Jia Loves Her Room

These are a few pictures of us spending time in Jia's room. I'm so pleased that she loves her room so much. It clearly has nothing to do with my decorating ability (clearly lacking) but it's HER space. She loves her new "big girl bed" and asks frequently to get in even when it is not nap time or bed time. We disassembled her crib about a month ago after she had most certainly rejected it but left the crib mattress on the floor and she likes to read and bounce and roll on it.

Our little girl is happy in her world and her mom and dad are indescribably happy in her world.

The Day That Lasted 2400 Hours

Oh my, oh my. A snow day. I don't know if any of you recall a much earlier post where I so adamantly exclaimed that no one would ever actually "stay home" with a child. That term is a misnomer. No one would actually stay inside with a child. Unless you have to. I had to. Oh my, oh my. We did wander out into the big drifts of snow which Jia was not so thrilled about. I pulled out every toy, every trick, every song, every plea to entertain our wonderfully smart and needs to be stimulated at all times daughter. We played in every room in the house, took a bath in the "big tub" for the first time with all the letters, numbers and jacuzzi bubbles a girl could possibly want. (I was in a bathing suit in the middle of winter and she had on her Swimmers (no - I don't trust her) and it was like going to the pool!) My husband asked if I was going to wear the little white crocheted bikini he bought me many (many, many, many lbs) years ago and I said no, I blow my nose with that little thing these days!

We truly had a wonderful day, no matter how much mommy likes to make fun of it. I'm tired, happy, dreading trying to drive in this mess tomorrow - but again, happy. The County didn't clear our street so it will truly be a challenge. I thought I might call and tell them they missed our street but I suspect after I do they'd hang up, laugh and say to their fellow operators, "hey, fellas (insert obscene gesture here), we missed a street - hahahahaha." Oh well.

What the Heck is this Stuff???

Jia has officially experienced her first snowfall! Luckily that cute little snow suit I bought some months ago still fits! As you can see she is not quite sure what to think about this white, cold stuff. It makes her nose run and her cheeks turn pink - which is how I've always felt about the snowy, wet, and cold part of winter! Fortunately we don't get too much in our part of the world but it is exciting when it's coming down. And boy, is it ever coming down! Even Nora, our dog, is ramped up and skidding around in the back yard! We haven't had this much snow in over 4 years, well, make that 7 years. It hasn't snowed this much since I"ve been back in town! Anyway, enjoy the pics - I'll try to get more tomorrow - that is if we brave the 10 inches we're expected to get!!!!

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.