The Prettiest Flower In The Garden

Our yard has never (and will never) win any Better Homes and Gardens awards...but it has never been as neglected as it has been since we've been home from China! Last evening we tried to rectify that. While Tony weeded and planted...Lily and I "supervised". Hey, making sure Lily doesn't eat a peck of dirt, a pile of grass, and every bug she sees is hard work ;-)!

Until last night I hadn't seen any mosquitoes yet this season...when I did spot a mosquito I scooped Lily up and brought her inside. Too late! When I put Lily in the bathtub I saw she had 7 mosquito bites. SEVEN! Poor sweet thing. She has 2 on her scalp and 5 on her legs. Ouch! I guess we wont be going outside without the Natrapel again!

Life With Lily

I love every minute with Lily. There is so much that happens every day and I don't want to forget a thing. I wish I could record everything I see.

Here's just a short list of the things I love about our life with Lily:

Lily loves to sleep on my chest. When she wakes up she pops her little head up and looks so incredibly cute!

Sometimes when she falls asleep she slides off my chest and onto my left side. She keeps her left arm thrown over my chest and her left leg over my stomach. If I try to move she presses down with her arm and leg!

Lily likes to hooks her toes to the bottom of her highchair tray and eat with her legs sticking straight out.

When Lily plays in the tub she *must* have the purple stacking cup in one hand. She can play with anything else in the other hand but she must have the purple stacking cup at all times.

Lily loves to pull herself up on anything and everything! She hasn't quite figured out yet that it helps if the object is stationary.

Lily loves to stand up and let go of whatever she is holding onto and balance herself with her Budda belly.

Lily is only ticklish when she wants to be. Sometimes when you are tickling Lily she will laugh so hard she literally has tears streaming down her eyes. Other times she looks at you like..."What are you doing?"

When I feed Lily her bottle she thinks that I should smooch her feet and holds her feet up to my mouth during her feeding time.

Sometimes Lily just absolutely does not want me to put her down or for someone else to take her from me. When Lily is feeling like this she clings to me like a cute little monkey. Honestly, I can stop holding her and she is still attached to me. Her legs have a strangle hold around my waist and her one arm is hooked around my arm for dear life. I don't push it if she doesn't want to go but it is really kind of funny to see!

God Bless Lily!

Saturday evening we had Lily baptized and it was such a special evening! We started the night by going out to dinner at a neighborhood Italian Restaurant. The food was delicious and it was great to all be together!

Daddy thinks I look like a fairy princess in the dress Aunt Sheila gave me. I wore this beautiful dress to dinner.

Hail, hail, the gang's all here...except for Aunt Sheila and Maggie...we missed you!

Yummy!

I was raised Catholic, Tony's family is Baptist, and we were married Presbyterian. When we talked about where we wanted to have Lily baptized the answer was simple...where we feel most at home - Christ United Methodist Church of the Deaf. Tony and I have been active in this church for many years and absolutely love the minister, Rev. Dr. Peggy Johnson. Peggy is quite simply an amazing person. Peggy is a kind, selfless, loving, funny, caring, "real" person with a deep and abiding faith in God. Peggy truly leads by her example. She has a kind of inner beauty and peace that draws you to her and makes you want to know more about where her joy comes from. I imagine if more religious leaders were like Peggy all churches, temples, synagogues, etc. would be bursting at the seams with members!

We then needed to decide who to ask to be Lily's Godparents. We asked our friends, Laura and Rich, and they happily accepted. I have been friends with Laura and Rich for a very, very long time. We were friends back when our budgets were so tight we'd pool our money to buy a 6-pack of beer and play board games all night because we couldn't afford to go out. Together we've shared amazingly happy and terribly sad times and our friendship has withstood it all.

When Tony and I started dating I was almost more nervous about introducing him to Laura and Rich than I was to my own family. What would I do if they didn't hit it off? Well, I didn't need to worry about that. The four of us always have so much fun when we're together. We only wish it could be more often!

