Time for the toddler bed





The other night I decided to try to put Jess into her crib. She's been cosleeping with us but it's really time to get her into her own room. She was less than pleased by being put into her crib. I was watching tv with Jason downstairs and we heard a thump. I thought she threw her bottle of water out of the crib. Suddenly her cries were getting closer and closer; Jason and I bolted up the stairs and found Jess coming out of her room. I have no idea how she got out of her crib. The only toy she had in there was a very small, soft pig that wouldn't give any leverage, no blankets, nothing to climb on. The crib turns into a toddler bed but I worried she'd fall out. I bought a guardrail to put on it but when I read the box, it said to NEVER use it with cribs or toddler beds, only with regular beds that have boxsprings. So, the rail is going back to the store, I've disassembled the crib and bought the toddler bed pictured above. Jason and I put it together since Mike's working tonight - what a pain that was! It took so long to put it together and we were so hot and tired afterward that I couldn't face trying to get her to use it tonight. Tomorrow night when both Mike and I are home is soon enough. She can get onto and off of this bed and was climbing all over it. Hopefully she's as enthralled with it tomorrow.

Daddy and Daughter

I love this picture of Mike and Jess. We were going to the Jenny Grist Mill in downtown Plymouth and I was able to catch the moment of them both looking at each other. When we were in China, Jess was so afraid of men and to see her gazing up at her daddy now is so wonderful.

Off to the pond
One of the perks of our neighborhood is the local pond. It was in the high 80's today so after we ran our errands today, Jason, Jess and I went down to cool off. The water is still too cold for me to go in although Jess enjoyed my pouring our water bottle water over her head to cool off. Jason played with one of his friends who was down there and I talked my neighbors. One of my neighbors is expecting her first baby in September and we were talking about daycare since we're both looking for it. The walk home was a little tough as it's all uphill.

Getting ready to go


Watching the boys play

Geting ready to come home

Jason showing off pulling Jess up the hill. Notice Jess holding on very tightly.


The cats were very interested in her sand toys when we got home.

Good News for a little boy
Our agency had one child on their WC list left who's from the same SWI as Jess. The pic the agency had was old and didn't show the child at his best. Someone traveling to meet their child took a new pic of him and posted it on their blog. I don't know whether it was because of the new photo or just coincidence in timing but the little boy got matched! I am so happy for him I just wanted to cry when I found out. Looking at the blogs, my heart just breaks when I see all the little faces of children still there. When we traveled to get Jess, the director told us that all of the children in Jess's room had been matched with international families and were waiting for them to come. Tomorrow we are going to Build a Bear; hopefully we will be one of the first 200 people in the store. If we are, we will be able to build a bear for free to be donated to the Joint Council of International Children's Services to be given to children worldwide who are waiting for their forever families.

My new favorite restaurant



When I went to Nashville with my mom a few years ago, we found a fondue restaurant called the Melting Pot. It was awesome! When I came home, I kept checking their website and finally, they opened in MA. My mom, sister and I went the day before Mother's Day for dinner. It was so good. We started with Wisconsin Trio of Cheeses fondue with bread, veggies and apple chucks for dippers. After that came the California Salad which was lettuce, tomatoes, gorgonzola cheese, walnuts with a black raspberry vinagrette. My mom had filet mignon for her main course and Tricia and I split a plate of duck, chicken, filet, sirloin, and pork. Each of us had different colored skewers so we'd know who had what in the central pot. Dessert was chocolate fondue with Baileys mixed in - yum!!!! It's a rather expensive restaurant but well worth it for a special occasion.

The Wait

Anyone involved in international adoption knows about "The Wait". Some programs' waits are longer than others; The Wait can change at any time, either increasing or decreasing. Someone asked on another board whether people would recommend China for IA. My answer was definitely. Yes the wait is extremely long and getting longer; yes, when we signed up The Wait was 6 months from DTC; yes it is stressful not knowing exactly when you will be getting your little one. However, many other countries have long waits as well. Looking at an agency's website, I found that the Philippines has up to a 24 month wait for an infant and up to 18 month wait for a school aged child. Korea, India, and Ethiopia, among others, may have a 12 month wait for an infant. With the wait aside, I felt China was one of the most predictable, stable programs after talking to peopl who are adopting from other countries.

