Thursday, March 31, 2011
Update... March 31, 2011
We're having a very busy week! Chelsea had her first track meet, and she placed sixth! Chelsea and Emmy have full schedules with sports practices, dance rehearsal, and school work. As I write this post, Chelsea is still up, studying for two tests tomorrow. Balancing spring sports with dance and school doesn't seem to get easier... Meanwhile in Florida, Britti is busy with working at Disney and applying for teaching jobs in Texas. (Earlier this month, she passed both of her teaching tests with flying colors so she's eager to impress principals and earn her first teaching job!) Ellie-Kate is really enjoying her new pre-school. She has a special friend, Nicholas, on Tuesdays and another special friend, Gavin, on Wednesdays-- yup, both boys :) She loves to be able to play in the huge gym area and, when the weather turns nice, the fenced playground. She also adores learning about new things... We have asked her what she is learning, and we're heard about dinosaurs and gold fish so far... hmmm... those responses really don't fit with what we saw on the curriculum, but she's happy so we're rolling with it :) She is obviously learning about God, and she has even woken up singing the little prayer that the kids sing before eating. At 38 months, Ellie-Kate continues to thrive! Roger took her to the doctor for a re-check on her allergies and breathing issues, and she got a clean bill of health :) Interestingly, on 3-31-11, our three year old Ellie-Kate was 3'3" tall (the 90th percentile) and 33 pounds (50th percentile)-- the exact same measurements as Emmy had when she was three! Especially at this time of year, we celebrate each other and our family. Exactly one year ago today, we returned to the United States from China, and Ellie-Kate became a United States citizen. She spent her first night in the U.S. in the Millennium Hotel in St. Louis as we got ready for the CSCA conference. Right from the beginning, she got into the pace of our hectic, crazy lives, and she's greeted it with a smile and a "I want to go!!) ever since :) Have a great week-end!! Christie
Chuckie Cheese in Virginia-- March 25, 2011
Ellie-Kate and Emmy 
Emmy and Grandma P. 
Ellie-Kate and Grandma P. 
Emmy and Uncle Wade 
Elena, Ellie-Kate, and Chelsea
Family Day at COSI and home-- March 23, 2011
Making pizzas at home!
"We love rat basketball!!"-- yup, actual rats playing actual basketball :)
COSI on Family Day-- March 23, 2011
"I love the 1960s ride-- it only costs a penny in the 'Progress' section of COSI!" 
"This phone doesn't look like Chelsea's cell phone!"
Ellie-Kate and her "walker."
Fun in the Toddler Room at COSI-- March 23, 2011
Ellie-Kate plays in a "cloud."
Ellie-Kate REALLY enjoyed the water exhibit in the toddler room :)
Fun in the Toddler Room at COSI-- March 23, 2011
Ellie-Kate plays in a "cloud." Ellie-Kate REALLY enjoyed the water exhibit in the toddler room :)
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Happy Family Day, Ellie-Kate!!!
Two years ago today, I held my precious Ellie-Kate for the first time. What an ocean of emotions and memories... I remember seeing those eyes in person for the very first time. They were penetrating, afraid, yet hopeful. She didn't cry as I took her in my arms. She just seemed to fit in, like always. A bit fearful of Roger's whiskers to begin, he was the first one to get her to sleep. She still loves to sleep on her daddy's shoulder :) I remember hoping that the other girls would get good pictures (they did!) and that the paper work would go smoothly (it did!) and that we would get photos from her time in the orphanage/foster care as well as a few of the things that we had sent to her (we did!). God truly provided for us (yes, as always!!).
She only cried when they forced her to comply with a foot print. She was emotionally and physically exhausted by that point. By the time that she woke up (as we were standing in line for her passport picture in another building), she was ready to play. We knew that she was going to love sports when she took an empty water bottle and heaved it across the room, right into the back of Kailan's (her cribmate) dad's head. She does have an arm :)
In the past 24 months, we have learned so much about our little girl. She's eager to learn and to DO! We celebrated Family Day today by going to COSI, and her favorite phrase of the day was "I want to do that!" She yearns to play sports and to interact with her world. She can dribble a basketball with ease and hit a softball across the road. She shares Emmy's passion for sports and music, and it's no mistake that she strives to imitate Emmy. Emmy hasn't always appreciated the transformation from "little sister" to "role model," but Ellie-Kate forced it. She loves "her Emmy."
Ellie-Kate is so smart. Now three years and almost two months old, she carries on conversations with ease, and she reminds us to put on our seat belt and to turn off the lights and to stop at the store for whatever we need. We call her our baby GPS because she knows Athens so well. If we go past our usual turn, she tells us about it, and she announces what we're passing and how to get to different places as we drive through town (and even parts of the surrounding countryside). Further, she remembers names so easily. Whenever she's with a child at the rec center or pre-school, she learns his or her name, and she announces it when we see the child out in public. Sometimes, she'll look at an adult and say "oh that's so and so's mommy.) Usually, she's right :)
I just treasure her... When I think about all of the things that I read about adoption, I know that she's so bonded with us. I'm not sure what she recalls (or will recall) about her time in China, but, thus far, she does not like to be around Asian people or to look at pictures from China. In fact, such episodes usually prompt nightmares for a few nights... I guess if that reaction constitutes her only "scar," we're so fortunate, but my heart aches for her. I praise God that she was generally well-cared for, but, well, she hates to be still, and she hates the dark, and I think that she likely had her times in a dark nursery or immobile in a bed, due to her hip problems. With love and God's grace, she'll keep healing from the challenges of those early days.
