Snuggly Bear

Mia is going through a snuggly phase. In the morning, she makes us take her 3 stuffed animals and 2 blankets out of her crib. Then she tries to carry everything at once to Mommy and Daddy's room. She kisses her dolls and stuffed animals more often. She gives us kisses, too, on occasion. Recently, she has been making Daddy kiss Mommy. Picture Mia and I sitting on the bed in the morning. Before Jeff leaves for work, he bends over the bed to say good-bye to Mia and give her a kiss. Before he can stand up, Mia puts her hand on the top of his head and pushes it down toward me, as if to say, "Now kiss Mommy." Sometimes she makes him do it 2 or 3 times. Then she claps her hands and giggles.

Feeding Time

It rained off and on all day yesterday. Sarah reported that Mia liked watching the rain come down. Sarah captured this moment of Mia tenderly feeding her sheep.

Auto-Correcting

Mia has been vocalizing lots more lately. She walks around the house saying stuff like "yabba dabba babba" very seriously. When we're in the car, she often carries on a lengthy conversation with herself in her own private language. If Jeff and I are talking, she will occasionally pick up on something we say and parrot it. Jeff has concluded he has to stop saying, "Geez" when another motorist does something stupid/dangerous/illegal. I have to stop saying something else.
Sarah checked out some Signing Time videos from the library. They are excellent; way better than the other baby sign language video we'd been using. (No, you will not see an click-through ad for the videos here. Leave that to the shamelessly commercial blogs.) There is only one problem. You guessed it, Mia now knows more signs than we do. A couple of times last week I had the distinct impression that Mia was attempting to communicate with me using some sign I don't know. I concluded we're going to have to watch those videos as a family. Over the weekend I added Play, Come, Wait, Read, Clean, Water, and Bath to my signing vocabulary. I fear this is not nearly enough to keep up with my darling. Perhaps I should get home 5 minutes earlier at night to get a private tutorial from Sarah.
Mia is using more spoken words, too. This afternoon, she said "oval" perfectly. I'm pretty sure she said "all down" after she knocked over the tower of blocks we'd just built. If only I'd written them down, I'd have more words to report to you.

And if you can stand any more excitement, Mia is showing some signs that she can start potty training soon. When I change her diaper, I now have to put some pants on her quick before she takes the diaper off. When Jeff went in to her bedroom this morning to check on her, he discovered that she'd removed her diaper during the night. This afternoon he and Mia came upstairs to tell me that Mia had accurately reported that she'd just pooped. When I responded with, "OK, I'll change her" he looked at me, ever so slightly offended, and said, "I already did!" Sarah has concluded it is time to get some books about going potty. They've got a children's book about everything now. If you doubt me (and why would you?), just go on Amazon.com. There are at least 20 books on the subject. The reader reviews prove that this is very serious stuff, this potty training. Some of my favorite lines:

"In a very realistic, child-appealing text, it describes how a gender-neutral toddler struggles to learn how to use the potty." (Gender-neutral? Eeeeeuuuw!)

Another reader took exception to that same book:
"...the book focuses on failure a lot more than success. The baby keeps trying to go on the potty and things just don't work out for him. He finally does in the end, but I get the sense that it makes the process seem a little scary."

And squeamish people should skip over this one:
"The poop is not graphically drawn but very tasteful."

Oh, how did our mothers do it before the great literary achievement of Everyone Poops?

Mini Minivan

Mia liked her Cozy Coupe so much, we decided to leave it in her playroom. We bought another version, used, on Craigslist. This one stays out on the driveway. Mia thinks it is really cool, especially since both doors open. It reminds me of those old VW buses from the 60's. The wood panels on the door really make it. Mia loves sitting in her minivan (she gets in and out over and over and over) or pushing it from behind or being pushed. When she is being pushed, she puts her feet up on either side of the steering wheel. She hasn't figured out that she can propel herself with her own feet, Fred Flintstone style.

The Biggest Smile Ever

Sarah just emailed some photos she'd taken of Mia, some recent and a few from Sarah's first week on the job, back in November. Now I know why people say, "They grow up so fast."

Some things haven't changed. Mia still has the same happy disposition she displayed in her referral photos. The photo below has always been Jeff's favorite of the 4 pictures we received in our referral. It is a little blurry, but it really was a window into her personality.