Buying Lily's baptism outfit was an experience. I started by going to a fancy children's boutique and looking at outrageously overpriced baptism gowns. A snooty woman...in hushed tones...told me that it is "customary to have your child baptized before they reach this age." Gee, thanks for the tip.

Many of the gowns I looked at were priced anywhere from $180 - $450. I just couldn't do it. There are many people in the world that don't make that kind of money in a month and I'm going to spend it on an outfit Lily wears for less than 30 minutes? I don't think so! Instead, I bought a simple ivory silk dress at Baby Gap. Yes, you read that right....Baby Gap.

Don't I look absolutely precious?!

The baptism service was simple and beautiful and Lily was as good as gold. Lily let Peggy hold her and didn't cry when Peggy poured the water on her head. (You were right Aunt Teresa...Lily was an angel!)

After the baptism we all headed back to our house and sat out on the patio. It was such a beautiful night that we sat around for hours just chatting and enjoying each other's company and the beautiful weather. By the way, Lily went to sleep in her crib as soon as we got home. No, she didn't stay there all night but she did make it for about 5 hours!! Maybe we should have her baptized every day!

Doesn't Christina look just beautiful for my baptism?

Sadie, I sure am glad they took that bonnett off me!

Me and my cousin Charlie. He's Mommy's Godson.

My cousins: Ryan, Jamie, and Katie. Jamie is Mommy's Godson, too!

Let me get this straight...Adam, Ben, and Sam are all Mommy's Godsons and Aunt Lala and Uncle Rich are my Godparents?! I'm so confused!

Snuggling up with Nai Nai.

Um...Dad Dad, do you think they'll ever stop taking pictures?

We've Been Home A Month

I can't believe it, but today marks one month that we've been home from China. Time is passing so quickly! If only the time leading up to meeting our sweet Lily could have gone this fast!!

Yesterday, Lily turned 11 months old. At this rate I'll blink and she'll be turning 11 years old!!

Yesterday was also our first post placement visit with our Social Worker, Rick. As part of the adoption process Rick will visit us 3 times in the next 12 months. Last night's visit went off without a hitch. It was almost as if Lily knew he was there to "check her out" and she put on quite a show! Lily pulled herself up on the sofa and cruised around, climbed a few stairs, untied Rick's shoes (more than once!), played on the floor with me and Tony, and was her usual happy self! Rick couldn't get over Lily and was impressed with things that Tony and I have completely taken for granted. For example, Lily making sustained eye contact with us, Lily initiating physical contact with us, how relaxed Lily is with us, etc. Let's hope the next 2 visits go as smoothly!

Lily also got a very nice package in the mail yesterday. A beautiful bib from our friends, Miss Kim and Kate, in Virginia. Kim and I met on Rumor Queen and hit it off immediately! Thanks Kim and Kate!

Thanks Miss Kim! It's a good thing Mommy took this picture before I ate my sweet potatoes!

Today, the gifts kept coming! In the mail we received a beautiful Chinese scroll that in Chinese characters displays the equivalent of "Finally a Family"....only better. The literal translation is basically, "At Last We're United".

Tony and I have always been a family....even before Lily. It used to drive me crazy when people would say to us, "Oh, you don't have a family?" Um, yeah, we do....each other! What they really meant was "Oh, you don't have children?" Anyway, during the very long wait to meet Lily countless times I would say to Tony "I just can't wait until the 3 of us are together and can finally be a family." It kind of stuck. So the "At Last We're United" really hits the nail on the head!

Thanks so much Elaine and Michael!

While Tony and I were in China we had planned to buy a scroll but somehow time got away from us (gee, I wonder how!) and the next thing we knew we were getting ready to leave and we hadn't bought the scroll. I shared my disappointment in not buying the scroll with my friend Kim.

Kim shared this information with our friend Elaine (another Rumor Queen buddy). Elaine and Michael just recently returned from China with their beautiful daughter Amanda. While they were in China Elaine and Michael bought us the scroll we had hoped for! Thanks Kim, Elaine, and Michael! Tony and I love the scroll and will hang it somewhere special in our home!

