What a summer!

Oh my stars what a summer it has been!!!!  Ready for our mini vacation next week and the fall being a better season for us.  The flea bag vacation, intestinal virus, to moving to the big girl bed and mike traveling more for his job.  WOW has momma been overwhelmed.   Oh and completely changing my work schedule for the fall and how I work to keep my great sitter on board with Jailyn.   So blessed to have Colleen and family taking care of Jailyn the nights I work.  That is why there have been no posts for over a month.  Well we have survived the fleas.  Jailyn still has very little notice she had a ton of flea bits however mine that got infected still are healing over 7 weeks later, a constant reminder I want to go away.  If we ever go into a hotel, condo or cottage with any bug in sight we will turn around and leave.  We got most of our money back from our vacation however decided not to fight for the last few hundred from the rental real estate people as by the time we got our attorney involved the cost was not worth it.   I just want to forget the whole thing.   If anyone ask to rent from the company I will make it known that I would no way ever use them as they are not customer friendly and were not honest with us and truly did not live up to the contract having no pets in the cottage we rented prior to our arrival.  You know you take off the time and have this one week a year you so look forward to and then we had fleas.  It took me down and never got the R&R needed to rejuvenate.  We so badly need to get away from it all and in a week we will be out of here and so excited to get a short trip in before our fall begins.  So birthday week came and lots of itching and then the intestinal virus came and Jailyn had it for 2 weeks plus taking the benadryl for relief of the flea bites.  BY THE WAY GREAT NEWS TO SHARE:  JAILYN WILL BE AN AUNT!!!   Yes Katie and Billy are pregnant and due in February.  We are so thrilled to be grandparents in 2013.  Katie was having migranes the first trimester and seems to be better and in 6 weeks will find out what she is having, a boy or girl.   So we made the switch to a big girl bed since Katie and Billy wanted to take the crib, changing table and bookcase.  Wow did we have trauma.  It was one day the crib was there and then the big girl bed.  Change is hard regardless and for our little creature of habit it put her in a spin and had a huge night terror and freaked her out and regressed her back to being needy and wanting to be held all the time.  She talks up a storm now and is so cute the way she talks and says "hold jyou. hold jyou" to be held.   Now three weeks later we are adjusting.  She goes down with little crying yet when she wakes up in the middle of night she gets out of bed and runs down the hall and jumps in bed with us.   She never liked sleeping with us in the past and now it is what happens nightly.  Last week Mike was traveling most of the week and Jailyn slept in the pack in play because she did not want to goto sleep in the big girl bed and momma needed to get her to sleep.  This week we pushed through the tears and finally adjusting.  Jailyn is defintely starting the Terrific Twos throwing the fits when she does not get her way.   It is hard for a two year who wants everything to be her way and things have changed now with NO's and more discipline.  She loves her Gymboree classes and will continue into the fall and we start Gymnastics next week too.  She loves to dance and do somersaults so it should be interesting.  She is going to Cincinnati gymnastics and will be in a class with 4 other 2 year olds and of all things her instructor is named Katie.    So we have two fun events a week we will attend and two days with Colleen and the grandparents get their fair share of time with her too.    We went to her two year old check up and in one year she grew 6 inches and 6 lbs.  She weighs 24.2 lbs and is 34 1/4" tall.   She is long and lean and still petite.   We had shots which were not fun and was the picture of health.  She still has some exzema on her wrists and elbows (which flare up when upset like the change to the big girl bed.)  Mike has been extremely busy with work traveling and I have been trying to balance it all and find the time to work and build my MK unit.   Mike has a rotator cuff injury and will have to have surgery this fall which has been painful for him.  I completed my 24 weeks of weight loss and maintaining my weight and really targeting toning the flabby areas.  I will get back to some more weight loss in Sept to Dec and hope to lose 15 lbs more slowly and firm and be super fit by Christmas.  I am proud I have been maintaining and been able to eat more however still can not stomach the fattening stuff and have little desire.  Mike and I have our August date night tonight with a new sitter and looking forward to our quality time we have planned each month.  We miss it as our lives are still adjusting to parenthood of a busy toddler now who demands so much attention.  It is a challenge however we love her so much and continue to figure it out.  I will post her 2 year b-day photos.  Looking forward to a fun fall and more special times with Jailyn.  She is such a blessing and joy and there is never a dull moment at our house.  We are moving forward with the house plans and hope to break ground in Sept.  Until next month....we appreciate you being a part of our journey.
Love,

Linette

Our first Vacation and July 11 Jailyn's 2nd Birthday

On my first boat ride on the ferry to Put in Bay.