I went to a Waiting Families meeting at our agency last night with Jess and Jason. It's tradition that people who've been regulars at the meetings during their wait bring their baby to the first meeting they're home for. Someone asked me if I'd forgotten about the wait now that I was home. I have heard others say that once they got their baby, they couldn't remember the wait. I remember the wait just like I remember being in labor with Jason. However, when I held Jess in my arms, I understood just why I had to wait so long. It's cliche but I was waiting for her. I've said it before but I really think it was fate that everything fell into place the way it did. WHFC hadn't had a WC list for a long time; my DTC group was next to get their referrals. When I get the email that there's a new list, I decide to take a peek even though I don't plan on switching tracks (we were NSN). BAM...there she is looking at me with those oh so serious eyes. I'm on the phone requesting her file and a week later we're matched. Yes, I remember the wait and how long and stressful it was; I won't minimize that. But, when you look into your child's eyes, you'll know the wait was for a reason.

Fun in Boston
Last Saturday, I took Jason and Jess into the city to go to the New England Aquarium. We had a great time. Jason loved the jellyfish, especially the ones that stay upside down on the bottom. They looked like plants but were jellyfish. I like the seadragons which I'd never seen before. On Monday, I took Jess into the Boston Children's Museum. We took the train to South Station and walked from there. It wasn't really crowded and Jess had lots of time to play with the things she liked. We ate at Au Bon Pain splitting a bowl of mac and cheese - yum!!


Penguins at the NE Aquarium


Bench at South Station

Jess in the Arthur room at the Children's Museum

Jess in front of the green screen at the Children's Museum. I took a pic of the monitor that was pointed at the green screen.

Jess playing Blue Man Group type instument

Around town, rock climbing and Early Intervention

Yesterday was a beautiful day so Mike and I took Jess down to the Jenny Grist Mill and walked around. She slept through our walk down through Brewster Gardens but when we got back to the Grist Mill, she woke up so we stayed there for a while. I'd hoped to get an ice cream but of course Tuesday is the one day the little shop is closed. It was amazing to see the herring trying to swim up through the waterfall. They kept flopping back down to the pool below.

Today I took Jess and Jason to REI so Jason could go rock climbing. I thought the open climb started at 4; turns out it starts at 6 so I gave in to Jason's begging to go to Bertucci's for dinner. Jess was in a great mood as we walked across the parking lot and sat down at the table. She continued to be in a good mood while we ordered, ate rolls and got our food. She ate a couple of bites of my sporkie and a couple of minutes later was sobbing. I don't know whether she got a bite that was too hot (I tested most of it so I don't know that she could have) or if the food gave her a stomach ache but she began screaming and sobbing. I took her to the bathroom to see if she needed her diaper changed or if anything was sticking into her and just to get her away from the other people eating near us since it's not fair to them to have to listen to her scream. I couldn't find anything wrong with her but she continued to cry and cling to me. Finally, I brought her back to the table, flagged down our waitress and asked for the check. We left and she continued to cry. Jason pushed the stroller and I carried her since she had become velcro and was not letting go. We sat outside REI on the benches for a bit and then I walked around with her pointing out flowers and colors and she calmed down. We went into REI so Jason could climb and she was back to her normal self. I have no idea what set her off; whether it was something physical or emotional that got triggered. She hasn't cried like that since the day we got home and she was buckled into a carseat for the first time.

The therapist from Early Intervention came this afternoon to work with Jess. She played some games and looked at books with her. Jess doesn't seem too sure about her yet. She took quickly to Miss Lee at Gymboree but I think that's because gross motor activities are one of her favorite things whereas the therapist from EI was doing more fine motor activities. I think as she gets to know her, though, she'll warm up.

Gotcha Day/Metcha Day/Forever Family Day/Adoption Day
There are so many terms for the day we meet our children and everyone has their opinion on why their term is the only one which should be used. It's amazing the arguments that occur on message boards over this topic. We use Gotcha Day. People don't like it - oh well, they are free to use a different term when they adopt. I can understand metcha but don't really like it. The day we met Jess wasn't our adoption day; we filled out the paperwork a different day. I've heard bio kids question when they hear the term family day whether they weren't a family before their sibling joined their family. One poster on a board suggested TDWMOLD Day which I kind of like but know I'd be tripping over my tongue saying it*S* (it stands for the day we met our loving daughter day). I know some people go wild over presents and stuff on the anniversary of this day. I am planning on our doing a special family outing or dinner but I think presents belong on birthdays and Christmas.

