Old Time Rock 'n Roll

Jia is walking. Yes, I've said it before. But now she is down right brave, lets go, and takes off. Doesn't she look like she's doing the Tom Cruise slide in that one picture? That's a reference from the movie Risky Business for those too young to know or to those with more discerning movie taste than I. She's also cutting big molars and was very needy of mommy tonight. I hate that she feels bad. But it is rare that this firestorm wants to cuddle so I'm happy, happy, happy to give her anything she needs. Do you recall my post on the joys of a box of tissues? Ditto on a box of Hello Kitty bandaids. She litterally played for over an hour with the box. The way the bandaids sounded when she shook it fascinated her. She also played for a long time with a simple plastic cup and the top to a bottle - in - out - in - out. Some of the pics show her intense level of concentration as she tries to figure out how things work.

I want to say hi to Kathy , her hubby, her mom and brother Bob. I had a wonderful conversation with Kathy today (I hope you don't mind me mentioning that) and my thoughts, prayers, hopes are with you and your family that referrals start coming more quickly and you get your daughter soon. I so enjoyed our conversation.

Go 'Skins!

My dad and brother are already pumping Jia up to be this country's next diehard Redskins fan! A few random pics from the weekend. Also - ignore the picture of me but look at that gorgeous hat Jia has on - thanks Laura! Jia's Aunt Laura is a very talented knitter and this is one of her creations!! I also captured a couple of shots of Jia's cousins Melissa and David. We can't wait until Christmas when the Illinois cousins and Aunt and Uncle get here!

Happy Family

The first couple of photos are some great shots that my dad took of us. At 6 and 12 months we have to send various information to China to complete all necessary aspects of our adoption. We didn't have any photos of the three of us together (well, there was one - but I looked like a mutant) so we gathered at the folks house to enjoy good company, a great meal (thanks mom) and some picture taking. Jia is walking! Holy cow I buried the lead! (Yes, I saw Broadcast News recently.) She can now independently walk across a room! I am the ever worried mommy walking right behind her since we have had a face plant or two along the way. But she is soooo proud of herself and rightfully so. If you don't remember how far we've come check out my May posts! She is an extraordinary little human. Her personality is really coming out and she cracks me up daily. She's a happy baby. Truly happy baby. She is talking more now as well. She says I love you ( admittedly much like I have once or twice after too many martinis... iiiii wooooove uuuuuu) and good girl, and thank you, and Bella (Lisa's dog) and on and on. She understands EVERYTHING it seems - I ask her to look at my mouth as I pronounce something and she does. I tell her she is making herself abundantly clear when she wails and she smiles at me. Cool, cool, cool. p.s Happy Belated Birthday my dear husband. 40. Wow. Good thing I married someone so much older than me. heh.

Stunning

Welcome to Toddlerville

Jia is officially a toddler - in case anyone was wondering. Pick me up. No, don't hold me. I want to walk, no pick me up. What's in this drawer? Mom, where are you? I want to walk. No, I want to run. Stop here, I want to feel this. Pick me up. Cry for no apparent reason. Laugh because life is amusing me at the moment. Look what I found on the floor. I think I'll put this in my mouth. Don't change my diaper. I don't want to wear shoes. This sweater is a no-no. Where are you going? Pick me up. No, I want to walk. All with out uttering a word. Amazing.

All is Well

Sorry for the delay in posting. I've been under the weather but the clouds are clearing and I do believe I'm on the mend. Jia is great - she didn't have/get whatever I have thankfully. Jia continues to be very close to walking - and she's eating and sleeping ALOT. She spent 45 minutes in her high chair tonight and I had to limit the food I put in front of her for fear she would choke herself! She couldn't get it in fast enough! And it's not like Aunt Lisa hadn't fed her a tremendous amount already today. Lisa weighed her and she's up another pound from a month ago. Yippie. Lisa is also unhappy that her little fat rolls on her thighs are disappearing! heh. Life is good - what more can I say? The dad is off for a four day weekend and it's just me and Jia this weekend. Wish me luck. She's a little firestorm these days.

Work? I Have a Job?

It all melts away once I get home.

Mid-Week Jia Fix

Headline on MSN.Com - build a $100,000 blue eyed, athletic, cancer-free baby. I'd give everything to build a cancer-free baby - but blue-eyed? Over-rated. I'm blue-eyed. Many of the people I love most dearly in life are blue-eyed. But my brown eyed baby is the most beautiful human I've ever seen. When I ask her where her Buddha belly is when she's in the bath, she points to her belly. When she claps just at water's edge and throws water over both of us she laughs out loud. Whew. I'm in awe.

