February 1, 2009
It seems like I've had Lucie a lifetime already, but my leave has passed in the blink of an eye. I've been off for three months now, and it is time to go back to work tomorrow (oops - today already). I am so grateful that I work for a company with such great benefits - I was able to take adoption leave and tack on unused vacation days for a total of three months off. I needed this time. We needed this time. It has been a time of recovering from jet lag, adjusting to each other, dealing with medical issues, dealing with administrative issues, and most importantly just getting to know each other and loving each other. This time off was a once in a lifetime event. In the beginning it seemed like it was the longest time ever, and I had grand plans of all that I was going to do. I was going to get this baby, finish some renovation work on my house that I worked on for the past year, keep up with work, keep a perfect house, blah, blah, blah. What a joke. So now I sit here and wonder -what did I do while I was on leave for three months????
Got Lucie! Spent almost two weeks in Viet Nam and traveling there and back.
Diapers Changed - 500+
Bottles of Formula Fixed - 100+
Trash Collected - A large bag every day, excluding diapers. I still can't figure this one out. Where did/does all the trash come from? Baby food does not take up all that much room.
Meals - At least 270 hours. Every meal takes a good hour. This has been a challenge for me as I am used to doing everything quickly.
Rocking Lucie in Glider - Probably well over 100 hours.
Weight Gained - Lucie gained almost 2 pounds. She weighed 15 pounds at her first doctor visit, and now weighs 16 pounds 13 ounces. Mommie lost 10 pounds, and then gained it all back.
Inches Gained - Lucie grew 1/4 of an inch. From 27 1/2 inches long to 27 3/4 inches. This doesn't seem like much, but I can tell the difference in her clothes. Mommie got shorter by 1/2 of an inch. OK, I can't figure this one out either. I'm too young to be shrinking already.
Doctor & Dentist Visits - 21!! Lucie had 14 - checkups, immunizations, ear infections, ear tubes, etc. Mommie had 7 - dentist, dermatology (folks wear your sun screen and hats - I'm already being treated for pre-cancerous stuff on my ears and my nose), physical.
Shopping for Baby Stuff - things I realized I needed after I got home, baby food, diapers, etc. - ???? hours. By the way, Lucie LOVES to go shopping. Uh oh.....
Legal Stuff - Added Lucie to my benefits; got Lucie's social security number; filed request for legal name change with my local courthouse.
Hugs and Kisses - Too many to count!!
This is Lucie's referral photo - the first picture I saw of her in June 2008, when I found out who my baby was!
Lucie Today!
Saturday, January 31, 2009
What I Did On My Leave
Friday, January 30, 2009
Bitten By the Bug
January 28 - 30, 2009
If you've followed this blog at all you will know that I have gotten woefully behind. The last time I was up-to-date was on Christmas Day! My card reader broke, and then somehow I just couldn't seem to find the time. With Lucie not taking naps during the day, middle of the night is the only time I can get anything done.
When I first created this blog it was for those at home to follow our journey to Viet Nam to get Lucie. Since then I've decided to try and keep it up, as a journal. This is Lucie's story and hopefully someday she will enjoy reading it. So, does this mean I am really a blogger now? I think I've been bitten by the blogging bug. I just need to do a better job of keeping up with my posts.
So, Tuesday night I stayed up until around 3am trying to catch up on a month's worth of updates. I am sleeping in Lucie's room in a double bed next to her crib. When I decided to call it quits on the blogging for the night and go to bed, this is how I found Lucie. She often wakes up in the wee hours and wants to get in bed with me, and then she sleeps soundly through the rest of the night. I figured that she had waked up and when she saw that I was not in bed, she just fell asleep in the corner closest to the bed. She looks so pitiful. Anyhow, just two hours later she woke me up and she was burning up. She had a temp of 103.5. It continued to rise throughout the day and around 24 hours later reached a peak of 104.8. I was scared to death. My mom came up to help me - we had Lucie in the bathtub a couple of times, and did a lot of walking and rocking. On Thursday at the pediatrician's office Lucie was confirmed with Influenza Type A. So in the picture, was she just missing me or was it that she had been bitten by the flu bug? She is doing better today, but still not eating and not drinking too much. Today she did eat some yogurt and some ice cream - two of her favorite things. She has just been miserable - I hate seeing her this way. We are over the worst of it and I hope she continues to improve quickly!
Lucie's Tupperware Drawer
January 27, 2008
I didn't get a picture of the entire mess she made here. This is before she pulled out half the contents of the tupperware drawer. At this point she was pulling a blue cup out and putting it back in - out, in, out, in. I thought that was pretty good. Next came removing the entire drawer's contents.
My sister-in-law's father came out from Arkansas for my nephew's basketball games. We were happy he could come visit us while he was here.
School and Feeding the Animals
January 26, 2009
Our church has a mommy's morning out program on Monday and Wednesday mornings. Lucie started going earlier this month, so we could start transitioning both of us from being away from each other :) There is one other little boy in her class and a wonderful teacher. This morning was her 4th time attending, I think, and things have been getting easier until this morning. I left her screaming, which breaks my heart. Going back to work is going to be so hard on both of us. Ok, who am I kidding. It's going to be hard on me :) I think little Lu will be just fine.
