Play time

Annaka loves to sit facing the steps. She has a fun game she plays with Comet. Comet goes on the other side of the steps and he tries to bite her fingers. Its all fun and games until Annaka gets bit to hard and decides she is tired of the game. Then she cries and looks at me to console her... Scott had to lower the gate because we were afraid she could scoot under the gate. So now it is low enough that we will not have to worry about her. Excpet now Ally' s cat Daisy cant get her fat tummy under the gate to go downstairs. Such is life they say.

Chicken Pox???

Well, the latest in our household is that Annaka has chicken pox. I took her to the doctor yesterday because she had a very strange looking rash, well to my surprise it is chicken pox.
I still have my doubts, but I do think it probably is. The thing is she hasn't gotten a fever yet or really had much more bumps appear. I talked to one of my friends who is a nurse and she said sometimes children can get a reaction to the chicken pox vaccination. Annaka had her chicken pox shot on Tuesday, but the amount of pox that she has is to many for only a reaction to the shot.
Today Scott and I were supposed to bring her up to the Twin Cities for her post placement meeting but we had to reschedule. We will have to see how she does this weekend. hopefully she wont get much worse but I think that's wishful thinking.

Had to write to tell everyone that I took Annaka in for a second opinion. It just didn't make sense to me, because we were not seeing anymore spots develop or a fever. Turns out she has "folliculitis" it is a inflammation of the hair folicle. She also has a boil, which is pretty big. He put her on a oral antibiotic for 10 days. I am so glad that I brought her back. This makes so much more sense to Scott and I.

A little of this and a little of that

Annaka continues to change everyday. She is getting more verbal. Yesterday I took her to the doctor for her immunizations and while we waited she chatted with a older man. He didn't have much to say to her, but she sure talked his ear off and had to show him her play phone. I had to chuckle because I don't think the man knew what to do or where to look.
She has gained 4 pounds since we have been home. Her crawling is getting better and better, before I know it she is has usually crawled down to Alyssa's bedroom.
We finally made it to a coffee date about 1 week ago. I took a picture of Kaelyn, Laney and Annaka enjoying some play time. The girls are so fun to watch.
Annaka has a favorite toy that seems to sooth her. The yellow ducky that NaNa gave her. She brings it to every room we are in. When she holds it her soothing tongue sucking starts, its so cute to watch her do that. I am glad she found something in the orphanage to make her feel secure.
My sister, Paige came to meet Annaka. Unfortunately, we were side tracked by the goodbye's for Echo, but they still got to know each other. Annaka seems amazed at hats and glasses. When Paige was leaving, Annaka kept wanting her to hold her.

My Forever Friend

This was a hard week for me, on Tuesday I had to let my cat, Echo go to Heaven. He would have been 20 years old on April 2nd. Its hard to imagine I will not touch, see or hold him again. I know he is in a better place, he can run, jump and play like he did when he was young.

I found this poem and thought I would share it. Thank-you to everyone who was there for me. Thank-you for all the cards I recieved and for all the comfort everyone showed me. But most of all thank-you Echo for being such a special part of my life. I will never ever forget you.


They will not go quietly
the cats who've shared our lives.
In subtle ways they let us know
their spirit still survive.
Old habits still make us think
we hear a meow at the door.
Or step back when we drop a tasty morsel on the floor.
Our feet still go around the place
the food dish used to be,
And, sometimes coming home at night,
we miss them terribly.
And although time may bring new
friends and a new dish to fill,
That one place in our hearts belongs to them
and always will....

Playing around with her Best Friend

Laney came over to play on Saturday (along with her mom, dad and big sister). Laney would not get off of Annaka's little rider, she sat on it most of the night. Can you guess what she is getting for her shower gift from us? We finally got a good picture of the girls together. I had to show you all. You probably can't see that Ashley is hiding behind Annaka holding her up. It was the only way we could get them both to sit on it. Trying to get a picture of 2, 13 months old is really tough! The girls had a lot of fun.
Annaka is changing everyday. This morning was the first day she actually played in her crib when she woke up. I finally went in to check on her and she was talking to her stuffed animals. I can see her becoming more and more comfortable everyday. She talks away to me in her car seat whenever we go anywhere (that is when she isn't crying, she doesn't like her car seat!).
I have noticed my posts are getting more and more infrequent, sorry ,but I am having a harder time keeping up with things now that she is crawling. Think of my life when she starts walking!

Little Miss. Stinker

This has become quite the activity to keep Miss. Annaka busy. She loves to go to this drawer and pull everything that she possibly can out of it. I try to hold it shut with my foot sometimes and she gets very mad at me. Take a look at all the intresting things she has managed to throw on the floor!!! Then she looks up and me and tells me all about them... How fun, huh?

A little of this and a little of that

Annaka is exploring her new environment. She loves to dig around in her closet.

