18 MONTHS :)

Happy one-and-a-half years to US!! Some days i can hardly believe that our Little Miss MaeMae has been home that long...and other days i just want to take a nap! LOL! Here's what we've been up to this past month:

We're back to school! Maelin is now in her 2nd year of preschool at the Michigan School for the Deaf, and i am her classroom teacher again this year. She is doing amazingly well...her language, both spoken and signed, is really taking off. I think her signed vocabulary is between 700-800 words. I lost track around 600! She is learning more and more spoken words but still relies on signing often, especially when there's any other noise around.

Look!! Maelin has glasses!! Here's the long and winding story: our journey into the world of vision problems began last spring. At our yearly spring vision screening at school, Maelin failed both the vision and acuity parts of the test. Uh-oh. The nurse initially diagnosed her with 'nystagmus,' which (as i understand it) is an involuntary movement of the eyes, which in itself doesn't impair vision, but doesn't have any treatment, either. Upon our school nurse's recommendation, i made an appointment for Maelin at a doctor in the Flint area who specializes in vision therapy. Getting her to do the eye exam was frustrating and comical - the kid can't see far away, and she can't see close up. For the problems seeing far away -- glasses! The problem seeing close up is called 'convergence insufficience,' not nystagmus. Basically, her eyes are working really hard to come together and focus on something up close, and therefore they shake. The doctor gave me the example of me trying to pick up a 20lb bucket of cement -- my arm muscle would shake with the effort (okay, my arm would break from the effort...!). Fortunately we've caught it really early -- most times it's diagnosed when kids are failing at reading in the 1st or 2nd grades. And fortunately it's treatable -- she needs vision therapy one hour each week for 6 to 9 months. Unfortunately, vision therapy is damn expensive!! We're not sure if our insurance is going to cover a portion of it, but we're hoping!!

Choosing glasses was somewhat of a nightmare. I tried to pick them out myself after the first hour-long vision appointment, but she'd had enough, and i was pretty overwhelmed by all of the new information i'd just received. We took Daddy with us the 2nd time, and Maelin was so uncooperative (which is really unlike her) that she almost knocked over a table at the doctor's office! We ended up going to the optical department of JCPenney's at the mall; we walked in, and Maelin put on the first pair and said, "That my favorite" and we bought them. LOL! They're somewhat purple (somehow i'm going to have to get over the fact that they don't match what she's wearing every day...i may need therapy myself...) and somewhat cute. My biggest fear was/is that the vision and hearing loses are progressive. Ushers syndrome is a scary prospect, but we'll deal with every ounce of everything that is Maelin with all the love in our hearts.

I guess that's all for now. Love to all :)

xoxo,
Mommy, Daddy and bespectacled MaeMae!

Wrapping Up Summer

Our last "hurrah" for the summer was a family trip to Crystal Mountain Resort, just south of Traverse City. We spent a week with Jim's brother, sister-in-law, two nephews (ages 6 and 3 1/2), parents, sister, and brother-in-law. What a GREAT time!! Maelin could seriously live there! Here's what we did:

We went swimming in the pool near our cabin for several hours each day. Maelin looooved the water, the slide, the fountains, the 'lilly pads,' and the deep water. She's still in a life jacket in water over her head, but she's a total fish and going to be swimming on her own soon! Here's a pic of Daddy coming down the slide with Maelin right behind him :)

The resort has a four-sided climbing wall with varying levels of difficulty. Maelin and cousin Jacob climbed allll the way to the top of the Level One wall (which was about 20 feet up, i think). It was so exciting to yell and cheer them on, and then scream when they finally reached the top to ring the bell!! I love that she's so adventurous and willing to try almost anything!

One day Nana, Papa and the three of us drove up to Sleeping Bear sand dunes for the day. We saw a couple of scenic lookouts, climbed dunes for a while, and went swimming in Lake Michigan. Little Miss Water Bug was in her glory...

Crystal Mountain is a ski resort in the winter time, so they have a couple of different ski lifts in operation. One night we all took the lifts up to a scenic walk and overlook. Here's our happy family :) It was a great week, and we're hoping to go again next year!

