kiddos were running around screaming...and the strongest thing we were drinking was a Dr. Pepper.. man...are we getting old....But if you snuck off to the glow in the dark minature golf room, closed your eyes, screaned out the screaming kids, and listened carefully to the DJ(yes...they had a DJ) play the latest dance music, you might feel your hips start to move, maybe for just a second...until that is Claire found me..screaming "MAMA!! MAMA!! MAMA!!....awww such bliss in that little voice...screaming at me!!!

We got kicked out.....

2010-07-21T11:22:00.000-04:00

The camping trip went well...Claire on the other hand didn't fare as well. She loved camping and the idea of the tent. She loved swimming in the "cold pool", which is the natural spring that stays 72 degrees year round. She loved hanging out and riding bikes with her cousins and helping them build a fire. The bugs on the other hand LOVED Claire. When I say loved I mean LOVED!! Despite using two cans of bug spray on Claire in two days, she came home looking like she got beat up in a Tyson fight. We seriously sprayed bug spray directly on her face, but it didn't help, she got bit so bad that we felt like horrible parents...she looked like she had two black eyes and had bites everywhere, even under where her clothes were.(I'll post pictures later of that). She was great during the day(typical 2 year old stuff), but the first night she fought us tooth and nail to go to bed. The second night she was soooo exhausted that she fell asleep easily, but had a night terror. Don't know if anyone has dealt with these, but the cure is to wake them up. She was basically asleep, but screaming. I'm sure all the campers around us loved us. So here I am in a tent, it's pitch black, with Claire screaming and writhing, my nephews are right next to us, it's steaming hot and I have a flashlight in Claire's face trying to wake her up, prying her eyes open to see if that would help. She started screaming for her mommy, who by the way was holding her. Imagine...it wasn't fun. Anyhow after that night and Claire waking up looking like we beat her, we decided to head out a day early. She loved the day, but we think she might not be ready to sleep in a tent....Anyhow, despite what it sounds like we did have a great time.
     Claire and I have been kicked out of our house so Jon can paint the outside. We are headed to Orlando to hang with by bestie from high school. I'll post pics when I get back.

**For Claire**
     It's been two years since you were placed in my arms. It was a day that was filled with so much anticipation and visions of love. But nothing compares to the reality of being your mother. I tried to imagine what it would be like. I tried to imagine what that love would feel like. But no one could adequately describe it. I can't even describe it. I am truly blessed. Everyday you amaze me and I love watching you become who you are. --love, Mommy

Can you believe it?

2010-07-16T14:19:00.000-04:00

Can you believe that we are coming up on our 2nd family day anniversary? Can you believe that it has almost been two years since we became a family? Can you believe that we survived? Can you believe that we are celebrating by going camping in the July heat with a 2 1/2 year old and her three teenage cousins in one tent and all the other cousins in the next two campsites? God help us.....

A snipet or two

2010-05-25T17:24:00.000-04:00

Life is just speeding along...not that you really want to read about it..therefore...the pictures...

We started Claire in gymnastics..she's still young so I have to "participate" in the class with her, which by the way is rather amusing...she doesn't like to stretch, but loves all the jumping and if I'm not quick enough she'll run off in the other direction to jump on this or that. She's starting to listen more in the class, but it's still quite daunting.
The potty training is....going...she's not all that interested in it anymore. She has three potty's to choose from b/c Mommy was getting frustrated only to learn that she just doesn't want to do it when I ask, but she will sneak off to the bathroom, close the door...LOCK IT..then go, just as long as I haven't asked her.
She did however tell me for the first time yesterday whilst we were out doing errands "Mommy? POTTY" as Mommy had to scramble to find/see if the place even had a toilet.
Her speech is coming along. I..and I must stress just I believe that she is behind in her speech, not her receptive, b/c she understands all, but her expressive. The last few weeks though, her speech is really starting to blossom, which helps with her frustration. But I will tell you the cuss jar is about to enter our household, She repeated loudly and clearly....the forceful word... "B*S*" just the other day at the dinner table, thanks to Daddy. Not all her speech is clear, but darn nit when she cusses you know it...it was a clear reminder that we have to watch what we say.
She's a tomboy and I love it...she can rock a dress then play in the mud..she has an old car of Jon's that she likes to play with, but just so you know she's still a girl....there's a big purple flower that she added to the hood...NOW that's MY GIRL!!

A..B...C....D....

2010-04-01T00:20:00.000-04:00

Does is not just amaze you what children can do and figure out in terms of gadgets...
If you go online and type in Toddler games...you will come to a fisher price website that has an abc game...the kids can press anything on the keyboard and it will play a letter and an animal that starts with the letter. Claire loves this and it allows me to cook dinner without parking her in front of the TV. Claire figured it out very easily...loves to play on Mommy's laptop like a big girl..and is learning her alphabet. She's even been trying to sing her ABC's and knows animals like a yak and a urial..
these kids are smart these days

Family days

2010-04-01T00:10:00.000-04:00

Okay so the pictures are a little out of order. But this is Claire and her YO GABBA GABBA kite. Jon refused to buy a girlie kite and that was a good thing...b/c

B/c although other peoples kites really captured Claire's attention, her own kite didn't hold much weight. So Claire went to play in the park while Jon and my nephew played with the kite...Actually Jon thouroughly enjoyed the kite and my nephew placated Jon..

And this is Claire's newest venture in the bedroom...she will wedge her little self between the mattress and the footboard of our bed...notice her little feet...how cute is that!!

She's doing just fine

2010-02-15T02:00:00.001-05:00

It amazes me how the time has flown by. On one hand it seems like we were just in Taiwan and on the other it seems like she has been a part of our lives forever. I look back on our pictures and tears still come to my eyes remembering what it was like to see her for the first time...to hold her and know that she was ours. Claire has an endless amount of energy and we are always on the run with her. She fills our lives with laughter and excitement for life like only a child can.

She has an infectious and devious smile all at the same time.

Jon and I were just talking the other day about her caretakers in the orphanage...we wonder if they get updates on the children that they loved and cared for. Claire had one caretaker in particular that was very bonded to her. She wept when we picked her up. We send updates like we're supposed to but I wonder if those are just for the birthfamily...I wonder if these women care for and love our children while we aren't there and then with heavy hearts hand them over with faith to foreigners, never to know how it all turned out. How hard that must be. So we've decided to send an email to the orphanage explaining that we didn't know if the caretakers were updated, but we wanted them to know how happy she is..how happy we all are and that she's well taken care of...and of course we'll attach the cutest pictures we can. And we hope that it will get passed on to "Lilly" and she'll know for sure that that little angel is doing okay...

Back on track..

2010-02-10T23:12:00.000-05:00

Well so much has been going on...let's update. The past 5 months have brought some changes in our household. About 4 months ago..Jon got hurt again..he fell at Pump it Up, which is an inflatable party place for kids..he and Claire were climbing up a high slide thingy, Claire squirmed and they fell...far. Jon cradled Claire and she was okay, but he shattered his ankle-requiring surgery and Jon was out on disability for 4 months. He is doing ok now, but will have problems for the rest of his life probably requiring more surgery as he gets older. Didn't I say that he wasn't allowed on high things....geeesh..
I changed jobs. I was working 5 days a week(like most normal people) plus call shifts, but I didn't feel like the quality of my interactions with Claire were very good. She's a day person and was just grumpy when I got home and I felt like I never saw her. So I went back to 12 hour night shifts and am now working in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. I love love love my new job and I love all the time I have with Claire now. I'm with her everyday and I only miss the nighttime routine 3 nights a week. Plus I'm a true night person at heart so I need less sleep. I hated hated hated getting up at 5 am 5 days a week. The relationship between Claire and I has changed..she's not grumpy around me as much and we're able to do so much now. I almost feel like a stay at home Mom.
My oldest nephew has moved in with us for the school year. So now we have the terrible twos and a 16 year old. Claire loves having him around and he's a tremendous help to us and is very good with Claire. But let's not forget that he's 16. Seriously he makes me feel old......
Our phone lines went down one night..I thought it was the computer so I pressed buttons..a lot of buttons..and reset things I probably shouldn't have reset..so our entire computer network was down...for many months...so after about 5 months we have it corrected and now finally I'm back on track...with more time to enjoy the things I like doing...like updating our blog...

3rd and final post of the day..Baptism..and I didn't lie

2009-12-12T16:37:00.001-05:00

We finally had Claire baptized, last weekend. First off I had to make sure we had the right church for our family. I kept changing churches trying to like the ones closer to us. I really 'wanted' to like the ones right around the corner from us, but it just didn't feel right to me. But we kept going back to St. Matthews and really like it there. We're catholic and had to attend a little class before we could baptize Claire..when the Deacon told me that we would hold her during the ceremony...my heart panicked....Claire won't let us hold her for any extended period of time...she's two..really did I mention she was two..."it's okay" the Deacon said.."we're used to babies crying during the ceremony"..."no really, did I tell you she was two?!!"

So as you can see in the first picture..it was after Mass before the baptism...she's being held by one of her older cousins...looks like she might do okay right...we usually drop Claire off at the nursery for Mass, so when we walked into the church and up to the alter..she said.."wow"...so I was thinking "please God, let her be good for the ceremony..."
Then we had to hold her...and hold her and hold her...as you can see she didn't like it. Not only did she cry during the ceremony..she squirmed and SCREAMED!! DURING THE ENTIRE CEREMONY. See I didn't lie..I looked into the pews and saw our family in tears from laughing so hard..I was up on the alter with a squrimy screaming two year old..sweating..we're passing Claire off to eachother trying to get her to calm down..if you'll notice in one of the pictures..I'm blocking Claire from kicking the Priest...that's gotta be some kind of sin..right?haha....nothing was working..until they actually baptized her...once the holy water was poured over her head she calmed down a bit...but once it was over..it started again..Finally it was over and the Priest gave her her candle...well holy candle that calmed her down...where was that at the beginning...whew...then we had a nice reception for her and as you can see...Claire stripped off her shoes and pantyhoes for the party...
Now friends and family...you are caught up....

Ni Hao...2nd Birthday

2009-12-12T16:06:00.000-05:00

Her second birthday was a Kai Lan party. We bought her the smallest dress we could find in Taiwan and it was just fitting her. We knew that if we didn't create an occasion for her to wear it, she would out grow it soon.

If you're wondering about the cake...we ordered a Do*ra cake from Publi*x then asked them NOT to put on the Do*ra figurines on it..then we bought Kai Lan figures and put them on ourselves..I bought some take out boxes from the craft store and printed out pictures and invites from the NickJR website

She of course was spoiled again and had a blast and looked beautiful in her dress.
post 2 done...

OK So I lied...

2009-12-12T15:38:00.000-05:00

So I lied...things are a little busy here and I haven't kept up..so I'll try to catch up today

Halloween came and went...Claire was supposed to be a ladybug as her cousin was a bumble bee, but once that ladybug costume went on..the tears started flowing. I guess the princess wasn't feeling the bug vibe, but felt the fairy wings flapping.

