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!
4 comments:
"Lily's face lights up when Tony and I walk in the room" TJ, that's when we knew we were parents forever to our sons. It first happened with Geoff when he was about 9 months old and with Jeremy at about 6 months. You got it in one month. I'm jealous.
Love,
Eileen
I can't beleive it has been a month already! It still amazes me how quickly it is hard to remember life without Amanda Dan-Dan.
Can't wait to see you all.
Wendy
TJ,
Happy one month with Lily!!!
I am so glad that your transition has been easy. Ours has been too. Kate's face lights up when we walk into the room too and she is simply easy and very loving. We are lucky.
I totally agree with the co-sleeping thing. We need to do what they neeed us to do now. It will sort itslef ut eventually.
Kim
TJ - I thought of you all day on Sunday - thinking of just how exciting it was my first mother's day. Just wanted to share - that even though my sons are 22 and 18 - I feel blessed each mother's day as if it was the first. How exciting that you have many, many mother's days ahead that will feel like your first. Congratulations!
Janis
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