One Month Since Gotcha Day

Today marks one month since Hannah was placed in our arms in the Civil Affairs Office in Zhengzhou.  Many people in our travel group agreed today that it feels like we were in China years ago.  The time has passed quickly and so much has changed in our lives and in Hannah's life since that special day.

Hannah in the orphanage (left) and Hannah today (right)

I wanted to document how Hannah is doing and the progress she's made since she became our daughter.  She has been through so much change in the past month.  We truly admire how resilient, brave and strong she is!

Sleeping
We had some rough nights when we first got back from China.  Hannah would sleep for a couple hours (thinking it was her afternoon nap) then be awake from midnight until 4 or 5am before we could get her back to sleep.  It was pretty exhausting since the boys were not jet lagged and would still wake us up at 6 or 7am!  We have definitely turned a corner in the past week.  Hannah is now consistently sleeping from 8:30pm-6am without getting up in the night.  She is napping from 1pm til 3 or 4pm most afternoons as well.

We have also transitioned to a new routine for falling asleep.  When we first got home she would only fall asleep while I was holding her, often while standing and swaying back and forth.  Anytime I tried to set her down (even in the bed snuggled up next to me) she would cry.  It was exhausting for all of us.  Our new routine is for her to drink her bottle while being rocked and then after a little more rocking/cuddle time I put her in the crib in our room and either sit or lay beside the crib so she knows I'm there.  She fusses a little sometimes but I always reassure her I'm still with her by singing to her, patting her bottom, etc.  Hannah can fall asleep "on her own" this way with me present.

Eating
Hannah has been a pretty good eater from day one!  We have added two bottles/day to her eating- not for nutritional purposes - but really more for bonding and attachment.  She LOVES her bottle and loves being held to receive it.

In China, Hannah preferred carbs and meat.  We have added in some fruits (bananas and oranges) and vegetables (she loves broccoli and will eat veggies if they are in soup).  She still turns down most new foods but we continue to offer them.  Hannah loves yogurt and any kind of warm, broth foods like soup.  She loved the chicken tortilla soup and chili that friends brought us for dinner and also loved chicken noodle soup at Panera!

Hannah is very interested in feeding herself with a fork/spoon so we are giving her plenty of opportunities to practice.  She also has started to drink from a sippy cup and cup with a straw some.  In China she would only drink from a bottle so we are making progress!

Communication
Hannah doesn't have any spoken words at this point which doesn't surprise or concern us.  She has heard Mandarin (and some English) for most of her life so it will take her awhile to sort things out and speak in English.

We have been working on baby sign language for key words and she is doing great! In the two weeks we have been home she has learned the following signs:  more, eat, drink, mommy, daddy, dog, thank you, milk and cracker.   Tonight she even signed "Daddy eat" when Bryan sat down with his food!  Yay Hannah!

Attachment
We prayed and prayed that Hannah would bond to us and are so thankful we have seen that happen.  She is kind of like velcro to me on many days but has really opened up to Bryan since we have been home.  She loves to play and be rowdy with Bryan and the boys.  Hannah willingly gives hugs and kisses to us and gladly receives comfort from us when she is upset.  She still seems to prefer me for comfort but definitely loves her Daddy too!

Big Brothers
Hannah loves to watch her big brothers play and be wild! She laughed and laughed today as they ran during our family walk.   Both of the boys interact with her and play with her in their own ways.  Joshua and Hannah are closer in age obviously and have more common interests.  Joshua has enjoyed playing Disney Princess castle with Hannah :)

Hannah really struggles when I show any affection to the boys or give them attention over her.  If I have Joshua in my lap she will fall apart crying, crawl over to me and try to shove her way into my lap and push Joshua out of the way.  I'm doing my best to meet everyone's needs but it seems that with 3 someone is always out of sorts!  I know with time and consistency Hannah will realize I can be Mommy to all 3 of them... she was just convinced in China that she was an only child! :)

Playing
Hannah loves to play with toys, and we have been impressed that she seemed to know how to play from the first day we met her.  Many kids who have been in orphanages do not understand how to play with toys.  Hannah's time at Little Flower and Eagles Wings certainly gave her plenty of opportunity to play and she hasn't forgotten it!

Hannah's favorite things are stacking cups and any kind of musical toy.  She has some pretty sweet dance moves and if the song is rather dramatic, she will close her eyes, sway back and forth with an anguished look on her face and try to sing along.  It is hysterical.   Hannah really seems to love Disney princess songs-- more proof that she was destined to be in our family and be Joshua's sister :)

One thing about Hannah's play that has changed is how she plays with dolls.  In China she didn't understand what she was supposed to do with a doll.  Now she loves to feed her baby, rock her baby, carry it on her shoulder while she scoots around on her bottom, and cover up her baby with a blankie.  She is such a little mommy and it is so fun to watch!

And now for the best part --- pictures of Hannah over the past two weeks since we got home.  If you are friends with me on Facebook you may have seen most of these but since this blog is like our family photo album/scrapbook they need to find their place here, too!

My first trip to Target

Happy girl learning how to use a sippy cup 

Loves to offer us bites of real and pretend food 

Getting into trouble with my brother 

Jet lag is no joke 

"Now listen, baby.  You need to stay in this stroller even though I screamed bloody murder in my stroller in China."

"Joshua, you've got a little cowlick here in the front.  Let me help you out." 

First trip to the pediatrician

 Hannah was 23.5 lbs and I think 32 inches long

She cried a few times but overall she did great!

Hannah's first time to go to church. 

She loved the music- closed her eyes, 'sang along' and took everything in.  I was in tears knowing that my daughter was participating in worship for the first time in her life. 

Happy girl! 