We're still here....

2009-10-27T10:53:00.000-04:00

Really it's been forever since I posted. Things are going very well aside from the fact that we are in the terrible twos.
Claire is a happy, energetic, nonstop, independent little girl.
I can't believe that we are on the cusp of her 2nd birthday.

She wants to be so grown up already it seems. She wants to do everything herself and has a temper to boot. Really her temper rivals both her Daddy and I. But we are working on it and usually by days end we are exhausted.

She is growing by leaps and bounds and her speech is really coming along. It seems like she went to bed one night and we couldn't understand what she was trying to say...then she woke up and we could understand a lot more. So flippin' cute... this little one...

I've changed jobs and am now working in the PICU. Working 5 days a week(gasp)...was making me feel like I wasn't seeing her a whole lot, then I was tired and I felt like the quality of our interactions wasn't there. Fortunately for me, I was able to change jobs and will be working 3 nights a week(once I'm off orientation)..that way I will be able to be with her every day and will only miss 3 dinners and bedtimes each week vs 5 all days. Jon will be changing his shift to days and now Jon and I will be able to see eachother more now....we'll see how that goes....haha!
With my new schedule I'll be able to keep up with the blog now....and will try..I may even post a second one today....

Conclusion....

2009-08-12T16:02:00.002-04:00

So we've come to the conclusion that we suck as parents...
...and Claire must just laugh at us behind our backs...
Claire has been giving us a really hard time lately. Not wanting to sleep, or take a nap, or listen...AT ALL. Stubborn is an understatement. We've tried really hard to be patient and consistent. It just doesn't seem to be working. See that look on her face..we get that often. And we swear that there are times that in her own little toddler babble..she is cursing us.
Fast forward to today. The GI bug has run rampant in our house. We were both exhausted and needed some help. So we asked our Mom to watch Claire today so I could go back to work and Jon could catch up on some sleep.
Well when I got home Claire hadn't had a nap(despite getting up at 0530), yet Jon said he never heard my Mom or Claire all day. Claire was NOT whiney. Went down for a nap with narey a whine and my Mom said she was great all day. This has also happened when Jon's Mom watched her. "oh she was great, never cried, never fussed" We've heard this before. We're not sure what the heck we're doing wrong. She usually wakes up with us, does something wrong and is crying w/in 10 minutes. Seriously. So we've come to the conclusion that we pretty much must suck at being parents.

Our 1st Family Day

2009-07-26T15:19:00.005-04:00

Can you believe that it's been a year since our little angel was placed into our arms...gosh the time has flown by. So in honor of our first Family day we headed again to the gulf coast, crystal clear water, sugar sanded beaches and a lazy river at our condo. We had a great time and Claire again was a trooper.

What a difference a year makes. I remember so vividly what it felt like to hold her for the first time. I also remember Jon and I going back to the hotel, looking at our new daughter and saying aloud "Now what?"....Now what, how naive we were. Now what...now we have a running, screaming laughing toddler that has so much energy sometime I wish she had a pause button.... For just ten seconds.... Claire has grown and changed so much this past year. The last couple of months has uncovered a little girl that so much wants to be grown. Her desire to be big has really thrown caution to the wind. She wants to try everything herself, climb all things, jump off any thing and argue in her own little jumble of words and nonwords. She has grown in her affections and has become quite cuddly here of late. She can be sweet and devious in the same minute. Is she starting to sound like someone you know?
Poor Jon doesn't stand a chance with the two of us.....Anyhow....enjoy the pictures....

WE SURVIVED THE FIRST YEAR!!!

A Big Girl bed...already?

2009-06-30T22:10:00.003-04:00

Can you believe that this little monkey climbed out of her crib already? At 19 and 3/4 months she scaled that sucker. Jon put her down for a nap(which is not always a desire of Claire's), next thing he knew, he heard drawers being opened and closed..
Darn that kiddo...that meant conversion #1 happened a little earlier then we hoped. AND by the way little Miss Claire just thought it was the neatest thing not to have one whole side of her crib....that is until the lights went out...

The transition from crib to day bed has been okay at best. She was extremely stressed out about it at bedtime, thrashing about and such. It took a little over an hour the first night to get her to bed(which is not like her) . She refused to nap the first week. The problem is that Claire does not like to be rocked to sleep, she just likes to go to bed, no real fuss. She might cry for a few minutes but then goes off to sleep. If we stay in the room she thinks it's playtime, so we kinda have to just put her to bed and walk out. I stuck it out and kept putting her back in her bed. We did end up putting a toddler rail thingy on the bed to give her more security since she's still so young. Then we got a tap light for her room and tried to be consistent. Almost two weeks later she will take a nap and tonight it took her a total of 2 minutes to drift off. Love it. And I love that she can get up by herself go to our room and wake us up with Claire Bear kisses...

Where have we been?

2009-06-14T15:59:00.003-04:00

Well....Claire has been catching up on the latest gossip..
Taking the time to help out her Mommy....
Trying on the latest fairy fashions....
Then taking a quick dip in the local pool.....

18 months....

2009-05-06T16:55:00.002-04:00

Can you believe that this little angel is already 18 months old...seriously the time is just flying by as if it didn't matter anymore. I wish the wait had gone by this quickly.

At 18 months Claire is a jibbering and jabbering away. Not that we understand what she's trying to say. We understand a word here and there, but it's so cute to listen to her have a conversation with herself and laugh at what she's saying. She's 24 1/2 pounds and has grown 3 inches since her 1st birthday. She's in the 75th percentile....
I just can't believe how much she's grown..she runs around like an energizer bunny, doing exactly what she's not supposed to do. I'm so exhausted and deliriously happy at the same time it's dizzying. She's continuing with her post bath/milk snuggle which is really nice b/c Jon's not up yet, so we're not competing for her.
She's learned a few signs and will use them at times. I haven't been able to get her to learn any signs that are very helpful though.
She has this horrendous habit of putting her hand down her diaper. We tried ignoring it, so as not to "create" a reaction that she looks for...that didn't work. So we tried to reprimand her and tell her not to do it..that just made her do it more....we tried to ignore it again...until the other day when hand went down the diaper and came up with poop on it.....
Not cute!
So we thought that yes it's early, but maybe she's not too comfortable with stool in the diaper...so we bought a potty. The kind you put on the toilet. So we came home, propped her up on her new Dora toilet seat, gave her a magazine and sat on the floor in front of her. She sat there for a bit having fun...we were talking and laughing...then she did it. She pooped on the potty!! Yay!! We are under no delusion that this will happen again anytime soon. We're not going to push it, but we are randomly putting her on the Dora seat.
I can't believe she's talking, running, throwing tantrums, learning new skills, and pooping on a toilet...wasn't it just last week that I was waiting for that call!!??

The beach is officially open!!!

2009-04-27T21:40:00.002-04:00

The weather is warm, the sun is out and that can only mean one thing for this family....It's beach weather. Okay so I know we've already been to the beach this season, but the beach is "officially" open. And the water wasn't too bad. Actually a lot warmer then I thought it would be. Not that Claire cared. Once her feet hit the sand, she ran to the water. Yup that's my girl...teeth chattering, but she didn't care....It's beach time!!

40 minutes

2009-04-21T21:06:00.003-04:00

I got 40 whole blissful, wonderful loving minutes snuggling with my little angel tonight. She normally doesn't do that(except when she was sick). She's usually running all over the place, not giving us a mere second to sit down.
I've always felt that Claire bonded very well to us..but I've seen such strides in her trust of us over the last several months. I'm not sure what I was expecting. I guess I didn't realize that I would still be seeing measurable moments this long into her being home with us. I mean I knew that it was a process, a process that took time. Maybe it was my naivety. Maybe it was that after such a long struggle to have a family I didn't care what it took or what hurdles we had to go through as a family as long as we had our complete family. I just figured we would handle what ever problems or struggles we/she had and that was it. But truthfully I don't think I really thought that after being home this long I would notice anything that any other non adoptive parent would notice(***by the way she's been with us now longer then she was in the orphanage***) But tonight was one of those moments that seemed pretty significant to me. Aside from the time when she was sick and would cuddle, she really wasn't much of a cuddler. When it's time to go to sleep, she never liked being rocked. She liked her routine..stories, prayer bear, music, crib. And I was okay with that, I figured maybe that was just her. But tonight, so peaceful, she laid on my chest, calm, passive, and we just talked and laid there. Then it hit me..this was a MOMENT. Wow..really she wanted to love on me. So I didn't move and just soaked it all in. Jon got up and I told him what happened and so as I turned around Jon was lying on the couch...what...he was supposed to be getting ready for work...
what are you doing?
I want that..I want her to cuddle with me...
So I tried to lay her on Jon's chest...
Nope she didn't want it.
I picked her up and again she just snuggled into me..that's when I knew for sure. Tonight was my MOMENT...tonight was about Claire and me.....

Is that a bunny on your back

2009-04-18T09:09:00.002-04:00

Easter came and went in a flurry of white fur. Claire totally got the looking for eggs gig. She's at that perfect age of putting things in and out of a basket. Her Easter was complete with 4 wardrobe changes and lots of family.

She wasn't afraid of the bunny at her Grandma's church.

And she loved waking up to her basket

Then of course......we have to clean up!!

And the Doctor said....

2009-03-30T13:30:00.002-04:00

WAIT...I won't give you any hints as to what we did that might have been pushing it a little bit yesterday...
but doesn't fresh air and sunshine help anything....
So I won't tell you, but she really does like it there...and after being cooped up in the house she really wanted to get outside....

okay, so maybe not, but she didn't "appear" as bad on Sun"day" and her fever for the time was at bay and we had family in from out of town that had never met her(or Jon for that matter) and well maybe we shouldn't have, but we did...

Anyhow, after white sores showed up on all over her tongue last night and the fever revisted, and she was up all night miserable and crying, and wouldn't eat, we headed to the docs first thing this a.m. Poor baby! Once he actually(and quite gently I might add) pried her little mouth open, we saw sores on her tongue and back of her throat..did I say poor baby..

So she has one of two things 1)cold sores from being sick ..OR 2)hand, mouth and foot disease....seriously....I had to look that one up....
So doc gave us some meds in hopes that it's cold sores and if not.....we'll be waiting for the sores on her hands and/or feet...either way I guess we'll motrin her up and wait for it to run it's course....But seriously? She only went to daycare for two days?...and now she can't even go tomorrow.....

Last night I was holding Claire as she was hunkered down on my chest...she was crying and I could just feel her pain...tears welled up in my eyes, b/c there was nothing I could do....I really felt like a parent last night.

What did we get out of school?....

