Saturday, February 7, 2015

One week home!

I get scolded in China by the Chinese grandmas about how I don't dress Annabelle in 50 layers of clothes and in the states I get scolded by all my adoptive parents/grandparents about updating the blog.  I can say I'm SOOO grateful for my adoptive family that requests the updates over getting scolded in Chinese HAHA!

It's been a week since we've been home and I'm still enjoying the little things about home....seeing pastures, restaurant signs in English, being able to stay in the traffic lines while driving and not getting run over just to name a few!

Annabelle is really adjusting so well.  She's soaking in all the attention and it's amazing to see so many "new" things through her eyes.  Simple things like walking on grass for the first time...


She got to meet both of her great grandmothers!  Oh what an incredible memory...



She was really drawn to Uncle John.  She kept walking up to him asking to be held...

 And she went to Aunt Cheri...

Here is a picture of her Nana & Papa (and the rest of the crew) at the airport.  I love her Papa's sense of humor with the boys AND his wearing red for his new granbaby girl!


We are getting out to the store and eating out (I’m still not caught up to really cook) so she got to experience Taco Bell,Whataburger and McDonalds…

She discovered Dee Dee and Poppa’s house….

She discovered Mawmaw’s house and the rocking chair Pawpaw painted for her right before he passed away.  I was in tears watching her rock in that chair.  He was so proud of it and was looking forward to her enjoying it.   
Many people ask how she’s doing with her brothers.  I can tell you they both are so in love with her. Not that life is all roses when they’re playing but that is how they truly feel.  Jonah absolutely LOVES picking her up and Annabelle giggles every time he tries carrying her. Hudson is still not sure about giving up his “being the baby” status so we are spending extra time snuggling and reassuring him.  They are pretty far apart in play development and the obvious gender difference so sometimes play time can be hard.  The boys are finding ways to include her and play at her level. 


We met with her pediatrician yesterday. Have I mentioned lately how much I love the USA and our health care?  I know everyone has an opinion but I've seen the other side of the world.  I could kiss the ground of her pediatrician office and I don't care how many germs are there!  Her Dr (Dr. Michael Austin in Tyler, TX) has been with us on this journey from the beginning.  He helped us fill out our medical forms in 2013, he reviewed her medical files and he even answered my emails while we were in China.  He is our favorite!  When we had our visit yesterday and we got so much done!  She had her 6 shots (OUCH), blood work and a urine sample (not even going to go there to tell you that story...)  All the staff was so helpful and understanding in getting everything done in record time.  She screamed her head off each time we needed to get something done.  When we were in China she barely cried at that medical check up.  She has been trained to hold all emotions inside and not to have an opinion.  Her screaming was a huge relief to me because she was displaying signs of a normal child expressing her discomfort.  Twisted isn't it?  She has only been home for a week and she has learned that it is ok to cry when she hurts and that her mommy will be there to sing, hug, comfort and cry with her.  

We do have development delays and other medical referrals to deal with in the future.  Right now we are not going to actively seek any therapy until she is established at home to see what she really needs.  Also, for the medical issues we are just having her checked out but as far as we know there are no underlying issues that are alarming.  We do know that she had open heart surgery when she was 12 months old and she has a visible scar on her chest.  We were told she has CHD and if you ask me anything more past that I will have no idea how to answer what she has.  It was our understanding that whatever issue she had it was resolved by the surgery but we are still seeing a pediatric cardiologist for verification.

Today our social worker came over for our post adoption visit.  We were so glad to have her over and it was more confirmation that we are home and it's all over!  Many have asked what now....The adoption is final. It was final on January 20, 2015 in China.  We had to get paperwork etc. in order to get home so she could legally be a US Citizen.  In the next couple of years we will have to send reports back on her development and we will apply to get her a Texas birth certificate (YEE HAW!)  

We really are so thrilled to run into friends at the store or any time we are out and about.  We are welcoming visitors as long as you text/call me before you come to make sure she is not napping.  She still will sometimes go to complete strangers so we are working on telling her that she needs to stay with mommy or daddy.  We do not tell her "no" to strangers only redirect her to stay with us.  Once she understands that we are her safe haven we will lift that boundary where she can freely go to whomever she chooses.

Thank you all for understanding, supporting and encouraging us along the way.  I will say it one more time...we are SOO glad to be home and I will be keeping you all updated as time progresses :)

I want to leave you with this.....God created us for family.  I wanted you to see the visual difference of our baby girl before a family and just 5 days later.  The first picture is what they took on the day we got her.  The second picture is the one they took for her Visa....yes it is the same child but the second picture is 5 days having the love of a family....God is so good



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