One Month!

In the spirit of being fully honest on this blog, I must admit this week has totally kicked my a$$.  It started with work being incredibly busy (it is always busy this time of year and honestly that is a good thing and you all know that I love business and my job), a sick child being sent home from school, a dog that had a medical emergency and had to be rushed to the vet (I will save you the gory details but he is fine now), a snow day which is NEVER good for people who work from home offices, Mia having to get shots and blood taken, preparing for Mike's birthday (no party or anything just dinner reservations and trying to make the day special for him) and ultimately ending with me getting sick myself.

December 13th officially marks the one month anniversary of getting Mia.

Mia is still sleeping through the night but her sleep schedule is still a bit off.  She is liking a later afternoon nap and of course then does not go to sleep until much later in the night.  She wakes up early but just lays in bed and goes back to sleep until mid morning.  She also started to call me into her room in the middle of the night just to cover her back up.  I did it a few times but eventually had to tell her no and make her do it herself.  This stopped her calling me in for that.

We had a bit of food sucess this week.  She is still my carb queen but we found out she really likes meatballs (gotta love this girl).  She also liked an Arby's roast beef sandwich.  She finally ate corn again  and seemed to like it.  Peanut butter crackers also were a hit.  If there was ever mistaking anything she liked before, there is no way now.  Every time she eats something she likes she says "yummy, yumnmy" and occasionally rubs her tummy.  It is pretty cute.

She has started to use a few more English words without being prompted.  When she was watching Olivia, she actually said watermelon and apple when she saw them.  Watermelon is one of her favorite foods so she says that a lot but I have never heard her say apple.  I love hearing her say new words.  It is just like hearing Logan say new words when he was learning to talk.  I will totally miss her Mandarin monologues but will LOVE to be able to understand everything she is saying.  When she gets going she has SO MUCH TO SAY!    

The doctors totally stunk.  We LOVE Dr. Mark Adams.  Both Mike and I went to his dad when we were kids.  That said, this poor girl had to have the full work up.  She had to get two shots this time and have her max amount of blood drawn to test for everything under the sun.  Even with the max blood draw, she may have to go back on Monday and give more.  One thing they are testing for is her level of immunization for certain vaccinations so she does not have to get the shots she already had.  Like every mother, helping hold your child while they are being poked and prodded is NOT fun.   I felt so bad for her and cannot imagine what she is thinking.  I really hope I was a comfort for her with my hugs and kisses.  I also brought one of her favorite candy treats from China so I could give them to her  when the shots and needles were gone.  They seemed to do the trick although it was the saddest sight to see her licking them with HUGE tears dripping down her face. I am not sure if it is the shape of her eyes or just her tears, but they are SO big and just pour down her face when she cries.  Just as we suspected, she is going to need to see a pediatric dentist and we need to make sure she stops sitting in the typical Chinese "W" squat as it can hurt her hips and ultimately make her pigeon toed.

Her interest in "things" are cracking us up.  She loves all her girly things, but this week it was all about dinosaurs, nerf guns, and trains.  I LOVE THAT!  All dressed up in pink and toting her favorite Thomas the Train cars and helicopter.  :)

Mia starts pre-school Monday.  In the beginning either Mike or myself will sit with her, then leave for a bit and come right back.  When she is ready we will eventually leave for the day.  We found out that in her class their are two other Asian children that do not speak English.  This gives us some comfort as the teacher has experience with non-English speaking children.  We are curious to know whether either of the children are Chinese and speak Mandarin.  I KNOW she will love being around the other children as she loved all her friends at the orphanage.  I also think she will love all the activities they do.

Logan is continuing to be a great big brother and at times is REALLY spoiling her.  :)  He was also able to go spend the night at his grandparents again without Mia melting down.  The key was hiding his suitcase in the garage.  I think this was a HUGE relief for Logan as he LOVES his time with his grandparents.  One of their new favorite activites is antiquing and collecting coins.  My parents are the BEST grandparents any kid could wish for.

Something a bit new with Mia is her wanting to cuddle with us and asking for us to come sit and hold her.  Of course we are LOVING this.  :)  There is nothing like the cuddles of a sweet little one and my worries of any attachement issues are slowly fading.

That is all for the update this week.  Hoping for a MUCH easier week next week!  :)

We found Mia crashed out on the sofa mid-day.

Logan and Mia watching a Dora Movie he bought her in her room

Our sweet little baby doll