Early Intervention, Gymboree, and Reflection over the past 2 months

Of course, the first morning where we could have slept in because Jess didn't wake up at the crack of dawn, we had to get up for the EI evaluators. Oh well. Jess did well at her eval. She just barely qualified for fine and gross motor services. She had to score below 14 months and she scored at 13 in both of these areas. It's funny; she just started walking a week ago and now walks frontward, backward, side steps, carries things, squats and picks things up then returns to a stand - all of these things raised her score up significantly. If they'd been here last Thursday morning, she would have scored as much more delayed (she started walking Thursday night). She scored low in language (no surprise there considering she's only heard English for 2 months) 9 months in receptive and 11 months in expressive. Her social/emotional was 11 months but the evaluator said she thinks it's actually higher than that and that her score was affected because due to all the changes in her life recently, she is not as independent as an average 19 month old would be - she reached for me throughout the eval. She didn't qualify for services in self-care or cognition as they're closer to age appropriate. By the time the evaluators were getting ready to leave, Jess was beginning to warm up to them. The developmental specialist will be back next Wednesday to begin servicing her.

We had a snack after everyone left and then it was time to go to Gymboree. Jess had an awesome time! She went right to Miss Lee and held her hand although she did look to make sure I was next to her. For the next two weeks, we're working on strength building. She loved the area where she crawls up some foam steps and then slides down a foam wedge. She slides on her belly, holding her head up, and then when she gets to the end, she puts her face in the mat. She also worked on rolling down another foam wedge. She walked on an airlog and then Miss Lee and I each got a hand under an arm and leg and bounced her back down it. Jess is enthralled by the bubbles that Miss Lee blows at the end of the session. They don't pop immediately so we're all covered in them which is pretty funny. Jess is showing interest in the other kids and copies what they do. When we got back home, she was pooped and ready for her nap.

Two months ago, on the other side of the world, we waited in a hotel lobby for our babies to arrive. Two months ago, a nanny placed a very quiet, scared looking little girl into my arms and the baby soon started to sob. Two months ago, the baby couldn't hold a bottle, walk alone, or feed herself. Jess is doing all of those things now. Today we started using a straw cup in place of one of her bottles and she was able to get some of the drink up through the straw and into her mouth. She lets Mike hold her so that I can go to the bathroom, run an errand, or simply get a few minutes of relaxation. She laughs easily and frequently. She feels like she's been with us forever.

“I am convinced, completely convinced that there was nothing random about the adoption,” Meg, 45, tells Redbook in its May issue. “She is the daughter I should have.” While Meg went the NSN route and we ended up switching to the SN track after our agency got their latest waiting child list, I know just how she feels. Jessica is the daughter that we were meant to have. I knew it when I saw her picture on the agency list, I knew it when we got matched, and I knew it when I held her for her the first time.

We're in Trouble Now!!!

On Gotcha Day, Jess was able to walk when she held two hands. She progress to holding only one hand and occasionally took an independent step or two. The other day she started walking and she hasn't stopped - she's everywhere! It's amazing watching her progress. I couldn't get the video to embed correctly so you'll need to click on the link if you want to see her walking.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MerhPvjywU

Tuckered Out


I took Jess to Gymboree today to check out their program. I chose the 10-16 month program because the skills there will be more on par with what Jess is working on. The next level is 16-22 months and that's just too far above what she's ready for yet. We'd gone to their music program on Tuesday and liked that but I was looking for something that incorporates more physical activity. She had a ball today crawling, sliding and jumping. She really interacted well with the other kids and likes Miss Lee, the teacher. She'd see Miss Lee at the music program as well. When I was signing up after the class, another little girl was trying to give Jess her sippy cup which Jess was quite happy to take. I gave it back and got her her bottle of pediasure. She sucked some down and put her arms up to be picked up. As soon as I picked her up, she was sound asleep. We were supposed to go to Walmart to get some stuff but I took her home and was able to put her right into bed which is unusual - Walmart can wait! In the picture, she's still got her nametag on her back. I can't put it on the front of her shirt because she'll peel it off and eat it. After Days of Our Lives is over, I may get some cleaning done before she wakes up.