2009-03-29T21:43:00.003-04:00

Hmmmm....well after two whole days of daycare....
Claire learned how to pick her nose......and share it.....lovely I tell ya, lovely....and she doesn't just pick her nose now...she digs for the good stuff!!
And we also won, one sick little kiddo.
(See Mom I really do listen...notice the cold wet washcloth!!)After bragging on our little healthy Claire Bear, she has had an on again/off again fever since Friday....then we thought she was alls better so we may have pushed it a little too much today. Ooopsss... Now I'm seeing white spots....uggghhhhh......off to the pediatrician early Monday.
Even though our little angel is sick we must look at that silver lining....

when she is sick....she doesn't want to run all day and will actually lay on the couch and cuddle
and cuddle
and cuddle.

Even though neither of us is getting any sleep, we do really relish the hugging and holding. I've said before that Claire is a Daddy's girl, but I've noticed now that she's sick....the bonding runs deep on both sides. And that's a good thing too...

Where's your belly?

2009-03-23T22:35:00.002-04:00

So is that not the cutest flippin' picture....all you have to do is just ask "Where's your belly"...have camera ready...and viola...you got it(actually my friend got this shot for me)....But I just love it. She'll also lift up your shirt and attempt to give raspberries on your belly...complete with loads of spit and a lots of laughter.

Some changes....

Claire is growing growing growing, babbling and having conversations with herself...

She also has a temper to make her Momma proud...really love that she's independent and feisty although it does try my patience sometimes. I really thought we had a couple more months until the tantrums kicked in, but oh well.
She does push us, and we try to win, sometimes we do...sometimes not so much.

Working at night and taking care of Claire during the day has taken a bit of a toll on Jon...getting by on very little sleep just isn't working as well anymore especially since his job is working him way more hours then they're paying him for(but that's another story)..

...so we've decided on daycare...ummm I mean "school" twice a week.
Yes it makes me feel better to say "school" vs. daycare. Plus she is starting to relate to dogs more then kids...like putting the cheerios on the coffee table and then eating them off sans hands with only her mouth...yes humorous, but seriously I never thought we would repeat 15 times a day to our daughter..."Claire!! NO!! You are not a DOG!!"
Her face always lights up whenever we're around other kids...we've said it before, we think she misses other children, so we bit the bullet filled out 15 pages of paperwork(ummmm...yes really that many pages) and she starts "school" tomorrow.
On her orientation day, she wiggled to get out of Jon's hands and beelined to the other kids, kinda thought she could at least have taken a second look back, but not our Miss Independence
Then she snarked another kids snack....see picture above..
Still totally in awe that we have a little kiddo!!!

Driftwood beach

2009-03-09T21:12:00.002-04:00

Well our normal beach raised it's entry fee from 50 cents per person, to $3.00 a car. No biggie....except the fact that between Jon and I both, we only had the dollar that we thought was needed to get into the beach...how sad that we didn't have $3...seriously....how do two adults with one crazy child not have more then a dollar, but that's another story....
So we had to venture to our back up beach...the driftwood beach...which by the way has had some major erosion, two new entry cliffs and a ladder to access the white sands...so Daddy had to carry Claire down a ladder...but what a fun day b/c no one else was really there...

She is getting so independent...wanting to do it all...all by her big girl self.

I just love love this picture....Daddy and his girl!!

J-E-L-L-O

2009-02-27T22:19:00.006-05:00

When you thing of Jello, can't you just hear the old Bill C*sby commercials with jello and all the laughing smiling kids? Everytime I think of it, I sing the jingle in my head. I had given jello to Claire once before, but I fed it to her..this evening she wanted me to put it on her tray so she could feed herself...Seriously though once she felt the jello in her little hands, it was a giggle fest.
What followed could've been a commercial for Jello.

Who'd of thought that the highlight of my day would be watching my little girl eat jello, but it was.

Ed's Oyster Shack...

2009-02-22T22:12:00.004-05:00

And the verdict is.....

She likes Oysters too...
It's so weird to me that it was one year ago that we got the call about our wonderful child. It amazes me that fast forward and we're hanging out at the oyster shack like the past year wasn't the culmination of so many hopes and dreams for us. So many years whenever one of my Bf's was is town, we would all gather at her parent's house and they would host us "kids", treating us to oysters, food, drinks, and at times karaoke(ok I think that was for them...and for our entertainment)
Jon and I were always the ones without a child. So it was so cool to finally be able to have her with us....like we were never really without her. So fun was had by all as we celebrated my friends Birthday.
On cue from her Daddy, and everyone's camera in hand...Claire was delivered her first oyster..and as if it would have been any different...she loved it....
Then of course, she was off to play with all the other kids....Awesome days!!

Back yard fun

2009-02-18T22:39:00.004-05:00

Claire knows that Daddy is sleeping behind that window...Did I mention she's a Daddy's girl!!
See all those teeth...they're coming in droves...
This is as close as I could get to a "fall" picture....try not to notice that we have no grass...I won't mention to those northerners either that it's February and it was like 80 this day(last week)
I've been trying to figure out the manual modes on my camera..I thought this was a pretty pic.

Next week will mark 1 year since we rec'd that fateful call. You know that call, the one that dropped your stomach to your knees. That call that changed your life forever. I have tears in my eyes just thinking about that call. Saturday marks that day and lucky for us one of my BFs will be in town for her birthday and we're all hanging out. We'll get to introduce Claire to "Ed's oyster shack"(Her Dad has a whole set up in their back yard). Funny as it seems, hanging out at the oyster shack with our child is something we dreamed about. Don't laugh, we have simple dreams. Til then....

15 months old

2009-02-03T16:17:00.004-05:00

Lessons from Daddy...
Proof to others that she really does cry,
Her new obsession...the phone!!!

Our little girl is growing up so fast. She doesn't even seem like a "baby" anymore. She just feels and looks like a little person to me.

At 15 months she is really asserting her independence. She already pitches fits. And yes I do let her cry. Sometimes I just have to ease her down to the ground, let her have her fit and walk away. Sometimes I find it pretty humorous. Other times..not so much.

Her teeth are growing in like weeds. She has 12 already with two more looking like they want to surface. She babbles and talks although we don't understand a lot of it. She has the Dad, Daddy, Da, DaDa down pact. She also has the dogs names down, and a few other words. But Mama, Ma, or Mom is seldom heard although she was saying it in Taiwan. She runs and climbs and falls, and is still full of laughter. She knows how to play hide and seek. And my favorite is when she runs away from me, arms up in the air screaming and laughing when I say "I'm gonna get your toes!!"

She still captures my heart every single moment of the day.

Zoo Day=Family Day

2009-02-01T17:11:00.002-05:00

I'm a zoo geek, really I am. Actually I'm pretty much a geek at heart and now that I have a little one, I can indulge. Jon had not been to the zoo in about 20 years..seriously, borrow kids like I used to do and go. Since Jon and I work opposite shifts we try to reserve Saturdays for "family day" and do something outside of the house. No housework(trust me it shows) no yard work(shows there too) but just some good old fashioned together time. And so the adventure went...

Next indulgence....date night? We'll be trying that one soon!!

Where does the time go?

2009-01-22T21:29:00.002-05:00

How is my child growing so fast? Why does is seem like just yesterday that we were in Taiwan meeting this wonderful child for the first time. Then I look at the calendar and 6 months have passed. Seriously...6 months!! Does that even seem possible?

In Florida we really don't have much of an opportunity to "bundle up", so when we got a cold snap, I took that opportunity to put the hat on that her Aunt gave her. Seriously...is that not too too cute!
Our house has been overrun by baby stuff(YAY!!!) But that also means we are running out of room. The old hand me down dinning room table has been kicked to the curb...and now Claire has a playroom. She loves it and we love that our living room isn't an obstacle course.
And I never thought I would love to put her hair in the "Pebbles" ponytail...but it just makes me giggle everytime I do it.

Piggy Tails

2009-01-12T22:25:00.003-05:00

Until recently Claire has been a bit hair challenged. But alas that is no more. With a little bit of spit, hair pulling, scraping, and straining...we can now sport the piggy tails. Weep with envy gals..

Christmas

2009-01-04T15:48:00.002-05:00

As has become the new trend with this blog, Here are some quick pics from Christmas morning. And as has also become the new trend. blog*ger has put the photos in whatever order it wanted.
Here is Claire with her new dump truck(two guesses on who picked out that gift)
Claire's first look Christmas morning(two guesses on who chopped off Mommy's head?)
The picture that didn't quite make the Christmas card, although I thought it would have made a very cute card.
And the official Christmas card photo.

Claire is growing by leaps and bounds.
After months of nonproductive drooling, she is finally cutting some molars. So that's eight teeth in with several more coming in.
She is trying to say more words. And although Jon and I are the only ones that can probably understand what she's trying to say, it counts right?
After giving up on trying to teach her signs, one day she was eating and signed "more". So I'm back on trying to teach her just a couple more words to cut down on her frustration level
I think she has had a few night terrors. Very sad when she wakes up screaming and is not consolable
She is climbing....a lot. We watched her today as she tried to climb the back of her crib. Seriously she's got to be way to young to not be a crib, right?

Classic Thanksgiving pictures

2008-12-16T21:35:00.003-05:00

(yes I know I'm late on these) You know, when I imagined for all those years what it would be like to have a baby....I always envisioned those classic tales of "things" babies do....

Like face planting during their first Thanksgiving dinner!!

You'll notice that her hand is to her mouth, b/c I think she fell asleep trying to get that last bit of food into her mouth.
..she had noodles stuck to their face(yes we always have traditional Filipino food at all our holidays). But poor little Claire didn't take her nap and after a few bites of Turkey and some noodles...she tried and tried to stay awake...but she just couldn't. What she did do was give me one of those classic moments I always dreamt about!!

How to....according to Claire

2008-12-06T21:42:00.003-05:00

1)If you're thirsty and you can't talk yet...Find nearest supply of fresh clean water...Insert sleeve.

2)Try to be sly about it...if you don't look at Mommy or Daddy, they won't notice...
3)If they do see you, Give them that "what???" look and they'll be forgiving(and maybe grab the camera)
4)Then suck all the water from previously mentioned sleeve..
5)Repeat until thirst is satisfied!!!

and if anyone is thoroughly disgusted by this....the bowl was clean, the water was fresh...and well they must not have dogs!!

Because....

2008-11-25T22:18:00.004-05:00

her smile...heals

Party(better late then never)

2008-11-21T22:10:00.002-05:00

Better late then never. Party pictures from two weeks ago. Blogger has put them in all sorts of non order, but oh well.

IT's a week of the Birthday girl

2008-11-05T18:10:00.001-05:00

Monday was Claire's Birthday. The real Party is Saturday, but here's a glimpse of the birthday girl on her actual birthday. We celebrated on Monday with just the three of us.

Halloween 08

2008-11-02T06:20:00.005-05:00

Claire's first Halloween!! We weren't going to take her trick or treating, but since her cousin came over we let her go to a few houses. She loves spending time with her cousin, so fun was had by all.

Last week...

2008-11-01T14:11:00.003-04:00

It seems I'm a day late and a dollar short on this blog. So I'll try and catch up. Went to the pumpkin patch last week. Claire was more interested in riding(falling out of) the wagon, then in the pumpkins themselves. It was funny to see all the Moms and Dads with their cameras, us included..
I could just take a million photos of this girl...wait I have

Fall birthday celebrations...
Claire loved playing with the big kids...
Halloweenie pictures to come....3 guesses to what we dressed her up as.

