Playgroup at the Beach





Some parents who had been in our agency's waiting families group decided to start a playgroup after they came home. I have only been able to go one other time because they're during the week and, during the school year, I am teaching. The playgroup meets twice a month and with summer being such a busy time, I wasn't able to make the earlier ones this summer. But, I did get to go yesterday and instead of being at the adoption agency, it was held on the beach in Hull. One of the members has a summer place there so we met at her house, went to the beach, and then washed off in her outdoor shower and put on clean clothes which was very nice. One of the parts I hate about going to the beach is sitting in the car wet and sandy. Mike was off so he came as well. Jason missed it since he's still at camp but hopefully we'll be able to go to at least one of the ones in August which will also be at the beach. Jess liked the ocean at first but then decided she liked playing on the sand better. There were a lot of waves and I got hit a couple of times by some big ones.



Can't forget the sunscreen!














Daddy and Jess on the way to the water













Jumping in the waves











Taking off with someone's sand toys

I bet she never cries...

Jess has a stubborn streak just like her brother. She is normally a very happy little girl...but deny her something she has decided she wants and watch out!

In this pic she was mad because I'd denied her access either to my cellphone or my keys - can't remember which. Both have narrowly escaped being part of Jess's cat waterbowl experiments. Mike thinks I was mean for taking this picture. She wasn't hurt and she wasn't scared, simply throwing a typical 2 year old tantrum. I figure I can look back on it in the teenage years when I'm dealing with curfews, dating, driving, etc. Even crying, she is awful cute isn't she?

Speaking of cute, Jess came into the computer room when I was finishing typing a reply on a messageboard. She wanted me to pick her up so I did and sat her on my lap. She started waving and saying hi. It took me a minute but then I saw that one of the posts on the forum had a waving smilie and Jess was talking to it. So cute!!

The Big 4-0

On Tuesday, I turned 40. It wasn't quite the way I'd expected to spend it since for the past few years a friend and I had planned on going to a spa for the big day but even the best laid plans can go awry so no spa. It was a little sad having Jason away at camp but it was wonderful having Jess home this year. My mom and niece came down on Monday and we went out for a very nice dinner - filet mignon and creme brulee - yum!!! On Tuesday, I got to sleep in while Mike went out to buy my present. My mom, niece and I went to visit the Priscilla Alden museum in Duxbury and then went to French Memories bakery for some awesome pastry. We swam at the hotel my mom and niece were staying at and then went to Bertuccis for dinner. Jess loved the pool. I bought her a floaty so she could bounce around in the water. She also loved sitting on the edge holding my hands and plopping into the pool. She got a couple mouthfuls of water but that didn't sotp her! When we went out to dinner on Monday, I put a dress and shoes on Jess that I'd bought in China. I bought a larger size than she was wearing thinking it'd fit next year. Good thing I put it on her because I don't know that she'll be wearing it again - it's already getting too small. The shoes are definitely too small to wear again. She's really getting big!!

Dress she wore for my birthday dinner.

Ready for the pool

Loving the water

Scrapbooking Weekend - SDV - Updated with pics

What an awesome event. I'll post pictures tomorrow of some of the pages I did. This is my second SDV (scrapbookers dream vacation). It's a huge scrapbooking crop held in different cities across the country. The one I went to was in Burlington, MA - somewhat close to home. I went alone so I didn't know the people I was sitting with but they were very friendly and fun to talk to. I knew some people at a different table so I had lunch and dinner with them and caught up on what's going on. Thursday night I'd gone to a jewelry party at a coworkers house and had to pack up when I got home at 9. At midnight when I was bringing everything out to the car, Jack got out. I was going crazy trying to get the little bugger back in without making too much noise. I went to bed worrying about him; when Jess woke me up at 2:30, I took her and went downstairs. As soon as I opened the door, he came flying in. Guess it got a little colder than he expected in the middle of the night! It was back to bed until 7 and I was on the road by 7:30. Thankfully rush hour traffic was really light and I made it to Burlington by 9 in time to check in. I got about 16 pages done over the weekend including journaling which was pretty good. I stayed at the hotel (Marriott) Friday night. It was nice having the room to go to when I felt like taking a break. I scrapped until 9, went to the room to watch Monk, and then returned to scrapping until 12:30. Sleeping in Saturday morning was HEAVENLY. I took a leisurely shower, went to Panera's for a bagel and ice tea and got back to scrapping. Even though I didn't plan on staying at the crop on Sunday, I wished I'd had the hotel room until Sunday morning. I didn't want to leave Saturday night as I was on a roll but I knew I'd be sorry if I waited until I was really tired since I had such a long drive. Next year I'm staying 2 nights. I left at 10:30 and got home around 11:45. Pre-registration will be opening soon for next year so I'll be watching for it

I am so not a sports fan but if I'm going to root for anyone, it has to be the home team! The other day Mike's brother's family was over and the youngest had on this same outfit. I thought it was adorable. I had a very hectic, stressful afternoon today and before leaving the mall where I was supposed to have met my mom for lunch (long story), Jason, Jess and I stopped at Macy's to use the bathroom which just happened to be in the kids' section. They had the Red Sox outfit for 50% off so I grabbed it up. When we got home, Jess and I played dress up and I got a pic of her in her new outfit. Don't ask how many tries it took before I got a pic of her actually looking at me!

Catching up with Pictures

I haven't had a chance to upload many pics here lately so I'm making up for it.

Here's Jason helping Jess at Gymboree. Mike was working to Jason had to come along to her session.











Jess on the rocks at Stephens Field











Jess's favorite part of Gymboree - bubbles!!! Their bubbles are great because they don't pop right away.











Jess climbing on the boat at Gymboree. She sticks her tongue out when she's concentrating just like Jason does.











It was really hot and we had a sudden rainstorm. We went out and played in the rain and then gave Jess's wet hair a new hairdo. It's hard to see in the pic but my little girl's sporting a mohawk. Of course, as soon as it dried, it came right down.

Jess was very quiet while I was talking in the other room with Jason. That's always a clue that she's up to something. This time she was climbing into the cat carrier. Thank God there was no cat in it at the time; they like to sleep in it and I don't think that would have stopped her. At one point, she was holding herself up on her hands and swinging her feet back and forth inside. You'd never know this child tested delayed for gross motor just a few months ago.

Playing in the rain with Jason

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.