New and Improved

Mia keeps adding new words and skills. On Friday, Sarah surprised us with a report that Mia now recognizes 10 different and 10 colors. Sarah had brought a set of flashcards on Monday, and they practiced all week. We lay out the 10 shape cards and say, "Mia, where is the crescent?" and she points to the crescent card. She can also say some of the shape names. My favorite is hearing her say "heart" in a soft, tentative little voice. (Yes, I would have to say my heart melts.) As for the color cards, she can not only pick out the colors (with 100% accuracy for Sarah, 80-90% for her parents), but she says yellow, red, blue (OK, it usually sounds more like "boo"), and purple ("purr pah").
On Saturday, while Mom caught up on some work, Daddy took Mia to the zoo. He said she was very social, waving to people. She made a point of visiting a Chinese family who was sitting in the cafe. When they got home, I asked Mia, "Did you go to the zoo?" to which she nodded very seriously and said "roar" in a tiny little voice. It's funny, she always uses her tiny voice when she says "roar." It is as if the word is too scary to say loudly.
We rounded out our weekend with daily trips to the swimming pool. Mia is getting much more courageous in the water. Tonight, we tried out her water wings (those little inflatable arm things) again. She'd rejected them a month ago, so we've been using a bouyant vest instead. Tonight I forgot the vest, then I remembered those inflatables were still lurking at the bottom of the beach bag. At first she didn't want to let us put them on her arms, but within a few minutes she was rejoicing that she could let go of us and float on her own.
We've probably told you Mia likes to watch the divers. Last night I decided to see how she'd react if I dove in. (To call it diving is generous, actually.) As I'd hoped, she was ecstatic when she saw me on the diving board, and when I came up for air she was already saying "More."

The Thrill of the Chase

Being chased by a friendly adult is one of Mia's very favorite things. Here she is, running away from Sarah, giggling all the way down the driveway.

Scenes from China - The Bird's Nest

The day before we met Mia, we toured Beijing. We saw Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City (which is right next door), and the Great Wall. On the way back to our hotel, our guide asked the bus to stop so we could take a picture of National Stadium (aka the Bird's Nest) under construction.

Morning in China - Singing in the Park

All around the park, there were people ballroom dancing, fan dancing, and playing games of shuttlecock. When we first saw this choral group sitting in the shade of the overpass, there were only a few people singing. Gradually, more people drifted in and added their voices. Up to this point in our trip, we hadn't had a chance to see Chinese people going about their everyday lives, so we were very glad we ventured out of the White Swan that morning.

Scenes from China - Dancing in the Park

This photo was taken in the park on Shamian Island in Guangzhou, just down the street from the White Swan Hotel. A couple dozen people were practicing their ballroom dancing. It was all very relaxed, people enjoying each others' company and getting some exercise. In case you were wondering, the music was very recognizable American jazz standards.

Aside from the events around Mia's adoption, this is my very favorite memory of our trip.

Scene From our China Trip - Playing in the Park

As I reviewed the blog posts from our trip to China, I was surprised at how few photos I posted. I guess between everyone being sick and the fact that when I went to blogspot all the menus in Chinese, it wasn't too easy to upload the photos.
I've always wanted to share this photo, which captures one aspect of daily life in China. Every morning, people (mostly retirees, I think) gather in the public parks for physical activities. On any given morning in the park on Shamian Island, you can see people doing traditional Chinese fan dancing, ballroom dancing, informal choir groups, and people engaged in impressively energetic games of what I later learned is called Jianzi in China or Shuttlecock in England. It is like hacky sack, but with something that looks more like a shuttlecock. People stand in a circle and toss the shuttlecock up in the air, catching it on their ankles and tossing it the air again for the next player to catch. These people know what what fun is.

Lions and Tigers and Bears! And Rides!

I love amusement parks, especially roller coasters. During our vacation, Mia and I took a spin on the carousel at Nickelodeon Universe We picked this lion because it didn't move up and down like most of the animals. I had enough trouble keeping Mia in her seat on a stationary fantasy creature.
Mia liked the (junior) roller coaster lots better than the carousel. She was apprehensive at first, but halfway through the ride she started smiling. When the ride stopped, she signed "more". Yes, the photo is just a blur, but it reminds me of the first time I got to share my love of roller coasters with our little gal.