We also got something else exciting in the mail today...Lily's Certificate Of Citizenship! Now we can apply for Lily's Social Security Number, US Birth Certificate, and Passport!


When Lily is a teenager do you think she'll forgive Tony and I for having her dressed in her pajamas for her citizenship picture? The day her picture was taken we had to leave our hotel at o'dark hundred to catch an early morning flight and Lily was sleeping when we left so I kept her in her pj's. Anyway, it was one of those rush, rush, crazy kind of days and we went straight from the airport to the medical exam to the place to have her picture taken. I just never took the time to change her out of her pj's. So, when you look at this picture it's not pink pj's you see it's really some kind of patriotic outfit!

Some more big news from today...Lily took a nap in her CRIB!!! Now, in the spirit of full disclosure I must share that she was asleep when I put her in the crib...but still...she stayed asleep for 2 1/2 hours! Up until today any time I tried to lay Lily in the crib she would instantly wake up and start crying/screaming. Not today. It was great to have 2 1/2 hours to get things done. Laundry, empty the dishwasher, dust...whoever thought I'd be excited about doing that kind of stuff??

Thanks Mr. Mike and Miss Lynn for my green "lovey". I always sleep with it!

I was a little worried how Lily would react to waking up in her crib so I made sure I was in her room when she started to stir. She popped her cute little head up, saw me, smiled and that was that. Not one tear shed! Now, don't worry I'm not naive enough to believe that she'll sleep in her crib through the night but it's a big step!

On a closing note, I've been threatened by several people with hunger strikes, bodily harm, etc. if I post one more mushy post about my husband. So, tonight, I thought I'd post the ugly truth. One day this week Tony forgot to make Lily's bottles for the day before he left for work. Yes, you read that right. No bottles! Now granted, Lily had had a rough night and Tony was operating on little sleep...oh wait, I'm getting mushy again. What I meant to say is how can he expect me to stay home and make bottles, too? Next thing you know he'll expect a meal on the table when he walks in the front door from work. How very June Cleaver. Don't worry girls, I've already filed a complaint with my Union Rep and Tony is currently on 90 days probation!

Every Day Something New!

You tell me...what shirt should I wear with these crazy pants my Aunt BaBa bought me?!

Tony and I are continually amazed by the changes in Lily every day! One of the biggest changes is that Lily is becoming more and more comfortable around other people.

Sunday morning friends of ours joined us for breakfast with my dad. Judy, Jim, and Jerrod met us in the parking lot at the restaurant as we were getting Lily out of her carseat. Judy asked if she could hold Lily and I said we could try. Lily went to Judy without batting an eye! I was shocked! Judy is Deaf and was signing to Lily explaining who she was, how happy she was to finally meet Lily, and how she had been waiting for Lily along with me and Tony. Lily never took her eyes off Judy. You would swear that Lily understood everything Judy signed! During breakfast Judy, Jerrod, and I were chatting and Lily rarely took her eyes off our hands. I have been signing with Lily since the day we met but she had never showed that much interest before!

Once Lily was finished eating breakfast (btw, the girl can really put away some toast) my dad asked her if she would mind sitting on his lap. Lily sat in her Dad Dad's lap for 30 minutes and had a great time!! She would pick up Dad Dad's hand and move it wherever she thought it should be. If Dad Dad dared to move it back she would pick it up and move it right back where she had originally placed it letting out a good belly laugh in the process. They played this game for quite some time and I really think the rest of us could have left the restaurant and she never would have known!

Is this my best side?

Sunday afternoon friends came over for a cookout and to meet Lily. Once again Lily seemed really comfortable. Lily played on the floor with the big girls (Rachel and Sarah) and was smiley and chatty around Bonnie and Rick, too! I was able to leave the room to go get refills or whatever and Lily didn't panic at all.

Today the changes kept coming! Lily is now "cruising" with confidence. Lily will pull herself up on the couch and walk from one end to the other and back. Her legs are a lot less wobbly and you should see the look of pride on her face!

