Children's Discovery Museum

Today we went to the Children's Discovery Museum in San Jose. So did everyone else in Silicon Valley. I'm glad we got to see what it's like so we can go back on a less crowded day. We took her to the room that is for four year olds and under. They should pass out helmets for anyone over three feet tall.

This morning we took her to the farm to see the animals, but she slept through it. Again.

And she said banana today. I have witnesses.

The kids' table

If you've ever been upset that you can't graduate from the kids' table, you probably don't remember what it was like the first time you got to sit there instead of in a high chair. We had dinner with some friends in Marin on the way home from our safari and Casey was thrilled to get to sit with the big kids. Maybe next time we go her feet will touch the ground.

Baby's first safari

Yesterday we all went to Napa to go on a safari at Safari West. You get to ride around in an old 1950s army jeep and see animals from Africa. They don't recommend taking kids under 3 but we couldn't help ourselves. It was pretty much like the plane ride with her squirming from one lap to another, but instead of hoping she'd fall asleep we were hoping she wouldn't. She didn't. She loved it, as long as we kept moving.

On the way up we stopped for lunch at a winery that has spectacular views and it was a gorgeous day. While we were eating we put Casey down to run around in the grass and she took off for the next picnic table where there was a family with a huge golden retriever. She ran right up to it. The girl is now obsessed with dogs. It's hard to believe that only a few weeks ago we were walking at an outdoor cafe when she noticed a bulldog and immediately started walking backwards going the other direction.

During the safari we kept pointing at animals and saying "look at the doggie!" because she liked it better when she thought they were doggies. Eric was muttering/whispering "tehhhhh, doggie" each time because he doesn't want her to think every animal is a dog. But she gets so excited when you tell her it's a dog! And it was over an hour ride, we had to keep her entertained! Of course we told her which ones were giraffes, zebras, and cows, but I don't think she's going to remember wildebeast or the millions of different types of antelopes anyway. I don't even know all them - apex, ibecs, ipecacs, something like that. I've never seen any of those in any of her books.

More grandparents!

Saturday we went to the airport to pick up my dad and stepmom. They came over to our house and we hung out for the rest of the day. Of course, Casey taught them the sign for book, and here is a picture of Grandpa Larry reading her one of her favorites. She's sitting on her stepping stool. She thinks it's a desk and chair.

Healthy baby

We went back to the doctor today to follow up on all of her tests. They tested for lead, calcium, HIV, and a bunch of other things. They checked to see if she had the vaccines that her paperwork said she had. She was in the normal range for every single one of her tests, and she had antibodies for all of the vaccines they said they gave her. The doctor was impressed at how healthy she is. Then she got three shots. Poor baby. That's just the start of it.

Dog dog dog dog dog

All week, whenever Kahuna walked by Casey, Casey whimpered and wanted to be picked up. She got braver each day and on the last day she surprised us all and brought Kahuna his toy flamingo to play tug of war.

Two video clips:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMK7XFL3iXQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFD_FkWOTwo

That afternoon we got to the airport later than we should have, but I didn't want to sit around in the airport like last time. Then our flight was delayed, so once again we had hours to kill at the airport. Casey didn't run and yell like last time but she walked up to several people and just stood there and stared at them until they looked up so she could give them her tiger grin. She left a trail of people giggling and waving in the waiting area, while her two unwitting accomplices stood by with sheepish grins.

When we got on the plane we sat behind a woman wearing a fur coat. Thank goodness Casey can't talk yet because you can guess what she signed when she saw that coat peeking out the sides of the chair in front of her. Dog dog dog dog dog. We spent 2.5 hours trying to keep her from touching it. She must have gained a pound on the flight we gave her so much food. She closed and opened the window shade about 500 times. Well, she closed it, pointed and grunted (loudly), and I opened it.