I've been trying to teach Lucie how to use her eating utensils. Sometimes I let her play with them during her meals. This morning she started feeding Curious George and her polar bear. Now if she can just do as well for herself as she did feeding them!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
13 Months Old Today
January 25, 2009
Lucie is 13 months old today - and she has finally figured out how to get into the kitchen cabinets. She has been playing with the doors/drawers ever since we got home, but hadn't quite figured out how to open them wide. Oh what fun we are having now! I have safety latches on them, but had not been keeping them latched since she hadn't figured out how to open them. Those days are gone....
I've been thinking about what changes have occurred in the past three months. I got Lucie when she was a few days older than 10 months and today she is 13 months old. She was just a tiny ball when I got her, and she clung to me like she was never going to let go. She has certainly blossomed in three months.
What Lucie is Saying:
- Mama
- Papa
- Grandmommie
- Uh Oh (when she drops something, but more often when she throws it down)
- Jungle
- Pretty
- Thank You (sounds like Hey Hoo, but always said at very appropriate times so she knows what she is saying)
- Bye Bye
- God
- Hi (over and over again - this is too cute)
- Baa (for bottle)
- Ho Ho (what Santa says)
- Oof Oof (what the doggie says)
- Mooo, or sometimes just Mmmm (what the cow says)
- Cack Cack (what the duck says - this is the first word she said after Mama)
- Ooooww (what the kitty cat says)
- Various Family and Friends' Names
- Aaahhh (to open her mouth to let me see that she has swallowed what she is eating)
13 Things I Love About Lucie:
- I love the way she smells.
- I love the silky feel of her hair.
- I love the way she snuggles up to me when we sleep together.
- I love the way she hugs me, and puts her cheek on mine.
- I love her deep belly laugh when she gets tickled about something.
- I love the pure look of joy on her face when she has done something new and she knows it.
- I love it when she does the hulk.
- I love her pretty little lips and fingers and hands - she's like a doll.
- I love the way her eyes sparkle and the way they crinkle up when she is laughing - or about to let out a big wail.
- I love it when she comes to wherever I am and wraps her arms around my legs.
- I love watching her sing karaoke in her microphone.
- I love watching her read her books, flipping the pages and really looking like she is reading (even if the book is upside down :).
- I love the way she squirms with happiness when I pick her up.
Drinking Through Straws
January 24, 2009
We had a very busy day today. We drove a couple of hours south of here with Grandmommie and Papa to visit a cousin who is sick. After we visited with our cousin, we went to lunch with Aunt J to celebrate her birthday. After lunch we drove back home. Papa decided to stay home but Grandmommie, Lucie and I went to see my nephew play basketball. I never get to see him play, and since this game was on a Saturday and was at 5pm, it was an ideal game to attend. After the game we had dinner at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants. Lucie ate some of my refried beans, Mexican rice and beef burrito - she really likes Mexican food. She also drank through a straw for the first time. I think it surprised her, and then when she realized what she was doing I couldn't pry the straw from her mouth. Fun!
Lucie Goes to the Dentist
January 22, 2009
I've heard some horror stories about the teeth problems some Vietnamese kids adopted from orphanages have had, so I wanted to get Lucie checked out and started out with the proper care. Lucie's dentist has a really cool office - it's painted with a jungle theme and there's a video that shows a dentist cleaning a monkey's teeth. Lucie loved it. And she didn't mind the dentist so much until he wanted to look into her mouth, and then it was a totally different story. Lucie now has 9 teeth - the four upper and lower front teeth, and one molar in the back. Her 7th tooth came out Christmas day. The 8th tooth started erupting a couple of weeks ago and is still coming out. I did not even know the molar in the back had erupted because Lucie won't let me look in her mouth. She also has at least a couple of other molars that are just under the skin and look like they will be popping out at any time. Whew. The kid's mouth must really be hurting her. It stays red and swollen most of the time. The dentist says everything looks really good, and that we should be brushing and flossing Lucie's teeth every day. Good luck with that, huh?
Mommie Takes a Shower
January 21, 2009
My cousin J gave me the best advice - make sure you take a shower every day. It doesn't matter what time it is, even if you take it late at night. She was oh so right. The first week in our house I did not take a shower and I felt terrible (honestly, there was a lot of adjusting going on that first week at home, not just lack of showers). I still remember that first Saturday night after I had been at our house with Lucie by myself for a week. My brother and his family came over and I said please watch her, I have to take a shower!
My sister told me to put the exersaucer in the bathroom so Lucie can have something safe to do and she can see me while I take a shower. What a lifesaver! And I've had a shower every day since then....
Old Family Friends and Webkins
January 13, 2009
Today Lucie, Grandmommie and I had lunch with a dear family friend who has been just like family to us for many years, in fact back to the generation before us. We got some good pictures with Grandmommie, but in the pics with me and with our family friend we both have our eyes closed - oh well. Lucie got her first webkin today - exciting! I don't really know what they are, I just know they tie in to the computer somehow and all the kids have them. I need to get up to speed on this kind of stuff! Our lunch was yummy - taco soup, cream cheese sandwiches (with the crust cut off), overnight salad and rum cake with ice cream for dessert. Lucie ate some of everything, and actually did quite well with the taco soup and sandwiches. She seems to like spicy food, which is good since I do too.
Pretty !
January 11, 2009
Today we were visited by a special friend from work and her three daughters. Lucie loved playing with them and hopes to see them again soon! Lucie touched one of the girls and said "pretty." She was also able to say two of the girls' names, but the third was a little more challenging and she didn't say that one - maybe next visit :)
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