Happy New Year!

I can't believe that 2009 is coming to an end. What a busy year it has been. As I reflect back on the year, I am again reminded how truly blessed we are. 2009 will be a year I will never forget and I am looking forward to 2010.

While there won't be any referrals or new children added to our family this next year, we are looking forward to celebrating many firsts with Kiya. Here are just a few things we are looking forward to in the new year.

1--Kiya walking. Okay I am really ready for her to walk, she is almost ready and our poor dogs and house have some catching up to do. I am excited and terrified by her walking on her own.

2--The toddler room. Kiya starts her transition to her new room at daycare on Monday. Everyone is excited for this. I can't wait to see what she learns and how she grows.

3--Her first trip to the zoo. We got a wagon for Christmas and can't wait to take Kiya to the zoo. We have a free zoo close by and last summer it would have been too much and she was so young. Not this next year though :) I LOVE zoos.

4--The purchase of a potty seat. I can't believe I actually wrote that but you see by the end of 2010, Kiya will be 2. Time to at least have the seat in the house even if we don't touch it for awhile. At daycare they will start taking her to the bathroom as well to wash hands and just sit on the potty to get used to the idea.

5--San Antonio. I HATE winter and Kiya needs to see her Auntie Sarah. We are off to San Antonio for a few days in February and it better be nice there.

6--Babyproofing. Admittedly we are a little behind in this area but since Kiya hasn't started walking yet and her scooting/rolling is fairly contained we weren't worried. Well, the times they are a changing. She is starting to cruise on furniture and go from one stationary object to another. Outlets are covered of course but baby gates, cabinet locks, etc are in our very near future.

7--Swim lessons. We can't wait to sign Kiya up. She LOVES water so far anyway. At the very least it will hopefully be some good mommy/daughter time.

8--Turning the car seat forward. It may not seem like a big deal but it is just yet another sign of how big Kiya is getting. She is technically old enough and heavy enough for us to turn her seat around now. We are holding out for as long as we can. It she keeps growing inches with each doctor's visit we won't make it much longer as she is already kicking the back of the seat. Plus, I think she is going to love sitting forward and looking at something besides the back of the seat.

9--The little things. Kiya is such a joy and just so sweet. I am looking forward to the sweet little things that will occur. The hugs, the snuggles, the kisses. We have those now and I look forward to many more in the coming the year.

10--1 year closer. Hopefully, fingers crossed, we will be one year closer to Kiya's little brother. International adoption is a scary world and I am nervous but remaining hopeful for the moment that our dreams of her little brother will come true and that 2010 will bring us that much closer.

Happy New Year everyone. I know for some of you 2009 was a FABULOUS year and for others it wasn't. If it was fabulous may 2010 be even more so. If it was not so great may 2010 be your year. The year that rocks your world. May all of you who read this find peace, love and happiness in the upcoming year.

13 Things I love about my daughter

Why 13...well Kiya is 13 months old today ;) In no particular order:

1. Just how sweet she is. How she will reach out and rub her head on you and snuggle.

2. How much she LOVES bath time.

3. The sweet way she feeds Badger from the high chair--we are discouraging this with both of them but I must admit it is kind of cute.

4. How she reaches out to hug Sebastian

5. When she says Mama

6. When she says ''dawdie" for doggie and points at the dogs

7. Just how much she loves pancakes

8. Her serious side

9. How much she loves to dance and to any type of music and when there isn't any how she makes her own

10. The cute way she rolls around and scoots on the floor

11. How excited she gets when she sees Mommy and Daddy after being away from us

12. Her independent side; how she does things her way and how she wants to and not how a book says she is supposed to. Take her new ride on toy. It is supposed to be a walker first and then a sit and ride toy. Well she is preferring to sit and ride versus walk. She can actually propel herself forward and backward.

13. Just how much she LOVES "The Belly Button Book". I mean really loves it. She points at the hippos in it and smiles and giggles when we read it, just about every day :)

I am one lucky Mommy that's for sure.

This time last year

We are rapidly approaching a very special and memorable day for our family so I went back and looked at what I was blogging about last year at this time.

I was a nut case. Certifiable indeed. I had a first class ticket to Crazytown ;). I had totally lost it and become completely consumed by my number on the unofficial list which at this date last year was 8 but number 4 for an infant. I had my cell phone practically glued to me and I cried at the drop of a hat. Yup, totally nuts.

I look back at that and wonder how in the world I will explain it to Kiya. I am not sure I will be able to. My perspective has changed so much since then and yet the anticipation of the phone ringing was all very real. It was this weird paradox of happy and sad. Happy as I was about to realize my dreams and see the face of my child for the first time and sad as I knew someone I hadn't met yet was making the hardest decision of their of life.