This evening while I was making dinner (yes, you read that right...I made dinner...will miracles never cease?) Tony and Lily were playing in the Family Room. Lily crawled over to the bottom of the stairs so Tony decided to watch and see what she would do. Well, you guessed it...she climbed them! Lily was on the third step (with Tony spotting of course) by the time I got there to see!!

Tonight, when I told my dad on the phone about Lily climbing the stairs he said we had better hide the keys or when we wake up in the morning Lily and one of the cars might be missing....I think he's right!

One more first for today...Lily lay down in the bathtub! Yes, this is the same girl that a month ago screamed so loudly in the tub that you could hear her all the way from China. Well, over the last couple of weeks she has started to really enjoy "tubby time" but until the last few days has pretty much not moved an inch in the tub. Over the last few days Lily has started to scooch (that's not a word but you know what I mean) around the tub to pick up toys that have floated away. Today she was sitting in the tub and the next thing I knew she had bent herself in half and then had her legs sticking out behind her. It sure didn't take her long to figure out what fun it would be to kick her legs and splash water everywhere!

Couldn't you just nibble on these?

Living with Lily is like watching a time elapsed photo. We better not blink or we'll miss something amazing!

Lunch With Barb

You guys keep chatting...you think I can't understand what you're saying...I'm just taking it all in!

Barbra and I have been friends for almost all of our adult lives...granted we haven't always acted like adults! Barb and my friendship dates back to the time when Happy Hours turned into...Happy Nights...turned into...not so happy morning-afters! Suffice it to say if I ever decided to run for political office Barbra could torpedo my career in a matter of seconds. Not only does Barb know about most of the skeletons in my closet....she's helped me hide a few of them in there!

I'm sure Barb couldn't possibly count the number of times she heard me say I would never be a mother. She listened to my "Some woman are just meant to be aunts and not mothers" speech on innumerable ocassions. However, when she first heard of Tony and my plans to build a family she never once questioned my change of heart...she just fully supported our desire to become parents!

As life happens, Barbra and I don't see each other as often as we once did. Work, family, busy schedules, and the list goes on keeps us both going in different directions. However, when we do get together we always manage to pick up right where we left off. Yesterday, we had the chance to get together for lunch so Barb and Miss Lily could meet. They hit it off immediately!

Do you want to shake my lobster rattle?

See how big I am?!?

I love my finger...it's delicious!

A little dessert for Mommy!

Aunt Barb, did you let the tickle bug in here?

Let's have lunch again soon....Mommy and I had a blast!

You can't tell from these pictures but Barbra really was there....she was just behind the camera...not in front of it.

One Month Ago

One month ago today Tony and I woke up (not that we had really slept) in a hotel room on the other side of the world filled with excitement, fear, and anticipation about finally meeting our daughter.

I was so nervous I literally was forgetting to breathe and I was shaking like a leaf even before the 6 cups of black tea I drank. Tony was so nervous he was sweating like crazy and literally had to change his clothes right before we left because he was soaked.

Together the two of us climbed on the van with the two other families in our travel group and headed across town through absolutely crazy traffic to the Civil Affairs Office. Neither one of us had too much to say during the ride we just held onto each other's hand like we were holding on to a life raft. When we arrived we entered the rather non-descript looking building, climbed a curving staircase, walked down a dimly lit hallway, and entered a conference room and immediately spotted our sweet Lily. What happened after that is kind of a blur.

Tony and I were so excited to see Lily and were waving and blowing kisses to her. Before we knew it her nanny had walked over and placed Lily in my arms. There were brief speeches, instructions, and various other things that occurred....but honestly...I couldn't tell you what. All I know is we walked in that conference room childless and walked out parents! I know I shared on the blog before that when we met Lily she reached out and touched my face. It's true! I looked at the video from that moment and she really did. I wasn't dreaming...it really was that perfect!

Over the last month it has been so much fun to see Lily really come into her own. Her sweet personality is more apparent every day. She smiles, giggles, and belly laughs freely. She loves the sound of her own voice and is constantly chatting and jabbering away. It is so cute!

