March 4, 2006: We were actually able to fly from Tokyo to Minneapolis in less than 10 hours instead of 14, so we got there earlier than expected. Paxton, on a whim, asked if there were any earlier flights to Colorado Springs so that we wouldn't have to wait 10 hours at the airport. The lady was kind enough to tell us that a plane was leaving NOW and we could try to fly standby.
We were the very last two seats in the airplane, flying out at 11am instead of 8pm that day. We were praising God all the way home!!!
We sooo praise God for the smooth smooth journey home.
FIRST NIGHT IN the USA: Hope woke up at 11pm, 12am, 1:30am, and 5am. At the 1:30am mark, mom was not able to go back to sleep until 3am. New Parent Lesson: No sleep for baby = No sleep for parent
March 5, 2006: New Parent mistake: Doing too many things in one day. We exercised at the gym (with kiddie in tow), went to the military exchange, commissary (grocery store), KFC, Babies-R-Us, and Target. Were we crazy? Yes indeed!!! Can you say exhausted parents and exhausted kid??
March 7, 2006: Feeling that sleep deprivation kick in. Hope cries until 1am, then wakes up every half hour to yelp. Mom Lisa has decided to move a mattress into Hope's room to calm her down. Dad gets some actually shut eye, while mom lies awake on a mattress with a screaming baby. "...it's just a season...it's just a season..." repeats in our heads. As soon as the baby falls asleep, the dog starts whining and barking.
March 16, 2006: Hope sleeps through the night. Mom doesn't. Mom has been conditioned to wake up at 12am, 2am, and 3am. Who ever thought a baby could condition her mom to wake up even when mom is not needed!!! Read many "sleeping" topics from authors Sears, Ferber, experienced moms ,and Weissbluth. Whoever thought that one theory would contradict the other. Lesson learned: do whatever it takes!!!
Doctor's appointment for Hope was a painful one. She had to get four shots in her thighs for immunizations. Other than that, even the doctor was surprised that she was just adopted. Hope was a 24 pounds and 30 inches at 13 months, and the doctor thought that was just great. After the shots, she was fussy and crying all day long, letting mom know how unhappy she was.
March 25, 2006: Bought Schlotsky's sandwiches and went to Garden of the Gods for a warm spring lunch. Paxton got to introduce the snow to Hope. She just held it in her hands and wondered at the strange sensation. While we were enjoying the warmth, a Chinese family walked up and noticed Hope sucking on her binky. Lisa told them that if it gets pulled out, she'll start crying. The grandma must not have believed Lisa and walked right up to Hope and pulled out her binky. Sure enough, a blood curling scream rung out across the beautiful rock formations of the Garden, and both parents looked at the grandma like, "see... told you!". The grandma just kept apologizing to Hope, but Hope just turned her head away and refused to look at her again. We just chuckled...
March 31, 2006: Today, Hope is officially a US citizen.
Doesn't she look overjoyed at her citizenship?
April 10, 2006: Hope has been toddling on her own for about a week now. She walks more than 10 steps before falling. She's added a few more goose eggs to her forehead. Her left forehead seems to take the brunt of most goose eggs. It looks permanently painted black and blue.
cool baby with bruise to head
April 12, 2006: The International Wives' Club threw a baby shower for Hope. We had such a lovely time with food, mints, nuts, coffee and tea. Hope was overwhelmed with all of her new toys and clothes. She sat on mom's lap during most of the shower and just smiled at all of the attention. But as soon as we got home, the fussy scale tipped to maximum. She knew that she was queen of the show, so she wanted to keep the act up at home. When mama wouldn't let her, fuss city! Lesson learned: Gotta have boundaries!!! Still, it was fun to have a shower with the baby there. Who wouldn't like that?
all these for me? I must be queen!!!
This afternoon, Hope was running around shouting "xiang jiao! xiang jiao!" over and over again. It took Lisa a minute to figure out that baby said her first words (besides mama and baba). She wanted a banana. When Lisa showed her a banana and asked her is this what she wanted, a great big smile spread across her cheeks and she said, "xiang jiao!" Mom and baby were the happiest people in the world.
April 16, 2006: Hope celebrated her first Easter morning in a princess dress. She was all in a pink chiffon dress sent to her by Lisa's Auntie. Hope just looked at herself in the mirror over and over again. She was princess for a day. At church, we sang "Great is Thy Faithfulness". When we sang "...bright hope for tomorrow", tears were streaming down Lisa's face. God has done such a wonderful thing by giving us Hope for today and tomorrow. We feel so deeply blessed by this wonderful child in our lives.
I'm a princess just for today!
April 21, 2006: Today, Hope corrected Mom. She was walking around the house this morning when she stopped and pointed to something in our bedroom and said "shan". Lisa didn't think there was anything in our room that was a "shan" so Lisa told her no there is no "shan" in our room. But Hope was insistent and kept pointing upwards and saying "shan...shan...shan". So, Lisa walked over to where Hope was and looked at what she was pointing at. Above our bed is a large Chinese fan (shan), so when Lisa saw what Hope was pointing at, she was overwhelmed with Hope's intelligence. The last time Lisa told her what this was was about 2 weeks ago. It's amazing what those little brains store up there!!!
She's trying to say "gou" (dog) but can't get out the "guh" sound, so whenever the neighbor's dog comes out, Hope scream "mo!" or "bo!"...what a cutie.
May 2, 2006: Today, Hope can say (in Chinese) banana, dog, cat, mom, dad. She can sign: dad, ball, more, hat, dog, cat, drink, cookie, sleep, dance, finished, water. She remains such a joy to be around. When she smiles, the sun just comes out and melts our hearts. When she cries, the end is here.
I'm signing hat for you!
She has learned to smooch (rather lip) us. In the morning, when Lisa was getting her shoe on, Hope ran over and smooched Lisa ten times in a row, running away in a bowlful of giggles. When Dad came home from work, Hope ran up to him, gave him a hug and a smooch as well. Both parents were just puddles on the kitchen floor while Hope ran off in her bowlful of giggles. She knows just what to do to melt her parents.
May 17, 2006: Mother's Day
a very happy first mother's day.