292 pictures: 1b

2008-10-28T21:21:00.004-04:00

Blogger is acting up tonight. It won't upload all the other pictures. So I'll leave you with this!!

There are still times when the fact that Claire is actually with us astounds me. Sometimes I look at her and it's like I'm in a dream, watching someone else's life. Someone with a child. Then it hits me all at once; this overwhelming realization that I'm not dreaming and she actually is ours and in our living room. I often have to choke back the tears when this happens. It feels so fresh at that point. People told me that after she was placed in our arms that I would forget the wait and forget the pain of what we went through. I haven't forgotten. And I don't think I will. I have my reflective moments, but then Claire bonks the dogs on the head with a very hard toy, or spills the water bowl all down the front of her freshly changed outfit. Then she's eating handfuls of dirt and diving off the couch all the while screaming and laughing. Those are also the moments when I sit back and choke back the tears because this is what I've waited so long for and it's better then I ever dreamed!!

292 PICTURES: part 1a

2008-10-27T22:18:00.005-04:00

Blogger messed up order of the pictures, but who cares. Lovin' my...I mean our new camera. I still don't really know how to use it, but oh well..
Love this picture of Claire going up to our front step.
Readoption day. Not the best picture, but I love how cClaire is pulling on Jon's tie.

For the past several months the conversations have been like this:
Clarie: Dada
Me: say Mama, Claire MaaaaMMMMMAAAA
Claire: BA!!
Me: MA
Clarie: BA!! BABA!
that's pretty much how it goes. But she's smart this little one. The other day I was reprimanding her for throwing her food on the floor:
Me: Now Claire, Mommy's not going to let you feed yourself if you're just going to throw your food on the floor....we don't throw our food on the floor...
Clarie: MA!!
ME:WHAT DID YOU SAY?!!! MA, SAY MA!!
CLAIRE: MA!!
ME: ohhhhhh, Claire it's okay if you throw food on the floor, just as long as you say MA, while you're doing it!!

more pictures to come: swings, yards, cousins, and pumpkins..oh my....just some of the 292 pictures we took!

Seriously?

2008-10-20T22:16:00.002-04:00

Okay, so have we not learned our lesson about this JON?
For those that don't know the story, click on the word lesson above....then you'll understand why this picture so didn't thrill me!!!

Yes I am one of those. You know...the ones who swear when they get home with their child they will continue to blog on a regular basis, but then don't. Yes that's me. I don't know how people do it. By the time I get Clarie to sleep at nine I'm in bed to enjoy TV for one hour, the off to sleepytown.

So a quick update

Claire is walking...very well...has been since around 10 1/2 months
Claire NEVER stops
Claire NEVER stops
Does that make her officially a toddler...seriously I'm not claiming her as a toddler until her first Birthday so there!!
We did get a new camera, so once we download the software and the 100 pictures we've taken in the past one whole day, we will be able to load new better pictures(hopefully this week)
Today was READOPTION DAY!!!! YaY. She is officially Claire Jocelyn. Makes my heart all sorts of happy
Had our first family pictures today too. She takes great pictures. Mommy....not so much. Nothing like professional photos blown up the size of half a wall to remind you that it's not the angle of the picture, but that 6 years of stress and unhappy eating really have caused you to gain some weight. Really?
So Diet starts tomorrow, b/c now I have no excuse. I'm happy.
Conversation in the car after Claire's readoption: Jon "I really wish you'd stop telling people that we aren't going to do this(adoption) again"......"because you don't know...just tell them we haven't decided...you never know...."
So I guess.....YOU NEVER KNOW!!!

1ST week back at work

2008-10-11T22:51:00.003-04:00

I've survived my first week back at work. Does is suck to have to go back to work? Well...of course. But it is tempered by the fact that she is in good hands....her Daddy's. It's tough on us, Jon the most, but we survived. It is so sweet to come home and see her big smile when I walk through the door. I will say that the weasel(Jon) is getting her on his schedule...sleeping later and up later...but we're all working on that one!!! We've noticed a few changes. Our angel who was too big to be rocked to sleep before is now wanting to be rocked again. Which of course I love. But it is a reminder of all the changes that she's endured in her little life.
For some reason Claire loves the weather. When we have the news on she never pays attention, until that is the weather comes on. She will stop what she is doing and focus totally on the weather. When the weather is over, she will go back to what she was doing. So cute. She did it at my parents house too.
And seriously....yes that is my living room. Notice our dog is in the corner b/c there is no space on the floor. Poor thing. We had to put a video in, just so we could clean up. I have had to let go of my guilt about putting her in front of a video, b/c I can't get anything done unless I pop in that baby einstein video and clean or cook as fast as I can. The video gives us 30 minutes. I tried really hard not to do it. But I couldn't even get dinner prepared..so I allow myself to "use" the video for cooking. That way she's not screaming while Jon is trying to get precious sleep before going to work...do I sound like I feel guilty. Okay, so I'm still working on that guilt thing.
And just because I love her little smirk...

p.s. we really don't have her in front of the TV much, even though these pictures make it look that way. There it goes again...guilt.

jumping bubble bath

2008-10-02T21:30:00.012-04:00

Yeah, Yeah...I know....But we have our home computer back and now I have to figure it all out again. I will be able to upload the family day video and edit it better now...so that's to come soon..until then...enjoy..
If one picture could sum up the perfectness of my life right now, it would the one above..my daughter and my puppies...what could be more perfect.

Claire loves loves loves her bath time...she will crawl at lightning speed once she hears the bath water running..and if I'm late...she'll let me know.

Oh and she likes to dunk her head and try and drink the water...I'm trying to break this habit..but it is cute..
Yes...I did remove the plugged in charger from the bathroom....
remember I told you Jon bought sports clothes....Go Jags...I had to put the bow in her hair so she looked like a girl!!
Party at Pump it Up....that's such a neat place to have a kids birthday party...no need to try and entertain the kids....Claire loved it(as she does all things)

This is the clearest picture of us going down the slide. Next to her is the Birthday boy...he's two and soon after that he was going down the slide by himself!!
So Monday marks my first day back at work...I'm seriously not happy about that, but what can I do..Hopefully the video will be up shortly.

Snipets

2008-09-18T19:00:00.002-04:00

Not much going on. We went to my nephew's Bday in Orlando. She did great for her first car ride. It was only a couple of hours, but she pretty much just slept. Don't think we'll be able to do much longer then a couple of hours for a while, but she was a trooper.
Poor thing, wanted to play with the big kids.
This was my attempt at my own photo shoot. But everytime I got the camera on Claire she would try and crawl towards me....oh well I think this is cute.
And just because I could...I put my scrunchie in her non existing bangs. Yeah I know....only I think this is cute!!

ALLLLMOST Walking

2008-09-06T22:53:00.007-04:00

Mommy and Claire...yes I have to take pictures of us myself b/c I'm the picture taker, not Jon.
So she's alllllmost walking. Actually she's free standing. I'm not sure how long it takes for them to go from freestanding to walking, but I'm guessing it's coming soon. Do you see the pure joy on her face!! I love that. She's so proud of herself!!
These are the "action" pictures from my "momma's gotta get a new camera soon" camera.(see post below) This "mode" doesn't allow for a flash, so I had to tweak it so you could see her.
She's so funny, b/c she'll be standing there and then get so excited, start clapping, then fall.
Isn't that just too cute. She has her "bo, bo" shoes on. I'm not sure why Jon calls them that...ummm maybe because they're boy shoes. Seriously. Oh and this weekend he bought her "sports" clothes. Those pictures to come.

Yay~~she's just too proud. We were watching the frisbe dogs and she really enjoyed it.
Notice Jon is fixing her "bo, bo" shoes.....
Awww...and to celebrate we went out to lunch....
isn't she cute(wait...did I say that already?)
I can't believe that we are already on the cusp of walking. She has gone from a quiet little thing that would stay put on a blanket in a hotel room...to almost walking and getting into everything. She is loud, she screams, she laughs like we're the funniest things on this planet.
It's so fun to watch the world through her eyes; To get excited about the simplest things; To find joy in the mundane and to find the greatest in the smallest of accomplishments.

10 months old

2008-09-04T02:07:00.003-04:00

Today Claire is 10 months old. I really don't have any new pictures b/c

1)My camera bites....evidence below
2)My camera bites
3)I did my own little bloggy makeover

I do love love love this picture. Now I just have to fix the lighting and such(ummm Dad...can you do that for me?)
At 10 months old Claire
1)Has 5 teeth, with 3 more coming in
2)eats by the fistful
3)is getting into everything
4)will probably say "no ma'am" as her first expression
5)has stolen her parents hearts like you wouldn't believe

At 10 months old Mommy has learned
1)if you put up a gate, you will fall over it in the middle of the night
2)if you feed your daughter tons of crap...she will cr....well you get the picture
3)When said daughter is sleeping...mommy should be sleeping(still learning this one)
4)No bibs should ever be white....ever..what's the point
5)there is no distinguishing between baby toys and dogs toys...just stop trying

promise more pictures

All new stuff

2008-08-28T22:05:00.002-04:00

I always told myself that when I got back I would blog on a regular basis, not like everyone else when they get back. Okay so I was wrong But at the end of the night I'm just plain tired. I'll try to do better.

Claire went the doc's for the first time. She's in the 95th percentile for weight(as if we didn't know that), and the 65th percentile for height. She's developmentally right on. The doc did tell me that she would like her on a sippy cup and off the bottle by a year old. I'm not too sure that she realized that that is like in 2 months. So I've tried it. She hates it. She acts like I'm am torturing her. I only do it at lunch time right now, she fights me on it, but will eventually take it. I only do it at lunch right now. I doubt it will happen by the time she's a year though.
Claire is so full of energy and is already into everything. She is cutting something like 4 teeth right now, so she's really biting a lot of things, like people, dogs, dog toys, furniture, her crib. If you notice on the crib shots there's a "wrap" over the top rail. I had to make a bite thingy so she didn't ruin her beautiful, crib that turns in to the bed she will have until she moves out of our house.
She also seems to get into a worry frenzy type thing. Like if she sees her bottle, she gets this panicky look on her face as I'm walking across our huge living room(note sarcasm), and will almost panic and cry as if I'm going to give the bottle to the dogs. She also does this when we are feeding her and when it's bath time. She works herself up into a frenzy panic.
As an adoptive parent you always wonder if these little things are "adoption" issues or if they're personality things. Like does she panic because she had to wait for her bottle in the orphanage or is that just her personality. Does she not yet feel secure with us, or does she just love food. You hate to automatically assume it's because she was in an orphanage.
Anyhow, everyday we meld more and more. I know that she transitioned very well, but I also know that a lot of that was survival. The real bonding is taking place in moments, in our home, when we're alone. A look here, a sweet kiss there, rocking at night, holding a finger to fall asleep. Those are the moments for me when the true bonding is taking place. I know that it's happening b/c just two weeks ago, she would go to anyone and smile. Today when I went by work, that wasn't the case. She would go to someone, but then 5 seconds later, she would look for me and reach her arms to me. It was enough. 5 seconds in someone else's arms was enough, then she wanted me. Sometimes she just wouldn't go to others. That made my day!!