Having her temperature taken by Dr. Joshua with the Doc McStuffins thermometer

Hannah is starting to enjoy swinging!

 Feeding herself chicken & rice soup with a spoon.  She has incredible use of her hands! 

Girlie loves bath time now too!  Hiking her leg up to try to climb in with clothes on!

Hannah thinks the car seat is for sleeping.  She falls asleep 99% of the time when we drive somewhere. 

Joshua is three!

Yesterday, March 9th, was Joshua's third birthday -- "March the knife" as he calls it.  He told me weeks before that he wanted to have  Frozen-themed party with our family.  It seems that people across the nation have bought up all the Frozen party supplies and are selling them on Ebay for ridiculous prices.  Luckily my aunt in Corsicana found all kinds of stuff at her local party store and shipped it to me for Joshua's party.

On Saturday afternoon Joshua and I made his Frozen birthday cake.  He requested strawberry cake and then we tinted the frosting to be an icy blue color.  I wish I had a video of us making the cake together.  He was so, so excited and cute!  He loved every minute of the process.  

On Joshua's birthday he woke up to balloons on the light fixture - a tradition from my family growing up.  Caleb is convinced it isn't a real birthday unless the balloons are on the light :)   I also got Joshua a special balloon on his chair and his presents were ready for him.  

The boys were up early because of Daylight Savings time.  Caleb woke up at 6:15 (which felt like 5:15) and went into Joshua's room to tell him Happy Birthday.  I heard both boys coming down the stairs and found Joshua wearing his paper birthday crown from school!  He and Caleb were so excited to see all of his birthday decorations and his gifts!  Once Bryan & Hannah woke up it was time to open gifts!

In true big brother form, Caleb coached Joshua through the entire process of opening his card and gifts.  Hannah was excited to watch too! 

He got Elsa & the Disney Frozen castle!  Just what he asked for! 

We got Joshua a Frozen card and I had to edit the words to make it fit him ;) 

So excited once we had the castle put together! 

Joshua had a special breakfast of chocolate milk and cinnamon rolls.  For lunch he picked Cracker Barrel aka "the biscuit store".  It was Hannah's first time there and she was a fan of everything she tried:  biscuits, scrambled eggs, ham, sausage and hash brown casserole.

After lunch I put Hannah down for a nap and then joined the boys upstairs to play while we waited for all the grandparents to arrive.  Joshua had a precious phone conversation with his birth mom, Brynn, and told her all about his birthday presents, cake and his day.  Soon after he said, "Mommy can you hold me?".  I said yes and he laid in my lap.  I began to tell him all about the day he was born.  As I talked he closed his eyes and fell asleep!  After holding him for awhile I put him on the playroom couch to finish resting.  He was still asleep when Bryan's parents got here!  

Once the grandparents arrived it was time to open gifts!  Joshua got some more Frozen dolls & books, super hero costumes, a new baseball tee and a scooter!

Joshua requested hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, cake and ice cream for his birthday.  I added hamburgers, chips and corn on the cob to the menu as well.  My Mom brought a sparkly blue tablecloth and some paper snowflakes to hang from the chandelier to make things feel special and festive for Joshua.  

I woke Hannah up from her nap after Bryan's parents arrived.  She was a little bewildered to come into the living room and see other people in our house.  We have limited visitors for the most part so far.  It took her awhile to wake up and warm up to everyone, but by the time Bryan was grilling burgers she was playing with Gran Jan!  She loves to stack things and had a blast with the pickles, worcestershire sauce and hamburger seasoning!  

After lunch we sang Happy Birthday to Joshua and he blew out the candles on his Frozen cake.  The cake turned out really yummy, especially since it was a simple box mix cake! 

We just adore this sweet, compassionate, funny, silly, one-of-a-kind boy.  He is such a blessing to our family and brings us so much laughter and joy.  We are honored and humbled that we get to be his parents and pray that he will always know what a gift he is to us!  Happy 3rd Birthday, Joshie!

Cowboy Day - Thursday, March 6th

Thursday was Cowboy Day at the boys' school.  Last year we made a special trip to Cavender's to get boots and shirts.  This year I barely found something for them to wear the night before and even the morning of.  Luckily they both looked 'cowboy' enough for the event and were excited about all the activities.  

Bryan was off that day so we dressed Hannah in a cowgirl dress that was a gift from our old Sunday School teachers, the Brindleys.  We weren't sure what she would think of all the commotion and kids but decided to give it a try.  Joshua's class was first.  Joshua was thrilled to see us and to have us go with him to all of the different stations.  He threw horseshoes, got a fake tattoo, tried to 'rope' cattle, roasted a marshmallow over a pretend fire, road a stick horse, and panned for gold.  The event is so well done at the school and all the kids truly enjoy it!  

Caleb's class came next.  Caleb enjoyed roasting marshmallows the best and seemed to spend a lot of his time at that station :)  He was great at roping cattle and got all of the hula hoops around the neck of the pretend calf.  The boys also had an opportunity to go outside with their class to see a baby calf and a horse.  

Joshua throwing horseshoes

Getting a tattoo

Riding a stick horse

All three of our kiddos sitting on the saddles for a photo op:

Roasting one of many marshmallows

Roping cattle while enjoying a sucker

Hannah was pretty subdued during most of the event and happy to be held by me.  We took a short break out in the foyer and this is the look that sweet girl got on her face when her Daddy joined us!  She loves her Daddy!

We went to Joshua's classroom to celebrate his birthday in between Joshua & Caleb's Cowboy Day events.  We brought cupcakes for Joshua to share with his class.  He picked out Star Wars plates and napkins to bring as well.   Joshua enjoyed letting everyone know it was his birthday.  He loves his teachers and classmates.  We loved getting to see him enjoy turning 3 with his class!