Meant to Be - Steven Curtis Chapman

Here's a song by Steven Curtis Chapman. Love him!

December Update

Here's an update on what our Gracie Girl has been up to.

Language:

Considering she has only been exposed to English for 8 weeks now she is doing wonderful. Gracie seems to understand most of what I tell her: sit down, go get your shoes, etc. She can point out her nose, ears, mouth and tummy when asked. She is speaking a few English words now: hi, bye bye, more, Mama, Dada (she just switched from calling Jon, Baba to Dada). She continues to use some Mandarin words too and we understand most of if. She does say one word that sounds like "dumb". We don't know what it means, but it is mostly directed at our cat. Our boys do NOT use that word so we know she is NOT trying to say what it means in English.

Sleeping:

She has been moved to the crib in Jayden's room and is doing great. She only cries for a few minutes now before settling down and going to sleep. The key is to keep the door open and then she doesn't get so upset. She naps everyday, but is a very light sleeper and many times her nap is shortened by a noise she hears. We try not to let her fall asleep in the car because she won't transfer to her bed and go back to sleep.

Eating:

She's doing pretty well with the new foods we have introduced to her. She will at least try them. She loves chicken, lasagna and oatmeal. I still go to the Asian market and buy her some Chinese noodles and steamed buns that she likes. I can hardly get her to eat any vegetables, but she loved the green bean casserole at Thanksgiving. Must have been the sauce. She doesn't like anything plain.

Health:

She had her first visit to the doctor here in the US. She has gained more than 2 lbs since we got her 8 weeks ago. She still falls into the 3% for weight and is 50% for height. The doctors office accepted all the shots she received in China. The nurse spent a good deal of time sorting through the vaccination records we received in China and then consolidated it on to her "yellow card". This is a nurse that has worked in our pediatrician's office at least since Joshua was born 9 years ago and she definitely knows what she is doing. The doctor is not concerned at all about her missing hand and said we should just monitor her progress and see if she needs some sort of occupational therapy when she gets older. Let me tell you that girl can climb and get into everything. Her missing hand does not hold her back. We honestly don't even notice it any more. Even the kids in Jayden's preschool class don't mention her missing hand anymore.

Potty training:

Yes, the girl is starting to potty train. It was all her doing. Last weekend she took Jon by the hand and led him to the bathroom, pointed at the toilet and started to tug at her clothes. He held her over the toilet and she went and has continued to go at least once a day.