12 Month Post-Placement Visit

Next week our social worker will be paying us a visit for the 12-month post-placement report required by the China Center for Adoption Affairs. This is the final report. The visits with our social worker are enjoyable and I fully respect the CCAA's desire to ensure the welfare of the child we have been entrusted with. Still, I personally I am looking forward to being done with this part of the process. It will be nice to be just like any other family who is allowed to raise their children without having to report to a foreign government every 6 months.
For the report, we have to submit 3 photos of Mia and one family photo. Mia doesn't like posing for photos, so she usually looks squirmy and miserable, as if she wants nothing more than to get away from us. And we couldn't exactly show that to the CCAA, don't you agree? After a couple of aborted attempts over the past week, we were really happy to get her to sit still long enough for this photo, courtesy of photographer Sarah.

Finger (and Foot) Painting

Mia's latest art project involved painting with fingers and toes and hands and feet out on the deck. The great thing about being a toddler is that when you know things are going to get messy, you can just strip down to your disposable diaper and paint with abandon.

Daddy's Hat

You never know when Mia will have a language breakthrough. Today was the first time we heard Mia put together a 2-word phrase (other than "More, please" where the please was shall we say coerced). Mia was eating her cornflakes under Sarah's supervision. Already a multi-tasker, with her free hand Mia pointed to the golf hat Jeff had left on the kitchen table, saying "Daddy's hat." Actually, it sounded more like "Dada haht", but the intent was clearly there.
We've been seeing real progress in Mia's language development lately. That is something to smile about.

Retirement Party

Depending on how you look at it, today we either had a retirement party or a graduation ceremony. One of the unintended consequences of our vacation was that with no high chair in sight, Mia learned how to eat while sitting in a big girl chair, with an assist from a telephone book. When we got home, we broke out the booster chair. It's been nearly a week now, and Mia has not looked back. She discarded that high chair like an old shoe. And I do mean an old shoe -we'd had to duct-tape some of the vinyl that ripped, and it was always getting adhesive on her legs. (Don't ask me why the adhesive sticks tenaciously to skin when it won't cling to vinyl.) I myself am happy to get the floor space back.

During the hour I spent thoroughly cleaning the high chair, I pondered how it could be that we have to buy Mia a new wardrobe every three or four months, but this is only the second piece of baby gear that we've been able to shed. (Retired item #1 was the Ergo baby carrier. They are supposed to be good until the kid gets to 40 lbs. -- ha!) Then I realized that we were able to skip all the teensy weensy baby stuff -- bouncy seats, boppy chairs and the like. In our house, the stork brings toddlers, not newborns. We wouldn't have it any other way.

Joy + 366

Today is the one-year anniversary of referral day, the day we got "the call" from the adoption agency. It seems like only yesterday and a decade ago. It was a very exciting day. Tonight, I re-read all the blog posts starting with September 15, 2007 (the day before we got Mia) working backwards to "The Stork Has Landed" post on August 2. Reliving it all brought a tear to my eye. I am so glad we captured the events of those alternatively wonderful, exciting, and anxious days.

All the TV coverage of China surrounding the Olympics is giving us a chance to relive our trip to China. The other night, Jeff and I watched a segment on the history of The Great Wall. I recalled that when we toured the Great Wall last year, on the very day before we got Mia, I was too anxious (with an undercurrent of terror) to really enjoy it. Jeff said he didn't know I was so anxious at the time. For himself, he admits he was blissfully ignorant of how challenging the next few weeks might be.

Back to referral day. I've never posted the very first photo we received of Mia, emailed to us about 4 hours after we got the call. This photo was taken in late April 2007, as the orphanage prepared Mia's file to send to the China Center for Adoption Affairs in Beijing. From there it went to the Matching Room, where some wise person to whom we'll be eternally grateful looked at Mia's file and our file and decided we'd make a perfect family. We didn't know it yet, but our prayers had been answered.

Joy + Infinity.

My Sweetheart

Mia rarely slows down long enough for me to capture her looking winsome. Here she is, my beautiful, beautiful little girl.