Beach Baby!!!

2008-08-21T18:50:00.002-04:00

Isn't that just too cute. I have abided by Jon's "no bikini" clause and got the cutest bathing suit at Target. Claire continues to amaze us with her fearless attitude. She seriously isn't afraid of anything. We brought her to the beach for the first time last Sunday and she loved it, of course. The sand didn't bother her, neither did the salt water or waves.
She just soaked it all up. Played like she'd been to the beach a million times. I can't imagine what has gone through her little head the past week and a half. What I wouldn't give to read her little thoughts.
We really have to watch her b/c she will jump, walk, crawl into anything without any fear.
I love this shot.
No fussing or crying here!

I've heard it a million times. People say that the perfect child for their family is the child that came into their lives. I don't know if I really believed that until Claire was placed into my arms. The one thing we didn't want, apart from the obvious medical problems, was a prissy-don't want to get dirty, or try anything little girl. Because we are not those type of people. And she's not one of those kids. She really is the perfect fit for our family. Before we left we would always prepare ourselves....she might hate the stroller, she might hate the water, she might not like the car seat, she may hate the sand. None of that has come to be. She is just fearless...that's what we always say. Now I know in the future we'll have to keep a close eye on that fearless attitude, but for now we're amazed at this little blessing in our lives!!

Our first week home!!

2008-08-16T21:27:00.003-04:00

I know, I know...I've been a very bad blogger!! But I've been T-I-R-E-D. As most of you know, we got delayed in Dallas and had to spend the night there before making the final trek home. We had a ton of family and friends waiting for us at the airport. It was amazing!! Hopefully someone will send those pictures to us..(hint.hint) and I'll get a short video of that for you all. The first couple of days were a whirl wind with tons of family and friends stopping by. Claire is a serious trooper!! She continues to be a great baby. It's not easy being first time parents, but Claire is really a very laid back baby. She has been through so much and almost immediately flipped her schedule. I think for the first couple of days, she went to sleep at 8pm and woke up around 3 am. By Wednesday though we had her flipped. She goes to bed around 8-9 pm, and wakes sometime between 6-8 am. I so can't complain about that. She seems so much more relaxed here. Not that she wasn't relaxed when we were in Taiwan, but it just seems different here. She is sleeping in her own room, loves her crib and all her stuff. I can't imagine what is going through her little mind right now. But she has adjusted beautifully. She is fearless. She and the dogs made friends right away. One of our dogs, the more timid one, has totally turned around and is at her side all the time. He will even bring his toy to her and drop it off in front of her in hopes that she'll throw it out for him. Our other dog is great with her too although she isn't too sure why Claire can play with her toys, but she can't play with hers. But it's great, b/c no one is afraid of the other ones. I couldn't ask for anything more. For those that don't know me personally, this was fear, that she would hate the puppies or vice verse. But again we are lucky. I have to say that it has been very easy b/c Claire is just a sweet heart. She has taken to us without a hitch and I can't imagine our lives without her. Don't get me wrong, I'm tired. I second guess myself...over and over. But she makes being a first time parent relatively easy because she is pretty forgiving of our fumblings....and we do fumble!! Claire has met half of the city it seems, been all over town, ridden in a cart for the first time, and got in the pool for the first time. She's had a busy week. So enough rambling. I made a short video of the first week...enjoy!!

Home at last...

2008-08-09T20:38:00.002-04:00

Just a quick note to let everyone know that we are home. It was a rough trip. Claire barely slept, like maybe about 5-6 hours broken up during the whole trip. We got stuck in Dallas b/c of late flights and had to stay the night. So nice to take a shower then have to put on the same clothes you already wore for 27 hours. Can you say disgusting? But we are home!!! The homecoming at the airport was awesome. Very overwhelming. I finally cried like a baby. We had people in the airport crying. Will tell you more later. Claire loves her new home, all her new family, and her new puppies. Pictures to come, but right now I have to cook some dinner, eat, then sleep!!! We are truly blessed!!!

Taiwan...out....

2008-08-07T07:43:00.002-04:00

Last post from Taiwan and I have zero pictures. Sorry. We are tired and want to go home. As much as living in a 5 star hotel sounds good....it gets old. We want routine. Claire needs some routine. She need more stimulation then we can provide in a hotel environment. She needs structure that is difficult here when you eat out all the time. We have seen amazing changes in this little child in just 3 short weeks and we can't wait to see more of her personality blossom. We have seen developmental strides that I didn't think we would see in this short time. We are more in love with her then I thought possible. I can see that she trusts us and that just melts my heart. See you Stateside. From Taiwan...out.........

Hello my name is Ann and...

2008-08-06T07:35:00.002-04:00

...I'm a new parent.
Nice to meet you.
My daughter watches TV(see picture..baseball with Daddy)
My daughter screams in restaurants.
My daughter doesn't want to sleep at night
My daughter laughs when we tell her NO!
My daughter falls asleep in our bed(see picture...that only took a little over an hour)
My daughter can now say "ma" and "ba"
My daughter is full of energy.
My daughter is happy and full of Joy.
My daughter is more then we could imagine!!

**AIT appointment went well. We should have her VISA tomorrow after 1130. We also found out what the typo was. They spelled both of our names wrong on the first decree. So that had to be refilled. Everything is correct on the final decree, which by the way was issued yesterday!! Thank God!!** Departure is Friday!!!

Rabbit pellets

2008-08-05T05:59:00.003-04:00

Isn't that the cutest thing. I know my camera has issues, but Claire crawled over to the bathroom where Jon was shaving and she looked on waiting for her Daddy.

I haven't been taking a lot of pictures the last few days, b/c we haven't really done anything. We are so over being here. Not really the country, but in a Hotel. It's not all that bad, barring the fact that we have to eat out for every meal. Never thought I would get tired of that. Someone asked where we've been eating. Well I am ashamed to say that we pretty much stick to the American chains. We have tried some local food and local snacks. But I'll tell ya' the smell at some places just turns your stomach and I won't venture to those places. We did find by shear accident some place around the corner that had good food. We had some authentic meals with Nick and his family, but when we're on our own we stick to....gasp.....KFC, Mcd's(funny story about that I'll tell later), Hooters, Outback, subway....I know it's sad, but true. If it makes you feel better there is an awesome Mongolian BBQ place that's awesome though.
Okay about the rabbit pellets...we are having serious constipation issues. Claire, not us b/c some chili oil at the Mongolian BBQ will take care of any bowel issues you might have had....okay on to Claire. She is pooping rabbit pellets, my child is pushing and pushing and you open her diaper to find rocks hard enough to stone a murderer. We have had to stop all rice cereal and I mushed some broccoli this morning and Jon went on a city wide excursion for some prunes. Okay maybe not city wide, but blocks and blocks wide. Baby food selections are minimal and expensive. We did find some prune baby food which by the way she loved. We are hoping that we get it under control before the plane ride. We know however that it will all come to a grand conclusion high high in the sky with a plane full passengers that will so not love us.
(am I really blogging about my childs bowel movements?)
Anyhow, I called Penny today and she said that all our paperwork is good for our AIT appointment in the morning. Our social worker is meeting us there!! Get ready....in a couple of days we're coming home!!
Oh yeah and if anyone has any advice about the rabbit pellets please leave a comment. Seriously.

9 months old

2008-08-03T07:57:00.003-04:00

Today Claire is 9 months old. She has learned a lot in the past several weeks.
She has found great joy in a lot of the things around her. She has had baby food for the first time, found parents, become proficient in crawling, found her screaming voice. She has also found her temper, tantrums, and whining!! She thinks that we should entertain her 24/7 and if we don't she complains.
She has traveled around Taipei. Although Jon and I did most of our sight seeing before we had Claire, we have done a few things with her. We get out every day, mostly in the afternoon when it's scorching HOT(b/c that's after her morning nap). Not a whole lot, but we do get out with her.
She is not afraid of the water and will let you lay her back in the water.
She has learned to hold her bottle. She LOVES her Daddy. She HATES to go to sleep at night. Once we can get her to sleep she will sleep through the night(most times), BUT she hates, hates, hates to go to sleep. She is teething, she has two bottom teeth, and one or two coming in on top. She weighs somewhere around 19 pounds. She grunts and vocalizes in this whining sort of way, but not what I would really consider babbling.
And for the Grandmothers......this is what she looks like when she is giving you a wonderfully smelly diaper!!

The Daily Digest

2008-08-01T07:21:00.003-04:00

She gets cuter everyday. I think we're going to try the carrier again. We'll see how that goes.

I cropped this picture b/c I had on Jon's shorts. Claire had spit up on my pants, but I didn't think it was a big deal. That is until I noticed this foul upchuck smell coming from who else...me!! How could I smell like that..well Claire didn't just spit up on me, she vomitted on me and I didn't really notice it until I noticed the smell....yuk!! But of course who could be upset when you look into those sweet eyes.

This is our little sweetie who is mesmerized by the TV. Yup, she's our kid.

We are so ready to come home. If I haven't mentioned it yet(I know I have) we miss our dogs terribly...and yes our families too. But we know that the family understands what's going on, the puppies do not.

We're figuring out the feeding thing. We also figured out that if she's in a highchair, she thinks she should be eating.....the entire time. She will whine and whine until you continue to shovel food in her mouth. So we have to get her out of the highchair and then alls good.

How's it going?

2008-07-31T07:52:00.003-04:00

After getting permission from her Mommy, this is Susan and Ruby. Isn't she the cutest thing? She's a year older then Claire, so I was able to get a glimpse of what we have to look forward to..walking, talking, playing...so cute!
Take note of the hair bow....this was it's most favorable debut....and it's last. We have not idea what happened to it. But after people asked us several times if she was a girl or boy, we had to do the bow.
Don't let the smile fool you...
Do I look tired? I will say that I feel a bit inadequate. We are feeding her more then the orphanage did. We have introduced baby food and finger foods. But I swear it's not enough. She always seems hungry and she acts like we're not feeding her enough. Despite being a peds nurse I have no idea what I'm doing...But she's cute!!
Break out the picture frame...I L-O-V-E this picture!!