The two end picures are Annaka in her highchair and then less than one minute later she was fast asleep. I must have really worn her out this morning. By the time I got her lunch out of the cupboard she was out for count!

Painted toes

Our pink eye has made it full circle. Annaka came down with it yesterday morning. I will have to take her in today for a check up. She looks pretty beat up today. Its hard to get the crud out of those slantey eyes!!Our weekend was pretty non eventful. We got Annanka a Johnny Jump Up and she loves it. She bounces away and swings side to side. It has been really neat to watch her with the new things we give her. She is so amazed by everything. She gets so excited when the kids come home from school and when Scott comes home from work. Her eyes disappear she smiles so hard. I had to take a picture of what a 9 year old and 7 year old do when they are stuck in the house all day. What ever you do, don't say anything to Andrew about this picture. He was not happy I took it, but it cracks me up. He loves to get his toes painted!!

So, the pink eye is gone but we have another problem

Okay, so my next problem. This is what happens when you hold your daughter on your lap and let her play with the romote!!! I can not believe it turned out this bad. Annaka is not allowed to hold any remotes anymore! What a week! (oh, and this picture was taken before my shower, I have some pretty bad bed head going on!).

Playing around in only a diaper...

NO,I'm not tired, I have PINK EYE

This is what an adult looks like with pink eye! I look like I have been out drinking for a week straight! When the doctor saw me he couldn't believe it. He said I will look like this for about 3 or 4 more days. When Andrew had it a week ago he had a couple crusties and I thought that was bad... Lets hope Annaka doesn't get it.

Exploring her enviornment

Annaka is getting very familiar with her surroundings. She is really crawling and loves to pull herself up on anything she can.

She keeps us laughing with the funny things she does. She has met a lot of new friends and family and everyone seems to adore her. How could you not? Here are some pictures of her exploring around the house. Jade seems to put up with her as long as she doesn't take her chewy toy away.

trying to crawl

We are getting much more adjusted to life at home. The last 2 nights Annaka has gone to bed by 8pm and slept till 7am or later. Scott and I are very thankful (especially me!).

Annaka is trying to crawl, she gets up on all four's and tries her hardest to come to me. When she gets to me she is beaming with a smile~

This is what happens when you meet your relatives.

Home

Well, we are adjusting to the changes of having Annaka with us. Biggest of all would have to be sleep... ugh. The first night she was up most of the night. After the long flight home Scott and I were so exhausted that we took care of her in shifts. The second night we got alittle smarter and tried to keep her up, but by 7pm she was fast asleep along with Scott on the couch. Last night was alittle better, she slept from 8pm-3:15am. I actually felt rested when I got up. So now it is 4:15am. Scott is holding her and I am tyring to catch up my blog. I will try my hardest to keep up with this, but it is a lot harder with her with me now. Everyone has told me how much they like to watch Annaka, and I enjoy doing it.
We have had some company, not to much yet. Annaka's cousin Abby stopped over to meet her yesterday. She sure thought she was a cute, Annaka put her charm on with her smiles. She is smiling so much more now. I seriously had my doubts those first few days when we saw no smiles.
Annaka is getting very attached to me. I cant imagine what it will be like after being home with her for 3 months. She seems to do better with Scott if I am not in the room. I think it is hurting daddy's feeling alittle so I try to walk a way so they can have some special time.
Ally and Andrew are in love with her. They run in after school to see her. I have to wonder if this will wear off eventually. Either way they are sure happy to have a little sister finally home.
Yesterday we went to target with her, she did good. We got a excersaucer. I just wasn't sure when we were going to get her if we would need one for her or not. Since she doesn't walk though it is really nice to have. She inst exactly sure of it yet, but I know she will like it after a couple tries. She is trying to crawl more and more. She can scoot a couple times but gets pretty worn out. I think she has so much more room to do things now then in the orphanage.
Here are a cople pictures of her first days home...

Going Home

Today we took Annaka to the doctor at the hotel because she was not doing very well. She ended up having bronchitis. They put her on 4 different medicines. We are so thankful for Kristine our guide. When I called her she had us to the clinic in 5 minutes.
Annaka is doing okay, she does worse at night. One of my first clues that she either had pneumonia or something else was she would wake up and she would try to cough but it sounded like she is drowning in her flem. I know its pretty gross, but true.
We are all so glad to be going home tomorrow. There is only so much you can do before you start to miss your own bed, house, couch, and especially kids.
After our apt at the doctor we had our famous "red couch" pictures. I have to say by this point I wasn't really up to it, but Annaka was a trooper.
Scott and Michon had to go back today to the consulate to get the babies visas. Yesterday we all went to the consulate to take the oath that all of our information was correct. Basically we raised our right hand and said "yes".
So, our trip has come to an end. I am happy and sad. Happy to go home, but sad to leave Annaka's home country. It is beautiful here. I really don't know when we will come back. With the cost of airfare and the long ride I see it maybe when Annaka is in her teens.
Tomorrow we leave the hotel at 5:30am. Our flight leaves at 8:30am. We fly to Tokyo, that is a 5 hour flight. Then we go from Tokyo to Mpls. We arrive there at 11:00 am your time, that trip is 13 hours. We are dreading the trip but once we get home it will be worth it all.
So, for now we will sign off. I will leave you with the red couch pictures. See you soon!!!