On the golf cart at Put in Bay with Daddy.

With my mommy on the ferry ride home.

My daddy makes me laugh so much on the ferry home.

I was in my first 4th of July parade and was the cutest Little Sparkler ever.

My girlfriends, Abigail and Allison,  I spent the week with at Lakeside.

On the rocks at Marblehead.

Lighthouse at Marblehead.

"Tada" Jailyn says alot at sunset at Lakeside.

The birthday Princess at Toysrus.

Looking cute with my Birthday Presents.

At build a bear with Daddy and Pretty Kitty I built.

The birthday girls!

Wow what a busy July we are celebrating all our birthdays still and the best is yet to come this month as we have Jailyn's birthday party tomorrow with Family and Mike and I will get some quality time later this month to celebrate our birthday's together on two dates.  Well we went on our very first vacation with Jailyn to Lakeside, OH, up by Put in Bay.  We rented a cottage and spent the week with friends at a gated community on Lake Erie.  It was about a 4 hour trip by car and Mike and I were so excited to be getting away for some R&R.  We are just busy people and needed a break and quality time with Jailyn.   Jailyn traveled well and did well sleeping in our room in the pack in play.  We know any deviation from her normal schedule still rocks her little world.   She was a trooper and loved the trip and new experiences.  Our vacations are quite different now than we have had in the past.  Just busy with a 2 year old.   It was hotter than heck, rained a bit and was quite an experience (not a pleasant experience at all).   Time spent away and with our friends was terrific however our cottage ended up being flea infested.  It rocked my world and I seemed to be the only one bitten all week (approx 100 times).  Then the flee eggs came home in our car via Jailyn's clothes and she was bitten 2 days later (approx 100 times).   I had to bomb the car and she was bitten so many times we ended up with an emergency call to her pediatrician in the middle of night....the saga goes on........ and I just want Jailyn to stop itching and our bites to go away and forget the whole experience.  I was so upset and it all seemed like a bad dream and how could this happen to us.   We have been through so much this past year as this was the last thing we needed.  We are supposed to get the majority of our money back and will get our attorney involved to recoup everything as the owner of the cottage was great to allow her part of the rental money to be returned (she felt horrible ruining our vacation which was not her fault the rental company had renters in the cottage with animals of some kind with fleas in June which was against the contractual rules).   However the rental company was the most unprofessional company who did not care about our well being.   It was our problem and they did nothing to accommodate us and played the blame game.   Enough about our flea bag vacation, I am over it and glad we are home.     We are blessed our home did not get infested as we took all the precautions and we are okay.  Just an emotional week with lack of sleep and my beautiful daughter is so eaten up with bites ( me too) it makes us sick and she has had to be on Benadryl all week and anti itch cream and not be outside in the heat.  Not to mention it is her birthday week, Our birthday week.   I think once we get our money back we need to take another trip somewhere pleasant before we roll into a busy fall.  I think we are more exhausted now than we were before we went on vacation.  

NOW all the happy stuff on Jailyn's birthday!  Jailyn and I celebrated the day together and it is so special we share the same day as our birthday.  It brought tears to my eyes how good God is that Jailyn was picked special for us to be our daughter.  I thought about this day 2 years ago how sad I was waiting to be Jailyn's mom and how sad for Jailyn being abandoned the day she was born.  However I praise God she was safely put outside the orphanage and placed immediately in foster care.  I praise God for Jailyn's birth mom loving her enough and giving the ultimate sacrifice to make a forever family for Jailyn all the way across the world with Mike and I.  I am so grateful and blessed beyond my wildest dreams.  I love Jailyn so much and she is so much like us now and soooooooo happy.   So our day consisted of a trip to Toysrus to go shopping with Jailyn's Jeffrey bucks and we had so much fun we filled the cart with stuff she liked (like I have had time to shop with our vacation ordeal) and got lots of fun stuff.   Then to Bob Evans for Mac N Cheese and Green beans, then the party store for a BIG Happy Birthday Balloon (Jailyn loves balloons).  She fell asleep on the way home and put her down for nap and was able to wrapped everything and get the house decorated for when she woke up.  Mike came back in town at dinner time and off to Kenwood for dinner, build a bear and shopping then home for presents with Mommy and Daddy and a cupcake.  It was all about Jailyn.  Tomorrow we will cook out with the grandparents and Katie and Billy for her b-day party.  Mike and I get to celebrate at Beltarra with a day date 11am to 11pm next week and Katie and Billy will watch Jailyn.  We can't leave her over night yet so we will get a room for the day, have a couples massage and dinner at Jeff Ruby's and come home.  Can't wait!!!!!  Then the end of the month I got tickets for Mike's birthday (July 1) at Riverbend for Crosby, Stills and Nash.  So another date we will have this month and that is the gift I gave Mike a date a month planned with a sitter for Jailyn every month until the end of the year.  We have been missing our date nights and we have so many fun dates planned and time for the two of us that we can look forward too.  I will post more after the birthday party tomorrow.