She talked to my mom on the phone today. Ususally she will stop making noise as soon as you put the phone to her ear, but this time she actually did some "talking". Later she did the sign for dog and then phone. She talked to the grandma with the doggie? Maybe? We should have given each of the grandparents their own sign. Darn.

Family

Casey had so much fun this week. She met four of her six grandparents and two aunts and two uncles. Every time I looked, she was sitting on someone's lap with a book. She played with lots of toys and got lots of attention and food. What more could a girl want?

Tiger grin

New dogs, new tricks

When we arrived in Santa Fe late on Thursday night Casey met Kahuna, the miniature schnauzer. Casey burst out crying as soon as she saw him. She's been tentative around him for most of the week but is starting to warm up to him. We taught her the sign for dog (you pat your thigh twice like you are calling a dog) and she has been "talking" about him all week. Yesterday she woke up signing "dog dog dog", which was a nice change from "milk milk milk" and "book book book".

They've been teaching each other things. Kahuna taught Casey how to open presents. We brought him a present wrapped in tissue paper and he tore the paper right off. Casey watched closely and learned what to do. No, she didn't use her mouth.

Casey taught Kahuna to dribble a soccer ball. She taught herself the day before. We were all very surprised because we didn't show her how to do it. One of my mom's friends brought over some toys, including a ball, and she just started kicking the ball in front of herself while she walked. Now Kahuna can do it too.

This picture shows the two of them a few days ago. You can tell she thinks he's a little too close. Today she walked over to him and touched his tail and turned and ran as fast as she could.

Real snow!

We're in Santa Fe visiting grandparents and Casey is seeing snow for the first time! This is the real stuff, even better than the styrofoam peanuts. We walked around the plaza in the snow for an hour and Casey had a blast, even though she was wearing 9 layers of clothes.

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The plane ride here was not so fun. Eric might tell you a different story but don't listen to him. We got to the airport really early, which was probably a mistake. She can't walk without running and she can't run without yelling and there was lots of space to run so we chased her all over the place. Then she was fidgety on the plane (9pm flight) and couldn't get to sleep because there was so much to watch. She had homemade gingerbread cookies and milk for takeoff and landing to make sure her ears were ok and she didn't complain. It was just the sitting still part that was tricky.

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But now we're here, basking in the attention of four grandparents. My mom and stepdad and Eric's parents are here, which means SIX book readers! One person can feed her, while another reads her books. Who could ask for more? She has a rocking horse and a little ride-on car and that's just the start of it. Little girl is getting spoiled and loving every minute of it.

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The grandparents keep asking if we want to go out to dinner or a movie, just the two of us. Not really. It's really nice to be able to take a shower, read a magazine, or eat with two hands (and a fork, of course, you know what I mean) without worrying that Casey will get into something. And it's nice to have someone cooking for us. And cleaning up after us. Now that I think about it, maybe Casey isn't the only one getting spoiled...

Rainy day activity

While Casey was napping last Thursday she received a big package in the mail so I waited for her to wake up before opening it. The box had a gift basket with a puzzle, toys, shoes, socks, and other fun stuff. Since you've already seen the pictures I can't keep you in suspense about her favorite part (although she loved the whole basket). It was a rainy day, and we weren't going to be able to go out to play so I started throwing a few handfuls of the styrofoam peanuts on her. Next thing I knew she was pouring them all over and having a blast. Unfortunately I didn't have the camera handy to capture her squeals of glee while opening the package and destroying the house, although I managed to capture the cleanup afterwards. She's 17 months old now. I think that's old enough to clean up her own mess.

Missing Pages

So I located the missing pages from the This Little Doggy book. Last night I was trying to put Casey to bed, and I have this routine where I read her a few books. Well, she managed to pull out the This Little Doggy book - except it was just the last 2 pages. Yep - she had me read it 10 times. She did seem confused that it was going so fast, but she didn't seem to tire of it. -Eric

Night night

I think Casey said "night night" today when I put her down for a nap. If so, that's her third word, after dada and mama. She also knows the sign for night night, almost. She tilts her head waaay to the side and puts one hand on each ear, or just the top ear. But we know what she means. (It's supposed to be the head to the side and both hands together under the bottom ear.) I'm not saying she's ever ASKED to go night night, but when we say it she does the sign and she seems to know what it means.