Lily's face lights up when Tony and I walk in the room and that is such an incredible feeling!

Lily also cries more now then when we first met her. It might seem strange but I think that's a good thing. She doesn't cry all that much but she will let us know when she's not happy. Looking back I think Lily was really pretty shut down the first few days with us.... sweet as can be and cute as a bug...yes...but still kind of shut down. Now, she knows that she can trust us and if she is hungry we will feed her, if she is wet we'll change her, if she's afraid we'll comfort her, etc.

Lily crawls around at lightening speed and is pulling herself up on everything that doesn't move fast enough. It will not be too much longer before she is walking. Yikes!

Lily still is not a big fan of the car seat, high chair, or stroller. She becomes more accepting of them each day but I think it boils down to she doesn't like to be confined. There is one big exception...Lily absolutely loves the baby carrier! She does a little dancing jig thing with her legs when she sees me putting it on. It is really funny to see.

Lily still likes to suck on her left index finger but not nearly with the same frequency or intensity as when we first met. Now Lily will often offer us her right index finger while she is sucking on her left. It's a special kind of long distance Lily kiss. On special occasions Lily will offer us the coveted left index finger and takes great delight in knowing we think it's delicious, too!

On the list of things Tony and I were looking forward to about being parents co-sleeping was not high on the list. Co-sleeping (or the family bed) is a common practice in China and one we believe Lily is accustomed to. In the beginning Lily's crib was the cause of abject terror. Now, Lily thinks her crib is a lovely place to visit but she certainly wouldn't want to sleep there. At some point we will work to transition Lily to her crib. For now, we are getting used to sleeping with Miss Twitchy McSquirmy and feel like Lily has gone through enough changes in her little life that this is not an area we want to push. Just like the finger sucking....we are quite certain Lily wont still be sleeping with us when she goes on her first job interview.

The last month has passed so quickly. Before we know it Lily will be headed off to her first day of kindergarten...then highschool graduation...then maybe out West to join a rock band...or to join the Peace Corps... or to join the debate club at Stanford...or...or....whatever and wherever life takes Lily we're so happy we'll be there with her!

I don't know how I keep ending up in the laundry when my tag clearly states Dry Clean Only!

Up, up, and away!

Christina, what do you mean I'm not supposed to eat this pretty green stuff?

I love sitting on the back patio watching the birds

I don't know why Mom insists I take a nap...I'm not even tired!

Happy Mother's Day!

I had a wonderful first Mother's Day! I still can't believe I'm a MOM! Yes, I know I have this incredible, beautiful, loving, amazing daughter...yet I'm still stunned that I'm her mother! How lucky can one woman get?

This morning when we woke up Tony gave me two beautiful cards...one from him and one from Lily. In the card that Lily gave me Tony had stamped Lily's little hand prints on the inside of the card...too cute! Lily and Daddy also sent me a beautiful flower arrangement and gave me a gift certificate for a spa day! Do you think I can get a massage with a certain 10 month old glued to my hip??

Lily and I spent the day being very lazy because we were strictly forbidden from doing any work around the house! It was a beautiful day so we hung out on the patio and really enjoyed the beautiful day. Inside Tony was busy as a bee making a wonderful dinner. Everything was delicious and Tony's mother and sister joined us for dinner, too.

When we were waiting to meet Lily countless people said to us, "Just wait. Once you meet your daughter you'll forget all about the wait." Honestly, I wanted to strangle each and every one of these people. However, now I kind of understand what they meant. Have we forgotten the wait? No way!! Would we go through the wait again so we could meet our sweet Lily? ABSOLUTELY!!

Many people have a difficult time when they first meet their adopted children. Tony and I had been cautioned by our agency, friends that adopted before us, and countless books that we read about how difficult the transition to becoming a family can be. Some people have shared with us that when they first met their children they felt as if they were babysitting. You know, like their child was not really "theirs". With time, of course, this feeling subsides and a bond is formed. Thankfully for us there was an immediate connection between the 3 of us. From the first instant...we knew that Lily was our daughter...and we were her lucky parents.

