On February 19, 2005, I met my daughter Kaitlyn. It's been a year now, and the time has really flown. I think there is some theory that as you get older, time passes more quickly. It has to be true. And even more so when you have children. They change so quickly, and that is what the many photos in this post (below) will show you.
Looking at these pictures brings back a flood of emotion. Having a daughter was very important to me because I have a very close relationship with my mom. After losing several babies, I needed another child almost desperately. And luckily, little Long Mei Xiu was hanging out in China needing a mommy. I still am boggled by the thought that I had to go all the way to China to find my daughter, but I don't think about it very much anymore because all those things fade away. Now I am mostly boggled by how the house will every look presentable or what is going to be on the table for dinner. Life is normal and average around here, except we are what is termed a "conspicuous family" because we aren't all the same race. We get a little extra attention out in public at times, but I've even learned a lot about coping with that in the last year.
Katie was about 15 lbs. when she came home a year ago. Now, at 20 months she is 21 lbs. and tracking at the 25th%-ile for height and 7th%-ile for weight. A stark contract to her big brother who is in the 90%-iles for both, but they do just fine together. Katie is adding new words to her vocabulary daily, with "me do it" at the top of the chart. As anyone knows who talks to me often, Katie is a strong-willed little girl. We love her for it. She truly loves her big brother, and Alex is remarkably patient with his baby sister who always wants what he has. One of the greatest joys of parenthood for me is watching them play together in those somewhat rare moments when they are both enjoying the same activity. Every day Katie learns something new. Katie got herself mostly dressed this morning by herself, which is another new accomplishment. She is very opinionated about clothing, shoes in particular. She has some size 10 hand-me-down boots that she clomps around in...her size 4 feet can barely keep them on! She's basically pretty opinionated about everything...
We continue to be thankful for the gift we received from China, and we are doing our best to celebrate that culture as a part of our family. We all started Chinese language classes a couple of weeks ago. Alex is helping me with my counting. We are also having some friends over this weekend to celebrate Chinese New Year, including some of our travel mates from China. It is so rewarding to see all 8 of those little girls thriving in their homes. A year ago, we were all just meeting them.
I could probably wax poetic about adoption for awhile, but you know how I feel about it. We are excited to be returning to China to adopt again. We just sent paperwork in to the US government a week ago, and if things go well we'll have another member of our household in about 2 years. The wait that was 6 months (stretched to 8) for Katie's referral is now close to 18 months and continuing to lengthen. It is unknown when we would receive another referral, but we estimate 2-1/2 years and hope for sooner. We know it will be the perfect time for our family, whenever it is.
Enjoy the photos!
My first photo with Katie.
My first glimpse of Katie while I was waiting for the handoff...she is in the arms of her nurse.
Just for fun, this is Katie when she is mad. We actually see this face a fair amount.
Katie is ready for more food. She is a tremendous eater!
Katie trimming her tree at Christmas time.
Katie all bundled up and ready for snow time!
Looking at these pictures brings back a flood of emotion. Having a daughter was very important to me because I have a very close relationship with my mom. After losing several babies, I needed another child almost desperately. And luckily, little Long Mei Xiu was hanging out in China needing a mommy. I still am boggled by the thought that I had to go all the way to China to find my daughter, but I don't think about it very much anymore because all those things fade away. Now I am mostly boggled by how the house will every look presentable or what is going to be on the table for dinner. Life is normal and average around here, except we are what is termed a "conspicuous family" because we aren't all the same race. We get a little extra attention out in public at times, but I've even learned a lot about coping with that in the last year.
Katie was about 15 lbs. when she came home a year ago. Now, at 20 months she is 21 lbs. and tracking at the 25th%-ile for height and 7th%-ile for weight. A stark contract to her big brother who is in the 90%-iles for both, but they do just fine together. Katie is adding new words to her vocabulary daily, with "me do it" at the top of the chart. As anyone knows who talks to me often, Katie is a strong-willed little girl. We love her for it. She truly loves her big brother, and Alex is remarkably patient with his baby sister who always wants what he has. One of the greatest joys of parenthood for me is watching them play together in those somewhat rare moments when they are both enjoying the same activity. Every day Katie learns something new. Katie got herself mostly dressed this morning by herself, which is another new accomplishment. She is very opinionated about clothing, shoes in particular. She has some size 10 hand-me-down boots that she clomps around in...her size 4 feet can barely keep them on! She's basically pretty opinionated about everything...
We continue to be thankful for the gift we received from China, and we are doing our best to celebrate that culture as a part of our family. We all started Chinese language classes a couple of weeks ago. Alex is helping me with my counting. We are also having some friends over this weekend to celebrate Chinese New Year, including some of our travel mates from China. It is so rewarding to see all 8 of those little girls thriving in their homes. A year ago, we were all just meeting them.
I could probably wax poetic about adoption for awhile, but you know how I feel about it. We are excited to be returning to China to adopt again. We just sent paperwork in to the US government a week ago, and if things go well we'll have another member of our household in about 2 years. The wait that was 6 months (stretched to 8) for Katie's referral is now close to 18 months and continuing to lengthen. It is unknown when we would receive another referral, but we estimate 2-1/2 years and hope for sooner. We know it will be the perfect time for our family, whenever it is.
Enjoy the photos!
My first photo with Katie.
My first glimpse of Katie while I was waiting for the handoff...she is in the arms of her nurse.
Just for fun, this is Katie when she is mad. We actually see this face a fair amount.
Katie is ready for more food. She is a tremendous eater! 
Katie trimming her tree at Christmas time.
Katie and her VIB...very important blankie.
A family photo at Junge Christmas. (Brad's extended family)
Katie and mom playing in the snow.
Katie all bundled up and ready for snow time!
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1 comment:
Happy one year from one Suichuan mommy to another!
Becky
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