Sweetness

continues! Today, as I was putting baby K down for the night, she asked to hold hands. It was so endearing. She is getting used to us holding hands during prayer time...but this was just random and so very sweet. :-)

I survived the first day...

back to work. I missed baby K so much and couldn't wait to come home. When I did, the first thing I heard coming out of the car was her squealing, "Mommy"!!!! It was music to my ears. Edward was so sweet to bring her to the door, so she can be the first thing I see when I got out of the car. I have never been so happy to come home. I just wanted to hold her and kiss her all over. I got hugs and kisses back too...but after a couple of minutes, as a typical toddler, she squirmed out of my arms and wanted to show me how she can ride her trike. And she sure can. She is growing so fast...

I'm home today and I just put her down for a nap. Sweet girl went down easily despite some congestion and cough. It's gloomy and cold here this week. We're hoping for sunshiny days really soon, so she can get some outside time to play.

Returning to work is daunting, as it means not seeing my sweet angel everyday. God give me strength...as tomorrow is another day away. But in a way, it feels real. We are now out of our bubble and this truly is our life...she really is home and she really is our little girl!!!

Yet another transition...

I had planned to write a post regarding our returning back to work this week after 6 weeks of "cocooning" in our own little world. But now, I can't even articulate the words. All I can think of is the end of daily snuggles with baby K and Edward. We are spending the last day of our 6 week cocoon. I will not be having daily afternoon tea parties of animal crackers and milk, daily morning snuggles with all three of us, daily rocking of the sweet baby girl for naptime, and a lot of other wonderful things that I've gotten accustomed to. The end of everyday breakfasts together, watching all of the silly faces baby K makes, hearing her sing songs all day long, napping together, and all the other everyday things we've been doing as a family these past few weeks. I will miss her so much. This I already know. But, we think we have a schedule figured out. Edward will return to the office on Mondays and Wednesdays and I will stay home with the baby on those days. I will return to work on Tuesdays and Thursdays and baby K will be home with Daddy. Edward will telecommute on Fridays and I will be off as well, so we'll have to the long weekend together. Then in April, I will add working on Fridays, and Edward will be home with her alone on those days as well. This will be our long"ish" term schedule until baby K goes to preschool in late summer. We discussed this with ICAB and the placement social workers seem to agree that this is a good idea for baby K to be able to stay home longer and gradually increase her exposure. Edward and I initially thought this would be a good way to maintain continuity for a longer period. But now, I wish I can be home longer. Though I know, I will probably be feeling this way (or worse) at the end of the next six weeks, when ALL of my leave will be exhausted and I have to return to work full time. So, I'm trying to see this as a blessing and appreciate it for exactly that. I am thankful that God has shown us a way to keep baby K home longer...though I know, I am going to miss her so much on the days that I work. Sigh...

Post-placement visits...

started today!!! We got up early this morning with a purpose! We had an early appointment with our social worker at her office, which is over an hour away from our home, thanks to LA traffic. I changed baby K's diaper and dressed her in her sleep. Though she woke up with a smile and a chuckle, just in time to help me get her shirt on. I love how she always wakes up happy! She's either singing or laughing, before she calls for Mommy or Daddy to get her out of bed! So, breakfast was dry cereal, a banana, and milk in the car for the little mama. With Dora, Mickey, Elmo, her Leap Pad bus, and Wocket in my Pocket book...off we went on the commute! The visit went great and our social worker was very positive and supportive. She asked about how baby K is adjusting, what she's eating, her sleep habits, her daily routine, and her current developmental skills. So, we told her and it sounds like by golly, we are doing alright with this kiddo. When we brought her home, she was eating very limited table foods (mostly treats) and EIGHT six oz. bottles of formula daily. Now, she is eating table food for meals and snacks, including vegetables and fruits and is down to taking only 2-3 bottles per day of whole milk an an oz. of formula added for comfort at night. Previously, she was sleeping close to midnight and now, she is down by 8:00 or 8:30pm and sleeps at least 10 hours. She is also napping regularly at 12:30 or 1:00pm. Her fine and gross motor skills are age appropriate from what we've seen and also from talking to her pediatrician. So, this visit was a great way to take inventory on how we are progressing as a family. After talking to the social worker, Edward and I both realized (lightbulb turning ON) that baby K is thriving and happy here at home with us. It just feels great to know that we are supporting her growth in all areas that matter. I'm sure there are still lots to learn...everyday, she surprises us with something amazing. I just hope we can keep up with this special little person, whom we just love so dearly!!!

Can you say...

BIG "baba"???? We just came from baby K's 2 y/o physical today.

Here are her stats:
Length = above percentile 95
Weight = 86 percentile
Head Circumference = above percentile 95

She got some lab work, flu shot and a booster shot for pneumococcal vaccine, so that wasn't too much fun. She recovered well with some "ice cream" (Pedialyte pops). It was heart wrenching to hold her down for the needles...mommy hasn't recovered well. Maybe I'll go get some "real" ice cream to feel better. Shhhh...don't tell baby K, I don't want to break the Pedialyte bubble!!! Hahahaha!!!

