Saturday, March 10, 2007

Child Number 2

Here are a few pictures of Lachlan's first few days at home. We'll have to take a few more to really show off her progress. She really looks so much more healthy. Jeff thinks that she has gained a few pounds and has more hair...Rose isn't sure, but is glad that she seems more alert and sure of herself.
Lachlan arriving from China at SLC Airport
She dances like a maniac in her "Big Toy"

She loves to figure out puzzles and mechanical-type objects

Jack Gets Some Fat!


Jack at 2 weeks, 3 weeks and finally smiling at 6 weeks old!

Married With Children

It's Saturday. Praise the Lord.
In a past life (one I can barely recall at this point), I used to look forward to a little downtime on Saturdays. You know, you work hard all week and then you relax on the weekend...until you have children. Now you work like a slave all week, look forward to the weekends and then the only good part is that there is another person there to share in the chaos and destruction. Not much to be happy about, but at least I only have to change half of the diapers instead of all of them. I'm going to be brutally honest by saying that I'm so glad that Jeff and I didn't squander our "20's" by raising children! Yes, I said it. And I'm letting all of you know that it is the truth! This is the most exhausting thing I have ever done and the children could care less. The only thing that seems to get Lachlan really excited is if I hide a mini Oreo cookie inside a plastic Easter egg! Jack is even less animated- although, I think that he does like to get his special "baby gas-ex"...seriously.

Lachlan has now been with us for three weeks and Jack just turned seven weeks old. I'm tired. Jeff is tired. The cats are tired. We are all in bed at night by nine at the latest. We don't go anywhere because someone always has to be fed, burped, changed, redressed, napped, wiped down, "snotted" out...the list goes on and on and on. We finally moved Jack out of our bedroom. It is much nicer to actually have a conversation with Jeff at night or watch two minutes of television--not to mention being able to use the bathroom. Jack is really getting some fat on him. I must admit that I am very proud of making my baby fat. It has taken a lot of work! He started to smile last week. Again, I'm going to take all of the credit for teaching him this, again, lots of hard work. He absolutely loves taking his morning shower with Jeff. I used to bathe him in the sink, but it is so much easier to just hand him over to Jeff before he leaves for work. Besides, Jeff is just in there soaking in the water anyway, he might as well be a little productive.

Lachlan is almost over her runny nose. She is still drooling extensively. She has a "spitting" bib that she wears all day. Don't confuse it with her "eatin'" bib. Yes, it is "eatin' " no typo...the girl eats like a truck driver, you might as well use the bad english to go along with it. Aunt Susie introduced her to chicken nuggets. The only meat that she will eat. She likes sweet potatoes, peas, loves carrots...HATES green beans, applesauce and peaches (unless they are mixed with yogurt). She is going to have some major dental surgery next Friday. I am nervous because she has to be admitted to the hospital. Although, there really aren't any other alternatives because her teeth are sooooo rotten. Dr. D is going to cap every one. I feel that it is Karmic debt for me because I always made fun of people who had silver-capped teeth and now my own daughter is going to have more silver than a Nevada mining town. We taught her to wave hello and say "uh-oh". She says this all day long and there are many times when I wish we would have not bothered to teach her this phrase. My two favorite things she does are to "talk" like Ernie and talk on her Disney Princess Cell Phone. Our cat Ernie howls like a wounded animal and she can make a sound just like him--"howwww". It is so funny when she points at him and howls. When she talks on her cell phone she puts the phone on her forehead and jabbers away. She has no idea where her ear is she just knows that the phone goes on her head!

Jeff and I are doing our best to keep up with the tidal wave of our lives. We have our nightly conferences about who is going to go to the store; what is the best way to discipline kids; how much things are going to cost (how much did we put in the Flex Spending Account...never enough); did so and so get their vitamins...we are both hoping that this will get easier with time. We are holding our breath to see if Jack will start sleeping through the night in the next couple of months. He finally weighs what most kids weigh at birth...more fat is definitely needed.

Wow, kids are up from their naps. Downtime over.

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

We are home

For those of you wondering - Yes, we did make it home from China. Lachlan traveled well and the trip was long but uneventful. People tell us we have been home for a while and wonder why the blog hasn't been updated. All I can say is that things have been a little hectic. Someone asked me last Saturday what day we got home and I honestly couldn't remember. It seemed like only a couple of days ago but I knew that didn't seem quite right for some reason and I had to really think about it before I realized it was more like a week and a half ago. Although we do plan to continue updating the blog with information, our sanity has taken a higher priority for the moment as we try to make the adjustment of meeting everyone's needs. Sorry to keep you waiting. We do have some fun pictures of Lachlan's big reveal at the airport and of the past week and a half and we promise not to make you wait much longer. Hang in there. We'll be back with you in no time.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Red Couch Day


Having your picture taken while sitting on the red couch is a tradition for those adopting in China that stay in the White Swan Hotel. These are all the children adopted by people using our same agency. They are all special needs adoptions and they are all beautiful. After the red couch picture, we went to the US Consulate and picked up Lachlan's visa and immigration paperwork. The last step is to get on the plane in the morning and land in San Francisico. Actually, there is a little bit more for us to do since Rose wasn't able to come on this trip but no big deal - just more paperwork.

Monday, February 12, 2007

Working off the Calories

After all that eating, Lachlan really tries to make the most of it by working on strengthening her little body. She likes to practice walking and as you can see, really loves to try and pull her self up. It won't be long before she is really moving around on her own and into everything in the house. Glue everything down Rose. Practicing for waterskiing, maybe?

Dinner by the River

We are staying at the White Swan Hotel, which is right on the edge of the Pearl river. It is an absolutely gorgeous hotel and setting. There are many places to eat along the river and we haven't had any food that we didn't like. Table at the water's edge
Lachlan orders more curry - yummy!
I'm just guessing but I think when she leans forward with her mouth open like a hungry bird, I'm supposed to put more food in it.
Yep, that was it.
Here's what it looks like from my perspective. As you can see, she is a very good eater. I think she has gained some weight since last week. It would be hard for her not to gain weight the way she eats. Keep up the good work, Lachlan!

Guangzhou Park

After visiting the pagoda, we went to a local park. It has three lakes and a nice playgroud. Lachlan was hungry of course and needed something to eat. Lachlan enjoys a snack
Chinese new year decorations going up in the park
Here we are at the park

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Six Banyan Temple

Sunday morning we went to the Six Banyan Temple in Guangzhou. The pagoda has nine levels and towers above the surrounding buildings. Susie, Lachlan, and I climbed to the top and had a look around the city. The stairs got really narrow and the ceiling really low toward the top. Here are some pictures: Six Bayan Pagoda
In front of the pagoda
On the top level of the Pagoda!