Yes, it's a strange heading, but I feel I must explain some of the weirdness that is my sweet Ella. Every morning when Ella goes to work with me, we pass several fields with cows. We always have to say good morning to the Cows. Ella says "Mornin Nows!" (She can't quite get the "c" sound.) On the way home we always have to say "Night Night Nows!". (Mary did the same thing so it's funny that Ella has such a cow interest too. Perhaps I need to take them to a farm to see some cows up close!)
This morning driving in, I just couldn't stop myself. I yelled out "Morning Cows!" even though Ella was not in the car. My hand flew over my mouth and my cheeks got all red. God I hope no one heard me. (I'm sure the other drivers think I'm nuts pointing at the cows when she IS in the car!!) I know the phrase goes through my mind everytime I pass the cows, but this time I just blurted it out. Oops.
Now, the Christmas lights. There are still quite a bit of places with Christmas lights up and every evening we drive home, Ella takes pride in pointing them out. "Mmmmaaaaa" she says, "Pity lites". She finds them all too. She also finds the street lights, the house lights and even the lights on the cars and trucks. I guess I have to put myself in her shoes to understand her fascination with them. She comes from a place that doesn't have all these lights. Sometimes there isn't even power. It makes me smile seeing the wonder in her eyes and the genuine fascination she has with her new world.
Tuesday
January 22, 2008 - Home Update
The past few weeks in our house have been "interesting". Ella's adjustment is going well, but her and Mary have been clashing. They have good days which are really good, but the bad days are NASTY. Everything is a competition between the two. Who has more juice in their glass. Who has a bigger spot on Mama or Baba's lap. Who has the biggest doll. Whose Barbie is wearing the better outfit. Who finishes their plate first. It's interesting.
Mary IS starting to get use to Ella. She is starting to enjoy her little sister more than detest the attention that she is getting. Mary is still being quite naughty and spends a lot of time in the corner or in her room. Then again, Ella is getting her share of corner time too. Ah...the joys of having two 3 year olds! It keeps me on my toes as much as having three TEENAGERS!
Ella's speech is progressing as much as can be expected. She TRIES to say everything, however unsuccessful she may be. She has so much expression in everything she says (or tries to say). She continues to call me "Maaaaaaa" and refers to Rob as "Mmmmmaaaaa Mmmmmmaaaa", which is her best attempt at a "B" sound. She figured out a way to call us each something different and distinctive which says a whole lot about how smart she is. I think we can expect this little girl to do amazing things. Maybe we have a future doctor here!
Now Mary, she could easily be a politician. She can argue anyone under the table and she is very opinionated!
As for the rest of the family...we have been passing around a couple of lovely flu bugs and taking turns on who is sick. Fun. I think we should have taken out stock in the company that makes Clorox Wipes!!!
Here are a couple recent pictures.
Mary IS starting to get use to Ella. She is starting to enjoy her little sister more than detest the attention that she is getting. Mary is still being quite naughty and spends a lot of time in the corner or in her room. Then again, Ella is getting her share of corner time too. Ah...the joys of having two 3 year olds! It keeps me on my toes as much as having three TEENAGERS!
Ella's speech is progressing as much as can be expected. She TRIES to say everything, however unsuccessful she may be. She has so much expression in everything she says (or tries to say). She continues to call me "Maaaaaaa" and refers to Rob as "Mmmmmaaaaa Mmmmmmaaaa", which is her best attempt at a "B" sound. She figured out a way to call us each something different and distinctive which says a whole lot about how smart she is. I think we can expect this little girl to do amazing things. Maybe we have a future doctor here!
Now Mary, she could easily be a politician. She can argue anyone under the table and she is very opinionated!
As for the rest of the family...we have been passing around a couple of lovely flu bugs and taking turns on who is sick. Fun. I think we should have taken out stock in the company that makes Clorox Wipes!!!
Here are a couple recent pictures.
Sunday
January 15, 2008 - Picture Perfect
I had to share this picture. My sister took it on Christmas and just emailed it to me. Doesn't she look like an angel??
January 14, 2008 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELLA!
Happy Birthday my sweet Ella! (We actually celebrated on the 15th so Rob could be there, but she didn't know the difference!)
I'm so glad we were able to celebrate her 3rd birthday. We feel so bad that we missed so much in her life. So many birthdays and holidays. It's not fair for her. I hope that we can make every single celebration with her from now on an event she will never forget.
We had a beautiful white cake with pink flowers and cookies and cream ice cream. Ella didn't care for the cake too much (very sweet), but LOVED the ice cream. The candles on the cake also freaked her out a bit. We had to chuckle a little bit trying to think about the fact that she probably never saw them before. I guess we would freak out too under the same circumstances. She didn't understand the whole "blowing the candles out" and had to get help from her big brothers.