Tomorrow it will be 4 weeks since we met our Lily. The past 4 weeks have been indescribable. Each day Lily opens up a little more and shows us even more of her sweet, loving, funny, rambunctious personality. We are so in love with this little one and so very, very happy!

This is also a really exciting Mother's Day for all of my October 2005 LID friends. As of May 1, 2007, the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) has referred babies to all families that were logged in through November 1, 2005. That means all my fellow October LIDers are either now recently home with their babies, in China right now to meet their little ones, or have pictures of their sweet little babies and are just waiting for approval to travel and bring them home in the next several weeks.

Not all that long ago when CCAA referred a group of babies they referred an entire LID month. In other words, all of October would have been referred together in one batch. With the incredible slow down that is now occurring it took CCAA 4 months to refer all of October. Some people received referrals in February, March, April, and May. I am so happy that all of us can now fully share in each other's joy without worrying about who will miss the cut off and have to wait another month!

On a more somber note, I really miss my mom this Mother's Day. Honestly, I've missed my mother every day since she died. However, today is one of those days where her death feels more recent...the pain from her loss more acute. This morning we went to the cemetery to place flowers on Mom's grave and it really hit me that Lily will not have the opportunity to meet her Mom Mom face to face. What a loss for both of them.

I'm also reminded today of Lily's First Mother and Foster Mother. Two woman who through incredible sacrifices made it possible for me to become Lily's mother. Lily's First Mother was faced with choices...and consequences for those choices...that I can't possibly fathom. Obviously she loved Lily and chose to place Lily in a location (at great risk to herself) that made it possible for Lily and I to find each other. For that I will be forever grateful.

Lily's Foster Mother knew that she would only be able to raise Lily for a short time. Yet her obvious love and caring for Lily is so apparent in the loving, happy child Tony and I have been blessed with. Again, I will be forever grateful.

I think the best way to honor these two special woman is to love Lily with my whole heart and cherish every minute I spend being her mother....that I can promise!

Lily's First Shower

No, we haven't given up on giving Lily baths and switched to showers!

All dressed up and some place special to go!

Today, Lily attended her very first baby shower....as the guest of honor! Suzy and Sheila, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law, hosted a beautiful shower for me and Lily at their church. The original plan was that both families would have a joint shower for me on April 17th. As it turned out we left for China on April 10th and had to cancel that shower. Somehow 6900 miles seemed like an awful long way to travel to come back for a baby shower!

Are all those presents for me?

A girl could get used to this!

I just love my "I Spy" Quilt and all my other great gifts!

Look at all this yummy food!

Ah, delicious!

So tell me...are showers always this much fun?

Thanks Nai Nai and Aunt Sheila! Mommy and I had a great time!

We had such a nice time and received so many really wonderful and thoughtful gifts! It was great to see all the ladies from Emmanuel Baptist. The members of this church have been praying for us since the very beginning of our journey to bring Lily home. It was great to be able to share with them how God answered all of their prayers!

A Visit To Uncle Bill and Aunt Eila's

When we moved into our house years ago Bill and Eila lived across the street. Tony and Bill hit it off immediately. Since then Bill and Eila have moved to a retirement community not too far from us. We visit Bill and Eila from time to time and they have been patiently waiting with us to bring our sweet Lily home. Tonight we brought Lily with us to visit Uncle Bill and Aunt Eila and had a wonderful time!

On the way to Uncle Bill and Aunt Eila's I had to stop at Aunt BaBa's so she could see how cute I look in the ladybug sundress she bought me!

Katie wants to know if my dress comes in her size, too!

Too bad this isn't an action shot...I'm showing off my waving skills.

Uncle Bill was so happy to finally meet me and even has my referral picture hanging in his dining room!

Hanging out on the couch with Aunt Eila!

Uncle Bill and Aunt Eila had their carpets steamed cleaned just for me! So, of course, I had to show them how I can crawl and climb. Boy, were they impressed!