There were so many unknowns at this point last year. We were preparing kind of for a child but it still didn't seem real. Christmas time last year I finally let myself splurge a little and buy some baby clothes and a couple toys. Nothing overly special just something more for me to feel like I was about to have a baby.

I was in this surreal place and had recently come to peace with the wait. It took me a long time to come to peace. 9 months plus if I recall correctly. It was tough. Tougher than I thought it would be and at times I didn't handle it well. Simply put I was selfish and didn't always think about what was going on on the other side of the world.

This time last year Kiya was in the care center in Addis Ababa and we didn't even know it, yet. Weird to think about. Weird to now know she even had medical tests done on what we call Christmas. My baby girl was being loved on and waiting to meet her new family. We didn't know who she was but we did know we were ready for her. We were waiting for her to be ready for us. We had a little more waiting to do before she would be known to us.

At this time last year I had no idea that in 9 days my whole world was going to be turned upside down. Instead I stayed glued to my cell phone and prayed and waited and cried and waited and cried so more.

Cinnamon rolls, Santa, and our family of 3

As I write this, we are having a lazy day as a family of 3. Weather did not permit us to see my parents today but hopefully soon. We started with cinnamon rolls and a visit from Santa and just enjoying our little family. I am listening to my gift from Santa right now--the Glee soundtracks :) See pictures below for Kiya enjoying her gift from Santa.

Spaghetti sauce is on the stove and cookies may even be baked from scratch today as we start our own family traditions. Wow--it has been a long time coming and while I am bummed the weather has prevented us from travelling, I take one look at this little girl and it all becomes okay.

We went to church on Christmas Eve. Wow, first time at the children's Mass and I think we had to have been over capacity by a hundreds of people. We were told it would be packed but I never imagined it would be that busy. Kiya did great minus the one rather loud, tired scream. Good thing we were sitting near a bunch of little ones her age and everyone understood. I was proud of myself for making it through Mass without crying. I got really close once or twice but I held off. I just couldn't believe this was all really happening. We were at Christmas Mass with our daughter.

After church we headed to the in-laws for dinner and presents. Kiya loves Egg noodles :) And here she is opening her very first Christmas present. We figured she loves the dogs so let's get her a stuffed pug. It was great night spent with family.
Christmas morning we woke up and Kiya got to open her gift from Santa.


She really liked the wrapping paper :)

And better yet, she LOVES her new toy.


So as we have a relaxing day ahead, we just think back to just how amazing this year has been. Last year we were anxiously wondering if our phone would ever ring to bring us the news of our long awaited child. Now here we are a year later living our dreams. And while I could do without the icky weather, I am here with my family and that is all I could ever ask for. Kiya is the greatest gift. Sure I am enjoying my new CD's but nothing will ever top having Kiya as a daughter and maybe if we are lucky 2012 will be just as magical as 2009 has been for us.

Merry Christmas to my family, friends (both online and in person). May you be blessed to be spending your holiday in the company of the ones that you love. I know I am.

Kiya went to see Santa :)

I know I have been MIA for awhile... I was sick, Kiya was sick, Dave was sick, Badger was sick...not fun times but we all seem to be on the mend.

Since everyone was feeling better we took Kiya to see Santa at the mall. I fully anticipated that it would go horribly wrong. With her stranger anxiety and separation anxiety I just thought we would have tears and screams. Well, once again my daughter amazes me. Isn't she just adorable?? :)

No tears, no screams, a little thumb sucking and then this sweet face. :) What a big girl.

In other news, Kiya is cutting at least 2 more teeth. She is getting her top middle teeth which will bring her grand total of teeth to 4. We suspect she is also working on her 1 year old molars given the drool, the chewing, the refusal to eat, etc.

Well back to wrapping Christmas gifts and mailing Christmas cards, I will try and post again soon but if not Merry Christmas!

Wordless Wednesday

7 months home and a doctor visit

We have been home 7 months today with our princess. Wow. So what did we do to celebrate....I took Kiya to her 12 month check up :)

The numbers:

Weight: just under 21 lbs (42nd percentile)
Height: 29 1/4 inches (48th percentile)
Head circumference: 44.5 cm (29th percentile)

So as a reference, Kiya was in the less than 3rd percentile in weight and head circumference and between the 5th and 10th percentile for height.

Development:

Food: The nurse was shocked when I told her Kiya took herself off of bottles and is solely on sippy cups of whole milk. She said we were lucky. I just think we have a big girl who knows what she wants :) She did say Kiya should be drinking 16oz of milk a day. We are a tad shy of this but she said yogurt counts so we should be fine. She encouraged us to let Kiya try and feed herself finger foods. I told her Kiya has been doing that for awhile. We have good and bad days. Some days Kiya wants to feed herself and other days she doesn't. Introducing the spoon is next...beware pugs, floors, blinds and anything else near her while eating.

