A Few Pictures with Dad

I believe they are both quite smitten with each other.

Trying to Find My Motivation

I haven't had much urge to blog lately. Too busy, tired, otherwise occupied I suppose. But the joy and wonder continue in our household. Jia is in a growth spurt so I got to splurge on clothes! Yooo hooo! I feel guilty if I buy anything for myself but not so with Jia. And I did get some screaming cute stuff at Gymboree yesterday! Ah, retail therapy. Jia hates Target though. Who could possibly hate Target? I LOVE Target. But Jia poops everytime we go there. What's up with that? It could be the third of the day but still, she poops. So her dad is very thankful b/c this means early departure and sometimes $0 expenditure!

Here are a few great pics from the last week or two. I have so many it's hard to figure out which ones to choose. I have a bunch of great pics my brother sent me of Jia with her Aunt LaLa but first I have to download those from email. I'll find the time!

Oh - that last picture? What the heck, right? Jia now tries to turn every possible surface into a chair. This is the bench to her miniature piano that her Grandma Barbara got her for Christmas. Whatever! She is adorable! And, as you can see, busy, busy, busy.

Our Nature Girl

Jia is a big girl now. Period. Done with crib. Hates diaper changes. Understands everyword that comes out of our mouths. Every former curse word is now "boinga" - (you'll understand where that comes from if you have the pleasure of watching Noggin' 24/7). She has an opinion about food, bathtime, shoes, clothes, activities - you name it. Is this normal for 20 months? I figured I had until at least 16 until this happened. Sigh. Here are some beautiful pictures of Jia with her Grandma this past weekend. They are great pals. I am indescribeably lucky to have such a wonderful mom who is such an incredible grandma. They feed the birds, explore the yard and generally have a grand time with one another.

Pictures - They Do Express a Thousand Words

Under Construction

Ok - I'm going to start tinkering a bit with the blog layout and design. I set this up just before we left for China and my adreneline was pumping like an open vein but now I'm simply tired and confused most of the time so bear with me. There is some cool stuff out there and some of the blogs I follow are so incredibly creative and beautiful. Mine will never by either of those but I'm hoping to improve on present view! I actually said the words "html code" to my husband and he was stunned that I even knew to not only use those words but to put them together in a sentence. So if you see some weird stuff appearing from time to time it's because I'm tinkering. In the meantime, look at our beautiful wakes up in the middle of the night every night daughter!

I Think the Time Has Finally Come .....

Hi to all of our family and friends. I'll be password protecting our blog sometime in the near future. I knew it was only a matter of time and I believe that time has come. I set out only to record our travels and adventures to build our family. I so enjoyed the ability to communicate to others who care about us in an easy to access way that I decided to continue well past our journey to China. This journal also serves as a record of Jia's story and this blog will provide a loving diary for her when she's old enough to read some of the wonderful stories of her life. I plan to continue to record these delightful moments and adventures. I know there are many caring family and friends (or friends of our family) who keep up with us by following my posts and I want you to continue to do so. But as so often happens in our open internet world there are times when it's simply best to protect our privacy. Therefore, I'm asking all of my readers who care about us and want to continue to follow our journey to post your interest in having our password and I will so willingly provide that to you. Of course I know many of your email addresses and can get you the password that way. But if we haven't yet exchanged email addresses please help me out with how to get you the information.. Thank you to all of our kind friends who follow. We can't wait to share our future adventures. I'll keep the blog public for a while so that everyone who wishes to respond has an opportunity to do so and I can get back to you. Thanks!

What a Face!

Jia is under the weather with a high fever, cough and cold. She's on the mend so no worries but she scared the heck out of her mom and dad when she woke up yesterday with a temp of almost 105! We were at the doc when they opened and happily took us right in. They did some bloodwork and tested for flu and all signs are good that this is not a serious infection (pneumonia) or the flu - but a bad virus. So we've been hunkered down with a very sick baby for a couple of days. But she's presently running around the house with the phone to her ear saying - hello - hello - hello - so I do believe we heading down the right path. She slept most of the last day and a half and wouldn't eat anything or drink much. Poor little sweetie. I hope this burst of energy isn't just that - a burst - but rather a sign that she's getting back to her wonderful energetic self. Here are a few pictures at dinner one night - feeding Nora (our dog) proved to be great, great fun. Why is it that when I turn my back the Dad encourages such antics??? heh heh

Shots are NO Fun!