First Pair of Real Shoes

5 Steps - oh yes. She looked at me, smiled, let go of the table and walked right into my arms! Jia had walked 3 steps for her Aunt Lisa this past week and so she is just moving right along! She was soooo proud of herself. And I swooped her up and kissed her like she'd just won a gold medal! And then promptly called her Grandpa to brag! So Grandma and I took Jia to StrideRite this weekend to get her first pair of real shoes. (Thanks mom). Tell me these just are the cutest things ever! We've had another great weekend and Jia and I took an HOUR nap together. She's taking longer naps now that she is so active. The mom is reaching a whole new level of tired but I was bragging to T about my great biceps. We got a humidifier for her room since she has a cold (and now so do the mom and dad) - and she has slept great all weekend. But now it's back to work for me so that will likely stop. Seems to be the trend. She can probably sense my stress. Anyway - hope everyone had a great weekend!

Random Tuesday

Aunt Lisa drops Jia home on Monday and Tuesday due to her hectic schedule of running her own children about town to various activities (it's tennis on Monday and Tuesday). She and her girls Melissa and Rachel took a moment to come inside and play with Jia at Jia's house and Jia was so excited. She seemed so comfortable and content to have her family visiting on "her turf"! A couple of the other pictures I've posted show her walking with her daddy. Jia gets really pumped when her dad gets home from work. She wiggles and jumps and squeals and her dad walks her all around the house as she laughs out loud. This little one can MOVE! She crawls so fast now! I think she'll probably skip walking and go straight to running! We're having lots of fun! I ran into some folks from our adoption agency a couple of days ago and we were lamenting the increasing wait for China adoption but they asked if it was worth the wait! Oh please, life has improved dramatically and continues to do so everyday. This is coming from a fiercely independent couch potato who's world was absolutely rocked by parenthood. I truly can't imagine not having Jia - seems like a cliche - but it is true. I love her so much - even between 1:30 am and 4 am Monday mornings. (Did I write that out loud???) heh. P.S. - Happy Birthday Mom - You have been such wonderful support and help I just don't know how I could have pulled this off with out you. I love you!

Great Weekend - Sore Mom

The boat excursion was wonderful. Due to high winds we chose to stay docked. The small adjustments we make as parents are just that - small. Jia thrives outdoors. She is definitely her daddy's girl. The friends at the marina were very excited to see Jia. She has changed so much since many have seen her. (And she did have an outfit on to die for....) But we went to the little park and played on the swings, we saw a loon (Terrell identified this creature, not the mom) and Jia wiggled her mom to absolute exhaustion! The thing about a boat, even a 37 foot sailboat, is that it is compact space. And there are far too many things to bump one's head on. Trust me, I know. We call them boat bites. And after every weekend (pre-post Jia - doesn't matter) I come back with lots of bruises. Jia made it through the weekend with only one bug bite. And it is the mother of all bug bites. Jia has always reacted strongly to insect bites. But this bite freaked me out. At first it only looked like her typical reaction to a bug bite - ugly red, little white bumps, but when we got up this morning there was a huge bubble and I immediately called Aunt Lisa. She advised to "take the bandaid off" - it reminded me of Terri Garr's line in Young Frankenstein "Put the Candle BACK" - so I did that post haste and put some antibiotic cream on the ugly sore (by now the bubble had burst) - and she is fine. It never did seem to bother her but it freaked me out! Anyway - she slept a bit and I slept less. She's a little rolling log. I slept with her in the V berth as we assumed this to be the safest place. We went through our typical nighttime routine - bath, lotion, bottle - and tried to put her to bed. But oh, no! She is now mobile and has a choice. So the V berth can be closed off and I thought I'd just put her down and have a little martini ( I'm totally paranoid and won't even have a beer until I know she's safe and then just a bit- another small adjustment) but all she wanted to do was squirm and giggle and laugh the night away. At some point, after hearing all of this through the door, her dad asked, "do you want the shape sorter"? (NO) - 'Keys?" - (NO) - I'm trying to get her to sleep! I laughed so hard. Anyway - after about an hour and a half she finally fell asleep and so did the mom. All night I worried I'd roll over on her. She's like a rolling log to sleep with. I woke up at one point and we were both horizontal in the bunk! Yikes. Not comfortable (for me). I gently shifted her position vertical and tried to go back to sleep but she kept rolling toward me to grab my face or my hands. Oh - how wonderful. But what this means is that at 8:54 Sunday night (present time) I am utterly exhausted so I'll leave this post with some pictures and a good night to all.