After all, in the past 24 months, we have been to countless doctors, and we have been so tremendously reassured-- the hole in her heart has healed completely without intervention; both of her hips (previously displaced) healed completely without intervention; the spinal biffida occulta continues to be a non-issue, even with potty training. Only her ears remain as an ongoing health issue-- yup, she gets ear wax, and, apparently, Asian ear wax can be so hard that it can only be surgically removed. Thus, we go up to Columbus twice a year for ear wax removal :) Once labeled as a "special needs baby," she's now been recurrently labeled as a "perfectly healthy child."
Over the past 24 months, we have watched as she has so completely integrated herself into our family that more than one person has remarked that she looks like us (interesting, given her raven black hair amid the other blondes...) and that she fits so naturally with the other girls. However, she is just one of us, and even her personality melds so well with them. She is "such a little sister," even though she can often be the most mature one in the room.
On this special day, Ellie-Kate, I just want to say "I love you." You're such a special gift, and the past 24 months have truly been the most blessed and joyous of my life. You absolutely complete our family, and I can't imagine our lives without you.
With much love,
Mommy
She only cried when they forced her to comply with a foot print. She was emotionally and physically exhausted by that point. By the time that she woke up (as we were standing in line for her passport picture in another building), she was ready to play. We knew that she was going to love sports when she took an empty water bottle and heaved it across the room, right into the back of Kailan's (her cribmate) dad's head. She does have an arm :)
In the past 24 months, we have learned so much about our little girl. She's eager to learn and to DO! We celebrated Family Day today by going to COSI, and her favorite phrase of the day was "I want to do that!" She yearns to play sports and to interact with her world. She can dribble a basketball with ease and hit a softball across the road. She shares Emmy's passion for sports and music, and it's no mistake that she strives to imitate Emmy. Emmy hasn't always appreciated the transformation from "little sister" to "role model," but Ellie-Kate forced it. She loves "her Emmy."
Ellie-Kate is so smart. Now three years and almost two months old, she carries on conversations with ease, and she reminds us to put on our seat belt and to turn off the lights and to stop at the store for whatever we need. We call her our baby GPS because she knows Athens so well. If we go past our usual turn, she tells us about it, and she announces what we're passing and how to get to different places as we drive through town (and even parts of the surrounding countryside). Further, she remembers names so easily. Whenever she's with a child at the rec center or pre-school, she learns his or her name, and she announces it when we see the child out in public. Sometimes, she'll look at an adult and say "oh that's so and so's mommy.) Usually, she's right :)
I just treasure her... When I think about all of the things that I read about adoption, I know that she's so bonded with us. I'm not sure what she recalls (or will recall) about her time in China, but, thus far, she does not like to be around Asian people or to look at pictures from China. In fact, such episodes usually prompt nightmares for a few nights... I guess if that reaction constitutes her only "scar," we're so fortunate, but my heart aches for her. I praise God that she was generally well-cared for, but, well, she hates to be still, and she hates the dark, and I think that she likely had her times in a dark nursery or immobile in a bed, due to her hip problems. With love and God's grace, she'll keep healing from the challenges of those early days.
After all, in the past 24 months, we have been to countless doctors, and we have been so tremendously reassured-- the hole in her heart has healed completely without intervention; both of her hips (previously displaced) healed completely without intervention; the spinal biffida occulta continues to be a non-issue, even with potty training. Only her ears remain as an ongoing health issue-- yup, she gets ear wax, and, apparently, Asian ear wax can be so hard that it can only be surgically removed. Thus, we go up to Columbus twice a year for ear wax removal :) Once labeled as a "special needs baby," she's now been recurrently labeled as a "perfectly healthy child."
Over the past 24 months, we have watched as she has so completely integrated herself into our family that more than one person has remarked that she looks like us (interesting, given her raven black hair amid the other blondes...) and that she fits so naturally with the other girls. However, she is just one of us, and even her personality melds so well with them. She is "such a little sister," even though she can often be the most mature one in the room.
On this special day, Ellie-Kate, I just want to say "I love you." You're such a special gift, and the past 24 months have truly been the most blessed and joyous of my life. You absolutely complete our family, and I can't imagine our lives without you.
With much love,
Mommy
Saturday, March 19, 2011
pics at Walmart-- 3/19/11
Britti came home for the week-end, and we decided to go ahead and take Easter pictures early. Other than pictures, the week-end has been busy with Girl Scout cookie sales (Chelsea), sleepover (Emmy with MacKenzie), various socializing (Britti), and, tomorrow, church and 4-H meeting. Busy, busy... but the girls are having much fun with their big sister!!
Moments.. Week of March 14, 2011
Sierra, Elena, and Chelsea sell Girl Scout cookies at Kroger's. We sold out in two and a half hours :)
Emmy plays her french horn in the Morrison fifth grade band. They performed for the Athens City School Board on Thursday, March 17, 2011.
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