Life before the Sullivans

When I sent the carepackage to Jess at the orphanage, I included two disposable cameras which the nannies were wonderful enough to take pictures with and return to me. These pictures of her life before being with us are precious. I am very grateful for the time they took to do this for us and for her. She isn't smiling in the pictures that are taken face on and that hasn't changed. She is a very happy baby who loves to smile and laugh but pull out that camera and she goes all serious. I have to enlist Jason's help in making her laugh which is why a lot of my pictures have her looking off to the side rather than straight on.



Jess loves tapping and drumming on everything.

Practicing walking

Eating with the kids. Jess is against the wall. The little girl on the left of the picture is Bea who was adopted by the other family in our travel group.


Jess playing with a toy phone. She loves to hold phones up and babbles into them.

She loves touching the ceiling. Mike has to play this game as I can't get her high enough. Note the split pants.

Look at how round she is! They really bundle the clothes on.

I haven't let her go down slides on her own yet; I must be overprotective!

I think she probably weighs twice her actual body weight here with all those clothes on!


Playing with a fish. Red is a good luck color.

Doodling with a nanny

Jess loves music. Her favorite part of the music class I took her to was the drum.

Giving kisses.


Chinese New Year occured right before we got there. The red lantern is probably a decoration from that holiday because I don't remember seeing it when we went.


Jess in the ballpit. I haven't gotten up the nerve to bring her to one of these yet in the States. They just seem so dirty but I know kids love them.


Stacking blocks. I don't think she stacked the ones in front of her or she's been hiding that skill. She enjoys knocking down blocks and banging them together.

In the playhouse.

Wanting out of the crib.

Not looking too happy about being in the crib.

Looking good at the cardiologist
We went to Boston Children's satellite office in Weymouth today and met with Dr. Rhodes. The EKG went well but they weren't able to get a great pic on the echocardiogram as she didn't appreciate the tech rubbing something covered in cold gel over her chest. The EKG looks good; the doctor said he could see on the EKG that there is no residual effect from her ASD. There appears to be a minor residual effect from the aortic surgery but they couldn't get a good look at it. Based on the China report, they aren't sure whether she had aortic stenosis or aortic coarctation. She has great femoral pulses so the blood is getting around and the doctor said that the residual effect is minor right now. He wants to see her in a year. If she slows down to the point where she can't keep up with normal activity, we're to call him but he said he doesn't think that will happen. Poor Jess is very tired of doctors. We have her 18 month check up next week and then she should be done with doctors for a few months.

Easter Fun

On Saturday we went to an Easter egg hunt at Flowerland Garden Center in Kingston. Jason looked for eggs while Jess walked with Mike, looked at the bunnies, and helped Jason find an egg. Jason found a special silver egg and got to pick a prize. He chose a watergun. I was glad we got there early because some people didn't play by the rules and the store started to run out of the eggs. One of the rules was that you only were allowed to find 10 eggs. I heard one father tell his kid that when his pockets and basket were full, they were done - obviously he was collecting more than 10. The Easter bunny made a visit; Jessica was less than impressed. It'll be interesting to see how she handles him next year.

On Sunday, I woke Jason up and we went to see what the Easter bunny brought. Jason helped Jess find the plastic eggs that were hidden. Jason got gold coins hidden in his eggs; Jessica had smaller coins in some and chocolate goldfish in others. Afterward, my mom, Jess, Jason and I went to church. Mike had to work. Jason was alcolyte and walked in the procession. Jess behaved great during church. She's usually good but considering she'd had such a bad night the night before, I wasn't sure how she'd be. Patricia, Scott, Michelle, Jen, Ruth and Chuck all came to our house for dinner. Jess loved Tricia's macaroni and cheese and the coconut cream pie I picked up at Stop and Shop. I'd planned on making a cake that I'd found online but I did something wrong and it came out horrible so I'd gone out at 11 Saturday night and bought the pie, some strawberries, ladyfingers, whipping cream, and chocolate ice cream. I figured everyone would find something they like in that. That evening Jason, Jess and I went to my mom's hotel and went swimming. Jason had a blast!