Rob gave Ella her first bouquet of flowers and wrote Ella a heartfelt note that we will put in her scrapbook. It was very special. Here is what it said.
"My Dearest Ella,
Today is your first birthday! Well not exactly, it is actually your third birthday but it is your first birthday since we brought you home from China. You are home with your forever family now! We all Love You and you will always hold a special place in Mama and Baba's hearts. You have filled a void in our family that has been there so long. Will you always be the youngest child? Only time will tell. You are so precious and beautiful with your smile, your thumbs up routine that Canaan taught you, and just your happy go lucky personality. I will always remember the day we got you in China as well as the many other FIRSTS that have occurred so far in your life. (IE: holding you for the first time, kissing you for the first time, you telling me you loved me for the first time, the first time you sat on my lap and other firsts too many to write down. I can't wait for the many other things that will come with you being my daughter. Well, my precious daughter, Happy Birthday. I Love You more than words will ever describe.
Love, Baba"
I was very proud and touched that Rob was able to express his feelings like that in a letter she can look at years from now and know how much we really do love her.
After Christmas, she figured out what presents were all about and wasted NO time tearing into them. Her Grandma Barbara and Grandpa Rollie sent her an adorable Asian baby doll that looks incredibly real! The tag said her name was Baby Mei Mei but since Mary's doll (of the same kind) was named Mei, Ella named her new baby Qai (pronounced Kai). The girls had a blast pushing their babies around in the toy strollers. The look of sheer joy on Ella's face was amazing.
We got Ella a V-Smile console. It's a video game for toddlers and preschool kids. We thought is might help with her language development. When she started to play in (she knew the basics after watching her brothers play playstation), you could tell she was confused. Again, I feel so bad. I sometimes forget that she spent almost three years of her life in a place I cannot even fathom. A place with no toys, no tv and certainly no video games. Ella may be close to Mary in age, but she has to learn all the little things that we take for granted with Mary like colors, counting, shapes and alphabet. We will most certainly be working on those over the next couple months. I imagine it will help with her language development as well.
Here are some pictures from Ella's birthday celebration. I really hope it was special for her.
I'm so glad we were able to celebrate her 3rd birthday. We feel so bad that we missed so much in her life. So many birthdays and holidays. It's not fair for her. I hope that we can make every single celebration with her from now on an event she will never forget.
We had a beautiful white cake with pink flowers and cookies and cream ice cream. Ella didn't care for the cake too much (very sweet), but LOVED the ice cream. The candles on the cake also freaked her out a bit. We had to chuckle a little bit trying to think about the fact that she probably never saw them before. I guess we would freak out too under the same circumstances. She didn't understand the whole "blowing the candles out" and had to get help from her big brothers.
Rob gave Ella her first bouquet of flowers and wrote Ella a heartfelt note that we will put in her scrapbook. It was very special. Here is what it said.
"My Dearest Ella,
Today is your first birthday! Well not exactly, it is actually your third birthday but it is your first birthday since we brought you home from China. You are home with your forever family now! We all Love You and you will always hold a special place in Mama and Baba's hearts. You have filled a void in our family that has been there so long. Will you always be the youngest child? Only time will tell. You are so precious and beautiful with your smile, your thumbs up routine that Canaan taught you, and just your happy go lucky personality. I will always remember the day we got you in China as well as the many other FIRSTS that have occurred so far in your life. (IE: holding you for the first time, kissing you for the first time, you telling me you loved me for the first time, the first time you sat on my lap and other firsts too many to write down. I can't wait for the many other things that will come with you being my daughter. Well, my precious daughter, Happy Birthday. I Love You more than words will ever describe.
Love, Baba"
I was very proud and touched that Rob was able to express his feelings like that in a letter she can look at years from now and know how much we really do love her.
After Christmas, she figured out what presents were all about and wasted NO time tearing into them. Her Grandma Barbara and Grandpa Rollie sent her an adorable Asian baby doll that looks incredibly real! The tag said her name was Baby Mei Mei but since Mary's doll (of the same kind) was named Mei, Ella named her new baby Qai (pronounced Kai). The girls had a blast pushing their babies around in the toy strollers. The look of sheer joy on Ella's face was amazing.
We got Ella a V-Smile console. It's a video game for toddlers and preschool kids. We thought is might help with her language development. When she started to play in (she knew the basics after watching her brothers play playstation), you could tell she was confused. Again, I feel so bad. I sometimes forget that she spent almost three years of her life in a place I cannot even fathom. A place with no toys, no tv and certainly no video games. Ella may be close to Mary in age, but she has to learn all the little things that we take for granted with Mary like colors, counting, shapes and alphabet. We will most certainly be working on those over the next couple months. I imagine it will help with her language development as well.
Here are some pictures from Ella's birthday celebration. I really hope it was special for her.