On the last Friday of our summer vacation, Maelin and i finally went on that trip to the Detroit Zoo that we've been meaning to do all summer! We went with Aunt Shelli, Uncle Darrin, and cousins Lauren (age 10), Drew (age 6), Adrienne (age 2 1/2), and baby Josie (8 months). We had a really great time, and i'm so glad we took time to do it before the summer got away from us.

We rounded out our summer with a great visit from Mama's friend Maureen and her two kids, Adam (10 days younger than Maelin!) and Allyson, who just turned one. The kids played, the moms chatted, and of course we went out to eat!

And now it's on to our next great adventure -- back to school time!!

xoxo,

Shonda

California!

Here it is -- our first big family vacation ever! Jim, Maelin and i flew to California on Friday, July 25th, to visit my friend Jan and her family. Jan and i have been friends almost our whole lives (legend has it that our moms met in a doctor's office while we were babies). We really try to visit each other every year or two, but for various reasons, it's been three long years since we last saw each other. What a great week we had with her!! She got to meet Maelin (aka Chatty Cathy), and i got to see her oldest son, 13-year-old Richie, again and meet her youngest, 8-year-old Jesse. Both boys were adopted, so we have lots in common :)

Daddy was DETERMINED to take Maelin to her first visit to Disneyland, so the three of us spent the day there on Sunday the 27th. Maelin loooooved all of the rides and sights, and we really had a great time. We couldn't resist the face-painting booth :)

On Monday the 28th, the 7 of us (Jan, her wife Lauren, their two boys, and the three of us) took the train from Claremont to downtown LA so that we could visit Chinatown. It was fun to walk around Chinatown, shop and see the sights. After the train ride back to Claremont, we drove daddy to the airport and dropped him off :(




While we were in Chinatown, Jan bought Maelin a traditional Chinese outfit that matched one she was wearing. Tooooo cute!!










On Tuesday (after the earthquake - scary for a midwestern farm girl like me!), Jan and i loaded up the kids and headed for the beach! Maelin had a faaantastic time playing in the waves! She spent almost the entire 3 1/2 hours in the water - didn't want to play in the sand at all!







On Sunday we're off to Crystal Mountain, Michigan for a week-long vacation with Jim's family (parents, sister and brother-in-law, brother and sister-in-law, and two nephews). We're looking forward to spending a whole week with Daddy!!

xoxo,
Shonda (and gang)

Summer Fun

It's been a beautiful summer, and we've been keeping busy during the long days that Baba is gone to work. Maelin just finished Tues/Thurs swim classes at the at the local community center (she wasn't thrilled with them; there's too much waiting and turn-taking. She'd much rather just flail around in the water un-instructed!), and we put up a 12-foot easy-set pool at home, as well. She's an absolute fish and loooooves the water! She's also been on a couple of boat rides with Baba and his friend Bill.

The park has been another summer favorite. We've gone to several different ones, and she always has fun. Invariably, the other kids playing at the park at the same time are 'my friends' :)


We spent a fun day at the Flint Children's Museum -- what a FANTASTIC place for curious little ones!! Admission was only $4 per person; we left after 3 1/2 hours and Maelin was not even close to being ready to go! They have science stuff (energy, five senses), dramatic play (a stage and dress up clothes, a puppet show area), a play grocery store, and a play pizza restaurant. Toooo fun! And on Tuesdays, they open for free!


Here's a pic from the 4th of July :) Maelin was really excited to see the parade making it's way toward us!


That's all for now...

xoxo,
Shonda

When i get big...

Maelin never ceases to make us laugh -- and her perceptions of the world around her are no exception! We are still firmly planted in the 'why?' stage, and she's constantly asking why she can't do something or have something. Sometimes the answer is, "that's for big people," or "that's for adults," or "you're too little for that." She's composed an ever-growing list of things that she plans to do. They always start with "Me get big, me..." Here are a few of my favorites:

Me get big, me can wear hair gel.
Me get big, me can wear make up.
Me get big, me can use the orange hair spray.
Me get big, me grow boobs.
Me get big, me wear bra.
Me get big, me can touch stove (LOL!)
Me get big, me drive car.
Me get big, me don't have to hold hands in parking lots.
Me get big, me can cook. (Great! When would you like to get started??)