Sleep: The nurse asked us how Kiya is sleeping at night and for naps. I told her that unless she is sick or teething, Kiya will sleep 11-12 hours through the night. As for naps, we are in transition to one nap so some days she will take 2 shorter naps totaling near 3 hours or one long nap of 2-2 1/2 hours. She then asked us if Kiya falls asleep by herself or if we rock her to sleep. She has always fallen asleep by herself. At this point the nurse was looking at me like I was nuts. She said it was too good to be true.

Speech: Kiya was quite vocal while we were there. In July, Birth to 3 said that she was delayed about 36% in her speech. Well, the doctor now thinks that Kiya is ahead of the curve. She says mama, dada, daw (dog), hi, na (no) along with a whole bunch of other sounds like nana, lala, baba, ssss, zzz, ga. She also will point at what she wants and grunt a little to let us know she wants it. Usually it is her sippy cup she wants and can't reach other times it is Mama's dinner :)

Motor skills: The doctor said they usually expect most 1 year olds to pull them self up to a stand and Kiya only does this with our fingers. She doesn't really cruise on furniture but she did yesterday take one sideways step while holding on to the coffee table. She has been trying to walk a lot more so it is only a matter of time. The doctor also said that since at 5 months she couldn't really stand up on our laps and had little muscle tone that it may take her a little longer for her to fully walk on her own. She asked about crawling, rolling, etc. So we told her about Kiya's butt scooting, rolling antics and she said that is all great. She asked if she is continuing to show increased strength and desire to move and do things and I said yes. She said that is all that matters.

Overall, the doctor felt Kiya was growing and developing well. While there Kiya got her MMR, chicken pox, pneumonia booster, and H1N1 shot. She is also having a TB skin test done.

In other news, Kiya will transition to her new room at daycare the last week of December. Why not sooner....well a spot opened up in the room we wanted so we took it. It meant delaying the transition to her big girl room but we get the teacher we know and love. And more importantly it is the teacher that Kiya grew to love and trust.

And she says Mama

I CAN HARDLY BELIEVE IT!!! KIYA FINALLY SAID "MAMA"!!! CAN YOU TELL I AM EXCITED?

Ok, got that off my chest. But really she said "mama" 3 times in the bath tub last night. It has always been "dada or baba or lala or recently nana but never mama" Until last night and I couldn't have been more thrilled :)

Now whether or not she knows that I am actually Mama remains to be seen. If we say Mama she sometimes will look at me but that could just be coincidence.

My bet is because I want to hear her sweet voice say Mama again she won't for awhile but that is okay. I know she can say it and that warms my heart.

Now if I could just get her to stop hitting me that would be wonderful. Not sure why she hits only me but usually I bare the brunt of her slapping. She doesn't hit me if I am holding her but if someone else is. Last night, we told her "no" firmly and of course she cried but we don't want her to hit. She usually will hit and then grin as she thinks it is funny.

We got the same result the other morning when we told her "no" as she was kicking Sebastian. He didn't seem to mind and has been a trooper with the whole baby thing but the kicking went too far. She of course cried again. And it is the most pathetic cry I have every seen. There is a slow build up and then big crocodile tears. It is kind of funny really but we don't dare laugh since at least she is understanding the word no and responding to it..

I know it is an age thing and I know we need to be consistent and set limits. So we are. Together we have agreed to tell her no when she hits and kicks. Like it or not she will have to learn that that is not okay and that mommy and daddy don't find it funny. I hate to see her upset but it is part of the learning process.

What's new with Kiya?

I know it has been awhile since I have blogged about how Kiya is doing. So here is the update on my 1 year old drama queen :)

--She is fully on whole milk. We are using the rest of the formula in her oatmeal banana cereal that she loves just to finish it up.

--Kiya took herself off of bottles. It was like she woke up one day and said to herself that "I am one now and a big girl so I don't need a bottle." Prior to this we had cut her down to two bottles a day but she was done with bottles all together. We just put her milk in a sippy cup and she drinks what she wants. In the morning, Dave puts her in the high chair with her sippy and some finger foods before she heads off to daycare. At night we sit down for story time with her sippy. She doesn't drink a ton of milk but she drinks more and more each day. She didn't love formula either. And she eats yogurt everyday, drinks milk with her meals and has started to eat cottage cheese too.

--Kiya has become a master of scooting on smooth non carpeted floors. She got herself into a corner at daycare and couldn't figure out how to go backwards. On carpet she can turn herself around in a circle or she just rolls wherever she needs to go. She loves to roll around.