January 13, 2007 - Home Update
Today marked our one month home with Ella. I can hardly believe it's been a month already! It feels like just yesterday we were in China with her!
Ella is doing wonderfully. She is so easy going and relaxed with our family most of the time. She is such a character and loves the attention she is getting. She absolutely LOVES food. Any food. She eats like it's going out of style (still a little hording, like we are going to take it away or something) and is not very picky about what goes in her mouth! She fits in with her teenage brothers SO well!!! She loves the Korean noodle bowls (like ramens) and can eat an entire can of mixed fruit in under two minutes! All this eating is also putting some weight on her bones. She is up to 24 lbs and LOOKS much healthier! (No more ribs showing!)
Her personality continues to come through more and more every day. She is so fun to just be around! She giggles and smiles and you cannot help but smile along with her. She only whines when she's tired or when she gets frustrated with communication.
She is getting more comfortable with the animals in the house. The cats more than the dogs as the dogs make so much noise. At least it doesn't startle her as much as they use to. The dogs think she is great because she sneaks them little bites from her plate! Ha! We are on to her now!! One of the cats has been spotted several times SLEEPING with Ella!
Ella and Mary have good days and they have bad days. Mary is still very jealous of Ella and is starting to act up more. They BOTH have spent their fair share of time in the corner. When they are having a good day, they play together so nice. It's neat to watch their imaginations in actions. When they are having one of their bad days though, it's screaming fights and biting!! (Ella is a biter! Owie!) Little by little their good days are out numbering their bad ones.
Ella has experienced a little regression in the potty training area. We expected this and are not too worried about it. For the most part, she is a very "clean" girl. She likes to make sure her hands and face are clean and LOVES to brush her teeth. We have also discovered that she is a little bit of a perfectionist. It's fascinating to see her when she gets in one of her neat-freak moods. Shoes have to be not only put away, but lined up with the laces stuffed inside!
Her language is developing, slowly. She gets frustrated sometimes that we can't understand what she is saying. We have learned how to listen harder when she tries to pronounce things. Actually she makes sense if you take into account she cannot say any "hard" sounds like L, T, P, B, S & R.
Ella had her appointment with the specialist last Friday. It actually didn't accomplish much. The doctor was more interested in her ears and wanted to leave her cleft palate to his "collegue". (Her ears are great actually. He said NO signs of fluid! Yeah!) Grr. He DID confirm that she has TWO holes, one larger and one smaller. He wasn't too worried about it and surgery is not something we have to do right away. We have time to bond with our daughter before we throw her into another surgery. We are at least going to get her fitted with an obturator (like a retainer) right away to help her with speech.
Ella is doing wonderfully. She is so easy going and relaxed with our family most of the time. She is such a character and loves the attention she is getting. She absolutely LOVES food. Any food. She eats like it's going out of style (still a little hording, like we are going to take it away or something) and is not very picky about what goes in her mouth! She fits in with her teenage brothers SO well!!! She loves the Korean noodle bowls (like ramens) and can eat an entire can of mixed fruit in under two minutes! All this eating is also putting some weight on her bones. She is up to 24 lbs and LOOKS much healthier! (No more ribs showing!)
Her personality continues to come through more and more every day. She is so fun to just be around! She giggles and smiles and you cannot help but smile along with her. She only whines when she's tired or when she gets frustrated with communication.
She is getting more comfortable with the animals in the house. The cats more than the dogs as the dogs make so much noise. At least it doesn't startle her as much as they use to. The dogs think she is great because she sneaks them little bites from her plate! Ha! We are on to her now!! One of the cats has been spotted several times SLEEPING with Ella!
Ella and Mary have good days and they have bad days. Mary is still very jealous of Ella and is starting to act up more. They BOTH have spent their fair share of time in the corner. When they are having a good day, they play together so nice. It's neat to watch their imaginations in actions. When they are having one of their bad days though, it's screaming fights and biting!! (Ella is a biter! Owie!) Little by little their good days are out numbering their bad ones.
Ella has experienced a little regression in the potty training area. We expected this and are not too worried about it. For the most part, she is a very "clean" girl. She likes to make sure her hands and face are clean and LOVES to brush her teeth. We have also discovered that she is a little bit of a perfectionist. It's fascinating to see her when she gets in one of her neat-freak moods. Shoes have to be not only put away, but lined up with the laces stuffed inside!
Her language is developing, slowly. She gets frustrated sometimes that we can't understand what she is saying. We have learned how to listen harder when she tries to pronounce things. Actually she makes sense if you take into account she cannot say any "hard" sounds like L, T, P, B, S & R.
