7 weeks with Jailyn - July 31!!!!

Wow today is another milestone 7 weeks with Jailyn! We have been home 5 weeks and I feel we are finally in the groove with Jailyn. It has been such an adjustment after waiting so long to be parents. Mike and I are very independent and busy people and have slowed down our lives and now it is Jailyn schedule incorporated into a slower pace lifestyle and more at home. It is just what two very structured people needed to rock their world. We love her so much and still have very surreal moments that we are parents to Jailyn who we waited for a lifetime. We are very proud to be Jailyn's mommy and daddy. She is an amazing little girl who is a blessing to our lives daily. She is growing and learning so much and very determined to walk sooner than later and starting to scoot on her belly but not real interested in crawling. She constantly wants us to help her walk. She is impatient and wants to get moving to explore more things she can get her hands on in our home. It is so fun to watch her and see how everything is so new and interesting to her. She has learned to clap and do patty cake which she loves and the dancer in me has her dancing and moving every time she hears music. We got her a walker and it is helping her build leg strength to get moving. She went swimming today for the first time and loved it and fell under once and was a trooper and so cute in her tankini (which I did not get a picture but will next time we swim). We have a busy week, my Mary Kay unit is doing a Baby warming, we will have a play date with her Chinese girlfriend, Alyssa, and have our well check at the pediatrician which means shots. Looking forward to the month of August still on maternity leave and getting more in a schedule to get back working 3 days a week starting in September.

Blessed and enjoying the Journey with Jailyn....

Our little girl's first photo shoot and she was SO Adorable!

Happy 1st Birthday Jailyn! Week of July 11-17!

Wow how time is flying we have had Jailyn for 5 weeks and we were blessed to be able to celebrate our baby girl's first Birthday! To think our baby one year ago was left outside the orphanage gate and now she is with her forever family here in Cincinnati. Jailyn turned one on Monday, July 11, 2011, and shares her Birthday with her mommy, me. It was a day of chaos and challenges however we had presents, birthday cake and ice cream with the grandparents and big sis Katie and Billy. Her world was rocked with over stimulation and sheer joy. She wore her birthday girl outfit and had her first cupcake ever and made a big ole mess that her daddy could not stand her to make however it was all fun. She got so many talking toys and gifts. She was spoiled rotten and rightly deserved to be......Mike said Jailyn was the Birthday Princess and I was the Birthday Queen. Daddy spoiled us both with roses and great gifts, a birthday keepsake box for Jailyn from Tiffany's and a mommy Brighton bracelet for me. It was the hottest day of the year 100 degrees plus and they decided to black top our private drive with no parking at our home and her cupcake cake took a tumble carrying it up the hill to our home. Mommy was not happy. So you do not have a story until something goes wrong. I wanted everything perfect and I patched the cake back to together and turned it around for the pictures. Got over it and enjoyed a great birthday with best birthday present ever, my baby girl that I get to be her mom. Jailyn loved the attention, the pictures, the cards, the wrapping, the gifts, the cupcake..... and was so interested in every bit of her party. She was an excellent Birthday girl!!!!! Her world was rocked without a nap and over stimulation at her party and we had a terrible night trying to get her to bed 2 hours of crying, sweating, scratching and big tears. That seems to still be her only big issue is bed time however nap time is alot easier. It is getting better and in the next 21 days of consistent routine we are going to knock out the screaming bloody murder temper tantrums full of fear at bedtime. With all the processing of change, grief, jet lag, catching up emotionally and developmentally it is all normal for these little girls coming from China and by golly I want her emotions and grief processed. So we endure and love her and assure her it is okay. She is truly an amazing little girl. She has been through so much and we are tackling her skin issues too. She had contact dermatitus on her little face which we have no idea how she got that and a form of eczema that makes her scratch which I believe is the the same kind of eczema she has with the little bit of cradle cap we are tackling in her hair.

We had our big clinical appointment at Children's Hospital July 13 which was a big milestone for us. Reassurance we are taking great care of her and that we could get some help tackling our itchy little girl. Jailyn was a pro at our 5 hour appt at Children's Intl Adoption Clinic. We saw the nurse, Dr. Staat, and Therapist (re: bonding and attachment), an occupational therapist, the lab for blood work and even an xray. She has gained 2 lbs and ways 17 and half pounds and is 27 inches long and working on her 8th tooth which is now coming in.....She is healthy and Dr. Staat and everyone thought she was a little cutie. She was accessed to be as a 10 month old developmentally with the OT and lacking in gross motor skills more like an 8 month old. All was to be expected as the foster mom did not work with her however did a great job taking care of her basic needs. She is catching up and we are working with her daily to get moving and she wants to walk. I was relieved talking to the therapist about the bonding and attachment and she reassured us this baby is attached and bonded with us the way Jailyn watches and interacts with us so the crying at night is not due to problems bonding and attaching with us. My mind was eased as the social worker from our agency scared us to death with signs that could be wrong like not making eye contact and that only happens during those temper tantrums.