By the way I have lost 38 lbs and wanted to meet my 145 goal by my b-day however I am only 10 lbs off now 155.  I finish the program this month in adapting and onto maintaining.  I plan to beef up my workout and work to lose 15 more to be 140 and super fit by Christmas.  So happy I have done the work and feel and look great.  I gave myself the best gift ever the gift of health which helps me be a better mom and wife.  Woohoo!!!!!!  The best is yet to come and thanks for checking in on our life with Jailyn.
Love and appreciation,
Linette

Wow One Year Later!

Jailyn on her Gotcha Day New Minnie Mouse Tricycle June 12, 2012.

Making Butterfly Crafts at the Butterfly Show.

Father's Day with Mike and his beautiful daughters.

Our baby girl is so happy and growing up fast and now a little girl going on 2.   We can't believe it has been a whole year since we were in China.  It feels so good!  We had a great week last week!  Our last post placement report for China was complete on Monday!  Woohoooooo!!!!  So thrilled no more paperwork after 6 1/2 years of adoption paperwork.    It is over!!!!!!  The only thing left for us is to re-adopted her in Hamilton County which will give us a birth certificate from Hamilton County which will make it so much easier when she goes to school.  Her Chinese Birth certificate will do however is vague and looks nothing like our birth certificates in the US.  We had a great Gotcha Day!   It was a happy day together with a trip to Toysrus!  Jailyn got her first "Bite" she calls her new Minnie Mouse Tricycle Bike!   It is so darling and still a bit big for her little legs.  She loves being pushed around and has a Dora helmet she loves too.  I will post her picture on the bike.   Our summer is in full force.    She has her kiddie pool on the deck and loves playing in the water.  We goto the pool usually on Saturdays.   We tried Gymboree Art class and it was just not active enough for her and now we have moved up one level since she is 23 months old to a more fun Gym class at Gymboree.  Betty, Mom and Dad still help me out each week.  Grandma Joan usually goes to Gymboree with us on Thursday and Colleen has Jailyn on Tuesday and Thursdays while I work.  We are so blessed as Jailyn has so many people who love her and she is thriving.  We are going on our first weeks vacation with Jailyn in a few weeks and Mom and Dad are excited!  We are going to Lakeside on Lake Erie for a week and have a cottage rented.  Our friends and their little girls will be there too.   It will be our first adventure away from home that long.  Mom and Dad are soooooooooooo happy to be getting away from work and the norm.  July will be action packed for us with Mike's Birthday July 1 and Jailyn's and Mommy's Birthday July 11!   We will have her Birthday party July 14 with the grandparents and lots of other activities in July.  Family picnic and our all day/night date night while Katie and Billy watch Jailyn.  That will be a first for us however we will be home when she wakes up the next morning.  Mike and I are getting back to once a month date nights which are so needed.   Mike is busy working with our builder on our new home and making plans for the River House in Indiana.  We have picked most of the exterior colors and they are getting ready to survey and get permits.  It is exciting and a year process for us to build as we are not in a hurry to move.  We had a nice Father's Day at the zoo.  Katie and Jailyn and I spent the morning at the zoo with Mike.  He was a lucky man to have all his best girls with him on his special day.  Jailyn road the train at the zoo and had fun and was more into it the second time at the zoo and being a little older.   We also went to the Butterfly event this year at Krohn and she made butterfly crafts.    Well I must say there is something about having a year to get our lives back after this whirlwind year.  We survived the first six months and have pushed through lots of changes.  We are on a good schedule that has finally settled in these past 6 months.  Many changes and challenges have taken place over the year and if we can get good sleep and stay healthy (have had lots of colds all of us) we can do anything.  On a personal note I have lost 36 1/2 lbs in 18 weeks on my weight loss program and feel great.   I have been working out with a personal trainer and Jailyn goes with me.  She loves my trainer and does many exercises with me.  It is too cute.   I am adapting back to food and will add more exercise (cardio) to get more weight off as I am 12 lbs from goal weight.    The low calorie diet kept my blood pressure down and now I feel with more food I can exercise at a higher level and still lose.   It has been a great experience for me with the Jewish Hospital Weight Loss program.   I recommend it to anyone who needs to break the emotional eating cycle.  It has been so good for me to get Linette back after all the years of waiting for our baby girl and eating the disappointment, grief and pain of our journey.   Heck I look at it as I just needed to get my baby weight off as any mother has to work at it after having a child.  Same concept just different circumstances.    It is a life long journey to stay fit and healthy but one that is priority NOW.   I am a MOM who has been called to do many things in this life and I must be healthy because most importantly I am a wife to Mike , MOM  I dreamed so long of being to Jailyn and bonus MOM to Katie, Billy and Scott and have my business too.    I would not change a thing NOW!  I love my family so much.   Jailyn was the gift from GOD meant for us.  We are blessed and most importantly are a happy family.  We know the best is yet to come.
One year as a family and life is good!
With love and appreciation for your support in following our journey as it continues on .......
Linette