Playdate

2008-07-29T22:17:00.003-04:00

Yesterday we had our very first play date with Susan and her beautiful daughter Ruby. They are expats living in Taiwan and little Miss Ruby was born in here. We met on the Internet and it was fun to be able to hang out with them at this neat club house. I didn't post pictures of her Ruby b/c I wasn't sure how Mommy would feel. So for now just Miss Claire Bear.I can't wait to get her home, so she has more to play with. I feel like she gets so bored and quite frankly it gets hard keeping an infant entertained with limited stuff. She does however really like empty drink bottles. Thank heavens for those.
She really really loved the swing. My camera doesn't take good "action" shots so the pics w/her swinging and smiling and laughing didn't come out that well.
She loved playing there. She continues to really fight sleeping. She wakes up laughing, but goes to bed screaming. Jon is much better at getting her to sleep then I am. I'm really trying to get her to nap and right now Jon is out with the laundry and I actually got her down. I turned off all the lights, turned everything off and am praying that she will sleep more then 15 minutes, which is her usual.
Our little angel isn't the most coordinated yet. She's bonked her head a few times. I swear you take your eye off her for 1 second....so now we put the pillow behind her. Yeah I know we're dorks.
Some people have asked or commented on how little she looks. When we were getting updates, we thought that she looked huge, in pictures, and on paper. She really isn't huge. She's more of a peanut then we thought she would be. The last time we charted her she was in the 50th percentile. So a nice size, but not BIG like we thought she would be. Perfect, though!!

Nap time

2008-07-28T04:10:00.002-04:00

Apparently we forgot to tell Claire that she NEEDED to take a nap. She's been fighting it for hours.
If we put her on the floor she cries, so we put her in her crib, where she proceeds to just play. Then she has this thing about scrapping her two bottom teeth on the crib....that can't be good.
She just won't take her nap, but we're making her spend nap time in her crib even if she won't sleep, she has to have quiet time. Oh well, we'll get this routine thing down sooner or later.
The storm was no big deal here. We have worse thunderstorms at home. It was kinda funny to see scooters knocked over though this afternoon. We did notice that many businesses were closed today. We think AIT was also closed as we tried to call them and try and figure out what day we can leave. We have told our travel agent the 8th. So we'll see what he comes up with. If we don't have her Visa on the 7th, we'll have to change things again

Typhoon #2

2008-07-27T07:15:00.003-04:00

We are getting ready for typhoon #2..Can't you tell. We flew in on the tail of one storm and anticipate typhoon #2 around midnight. The middle of Taiwan got it last week and they think they will get it again tonight.
Meanwhile we are practicing our crawling and having a bawl.
We are going a little stir crazy and really want to be home soon. We miss our puppies terribly and can't wait to be in our own home
We went and bought snacks for the storm...can you tell which are Jon's and which are mine.
I actually am trying some local snacks...at least those that seem safe. Seriously I'm not sure what kind of bean these are, but they are rather tasty. Keep us in your prayers that all goes well tonight. I'll update tomorrow.

We are Fam-i-ly!!

2008-07-26T07:02:00.003-04:00

Jon has officially taught Claire how to spit. I don't think that was the intention, he was making noises with his mouth, but Claire interpreted it as spitting. It's cute as long as it's not during dinner, or in your face, or when other people are making cute faces in her face, or when she has food in her mouth. Okay, maybe not so cute. This by the way is one of my fav. pictures of she and Jon.
This is the first time she was put in grass. By the look on her face you can tell she wasn't so sure about the whole thing.

She did much better "looking" at the grass.
Mommy and her little girl. By the way..I think I am the only woman in Taiwan who sweats. I swear I look to see if the other women are sweating, they don't look like they sweat at all, not me though....I am down right pouring sweat any time we are out. It is hot here, just like home, but we're out in it everyday and we walk to most anything...not like home. I am so tired of being sweaty. Anyways, In this picture, we took a break in the shade so that we could all cool down after walking around.
Can't get enough of her.
I know this is not a flattering picture of me, but I love it. Just shows the stupid things you do with your kid.
Just like this picture of Jon.,.
Please tell me why any baby food has color? Can't we get rid of the coloring?
Anyhow, we think Claire is missing the other children, b/c she is really drawn to pictures of babies. Good thing she has lots of cousins back home to play with.
Why is it we can't find Chinese food here? Seriously, some beef and broccoli, or moogoo gai pan? Nope the stuff we're seeing isn't what we're looking for. Jon is on a mission as I write this.
We continue to learn about eachother and it's an amazing process. Claire makes great eye contact and we couldn't have asked for a better transition. We're getting the sleeping routine figured out, now if we could just figure out that spitting thing....

Meetings

2008-07-24T23:55:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was the birthfamily meeting. It was not what I expected. I thought it would be very emotional for me but it wasn't. I thought that I would feel this strong connection to this woman that gave me her child, but strangely I didn't. I felt like the meeting was for them, so that they would find some peace with the decision for Claire. They said they were surprised how comfortable Claire was with us after only a few days. That made me feel good, b/c she is very comfortable with us. She is already bonding to us and I was happy that they could see that. The birthgrandfather seemed the most concerned asking us many questions. I also thought that I would be the one that spoke a lot, but surprisingly it was Jon. I don't know if I was reserved b/c I know that she is ours and maybe in some recess of my mind I was protecting that. I don't know. But Jon wanted to make sure that they knew that we would love her and protect her. I think that after the meeting they knew that. We decided before we came that we would not post photos of her birthfamily to keep their privacy.
We also got to meet Jenn's little boy William. Cathwel set it up so he was there and we got to spend some time with him. Claire got her first kiss from a boy!! So sweet the two of them together. Anyhow, we're getting the routine down, learning about our daughter. She remains a very good baby. Nighttime is a little bit of challenge. She is one of those babies that fight to stay awake even when she's exhausted, so we're trying to figure that one out. Enjoy the pics

Going Strong

2008-07-23T01:58:00.002-04:00

So as soon as Jon put her in her very first bath....she pee'd all in the water. She's watching herself pee in her bath right here. So cute. So we had to start all over.
She is such an easy baby. Loves her bath, loves everything...getting up, eating, empty bottles of tea, paper bags, sleeping, TV, everything. She even doesn't mind when I pour water over her head. Love this little girl
All clean after her first bath. Isn't that just adorable.
She doesn't mind being in the stroller. Although I don't think she really "likes" b/c she's so quite when she's in there, but she doesn't cry. Of course she likes being held and played with much more. She does NOT however like the carrier. We tried to put her in the front carrier, for bonding and such and she did cry then. So back to carrying her or putting her in the stroller for long treks.
Claire is a very easy baby. She smiles at everything. She likes to wake up, she is obsessed with the TV, she is amused so easily. She sleeps so long we actually wake her up in the morning so she won't stay up too late. But she doesn't mind that. She's right on task developmentally. She wasn't really crawling at first, but I'm not sure if that was just that she was stunned or not. She's crawling now and will go to us so she can pull up and practice walking. At first she would just let us pick her up, but now she's actually lifting her arms for us and looks for us when we walk out of the room. She's going to be a Daddy's girl, I can tell.
The birthmother meeting is tomorrow. Our AIT appointment is August 7th, which means we're here for the duration. We're going to see if they can move it up, but I doubt it. I finally got some sleep last night after some help with excedrin pm. It was the first time I'd really slept. Jon and Claire on the other hand have no problems sleeping. That's it for now.

Finally a FAMILY

2008-07-21T06:42:00.002-04:00

We can't figure out the video camera, so this will have to do. The actual handing over was caught on video, but I'm sure you'll be okay with pictures. I didn't cry, Only shed a few tears. Jon was the same.
She is a very content baby. Very happy. Very smiley. Easily amused. Seems to be transitioning well. She really is an easy baby. Isn't bothered by loving and kissing. Actually loves it. We're very lucky. She came to me without any crying. It was like she was like "okay, lets start my new life".
Ate well. Only slept 40 min. So we're hoping she goes down easy after her last bottle. We're very happy. Very tired. That's all for now.

T minus 2 hours

2008-07-20T19:58:00.002-04:00

Two hours until we hold Claire. I've been awake since 3:30am. I can't sleep. We just had breakfast and I feel like I'm going to throw up. I'm very nervous. I wonder what it's going to feel like. I just want to take a moment to say Thank you to everyone. To our families thank you for supporting us through it all, through indecision about how we were going to start a family, through years of struggling to make ends meet so we could save the money, through this whole adoption process..thank you . We love you dearly. To our friends near and far, new and old, thank you for hoping and praying with us. Thank you carrying our dreams, for holding onto faith when we didn't have any, for shouldering our tears through it all. It has meant the world to us.
It has been 6 years since we first started this journey. 6 years of hoping and praying that we would have a child. 6 years of putting our lives on hold....for this one moment, two hours away.
Thank you for being there with us every step of the way. It's going to be amazing!!!

Marathon tour

2008-07-20T08:31:00.002-04:00

We did a marathon tour of Taiwan today with Nick Lee(the driver). It was pretty cool, but I am massively tired right now. Didn't sleep well last night and I want to be rested for Claire tomorrow. So just a couple of the 45 we took today.

That is NOT a philly cheese steak!!

2008-07-19T11:55:00.003-04:00

This is then entrance to snake alley. My camera started acting up, so we didn't get a lot of shots. But there were snakes gutted and hanging for purchase and small little restaurants I guess where you could have a meal of snake.
I tried to get a shot of some of the creatures you could eat. I thought I would venture to eat some local foods, but it just didn't seem sanitary here.
The night market seemed like a flea market really. Nothing too special to us. Beware of old cabs. Our cab driver back to the hotel drove insanely. He didn't believe in driving lanes, or rules, or driving in a straight line. Jon doesn't get unnerved easily. This guy made us nervous...so nervous....we ventured to the local pub to relax
Where we had some local beer and what appeared at first site to be philly cheese steaks and burgers. The meat here has a distinct taste, that is NOT American.
We really miss our puppies!!

Saturday day trip

2008-07-19T08:36:00.000-04:00

About Last night

2008-07-18T17:58:00.006-04:00

Okay. Right now it's 6 am Saturday. I was going to write about Friday night, but the internet was kicking my behind. Here is Jon who had to have a Taiwanese beer, well we both did right before we crashed for the night.
The city is huge with buildings everywhere and as many buildings as they could pack into a small space. I've never been to New York city, but my guess is that this is what it would be like. There are stores here that I'm sure I don't make enough money to shop in. High class, which of course I am NOT.
We look like tourists. We didn't bring our cameras with us last night b/c we didn't want to look like a tourist. That didn't help. People stare at us. Really stare at us. It makes me feel weird.
LOST- You walk down this road to this road, down this alley and the next thing you know....you can't find your hotel and you didn't get a hotel card with the address on it. We're very smart like that. So we hailed a taxi. And three minutes later..back at the hotel. We weren't that far off. But felt stupid.
THE CITY: you forget that we're in a foreign country. It's very modern. scooters everywhere. You need skills to cross the street. At first it was a bit scary, but we're getting used to it. Jon only almost got hit once. He stepped out into the intersection, next thing you know he had a scooter on one side and another one almost hit him. He just froze like a deer in headlights. It was cute. It's very clean. Everyone is pretty polite.(except for the staring thing) It's quiet for how many people are here. I feel like I just want to call out "Auntie" or "Uncle" and see how many people turn around.
LANGUAGE BARRIER: Know how you smirk b/c foreigners just smile and shake their head yes like they understand. Well I find myself just smiling and shaking my head yes like I really understood what they just said to me.
SHORTS: our agency said women don't typically wear shorts. I saw plenty with shorts and flips on. I didn't bring any. The weather is just like back home, hot, humid, rainy in the afternoon(oh and a typhoon just came through). The difference is Jon and I typically don't wander around in the heat all day. If we are out in the heat there's an ocean or a pool close by.I feel like I need to shower every hour. I wish I had shorts.
YAHOO-it's in Chinese., I haven't figured it out yet. If you want to email us, use our home(not yahoo) email
CRIB: We have an empty crib in our room........