Off to the doctor's
Yesterday we went to the international adoption clinic at Floating Hospital. Jess had a medical check up, developmental eval, and bloodwork. They said her biggest delays are gross motor and speech - no surprise there. She's cutting her eleventh tooth! Dr. Miller checked her spine, hip rotation, reflexes, hearing and throat - all looked good. When we first got there, they put a urine bag on her and of course, even though we were pushing water the whole time, she didn't go until after the main appointment was over and we were upstairs at the lab. Just as they called our number for bloodwork, she went. I had to rush her back down so they could take the bag off and then back upstairs to get blood drawn. 8 vials!! They're running a titer so that we know whether she's immune to the things she's supposed to be. Dr. Miller said 60% of kids from China aren't. Since I believe strongly in immunizing children, I want to know what she needs without having to give her extra shots she doesn't; hence the titer. Dr. Miller did ask us to try to get the preoperative echocardiogram from China for our cardiologist. We've got a call into our agency to see how to go about this. Seems from what she read in the report our little girl was one very sick baby when she was operated on. However, she also said that Jess appears to be a very healthy little girl now and that the surgery was stated to have been a success. She said it was obvious that someone really cared for her. She told us that regardless of what some say, it is fine for Jess to be on the bottle for another 6 months if she wants. She also said that sleeping in our bed was fine (I've never been a big fan of the family bed but if my little one needs it, then it happens) and not to push her out too soon. She said the next step would be using a portacrib in our room, then me sleeping on a bed in her room with her in the crib, and finally her in her crib alone in her room. Looks like it'll be a long process but if it's what she needs, then we'll do it. Dr. Miller wants to get her weight on the chart so we've been instructed to give Jess all the ice cream, sourcream, cream cheese, etc. that she wants - lucky her!! I plotted her measurements on the Chinese chart that I found on Families with Children from China website and she's in the 3rd percentile on that. She's also drinking pediasure to help her get some good nutrition and weight. Well, Dr. Miller said that she'll call us if there is anything in the lab tests that we need to do something about and that no news is good news. We'll get a report in 2-3 weeks and she wants us to come back in 2-3 months. Next week is the cardiology appointment.

Before and After
To increase Jess's fine motor and self-care skills, I made some chocolate pudding, stripped her down to her onesie, and set her up in her high chair with a bowl of pudding and a spoon. She didn't do too badly with the pudding, so I gave her some pureed peas. You can see the results of that below. She looked mighty pleased with herself.



Jess took a nice long bath and got all of the food out of her hair. She loves the tub and happily played for quite a while in there. After the bath, I put her back in a onesie with her robe and slippers. The robe and slippers were from Sharon, another mom we traveled with. She had bought them for her daughter but they didn't fit. Jess looks so cute in them!!

New Dress/New Word/Favorite TV Shows

I looked everywhere for a Christening dress - every store that I came across that sold children's clothing and many, many online stores as well. Because Jess is not an infant, I didn't want a gown that would impede her walking or crawling. I was looking for something cottony, simple with a little bit of eyelet, and summery - we're probably doing the Christening at the end of June. Yesterday I was picking up some other things and found the perfect dress. It's exactly what I want and the price was amazing! I bought it and tried it on her when we got home - fits perfectly. I got 18 months instead of 12 because I want it a little longer than a regular dress without being a gown. I'm going to buy some shoes for Easter and she can wear them for the Christening as well.

When I put her on the floor, her dress floated all out around her.

She doesn't usually smile for the camera unless someone is tickling her.















After enlisting Jason's aid in making her laugh.














The other day, Jess started saying "up" when she holds her arms up to be picked up. It's her first English word!! The way she babbles, I'm sure she's going to have a lot to say once she starts talking. She frequently will babble and then stop and look at me like "Don't you understand what I'm saying?"

I'm trying not to let her watch too much tv but we do watch the Wiggles, Higgleytown Heroes, and Sesame Street. Much to Jason's dismay, she's not interested in the teletubbies. She loves anything with music. She occasionally watches an episode of Good Eats or Unwrapped with me and Mike.