Happy One Year Anniversary Gotcha Day WEEK!

Memorial Day at Orchard Hills Swim Club.

Playing in my kiddie pool on the deck.

Taking a break after swimming June 9 and looking cute too.

We have come so far.  We were on our way to China this time last year.  Oh what a journey it was and this year has been.   It feels so good to have a year under our belt with Jailyn, a year full of blessings, challenges and incredible memories.  Jailyn is growing up so fast and will be 23 months tomorrow and approaching the terrific twos.  Here are darling pictures at the pool this summer and will post more later this week.

Wow what a month and 11 months a family!

Happy Day at Jailyn's Baptism at St. I's, April 12, 2012.

Jailyn with her Godparents and big sister and brother!

Baptism with Father Pete.

Had to share this one as the Baptism festivities were over and Jailyn loves herself so much she kissed herself!

Checking herself out!  How sweet!  Definitely building a healthy self esteem with our little girl.

Oh my stars has the past month been such a whirlwind so much happening and have not had a moment to spare to blog.  So the Baptism was a very special day for us as a family.  How great to have Katie and Scott to be her God parents.  Jailyn was an angel and could not understand why she got wet when baptized but took it all in stride.  We had a celebration afterwards with Friends and Family.  The Baptism and dedicating our little girl to being raised in the Christian was a long time coming.  I will post photos.  We had a great visit with Scott and look forward to have him home for the Holidays.   Personally we have been super busy with family home, the Baptism, working on our new house plans, Mike getting all the details together for buying the "River House Property in Rising Sun", Our getaway fun house!, refinancing our home,  putting our will and trust together (lots of paperwork and not my favorite since we had been in a paper chase for the adoption over the past 5 years)....oh and working too.  I have been a bit overwhelmed to say the least.    On a good note come early June we will finish our obligation to China with completing our last post adoption report.  WOOHOO!  I want to scream it from the mountain tops and have a party it is over and no more adoption paperwork ever unless we want to get a birth certificate from Hamilton County which would make her going to school alot easier.  We have a Chinese birth certificate so we are good.  Plenty of time to decide on that one....that is a low priority for now.   So happy to be settling back in to a more normal life....momma can not take it and we have been doing too much now having a child in the mix.  We are slowing down and ready for our vacation coming the first week of July.  Calgon take me away.....it can not get here soon enough.

Jailyn is thriving and it is a big ole deal this month as we mark the milestone of 11 months together the same amount she spent in China in foster care.  Jailyn is testing us as she approaches the Terrific Twos and even have my book "How to make the terrible twos Terrific!" on hand for my leisure reading whenever that may be????  She is so darling in the things she says and how excited and proud she gets of herself as she learns something new.  She is talking so much everyday more words and understanding.  We dance alot and celebrate everything.  She has even pooped on the potty once and now it has never happened again but it was a big ole deal.  She is interested yet not made the potty connection when she needs to go.  All in the right time....Jailyn still loves gymboree, the church nursery, going to games with Colleen's kids and spending time with Mommy and Daddy and family.  She is so bonded and we are blessed with such a happy social little girl who is so bright and smart and understands everything we say to her.....She is strong willed and still wants her way and to be in control.  We are so looking forward to spending time at the pool this summer and making memories that last a lifetime.  Her 1 year anniversary Gotcha day is in one month and then we celebrate birthday month.  Mike's is July 1 and Jailyn and her mommy is July 11.  Wow time has flown and the best is yet to come.  Best part of all Mike and I are reclaiming our lives (the part that got lost over the past years of waiting) and God has opened so many doors of opportunity for us and working in our lives big time.   Personally this has been a year of CHANGE (dramatic and welcomed yet challenged) and personally working on myself.  I have lost 30 lbs on a medically monitored diet and on target to reach my goal by July 11.  I feel great and taking care of me while focusing on what's important, our family. I am also finding my way working in a new way my MK business and letting go and trusting God more everyday.  We have been through so much this past year and have been given such an incredible gift to love, to guide and raise Jailyn. I have never been happier personally and have learned a lifetime of wisdom and patience (still need plenty more of that).  I have the most amazing husband who puts up with me and me him and a little girl girl shining her light in this world so bright with so much love and she melts my heart.  I am so lucky to be Jailyn's mommy, Mike's wife and a Bonus mom to Katie (Billy) and Scott.  Does it get any better than that?!!!!
Just so blessed and happy and looking forward to my first Mother's Day of being a first time MOM!
The Best is yet to come as we continue to realize Gods plans for us....
With a thankful heart full of love,
Linette