We are in TAIWAN!!!

2008-07-17T20:34:00.003-04:00

I'm not going to try and make the pictures pretty. You can tell what the pictures are pretty much right? The top is right before we left, then arriving in Taiwan. We look haggard and we smell worse. Seriously why didn't anyone tell me to pack some deodorant in our carry on. That would have been helpful information. EVA airlines rock. Seriously nice. Nick Lee, our driver the best. He's going to tour us around on Sunday. The Westin of course rocks. It will be very hard to leave this hotel.
So now we have showers and We're out to explore!!

ONE.......MORE......WAKE....UP!!!!!

2008-07-15T07:47:00.002-04:00

First off, I just want to say that there is a small place in Hell for people that sit around and make up viruses for the flippin' computer. I was looking up the meaning of Chinese colors so I could print out a letter to Claire's birth mother on paper that was appropriate and we got a massive virus/spyware on our home PC. To say that we were ticked about this is an understatement. Our home PC is totally infected and pretty much useless. Needless to say I have tons of info on there that I need. The letter that I spent hours on is on there. Since I don't know how to hook up the laptop to the printer I will hand write a letter to her birth mother.
Okay onto more pleasant issues. WE ONLY HAVE ONE MORE WAKE UP UNTIL WE LEAVE FOR TAIWAN. I cannot believe that we are finally at this point. For so long I've watched so many other people at this point and wondered if we would ever be those people. And now here we are. I know that I'm going to be a blubbering mess as soon as we approach Taiwan. Jon was like "yeah, you know how you get when you cry hard, you're gonna be all snotty". Thanks Jon. Yes I will be all blubbery and snotty. I'm going to try not to be all heaving crying when we meet Claire, because I don't want to scare her. We'll see though. Don't know if I'll post tomorrow. If I don't....you probably won't hear from us until Saturday. See ya on the other side of the world!!

Lessons Learned

2008-07-13T13:57:00.004-04:00

I am continually humbled by the lessons I have learned on this journey. I will also say that I am embarrassed by some of the lessons that I have learned throughout this entire process. So many people have come forward and showered us with help. I work on a unit that is an extension of another unit. I haven't worked on the original unit in over a year. They asked me to come over to the original unit on my last day, knowing that it would be like pulling teeth to get me over there. I went and when I got there several people were waiting at the front desk. They said "congratulations...look.." and when I looked over I saw "the money tree". I will admit, that I didn't shed a tear, until I drove home. I just can't believe that so many people came forward to help us. I won't say exactly how much was on that tree. But it was A LOT, a lot more then it looks like in that picture. When I told Jon how much, he said there was no way. So after I took the picture, we counted it. I am humbled. I am so thankful to everyone who contributed. I don't think they know how much it truly touched my heart. I think during the day to day dealings at work, when you get frustrated or the day is going wrong, you forget about the goodness in everyone's heart. I was reminded and I hope I never forget. Thank you, Thank you very much.

They found the white out!!

2008-07-10T21:07:00.002-04:00

Our agency called us this morning to let us know that Cathwel has the corrected document in their hands. That's good news for us. We'll still have to stay longer in Taiwan, and we still aren't sure exactly what day we'll be able to leave. But, we at least know that things are under way. And by the time we make it to Taiwan, a week will have passed on the estimated 3 week turnaround. It's getting close. Tomorrow is my last day at work until October. My doctors though decided that they were going to work me to the bone my last week/day at work. That's okay, because soon Claire will be in our arms and all will be right in our little world!!

Well folks, we have a typo!?!!

2008-07-09T17:34:00.002-04:00

So we have a glitch!!

My stomach has lived in my throat since 11 am when I got the call that there was a typo. A typo? Seriously a typo?

How much time does a typo cost you?

Hopefully only three weeks, extended hotel, food costs, and some fees to change some tickets!!

The problem? There was a typo on one of our documents. So it has to be refiled. Once the typo ridden document gets back to our social worker in Taiwan it typically takes three weeks until we can go to AIT. They are expecting this document back "any day now".
*there is NO problem with the adoption. The judge has already signed off on it. NO ONE is contesting the adoption. NO ONE is trying to stop the adoption. It's just a typo, we are told.

The choice:
*1)We could wait out the finalization of the adoption papers, and go when they tell us it's fine and only stay in country the typical 4 days...OR
*2)Pick up Claire on the 21st(original gotcha day), live in a hotel(with our daughter) until the rest of paperwork goes through and leave, well I don't know...when they tell us we can leave. Which will hopefully be about three weeks.

What would you do?

What were going to do!!!**We're going to Taiwan when we originally planned. We are picking up Claire when we originally planned. And we will wait it out in Taiwan.**

To say I'm scared is an understatement. But for some reason I feel it will be fine. We will get to spend HOPEFULLY only 3 weeks in Taiwan with our daughter, bonding, and learning all we can about her birthcountry.

And as soon as they tell us we can leave, we will high tail it HOME!! It's going to be an adventure folks!!

A BIG THANK YOU

2008-07-05T20:39:00.002-04:00

I am truly humbled by the graciousness of everyone. Seriously humbled. Everyone has tried so hard to make sure that Claire has every thing that she needs the minute she is placed in our arms. It is becoming difficult to mention everything that she has rec'd and I hate to just list peoples names because then it seems so impersonal. To everyone that has helped us: We are truly thankful. We really would not have been able to do this, without all of you. From the bottom of our hearts and from the heart of a little girl that doesn't even yet know how wonderful all of her family and friends are: Thank you!!

I wished for you

2008-06-30T22:16:00.003-04:00

WE HAVE TICKETS!!!! I can't believe that in a few short weeks we will be on a plane to our sweet baby girl.

Been super busy trying to get it all together. I can't seem to think very straight right now. My stomach is in a perpetual state of disarray. When I am very stressed or nervous all I want to do is sleep which is pretty counterproductive to prepartions. Jon on the other hand seems to go into super sonic mode. Again opposites, but that's another story. Looks like miss Jannalee has been a busy bee. She sent Claire this wonderul adoption storybook which made me bawl like a little girl. Then she wrote something soo soo sweet on the inside which started it all again. Then she sent clothes and We are so Thankful.

Since our baby shower had to be moved until Claire is home and we didn't buy a whole lot at everyone's insistence, we are a bit unprepared for her arrival. So the parents have kicked into high gear. Love them!! Jon's Mom went and got her bedding. Isn't it soo pretty. I love it. Thank you. She also went and got an umbrella stroller to use in Taiwan, the highchair, and some sleepers. Have I said Thank GOD for parents. My parents are taking us out this coming weekend to round out the neccesities.

We are truly blessed by those around us. And Claire is going to be one spoiled little sweetheart!!

Another family the Furbers, are in Taiwan right now picking up their son. They are with the same agency as we are and their son is/was at the same orphange at Claire. I am sooo happy for them!

Confirmed!!!

2008-06-24T23:46:00.004-04:00

It's almost midnight. The trip is planned. I'm tired. We will arrive a couple of days before picking up Claire and then leave at the end of the week. We will be staying a full week. The trip looks brutal, time wise that is. But I am not complaining. I think we did pretty good on our flight costs considering fuel prices are outrages and we did upgrade a little. We only went over budget a little. The hotel now is another story. Jon wanted a particular hotel because...anyhow the story is too long. I bit the bullet and booked the hotel that Jon wanted. We went over budget on the hotel by more then a little. At this point I really don't care because we are bringing our daughter home and that's all that matters.
Our baby shower is not on the day that it was planned. We had to obviously move things because we won't be here. The baby shower is now a baby/welcome home shower/party. I'm sure that everyone will be upset that we will HAVE to bring Claire to the shower.
I'm going to bed now....

**I guess I never actually said it in the last two posts. Yes, we have travel approval!!!!!**

Pack your bags....

2008-06-24T16:27:00.003-04:00

WE'RE GOING TO TAIWAN!!!!!!!!

We 're going to miss our baby shower. We're not ready. We don't have what we need for her. We're in panic mode. We're activating the Plantinum, calling insurance, panicking, trying to figure out what we need, calling travel agents, notifing people that the baby shower is cancelled. My Dad was right, we cut the shower too close....oooopsss...thought we had plenty of time. We were wrong.....Prayers have been answered because we're bringing our baby girl home much sooner then we thought. Details to follow......

*update*FOREVER FAMILY DAY IS JULY 21ST. OUR FLIGHTS ARE BOOKED AND I AM TRYING TO FIND A HOTEL AS I WRITE THIS. MORE INFO TO COME**

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-15T14:53:00.006-04:00

I hope everyone celebrated with their fathers today and had a wonderful day. We rec'd new pictures just in time for father's day.

Jon got the rockin' pink camouflage diaper bag from his mother. Love it!! Claire gave her Daddy his first Father's day card today. I took the above picture and made a card from Claire, because it is Daddy's first picture with his girl. It read:

We haven't met yet yet,
But I can already see
That you're my Daddy
A family we'll be.

I can feel your love,
Across big oceans blue
I know you're coming
Your word is true.

You will be my rock,
When my world is blurry.
You'll dry my tears.
Come quickly, now hurry.

Soon Daddy please,
Bring me home, hug me tight.
Your love is my haven,
My Daddy, my knight!!

<----We(I) laugh and call this the "cleavage shot" Jon didn't find it as humorous as I did.

Our baby girl didn't gain any weight on this report. Actually she did gain a little, but lost it. I'm not too worried. She is tripodding, which means we'll have a crawler soon. She can sit up steadily by herself. She's drinking the same amount of formula, 150cc, every 4 hours. But they have started her on "sub foods". Unfortunately the sub foods are in Chinese and they didn't translate that for us. So we don't know what she's eating. I am just assuming congee of some sort.

Soon Claire. It won't be long now!

Handme downs rock

2008-06-12T19:34:00.002-04:00

A friend of mine from work told me that she was going through her daughters old clothes. She asked me if I wanted some. Sure I thought, that would be very helpful. So I figured that she would pass on a few outfits. Seriously...she sent a big lawn bag full of clothes. There are so many outfits I won't have to buy Claire anything until she's two(but then I have hand me downs from our niece for that age range). Thanks so much Gail!!

Then Jon went out and bought the mattress for her crib today too. It's really starting to feel like we are actually going to have a living, breathing, giggling, smiley baby girl in the house!!!

Simple things make me happy..