Dr. Staat believes she had some kind of mite possibly with the markings on her skin so she wanted us to dip her and myself in the eliminite again which could be some of the itching. Dr. Staat saw she had some fungal issues in the crease of her neck and a little yeast on her bottom so she prescribed lotrimin for neck and bottom and butt paste on the bottom too. Plus she could not understand the contact dermititus on her face so she prescribed benadryl and hydrocortizone cream. After a week and a half her face is pretty much back to normal with a little bit of itching. She also had xrays of her chest and spine and it all was normal. Her blood work is being run and she does not have parasites in her stool. She had a TB test which was negative and 2 shots and 6 vials of blood taken. She cried briefly and then ate mum mums and was fine. She was great at the clinic and struggled being held down for the xrays. The only surprise is she has a small perforation in her right ear drum. She has pulled at that ear ever since we have had her and the doctor believes it will heal. We are blessed and so glad we went through the clinic at children's.

The rest of week was dedicated to getting back to schedule and taking care of her skin issues. Mike and I are transitioning and boy have our lives changed for the better. It is so different for us and especially me as I was a workaholic to pass the wait time of the adoption and now it is a whole new world and love it and so glad I am on a break from Mary Kay until September. I will figure my help and work schedule out in the fall. Enjoying this time of getting into a new routine and starting to feel normal again. Mike gave me a great gift on Friday. The gift of time and a massage and me time and boy did I start feeling like me again and started back to wanting to workout.

So blessed and happy and figuring life out as it comes.....

Enjoy the birthday pictures!

July 1-8 Busy week!

Here are pictures from our week. We celebrated with Daddy on his b-day July 1 and Jailyn loved the paper and the boxes. Had a nice 4th of July weekend. Went down on the river to see Aunt Julia and Uncle Greg in Rising Sun and had fun with family. We went to church which was a fun time with our little China squirmmy butt. We sat in the back with all the babies so it was quite vocal. It could not have a better day to take her to church as all the Patriotic songs were sung. My eyes welled up with tears as she was blessed during communion and when they sang God Bless America. Our little girl was in church finally after all the prayers over the years and they were praising God and our great country. Both Mike and I were emotional with all the patriotic songs and having our new American cutie with us in church. Church went passed her nap time so we will have to rethink the timing on church in the future. We have lots of options to attend Mass at different times. She got to go see the new house Katie and Billy are buying in West Chester and gave her approval. It has a great swing set in the back for fun times with Katie and Billy at their new home. See her in her pink dress which she wore to Church and to see Katie and Billy.

She met her cousins on my side of the family. She is officially the youngest grandchild on both sides of the family and my nephews and niece just thought she was too cute. See the photo.

Then Tuesday she went to her first Mary Kay event for a half an hour just to show she was here. Everyone adored her.

We also had a big day on Wednesday where we had lunch with her Chinese BFF Alyssa and Lynelle at Panera. A day we thought would never come. They met for the first time. They were so cute and there are definitely future play dates in store. Alyssa is 15 months and 22 lbs now and Jailyn will be 12 months Monday and is 16 1/2 lbs. See the cute pictures of them and Lynelle and I.

Next week is a big week for us. Monday is her first birthday just doing cake and ice cream with the grandparents and Katie and Billy. Wednesday is her clinical appt at Children's to be checked out from head to toe. We are happy about this appt. She is having skin issues with itching and heat. She may have even had some kind of mite which we treated her for with a prescription lotion. She gets so sweaty and itchy in the heat and now has a rash on her sweet face. She has had it for a few days and it is going away and looks and acts like prickly heat. Hope to get some answers and help from children's hospital and her soft baby skin back to normal. Pray for us on Wednesday as it will be 4 hours of clinical testing.

Otherwise she is just perfect, a good sleeper and loves to eat and is growing like a weed and is so happy. So blessed!

I am thrilled to be celebrating our birthdays together on July 11.

Until my next post next week!

July 1 - Happy baby girl!!!!!

I cannot believe it is July 1 and Jailyn has been with us now for 19 days. She is so happy, growing and cutting more teeth. We have finally got her days and nights worked out and Mommy is thrilled. Mommy woke up before Jailyn for for the first time today. We have our schedule and she is very active and I believe she will be walking very soon. She loves to stand up and her jumperoo has helped her with her balance. She spends lots of time in her jumperoo playing. We have had lots of visitors and ventured out one our own a couple of times. Everywhere we go she is so happy and so social and so adjusted to being on the go. She is not a big fan of the car seat however once in it she is fine.

We have been truly blessed by so many gifts, cards and yummy meals over the week. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We appreciate you and your kindness. Thank you cards are to come.

So it is July and a big month for our family. Mike's b-day is today and Jailyn got Daddy a present and a card and liked the tissue paper when wrapping his present. She is dressed in her Purple dress for daddy to come home from traveling overnight. Mom and Jailyn did great on their own. However Jailyn loves Daddy and has this puzzled look when I put him on speaker phone and she hears his voice.

Here are cute pictures over the week and promise to post more from the holiday weekend. You know I am in awe of this little girl it is as if she has been with us forever. She had been in our hearts for so long and now with us and is so perfect for us. Our God is an awesome God and so many times when it is just Jailyn and I my eyes well up with tears of Happiness and feel so blessed to be Jailyn mommy.

Enjoy the photos....until my next post...