Trip to KY visiting Nai Nai & Papa and Rae & Grandpa

We just arrived home yesterday evening from a wonderful visit with both our families. We are fairly exhausted but thankful for how well everything went ! I am very happy to report that this trip went much much better than our trip home at Christmastime. Rachel actually slept in her crib and slept through the night until 6am. 6am was a bit early, but such an improvement that we didn't mind at all. Also, Rachel played with Audrey outside most of the time we were home and had so much fun. Her legs look like she has been in a war because she's still is developing coordination and falls alot but she really didn't seem to mind. She will take some hard falls and just get up and act like nothing happened. She really is our "little tank" ;-) Audrey was a great Big Sis as always and helped take care of her Lil Sis during the trip. She is growing up on us way too fast ! The pictures in our slideshow are of two Bubblefests we had with my parents and Alex's parents. At Alex's house, the Breeding Clan came for a visit and a great time was had by all. We are really looking forward to our next visit home; the difference a few months can make is amazing.

About the Past 6 months, Attachment & Bonding , other Adoption issues .......

While the past 6 months is still fresh in my mind, I just wanted to mention some of our experiences, trials and tribulations we had after Rachel's adoption. There is a reason that I rarely updated our blog after October of last year.

When we received Rachel in Chongqing in July of last year she automatically smiled her best smile and went to both Alex, I and Alex's parents without the slightest anxiety or fear and this was just fine with us after experiencing Audreys screaming fits on "Gotcha Day" in 2004. Because Rachel was just turning 10 months old, we just assumed we had been blessed with an "easy" baby. When we received Rachel in China she was literally the perfect child, she slept through every night; she never fussed unless she was hungry; and I hardly remember her ever crying. Once home this behavior continued for about two months and I remember thinking that I didn't know what all the fuss was about handling two. This was no more difficult than having just Audrey.

In late September the "easy baby" was no more. Suddenly, as if a tornado had hit, our little Rachel became this very emotional, very demanding, and constantly upset child who seemed unpleasable (She cried most of her waking hours and her feet rarely hit the floor). To make matters worse she went through about 4 months where she would reach out to just about anyone (strangers or friends), especially if she wasn't getting what she wanted from mom or dad. I don't think I have ever been so humbled in my life. Rachel would act like she was the happiest child in the world when we were out in public, but the second we were in the car or at home, she would come unglued and scream and cry unless she was held continuously. I finally came to the realization that we had some serious issues that needed to be addressed. I started reading as much as I could about bonding and attachment as well as other adoption issues. I just focused 150% on Rachel and her needs and tried not to let my emotions come into play as much as possible. Initially, when Rachel started "pleaing for help", I wasn't there for her like I should have been. I just couldn't believe that our "perfect child" was now completely out of control and I felt helpless for quite some time. Even after I realized what some of Rachels problems were and had found ways to help her, I still wondered if she would ever bond the way that Audrey had and if she would ever trust and love me the same way......

I am here to tell you now that she has and the transformation in Rachel is nothing short of miraculous. She will now hug me tight whenever she can and calls for me whenever she is feeling insecure or just needs affection. Until the past couple of months, Rachel didn't wan't any affection unless it was on her terms and usually she just wanted to be carried around but not hugged or kissed. She will now play independently or with her sister rather than needing to be held constantly and she just appears to be so much more secure. She has also developed "stranger anxiety" over the past two months and I have never been so happy about anything. After almost 7 months home Rachel finally realizes how loved she is and that she can let her guard down. She also gets along wonderfully with her big sis now and they are pretty much inseperable. We are truly blessed.

March 2007 Photos above...... I will post more about whats going on with us asap !

February News

February wasn't a bad month at all except that both the girls had colds which is never fun. Rachel had a yucky cold when we visited the TN aquarium which is why you don't see her or Alex in any of the pics. Alex volunteered to stay home with her while Audrey and I went with my sister, her husband, son and his mother, father, brother and two nephews (adopted from Russia). We had a wonderful time and we were definitely all wore out by the end of the day. On Presidents day, I took Audrey and Rachel to a playdate with several FCC families and the girls had a blast. At this point Rachel still wasn't walking very well so I ended up holding her alot but she still seemed to really enjoy herself. neither of our girls have a shy bone in their body. Their motto truly is "the more the merrier" ! Audrey started writing some letters in February and was very proud to show them off; hence the picture of her holding the piece of paper with several As and an H. Needless to say, I was sooo excited to see her letters since in the past when I've tried to show her how to write some letters she showed no interest at all.

Still Catching Up January 2007

Ok, brief synopsis is that in January we were still recovering from December ;-) Audrey took the stunning picture of Alex and I and I had to post it because we never get our pictures taken together except for post placement visits ! See myspace for that rare family pic. Audrey went on a playdate with quite a few girls from our local FCC chapter and had cupcakes, see above photo for demo of how much she enjoyed them or at least the frosting. Despite the semi frigid temps, we did manage to get outside a bit and let the girls play. We played with sidewalk chalk which I don't think is exactly a great winter activity but there were no complaints from Rachel or Audrey ! Lastly, Rachel is climbing all over everything even if she isn't walking very well. The girl really knows how to get where she wants to go. Oh, and in case I forgot to mention it, at 15 months she is already throwing temper tantrums, getting noodle legs, and mimicking epileptic seizures at the first sign she isn't going to get here way ;-) We are sure in for one wild ride lol.

Christmas 2006 was ...... well maybe a little challenging (understatement). Since it was a couple months ago, I think the memories are already fading. In a nutshell, it was not too fun. Rachel showed us that she truly does not adapt well to change and needs her routine desperately. While we were in KY for the holidays, she screamed bloody murder every night until we put her in the bed with us and then she still didn't sleep great. She also wanted to be held every waking moment and would melt down if her feet hit the floor. She had just started walking before Christmas (at 15 months) so she wasn't walking great anyway but at almost 25 lbs, she was quite a load to carry all day. And this post wouldn't be complete if I didn't mention that her digestive tract was totally out of whack our entire trip . . . . lets just say "it wasn't pretty". We did have wonderful visits with both our families though despite the challenges so I will post a few pictures here. Audrey and Rachel are 2yrs 3 mo apart in age, so it was nice that many of their Christmas gifts are ones they both could play with. The most popular Christmas gift and possibly most annoying one (constantly plays loud music) ;-) was what I now pleasantly refer to as the "Mermobile". See posted Pics.

Experience with Myspace.com

Well after finally finding a little time to update our blog, a friend told me about myspace.com because she had started using it at the recommendation of one of her friends. The main appeal to me was that I can upload video files and a nice little family slide show to music FREE. There are some major downsides to the site though which I'll go ahead and mention. While it is nice to have millions of people on the network, it can also be annoying because many weirdos will want to be added to your friends list or solicitors for get-rich schemes. I also did not find their blogging interface to be very appealing. Thus, I am going to continue to update our blog here because it's a much better blogging system and I already have our blog here. When I am able to update myspace.com with any new pictures or videos, I will make sure to post it here.