I'm guessing that we'll have our hands full when Miss Maelin hits the teenage years!!

Love to you all,
Shonda (and the rest of the clan)

Smile, Sweet Pea!

During spring break (end of March), we went to a Sears Portrait Studio in Flint for Maelin's first professional pictures. It's good timing, because her birthday and Gotcha Day anniversary are two weeks apart. The spring dress was a birthday gift from Aunt Tammy, and the traditional Chinese outfit ("my China clothes") was purchased in China while we were there last year.

Maelin definitely enjoyed getting her pictures taken, and we were THRILLED with the results! I may have spent too much money on them...including a CD of all the pictures so that i could post them on the blog!

xoxo,

Mama, Baba, Leslie and Maelin

HAPPY ONE YEAR!!

I can hardly believe that one whole year has passed since we saw our Maelin for the very first time...I vividly remember sitting in the waiting area at the Civil Affairs Office in Chongqing. We didn't wait long before we saw an adult come around the corner with two little girls. When the first little one rounded the corner and came into view, we weren't sure if it was YuFeng or not. But as soon as the second little girl walked in the room, we knew SHE was our baby! I have a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes just thinking about that first moment...i got down on my knees near her and said, "Hi, baby!" She was unsure of us (and Jim says she had a couple of silent tears but i don't remember that), but the van driver who brought her in kept telling her that we were her new Mama and Baba. We opened her backpack and gave her a baby doll out of it. After a few minutes she also got a sucker out of the backpack, and that was an ice breaker! She let us hold her, and i remember being surprised at how BIG she was!

What she must have been thinking those first few moments...i can't even fathom. Now that i know her and love her so dearly, i can't imagine how she must have felt, having just been taken away from the only parents she ever knew. I hope they tried to explain it to her. I hope they tried to prepare her for the new family she would meet.

Our time in China was busy and exciting, but we all got sick two days before traveling home. Those first few weeks at home were really difficult for me. We were sick, we were jet lagged, our sleep schedule was on China time (12 hrs difference), and she was grieving for her foster parents. The first day Jim went back to work, i panicked! What was i going to do for 9 hours at home alone with Maelin? The time crept by as we played with play-doh, played dress-up, looked at books (although she didn't enjoy this at all in the beginning), took baths (because she DID enjoy that!) and waited for Baba to come home. I must have looked at my watch 100 times a day. I was sooo exhausted... and quite honestly, i missed having a life of my own. I missed reading books and taking naps and going out with my husband and scrapbooking with my friends. My time was not mine anymore, and that was hard during those first months.

Fast forward 365 days...what a difference! Maelin has become such an integral part of our little family that we can't fathom life without her...she is very attached to her 'new' Mama and Baba and no longer grieves for her first family. We often talk about the adoption journey: Mama and Baba were sad because we were home alone with no MaeMae (i don't mention that i used to read books and take naps - LOL!), so we flew to China to pick her up! We also talk about 'other' mama and baba, who took care of MaeMae while she was waiting for us to come and get her. We say that they loved her very much. Academically, she's making tons of progress in her first year of preschool at the Michigan School for the Deaf -- she counts to 20 (in both speech and sign), she recognizes 23 capital letters of the alphabet, tries to sing the ABC song (my favorite part is, "dubba-lou, eck, y, deeeee!"), and has an expressive sign vocabulary of about 400 signs.

Tonight the three of us drove to our homestudy agency in Bingham Farms for our final post-placement visit with social worker Lorie (Leslie stayed in the dorm). Afterward, we went out for a celebration dinner at Joe's Crab Shack in Auburn Hills. We kept telling Maelin, "Happy One Year!"

Thanks for reading, and thanks for staying with us during this incredible journey!

Much love,
Mama, Baba, Leslie and Maelin