Sorry

Sorry everyone... I am to tired to write a post tonight. Annaka was up all night last night coughing so I am beat, not to mention her Daddy to.
I will post tomorrow. Have a good day!!!

Shopping

First Class Ticket: $5000.00
Business Class Ticket: $2,000.00
Lap Seat : $280.00
Trip Home in Suitcase: PRICELESS

Today we hit the wholesale mall, the regular mall and KFC. The Chinese people love KFC, McDonalds and Pizza Hut. The crowds in these restaurants is unreal. They even had a security guard inside KFC. We got some pearl earring's for the girls (yes, Ally we got you a pair also). Then we hit the mall. We actually didn't find much there. The clothes are little different in the mall compared to the shops around here. Kristine and Rebecca (our new guide) took us to the DVD store also. We got some DVD's for 2-5 dollars a piece. You cant beat that. Our new guide is as nice as Kristine. Mary did not come with us to Guangzhou so that is where Rebecca comes in. We tease her because she says everything twice to us. I told Raina she needs to be on Sesame Street. They both also tell us to "make sure to bring the babies"where ever we go. Like we would forget? After that we hit KFC. The guys love there KFC and the babies love the mashed potato's and gravy.After that we came back to the hotel and hit the shops around town. The clothes are so darn cute and so cheap. I picked up some Chinese gowns for Annaka to wear in her yearly pictures up to age 5, they were around 3.50 a piece. The people in the stores follow you everywhere. Raina had a lady come up to her and tell her Laney was not dressed warm enough and her socks were to tight. This did not make Raina happy, and from now on Raina said she is going to tell them to mind their own business!! Tomorrow we will be getting the famous "red couch" pictures done. This is a tradition at the White Swan hotel. Here are some pictures to leave you with.. The one of Annaka is a smile. She is smiling a lot more. We did notice today that she smiles more at the Chinese people than us. We figured this is because that is what she has seen for 12 months.

We also want to say thank-you for all the postings and emails. It has been really nice to hear from everyone back home. I guess this blog thing wasn't such a bad idea after all.

Shopping and Babies

The above pictures are of a baby drinking out of a bottle and a baby who will only drink her juice her with a syringe........... We are hoping one baby will not run off on the other baby if you know what we mean.......

Today we went for the babies medical exams.

Annaka weighed in at 19.3, Laney at 18. The other babies were around 23 pounds. Annaka was healthy but they did give us something for her cough. Laney had a ear infection so they gave her some antibiotic. Annaka seems better today, she hasn't been coughing as much and we just put her down for bed, its 8:30 so we are hoping for a good night of sleep. After the exam Scott and Michon met up with Kristine for 1 1/2 hours of more paperwork. This is to get the babies visa's completed.Then we went out to stroll around. It is beautiful here. The temp is around 70 to 75 degrees. That beats MN any day. We strolled around and took a lot of pictures. Then we hit some stores. The squeaky shoes are so darn cute and so cheap. We got 3 pair for Annaka, each pair costing a whopping $3.50 a piece. We found Andrew some gifts that he will love to!!

Tomorrow we will go to the market, the mall and to Starbucks.

Ally and Andrew, mom and dad are wondering where you are these days? We haven't gotten email from you in 2 days and we miss you?? Are you having so much fun with Grama and Grampa that you have forgotten about us?? Please write, we miss you.... We know you read the blog so you will get this. Have a good day at school today. Mommy and Daddy xoxoxoxo

catching up

Today is Saturday, 9:ooam. It was a rougher couple days. Annaka started to get a cough 2 nights ago. Yesterday she coughed all day. We have given her cough medicine but with the flight etc she had a rough day, not to mention her parents. We finally arrived at the hotel around 7:30 last night. It was dark so we couldn't see much outside but it is way different than where we were. Much more geared for tourism. There is not the poverty we saw in Nanchang. I am so glad we got to see that area of China. To see where Annaka and Laney would have been risen had they not been given up.

Annaka was up a lot last night, which means we were up lot last night. She decided to start the day at 4:30am.

We went for breakfast. What a difference. The food is wonderful and more geared towards what Americans like, best of all the coffee was great!

Today we meet Kristine at 10:30 for an apt for the girls physicals. It should take about one hour for all of us, then we are off to SHOP! The shopping looks a lot different here. We saw some cute things in the windows of the stores coming in. Raina is dying to shop, I am to. Squeaky shoes here we come!

I will leave you with some pictures of this morning. We will get more today. Raina has mentioned 4 times already that we have to get her camera and take pictures of the boats for Grampa Lee.