2008-06-09T18:53:00.002-04:00

.....like sending Claire another care package. I love packing it all up and thinking about her in the outfits, or playing with the toys we send. The flower dress is the first dress her Daddy bought her. But since we aren't sure if it's going to fit her or not(now or when she comes home), we had to send it. There are also two other short outfits, socks, a bunny rattle, and the most expensive(at least I thought) bearista bear from Starbucks. I guess we shouldn't buy her stuffed animals from Starbucks.

Oh and I know I shouldn't love, love, love this bib. But I had to register for it and my sister got it for me...errr... I mean for Claire. You know she'll be sporting that ALL THE TIME!!! j/k...well sorta. Heck I'm not going to apologize I really do like. What can I say? Counting down the days in the "under six weeks" timeline til travel approval. I can't wait!!!

A gift for Claire

2008-06-07T09:58:00.003-04:00

Lovin' the new header. It is a gift from Sarah . Thank you so much Sarah I love it. It's amazing to me the friendships that have come from this journey. We hope together, pray together, and support eachother each step of the way. We get excited for each milestone that is accomplished. And lend a shoulder for each time that things seem impossible. We're almost there. I remember watching Sarah's journey to Jerimiah and now she's journeying to Josiah. Amazing stuff.

Anticipation rising!!!

2008-06-03T16:56:00.002-04:00

We heard from our coordinator today. My heart just dropped as I opened the email...But alls good:

"Cathwel reports that all went smoothly at the hearing. The judge was satisfied. And we are now waiting for the decree to be issued. Once issued you will be given travel approval. We estimate the wait for travel approval to be under 6 weeks. That's my best estimate."

Once we get travel approval, Meeting Claire will be approximately 4 weeks later. Or that's at least what I've been seeing with other families. So August Friends, It looks like we get to meet our daughter in August!!!!

Nada...

2008-06-01T20:41:00.003-04:00

*Still no news from the agency. I am waiting until we hit the two week mark, until I ask them if they heard anything. That's Wednesday.

*A big Thank you to Jon's brother, for calling in a favor on Memorial day and getting someone to open a store for us so we could buy the part to fix the A.C. Seriously- Massive appreciation!!

*One of my best friends was in town this weekend. Love spending time with her and her family. Can't wait until we can get Claire into the pool and introduce her to "Ed's oyster shack".

*A big Thanks to hubby for offering(without my having to ask) to help out my sister and move her stuff into storage. I wasn't going to ask and I didn't have to, because he's just like that. Makes my heart all a flutter....

Welcome to the HOT box

2008-05-25T22:35:00.004-04:00

Our A.C. is broken again. This is an annual thing. Seriously. EVERY SUMMER. Good thing is that it's not a terribly hot night. Our dogs do not agree. Tomorrow is a holiday. So unless Jon can fix it. We will remain HOT. He will try to fix it. I will stay away from him. But you're not interested in the humid, sticky state of affairs in our house. The mural is FINISHED. Enjoy the pictures....(if you want to see them bigger, click on the pictures)

Wait....you didn't want to see room pictures, did you? But we worked so hard on the pictures and you were a captive audience. Thanks for the indulgence. Now onto what you've been waiting for....

CLAIRE in all her glory. She's amazing. I can't wait to meet her, hold her and kiss her little face.

She's in a dress!!! Can't wait to dress her up.
Checking out the Grandparents. Jon's Dad really is in the album, even though this picture has him cut out. My folks are on the left. Jon's Mom is in pink.
Lovin' this picture for some reason. She's wearing a sleeper we sent, along with the blanket, and we also sent the giraffe.
My new favorite. She just looks like she's chillin'. I LOVE the onesie we sent. It's the "Daddy says I'm beautiful" onesie. I also made the hat and cream colored blanket around her.
Tummy time!!

No news

2008-05-24T09:33:00.002-04:00

A few of you have asked me what happened in court. We have not heard a thing. We don't anticipate hearing. I asked our coordinator if we will and she told us that in about a week..or so, we'll hear either things "went smoothly" or that the judge is asking for more info. I asked around on my groups though and most people didn't hear a thing until travel notification. So I'm holding the impression that no news is good news. It's been several days since court and I would think that if the judge needed more info then our social worker in Taiwan would feel compelled to let us know right away so we could get all the info needed. So I'm hoping that things went well and she didn't "need" to contact us. It's a waitng game....so now onto waiting for travel notice.

On another note, yesterday we rec'd the coveted yellow envelope from our agency. I love the yellow envelope because it has pictures of our daughter. She's getting so big. So beautful. So healthy. Once we show family I'll post pictures. On Sunday the rest of the family will see her smiling face. Til Sunday friends.....

Court will now commence...

2008-05-20T21:04:00.003-04:00

I'm not watching the clock...

I did not notice that it's now 9 am in Taiwan on May 21st.

The thought didn't cross my mind that sometime before I wake our case will be heard.

Nope not me.

I'm not thinking about the fact that in Taiwan right now, soon, our names will be uttered in a court room.

I've not even uttered a thought about the fact that someone is presenting our names in conjection with Claire's.

Not for one moment.

As court approaches....

2008-05-19T19:33:00.004-04:00

My stomach is doing flip flops. The site of food is making me sick(not that I couldn't miss a meal). My face is breaking out and I just want to know that everything is okay. I stare at her picture and cry....it's not this end of the wait. I'm handling this end of the wait okay. We're preparing for her, it's fun getting her room ready. But when I stare at her picture and think that someone on the other end of the world is determining whether she gets to come home and we're not there, it drives me mad. If they had questions and we were there I could say me peace. She is my daughter in my eyes and in my heart. I just hate not knowing. I hate being out of control. Jon on the other hand is asking me why I'm worried. "it's going to be fine Ann""relax, try and get some sleep..." See how that just makes me want to strangle him. Jon is the opposite of me. He has that "everything's going to be alright" mentality with everything. Very rarely does he worry. "She's coming home soon, sweetie...."
Me on the other hand, I could pull out my arm hair one at time...I'm so nervous...

So this is the conversation today...

(I have just taken a shower and Jon says...)
You look real cute with that zit cream on your lip

yeah well my face is breaking out....Claire's birthmom is going to look at me and say that I'm not the one she picked out

Well good thing I'm better looking in person, then in pictures....

He can always make me laugh and lighten my mood. So Tuesday night as we sleep, they will have our hearing. I doubt I'll sleep. Say a prayer everyone that things go well. Let's pray her home!!!

Coming along

2008-05-14T19:56:00.006-04:00

It's coming along, slowly but surely. Hope you all don't get tired of seeing room pictures..we should have new Claire pictures in a couple of weeks...til then....
So not the best side of me, but I wanted to show proof that I really am working on the room too!!

<----wood does come in purple, right?

<----this turned out so well, but it's not showing up well in the picture. We(I) still have a lot of detail painting to do though.

<-----Isn't she purty?

<----the latest addition

And last, but not least. Jon's Mom(the MIL-seriously she likes being called the MIL)...has started the shopping spree. I hear she did some major Grandma shopping. On Mommy's day we got our first car seat...yay!!! It's not out of the box yet, b/c our cars are not deserving of such greatness(they're filthy), but soon we'll be sporting the car seat! I'm sure it will make the chicks swoon when Jon rolls with the new car seat!! Thanks so much!!

Need I say more....EEEEEKKKKKK!!!!!!

2008-05-09T19:16:00.001-04:00

Good morning,

I have an update to share with you. Your court date has been scheduled for May the 21st. The adoption decrees are generally issued between one to two months of the court date. Once the decree has been issued Cathwel will inform us and you will be able to plan your travel.

Have a terrific weekend.
Bonnie

yup..

2008-05-08T19:53:00.002-04:00

I forget that I have a picture of Claire on my badge. On one side it's my work badge, the other is one of her referral pictures. So depending on how it hangs, it's me or her. I forget that. People at work always see her and I forget. I was in the elevator the other day when someone I didn't know asked...."is that your daughter?" I almost froze, what do I say? Seriously this is the conversation I had with myself. Do I tell this stranger that yes, she is my daughter with the disclaimer that we are adopting her. Do I tell the whole story that we still have to go through court, but in our eyes she is our daughter..can they tell that she didn't come from me? No this woman can't tell by her picture, and she didn't want to hear the whole story, and I shouldn't feel guilty, there doesn't need to be a disclaimer when people ask me this. So with head held high I answered her..."yup, that's my daughter". And it felt good. No disclaimer, no nothing. Simply yes she is ours. Cool stuff.

More fairies..

2008-05-04T20:19:00.010-04:00

So I got a little reprimanded by the "arteast" for not displaying more of the room in progress.
So here is a look at the Daddy to be working hard on his little girl's room. <------he's doing the bottom of the fairy tree.

This little beauty we finished outlining on Friday night. She will be floating above her crib.

<----this is the finished outline of the entire fairy tree house.

-a close up of one of the flowers-

The boy fairy on his snail...going to the fairy house. So as you can see progress is slow, with lots of detail painting to do. We didn't get a lot done this weekend as we had a wedding and first communion to attend. But progress will resume soon...

Progress

2008-04-27T19:49:00.002-04:00

We are so pleased that it is coming out well. This is the fairy that will hang above her changing table. I still have detail work to do overall, on the flowers, her skin, and on her face. Her wings are a peralescent(?) pink and I think it's reflecting the flash and that's why you can't see the color. But I'm excited that it looks descent. The tree in the post below is so detailed that I think I'm going to tackle that one last. I think we are doing 2-3 more pictures, not quite sure how it's all going to come together, but it's progress. Anyways..I said I would show progress, so here it is.

Mural preview

2008-04-26T12:43:00.001-04:00

So here's a preview of one of the mural pictures that Jon is doing. I had to make it black and white and mess with the sharpening and stuff to try to get the outline to show up at all. It wouldn't show well at all in the photo. I know it's not a great picture of the outline, but you can get the jist. It looks soooo good!! I am so excited at how well it's turning out. I'm going to start painting later, but I can't paint while Jon is projecting/outlining. I'm a little nervous about messing up the pictures with the painting....Jon's advice to me...."just stay in the lines".....yeah...kinda figured that!

p.s. if you click on the photo you can see the mural better

An update to Melt your heart!!!

2008-04-18T21:38:00.006-04:00

Don't you just want to pinch those cheeks and kiss her neck!! I love love love her face. I've been staring at her pictures for two days now and I couldn't wait to post them any longer. She is just so darn cute. This is my new favorite picture. I can just hear her belly laugh when I look at this.

She was 16 pounds and 24 inches about three weeks ago. She looks so healthy and that's the best thing. She's eating 150cc every four hours. She can hold objects briefly. She initiates vocalization with adults, can lift and hold her head.

Her report also says that she watches her own hands, which I am told is a good thing. Another tug at our hearts thing that Jon noticed right away was that before under Father and Mothers name, it was blank....

NOW.....we are listed as her Mother and Father!!

Bring on the tears....again...

Enjoy!!