--Kiya LOVES her bath time. Seriously, it is so funny we taped it last night. She splashes A LOT. I mean water all over the bathroom floor a lot. She giggles and even full on belly laughs. She puts toys on her head and she scoots all over the tub. It gets a little scary sometimes as she just goes and almost falls. This summer we are getting her a kiddie pool and some swim lessons.

--Kiya still loves to stand. Problem is she hasn't fully figured out how to pull herself up yet so she fusses when she can't get it. She is trying which is a good sign. She will get there. We just support her. Today in fact she took one step for her activity standing walker over to the coffee table.

--And the drama continues, Kiya has some pretty strong opinions in her little head and oh does she let us know when she isn't happy.

--Kiya loves to imitate sounds. She is getting really close to being able to say "doggie". She still doesn't say mama. She looks at me when we say it but won't repeat it.

--We haven't been teaching Kiya sign language but they use it at daycare. She definitely knows the sign for all done and doesn't hesitate to tell us when she is finished eating. It is really cute.

So there you have the run down of life with a busy 1 year old.

Wordless Wednesday is being interrupted again

I know I know, I talk to much but in my defense the title of this blog is Chatty Cathy and there will be pictures in this post.

One year ago today, Zinash came to the Mussie orphanage in Hossana, Ethiopia and handed Kiya to a nanny. A mere 10 days after her birth. We have that moment captured on video. It is extremely difficult to watch that. To see the tears in her eyes. I feel for her. I in some ways am grateful to have this moment to show Kiya just how much her mother loved her but at the same time I hate that a camera was in Zinash's face.

I walked this same path and went to this building. See the picture below. This is where Kiya spent her first couple of weeks in care. My heart is again heavy today. My thoughts are with Zinash and I wish I could give her a hug. I may be able to send her a letter and she may actually get it but more on that later.

While in Hossana, we were also able to meet Kiya's first nanny. She was so sweet and so excited to tell us all about Yewibdar. She told us she was always so content and sweet and such a good baby. I wish there was some way we could send her an update as well. We were able to show her some more recent pictures while we were there but I wish we could send her some more.

So about the letter, our agency has post adoption services that we can and likely will register for. For a small fee, we can send a letter to Zinash and it will be translated in to Kembatissa, her native language. We have heard that the letters are merely dropped off at a local office for parents and we have heard that they are actually hand delivered. We of course are hoping for the latter.

Also as part of post adoption services, when we travel to Ethiopia again and again for a fee, our agency will try and set up another meeting with Zinash. We could actually be able to hug her again and share recent photos of Kiya. I am trying to keep things in perspective that policies change and our agency won't provide this anymore, that Zinash wouldn't want to see us again or they can't find her. If our agency stops providing this service, we will try and find her on our own and will of course respect if she chooses not to see us but I feel like we owe it to Kiya to try and try hard to see her again.

Now what we would say to Zinash in a letter or in person is a tough but I know when the time comes we will find the words. We have to, for Kiya.

Picture Day!

So I decided it would be a great idea to take Kiya into JCPenny's for her 1 year old pictures. I was so excited! I made the appointment and then went shopping for a new outfit or two... You see I made the mistake of going into Gymboree and well I just couldn't decide which outfit to chose so I got them both :)

I went all out with matching hair bows, tights, cute little black shoes. I couldn't wait. My adorable little girl loves to have her picture taken so all should be great.

Well, picture day had arrived. It was snowing so I bundled Kiya all up after no morning nap and headed to the mall. Yes I said no nap. If you have a little one, you can see where this is headed.

Sure enough, super crabby Kiya emerged at the studio. She was crying, them screaming, then throwing a fit, then being really snuggly and of course sucking on her fingers. We took a break, ate some yogurt and things believe it or not got worse. So bad that we had to leave and try again later. We were tentatively going to go back that afternoon pending how lunch and nap time went.

Poor baby fell asleep on the way home. She slept for a couple hours, ate a big lunch and I figured let's try it. So packed us both back into our winter gear and headed back to the studio. And....

PICTURE SUCCESS :)

She wasn't as smiley as we know she can be but she was so sweet and adorable. We got some really great shots. She looks so cute. I can't wait to get our order in. I will post something here once we get the pics in next week.

I was recounting the experience to Dave and he told me that Kiya was awake the night before from 11pm until about 2am or later just playing in her crib. That is very unlike her to be awake for that long but her night was different since Dave and I went to a basketball game so maybe that was it. Had I known that in the morning I would have rescheduled and saved myself and the JCPenny's staff the shrieking.

Wordless Wednesday