March 7th 2011

Two years ago today, my sweet little girl was born in the Philippines. Two years ago, her birthmother made the toughest decision a woman may ever have to make, the decision that she is unable to parent this beautiful child. I will be forever grateful that she has given Kristine the gift of life and the subsequent gift of a forever family.

On the other side of the world, 3 days before baby K is born, Edward and I were approved by the Philippine government to adopt a child from there. Two years ago, we prayed for the child that will be meant for us to raise. We didn't know her then, but God sure did. We've always known we would be parents. God has always laid in our hearts that we were meant to have a child. We didn't know it then, but He has already ordained that Edward and I will be baby K's parents. As it is stated in scripture: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future". Our family certainly is a testimony to His promises. There were many times, when I stumbled in the faith and often tempted to walk away from trying to grow our family through adoption. But I must say, there are lessons that you only can learn in the darkest of times. Edward and I learned that we needed to lean on the Lord and hold steadfast onto our faith in Him. We learned that God was in control and His plans for us were so much more than what we could dream of. Through prayer, He laid strongly in our hearts that He truly meant for us to be parents. The roads twisted and turned many a times these past two years. But today, as we look back, we are in absolute awe in God's awesome powers.

Today, we got to celebrate the day our little girl was born. Not only were we with her, on this joyous occasion, we were blessed to celebrate her second birthday, AT HOME! And that is what we did. No bells and whistles. No big parties with all the hoopla. We simply celebrated at home. Family from both sides and from church trickled in to share a birthday cupcake and sing happy birthday. Baby K blew out a birthday candles over and over again and got more than her fair share of cupcakes, which she loved!

Then we took her to ride the Merry Go Round at the mall, fed the duckies at the pond, and do a little a shopping. Then the best part: We came HOME!!!

I will forever thank God for creating our daughter and bringing her to life two years ago today. I will be grateful to Him for the rest of my days for growing our family and bringing our daughter HOME...

Third time's the charm?

It has been 22 amazing days with our daughter and it has been a wild ride already! She is on the mend from her cold and even her sensitive skin seems to be adjusting to her new environment, climate, and LIFE! As much as she is adjusting to us, we are also adjusting to her. It has just been Edward and I for many years, sharing a life and a home that is quiet, orderly, and peaceful. We were able to pack up and go at the drop of a hat. We can be halfway around the world in a matter of hours...but now, it is all so different. Our days begin around 8AM, when baby K wakes up. She has not cried upon waking in the morning for about a week. She looks around her room and just keeps her eyes wide open while she scans the room and gets her footing. While she was sick, she cried often and only wanted mommy. Daddy was starting to feel left out because she didn't want to be comforted or soothed by him. For the past few days, Edward has been able to get her out of bed in the morning when she wakes up and play for a little while, prior to bringing her to wake me up (though, I'm usually only "pretend" sleeping, since, I'm awake anyway, listening to them play). Around 8:30am, we take baby K down for breakfast. She loves crunchy things and would eat her cereal dry and drink her milk separately. Although this past Sunday, I made the judgement to dress her before breakfast so that we can get ready for the early service at church. Afterall, she just eats dry cereal and drinks milk, right? Well, this Sunday, was the day she chose to ask me to eat her cereal with milk. So, here we go...Sunday clothes, bowl with cereal and milk, and a toddler with a spoon who is determined to feed herself. Well, you can see where this is heading, right??? Okay, so, baby K ends up wearing part of her breakfast!!! We miss the first church service. Alright...so, back upstairs, washing her up AGAIN, dressing her AGAIN, and changing her wet diaper. Alright. She's dressed! I have combed her hair after taking bits of cereal and washing out sticky milk parts. Prettiful little bows: check! We can make the next service! Except for a small oversight, mommy is not dressed!!! Uh-oh. I hurriedly throw some clothes on and was ready to go. Daddy is dressed and diaper bag in tow. I'm looking for baby K and find her in her play tent, playing with her piano. Then, I smelled it! A pungent and now familiar odor...a POOPY diaper. Very opportune time, indeed! I lay Kristine down in her changing pad and I get the poopiest diaper EVER! So, we miss the second church service. Now, fortunately, our church has another service. We get it together and make it to the third service...which conveniently is her NAP TIME!!! She was a trooper though. She sat through most of the service and truly enjoyed the band, clapping and raising hands like mommy!!! It was amazing to finally bring her with us to church, where we've prayed incessantly for her to come into our family. It was such a sweet moment for Edward and I to be at church, praising and worshipping the Lord, who has blessed us with this child.
So, third time is the charm...we made it to the third church service. Gone are the days, where we just get up and go. By the time, we get baby K (and sometimes ourselves) fed, cleaned, and dressed...it is hours later than we expected. We know it will take some time, but it's our hope that we will continue to adjust to our new family life. It's definitely been an exhilarating ride already!!!