Ella had her appointment with the specialist last Friday. It actually didn't accomplish much. The doctor was more interested in her ears and wanted to leave her cleft palate to his "collegue". (Her ears are great actually. He said NO signs of fluid! Yeah!) Grr. He DID confirm that she has TWO holes, one larger and one smaller. He wasn't too worried about it and surgery is not something we have to do right away. We have time to bond with our daughter before we throw her into another surgery. We are at least going to get her fitted with an obturator (like a retainer) right away to help her with speech.
December 27, 2007 - At Home Update
We have been home two weeks and Ella is doing unbelievable. Our mouths are hanging open because she is so outgoing and vibrant and has just slipped into her position in our family without much trouble. No one believes us that we have only had her since December 2nd, but I swear it's true.
Ella has definitely become an eating machine. She is still hording food some, but not as much as she was. She tries everything and absolutely LOVES the variety. Her favorites are still meats (beef mainly), fruit in any form and we should have bought stock in the company that makes Caprisuns. Eek. That girl is thirsty all the time. She will drink anything, but seems to drink a lot of Caprisuns. She will even sip tea with her oldest brother.
Ella is also sleeping very well. I was totally prepared for the terrible sleep problems that we experienced with our first daughter, but nope! For the first couple of nights, she slept with us (and slept through the night..woo hoo). After that, as long as Mama lays down with her for a little bit (or just sits down next to her bed), she goes to sleep in her own bed and sleeps all night (double wooooo hooooo). We started putting Pull-Ups on her, especially at night because we were expecting a little regression with the potty training thing. Nope! She now sleeps in big girl panties every night. This does not sit well with Big Sister as she still wears Pull-Ups at night, so we are hoping it will be an incentive for Mary! We shall see.
Christmas went over better than we expected. Ella caught on to the present-thing real quick. Once she found out that there was something even cooler INSIDE the pretty paper, it was all over. She got a little overwhelmed a couple times, but all in all did very well.
Ella had her first doctor appointment (pediatrician) who found her quite healthy. He DID however find some information on her immunization records that didn't make sense and we've all decided to start (most) of her immunizations over. The poor girl got SEVEN shots all at once. She was Miss Cranky Pants for about 36 hours let me tell you! In the end, it was probably a wise decision. She see's the ENT doctor next month about the hole in her palate. The pediatrician said it didn't look bad at all and wouldn't be surprised if the specialist tells us it will close on it's own. I'm not so sure about that. Something needs to be done so we can work on her speech.
Speaking of her speach, it's coming along. She is speaking her English words a little clearer and more words every day. She understands the Chinese I speak to her and seems to understand EVERYTHING we tell her in English so we are communicating very well. She is a very smart little girl, so I'm sure she'll catch up in no time.
Here are a couple recent "at home" pictures. Yes...she IS very photogenic...in case anyone was thinking that. She is a happy girl who likes to get her picture taken!
Ella has definitely become an eating machine. She is still hording food some, but not as much as she was. She tries everything and absolutely LOVES the variety. Her favorites are still meats (beef mainly), fruit in any form and we should have bought stock in the company that makes Caprisuns. Eek. That girl is thirsty all the time. She will drink anything, but seems to drink a lot of Caprisuns. She will even sip tea with her oldest brother.
Ella is also sleeping very well. I was totally prepared for the terrible sleep problems that we experienced with our first daughter, but nope! For the first couple of nights, she slept with us (and slept through the night..woo hoo). After that, as long as Mama lays down with her for a little bit (or just sits down next to her bed), she goes to sleep in her own bed and sleeps all night (double wooooo hooooo). We started putting Pull-Ups on her, especially at night because we were expecting a little regression with the potty training thing. Nope! She now sleeps in big girl panties every night. This does not sit well with Big Sister as she still wears Pull-Ups at night, so we are hoping it will be an incentive for Mary! We shall see.
Christmas went over better than we expected. Ella caught on to the present-thing real quick. Once she found out that there was something even cooler INSIDE the pretty paper, it was all over. She got a little overwhelmed a couple times, but all in all did very well.
Ella had her first doctor appointment (pediatrician) who found her quite healthy. He DID however find some information on her immunization records that didn't make sense and we've all decided to start (most) of her immunizations over. The poor girl got SEVEN shots all at once. She was Miss Cranky Pants for about 36 hours let me tell you! In the end, it was probably a wise decision. She see's the ENT doctor next month about the hole in her palate. The pediatrician said it didn't look bad at all and wouldn't be surprised if the specialist tells us it will close on it's own. I'm not so sure about that. Something needs to be done so we can work on her speech.
Speaking of her speach, it's coming along. She is speaking her English words a little clearer and more words every day. She understands the Chinese I speak to her and seems to understand EVERYTHING we tell her in English so we are communicating very well. She is a very smart little girl, so I'm sure she'll catch up in no time.
Here are a couple recent "at home" pictures. Yes...she IS very photogenic...in case anyone was thinking that. She is a happy girl who likes to get her picture taken!
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