"LilyJoy, who dressed you...??"

In general, mornings with LilyJoy are mine. We wake up together, I feed her, I change her diaper, I dress her-- you get the picture. Well, one day last week, we were running late for preschool drop-off and I didn't quite have time to get Lily altogether. So, of course, I left her in the good hands of her sweet daddy... or so I thought. When I left, she had been fed, but was still in her jammies. When I came home, this is what I saw:

Good heavenly days, LilyJoy! What on EARTH are you wearing? Lavender velour pants that were just a *little* too short, pulled up to her chest over her extraordinarily large diaper bottom, dark PURPLE socks with white stars, white tennis shoes with PURPLE flowers, PURPLE onsie turtleneck that was just a *little* too big. My mom happened to stop by that morning and she just started laughing. Now, to DH's credit, he was VERY proud to point out the fact that she was "very coordinated." Yes, Love, the purple was lovely, complete with purple barrette...it's just, well, not a very cute outfit. Actually, she kind of looked, as my mom and I agreed, like a little old Chinese lady. You decide.
Good thing she's cute.

I See the Moon...

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! I was really hoping to celebrate this year and I actually planned ahead. Unfortunately and surprisingly, I couldn't find much of anything to do in Seattle. I may have missed it, who knows? But I happened to ask another local adoptive family that I met on Loving China's Children yahoo group if the Northwest FCC chapter was having a celebration. They were, but it was very expensive and given that we just returned from China, we're not big on cash right now. So, instead, she invited us over to her house to meet her family and do a small little celebration of our own. It was so nice to meet this family! We had a lovely time chatting and sampling moon cakes. They have four adopted children from China so we got lots of BTDT advice and learned their very interesting story of adoption. I'm always amazed to meet folks who have missionary hearts, which this woman does.

As for mooncakes? Hmmm, I can't say that I'm a big fan. As a matter of fact, I can't say I liked them at all! The family we visited made some homemade ones and I thought they were really good. They had said that they were took "hard" and more cake-like than the real kind. I thought their's was kind of like a nice biscuit with bean paste in the middle. The store bought one, though-- YECH!! I don't know if it was a texture thing or a taste thing or both? Not my favorite (LilyJoy didn't seem to care for it either-- little miss I'll-eat-anything spit it right out). Now, keep in mind, there are LOTS of different kinds of moon cakes with different ingredients, so I really shouldn't make a blanket statement about not liking them. I guess I shouldn't turn my nose up the next time I am offered one :)

Don't forget to go and admire the moon!

TRAGEDY! Makes you think...

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-fg-china-adopt20-2009sep20,0,3969070,full.story

This makes you really think about adoption in China. Who is a victim?? Will we ever know? Is LilyJoy? She is from a remote village...

Middle Child Syndrome

Little Timothy. I can't believe how big he has gotten! I missed a birthday post a few days back, so this one is for T.

When we came home from China with two weeks of looking into the face of a beautiful little porcelain face with lovely brown eyes, I was shocked to see Timmy's huge blue eyes with long curled eyelashes. I missed his little dimple so much! Timothy is my cuddler. He's my lovebug. And he is a teaser and a poker and a let's-see-what-happens-when-I-try-this type of sibling. I wish I could shelter him from all the bad that will happen to him because he takes it all to heart. And yet, he doesn't seem to learn that if he just backed off a bit, he'd be much better off. I'm sure that you can guess, I am referring to his interactions with LilyJoy. He asked me last week when we would be taking "this little sister" back to China.

I knew it would be hard for Tim Tim to adjust. Truly, he was the one I was worried about. This morning he wanted to eat his eggs with a baby spoon. And then he wanted me to feed him-- so I did. He's also having a hard time listening and has peed on the floor 3 times now, though he is fully daytime potty trained and has been for a year now. I've been trying to take him aside all by himself and give him loves and cuddles as much as I can, but it is hard with two others who also need me. I just wish I could make him feel more secure.

All About LilyJoy

I've been writing a post for DAYS now that I've been meaning to finish. The info keeps changing, so I've decided to write something a little simpler... All about Lily!


1. Lily and I are doing 180 degrees better-- in fact, as predicted by many of you, she really prefers me now! Thank you, Lord!

2. Our biggest issue right now hands down is sleep. We get a fair amount of sleep about every other night. The odd nights, though, are NOT pretty with lots of scratching, screaming, crying, trying to hit her head on the wall, etc. It is really heartbreaking to watch.

3. She has the prettiest dark brown hair. And I have no idea how all you people with little girls come out with adorable looking 'do's everyday. Kudos to you :)

4. She loves her big brothers, but has tried to teach Timothy a few lessons for being too much in her business. She's a biter, trying to nip that in the bud, but it's not the easiest thing.

5. Food is also a bit of an issue. It seems to be getting better, but she does have a tendency to shove all the food she can in her mouth at once-- something she was not doing as much in China. I believe it is a bit of survival instinct kicking in. She will also eat and eat and eat until she is bored. We take her out of the high chair and she has a F.I.T. fit, as though to say, "I wasn't done yet!!!!"

6. We don't need to put her on a scale to see that she has gained weight! She still has tiny little arms and legs, but a nice round belly now. Just the way I like 'em!

7. Her language is changing rapidly. Her words that are meaningful are "bye bye," "bubble," and "pop" (from a song that we like to sing her). Steve thinks she also said "doggie," but she hasn't said it again to confirm. She can sign "more," "thank you," "all done," "please," "eat," and "sit down." She says "mama," but has not said it purposefully to me yet. The orphanage director who dropped her off to us told us that she didn't have any words-- that still really surprises me given how many she has already obtained.

8. She LOVES tubby time. She and Timothy are two peas in a pod in that respect. Samuel generally goes along with them because it is always more fun to be with your buddies.

And I'll leave you with one of my current favorites...

Home.

What a whirlwind. We are home, safe and somewhat sound. We got back yesterday morning after LilyJoy decided that 3:30am was a good time to wake up in LA. I looked at Steve and said, let's just get to the airport and put ourselves on standby for an earlier flight. We got to LAX, were told we'd have no problem getting on the 6am flight and were on our way before we knew what was happening! We surprised my parents and the boys who were expecting us later in the afternoon. It was precious to see all of their faces-- I wish I had the camera. Isn't it funny how much older your kids seem to you when you've left them for a time? I've been so proud of S and T and how they have handled having LilyJoy around. They really are doting big brothers, albeit a little rough sometimes! It is very sweet to watch.

As for LilyJoy, I sort of faded out of the blogging world a bit toward the end there. I'm thinking it was kind of a defense mechanism, actually. I mentioned before that she really is velcro baby to Steve and she hasn't changed a whole lot in that respect when she is tired, hungry, needs comforting or is just feeling insecure. It has been one of the hardest things that I have ever had to deal with. She just doesn't want me. I am so nervous for when Steve goes back to work. We have a while, though, so I need to just take it one step at a time. Easier said than done, but I'm trying. I'll tell you what, though, I have NEVER appreciated my boys as much as I have during these days. I hug and kiss them and love all over them as much as possible because they LET ME! :)

Anyway, the jet lag is brutal! I'm trying some melatonin tonight, but the problem is that Lily is still confused. OY! I can't win! I will try and post some pictures as soon as we get them off of the Noteb**k we used in China. Thanks for all your support and prayers on our journey! I love this blogging community.

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