21 Month Photos Of Jailyn! She is little Miss Personality!

1 year since Referral, Meeting my big brother & Happy Easter!

Our kids together at last celebrating Easter together!

Happy April and time is flying by......HAPPY EASTER FROM JAILYN!

Jailyn is 21 months now and been with us 10 months.  What blessing we have received and love being her forever family.   Another month has gone by and so much is happening in our lives.  Mike has been traveling alot in March and April is full of events.  We are reaching more milestones.  April 1 brought our one year anniversary since referral day which was a big ole deal!   It is kind of hard to believe we had just received her photo this time last year and were on the mad dash to get everything together to goto China last year.  Wow we have come so far.  Referral day was the day we received Jailyn's picture 4/1/2011 and we saw our baby girl's face for the very first time.  We celebrated with a Balloon Bouquet for Jailyn.  She loves balloons!  She can spend lots of time playing with her balloons.  She is growing so much about 24 lbs now and 33 inches tall.  We have been released from the International Adoption Center at Children's Hospital and she is progressing on schedule.  She is a normal child and caught up for her age and finally all shots are now up to date.  Jailyn had 3 more shots, blood work and another TB test.  Now that she is older the mum mum cookies just do not calm her down when she has her shots.  She was mad and can you blame her.  Woohoo we are done with shots for a while.  We have been requested to have her eyes checked and will do that in June as Asian children tend to need glasses more often than not.   It is more common due to the shape of their eyes.  She had her first visit to the dentist which was not a good experience however something needed to make sure her teeth were in good health.  Some children from China have had such poor prenatal care their teeth can have issues.  She has 16 teeth and due for four more to come in over the next 6 months.  She has a bit of an under bite however the dentist was not concerned. 

Jailyn has officially had her first boo boos falling down on her knees on the concrete.   We had a week of summer which sped up our spring and have gone for lots of walks (if you can call them walks more like let's explore and stop and pick up rocks).  She ran and fell and scraped her knees.  She still points to her healed boo boos on her knees.  We are introducing a princess potty as she imitates going to the bathroom on her potty however does not get it to actually go potty when I place her on the potty without a diaper.  It is still early however I believe it will not be long. 

Now the best part of it all is that Scott is home after 2 1/2 years of being in Japan and he officially met Jailyn last week.  Jailyn just loves her big brother, Scott.  She knows both Katie and Scott are her siblings.  Jailyn repeats everything we say and is just so smart and climbing on everything.  She still loves Gymboree, going to the nursery at church and loves life.  She is more bonded than ever with less night terrors.  She had a cold over the Easter weekend and has shared it with mommy and we are finally starting to get over it a week later. It was so special for Easter to have our kids together for the first time.  And to get to celebrate Easter as a family.  We will Baptize Jailyn April 21 and Katie and Scott will be the God Parents.  That will be a special time for us and a day of praise and thanksgiving that this day is finally here as we dedicate our baby to being raised as a christian and baptized in to her faith.

So I will post lots of photos and am at least trying to update once a month.  I will have her 21 month photos taken this week in her Easter/Baptism outfit and something cute for spring.

God bless and thanks for sharing our life with us!
Linette

After having breakfast and meeting my big brother Scott!

Got my cool sunglasses and Easter goodies from Grandpa and Grandma Comley!

I am a Rock STAR Easter Bunny!

The Sisters!

The Easter Bunny brought lots of goodies!

Love blowing bubbles!

I love my big Brother, Scott!

I am Daddy's girl!

Me with my referral day balloon bouquet!