Jia had her 18 month well baby check up today (she also turned 19 mos. old today!) and had to get one of her shots. Poor baby. What is it with shots and kids? I mean, they can't really hurt that badly can they? But what do I know - maybe they do. They invoke sheer terror in the hearts of children. The good news is that they only take seconds to get and then after some considerable coaxing the kiddos are once again ok. Jia is still just under 19 lbs but she's growing and is now officially on the US charts for length! Well, I guess she always has been now that I think about it but she's hovering right at the 10th percentile. Still well below charts on weight although the doc didn't have any concerns about this since she's proportionate, healthy and whip smart. She's just going to be skinny like her mom. (no comments needed on that one.) She does have an ear infection though so that may explain our recent sleeping challenges. Jia is now awake promptly at 5 am or just before no matter what time I get her to bed. I've tried early, late and in between and my alarm clock is now a crying baby. I'm just sick that it may have been because she felt bad. No signs of an ear infection presented - no fever, no pulling at the ears - just the change in sleep. She has seemed to have less energy and enthusiasm over the past couple of weeks but still has been very happy and busy, busy, busy. I'll just have to keep a close eye on her as we learn the signs that she may be feeling poorly. She really does continue to be a delightful, funny, gentle, demanding, opinionated joyful little girl. I've caught a few pictures of her in the morning and playing with dad. I just like these so they made it onto to the blog. No real backstory except that she looks like she is extremely unhappy with the whole idea of the camera in the one shot. But hey, I had to get up at 5am - the least she could do was pose for me.

Being Home is Fun!

We've so enjoyed our time together during the holidays. Jia has played with the gifts Santa brought as well as those given to her by family. There is now something to do at all times. But the old standbys of cardboard boxes and walking up and down, and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down (ooops, I digress) the stairs are still always a good time. I'm sad to see our time together end and the real world spark back up but that is what makes time off so special I suppose. Terrell had the energy to completely de-decorate the house on Jan. 1 - more power to him! Not me - I've actually taught Jia the joys of laying flat on her back on the floor. I tell her it's all about daydreaming - it's working! At least for 4-5 minutes. On the flip side, however, she has decided that 10 hours of sleep at night is just enough. Sound like a lot? Not when she's bouncing off the walls and ready for bed at 7 pm. That math is just plain ugly. So I began restricting her naps to 20 minutes twice a day and as of last night at least my evil plan worked. I kept her up until almost 8 pm and she slept until 6:20 am. Baby steps. But tonight she was soooo sleepy at 6:30 pm that we had a hard time making it until 7:20 pm. Yes, it's pathetic, my obsession with time is now in 10 minute intervals. It's because it is amazing what a person can accomplish with an extra 10 minutes in the morning. Shower and dress? 10 minutes. Make and have a cup of coffee? 10 minutes. Put on make up AND do hair? 10 minutes. You can see what an extra 20-30 minutes in the morning buys me. It buys an extra 20-30 minutes of sleep for me as well as a shower, cup of coffee and ability not to look like Attila the Hun all day. Warm wishes to all for the new year! Jia will have been a part of our family for 8 months in just 4 short days. Wow, what a miracle 2008 thrust upon us.

Santa Came! And I Heard He Was Up Really Late!

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and all other celebrations to all! We were able to actually pull off our first Christmas! We had a wonderful, wonderful day. Jia decided 6:05 am was a good time to wake up (not that I looked at the clock or anything) so we preceded on 5 hours sleep to creep downstairs to the bounty that Santa was kind enough to bring. Our first Christmas with Jia. What can I say? Happy? Tired? Fulfilled in ways that can't be described? The joy of parenthood is immense. You can't possibly explain to someone who isn't a parent the joy of having a child. When I was single (even married) and childless, I was ok. Really. My life was always so full. I've always had many friends; good, funny, dear, loving friends. And a loving, caring, funny family. And Terrell - what a wonderful, loving husband. That truly is enough to fill a life. However, parenthood is different. I won't take the time or try to find the words to explain how. It just is. There are many ways to live life and many ways to find joy. I've finally found my way. A wonderul husband and a little girl. Love to all of my friends and family.

All I Want For Christmas

We clearly have. Although I think Jia had to get a few things straight with Santa. Apparently all went well since it ended up with a kiss.

Life with LaLa

I love these pictures. You can see our little firestorm LOVES how she spends her very busy days with her Aunt Lisa. I think I need to get better at this mommy stuff - Lisa always knows just how to keep Jia occupied! Maybe I just need more practice! Enjoy the pictures!

543 emails, a Cold Grilled Cheese Sandwich and Burned Soup

That describes work this week and my dinner tonight. Add to that a neglected dog, a sore back, an equally neglected (and ever patient) husband and that pretty much explains my life at the moment. Oh, and an average of 5 hours of sleep at night and 2 brownies during the day. But in the midst of the storm Jia is stunningly thriving. She now understands EXACTLY what you are saying. You may be thinking, wait, she's only 18 months old, how can that be possible? But she does. How do we know this? Jia - can you say water? Waa . Kitty Kat? Kitty Kat. Cow? Coooow (multiply this by 25 words at least). Jia, do you want to take a nap and lay your head down? She proceeds to bedroom and places her head on the bed. Jia, are you done eating? "All done Momma" (really). But don't think for a second we have a Stepford Child. The independence and natural testing are increasing at a rate almost as great as the number of work emails I get everyday. Oh, the electrical cord is something that will get Mommy running - fabulous. What's this? Diaper Genie? Excellent. Hu midifier? Ditto. But then there are the kisses. I hug Jia and rub lotion all over at bed time after her bath. She has to have at least 3 kisses during this time. Full on, head back, germy smooch. And we wonder why I'm sick all the time. Best germs ever. A few random pics - those who know me will see that Jia is most definitely my child by the looks on her face. heh heh.