Last night Eric took her to Target (hmm, I think we may go several times a week, I feel like I write about it all the time...) and he said she was pretty mellow until they got to the book section where she started doing the sign for book book book (putting her hands together and then opening and closing them like reading a book). She says that all day now, maybe even more than milk. Remind me not to teach her the sign for candy. She also knows the sign for food/hungry, which we try to make her use instead of the grunt and point method. When she's hungry the grunt can get pretty loud.

The current count on reading "This Little Doggy" today is 11 times. That's just since 7:30 and she went down for a nap at 9:30 and I'm not sure if Eric read it to her while I was running this morning. Casey's read it herself even more times, but this is the condensed version, which lost the last few pages, which we don't always get to before she loses interest anyway. We got a new one but I'm afraid to throw out the old one.

Always a step ahead of us

Busy day, part 2 -- Casey's first rides

Thursday afternoon we went to Christmas in the Park in San Jose with Veronica and Kyle. Kyle got an allyoucanride bracelet and went on every ride at least once while Casey watched (and waved and clapped) in amazement. Casey was too short to go on most of them, but she got to ride the carousel twice. She was surprised and happy to see her mirror friend was there too. Otherwise it was just us. The teacup ride operator let her on and told us not to spin it, but of course we didn't listen.

Busy day

Thursday we ventured out of the house in the morning to meet some friends at the park. Casey was brave and went through a tunnel and had a great time on the swings. Nothing I write can compare to these pictures. I can't stop looking at them.

Gymboree!

We finally managed to get to Gymboree today. We got there 10 minutes early and the doors were locked so we sat on the bench outside and played with her butterfly and bee finger puppets. Then another mom and her daughter came up and Casey handed the little girl one of the finger puppets. It was so cute. Then they traded. I was pretty impressed.

Then we got inside and she walked in like she owned the place. She started running on the mats and climbing on stuff and then spotted the bucket full of balls and headed right for it. I ran after her and didn't even have a chance to take my shoes off, and if you've been to Gymboree you know that's a faux pas. You are also supposed to stay close to your kid too so I wasn't sure which rule was more important.

There were a few times I thought she'd get nervous or scared, like when all the parents were holding the edges of the parachute and floating it around and the kids were running under it, but she really liked it. And I thought she might hate the bubbles since the doctor at the International Adoption Clinic blew some and Casey just screamed louder, but she was pointing at them and trying to catch them. We had so much fun we stayed for two hours until I realized I should probably feed her and put her down for a nap.

Blood, sweat, and tears

We went to Casey's pediatrician today. Eric and I liked her a lot. Casey isn't so sure yet, but she did seem to be good with kids. Casey is just over 19.5 pounds. That puts her in the 3rd percentile for girls who are born in the US and are exactly her age. She's on the charts! The doctor wasn't worried about her weight and said her weight, height, and head size are all fine and in proportion. She told us we don't need to give her formula anymore because she should be filling up on real food instead, and that giving her formula is kind of like giving her a milkshake. That's terrible, who would give their 16 month old a milkshake?? If you see her don't rat us out. Casey's almost 30 inches tall, which I think was the 14th percentile. The doctor said Casey doesn't seem to be delayed at all and seems to be on target for a 16 month old, based on the things she can do.

Then we went down to the lab so they could draw blood to do lots of tests. In the waiting room she was up to her favorite trick - staring at people until they looked at her and then giving them the scary tiger grin. It's really funny but it's kind of embarrassing because who knows if people want to be stared at. Then we went in and she sat on Eric's lap while three people surrounded her and drew her blood. They took a lot. She screamed and cried and her face was beet red. It took a long long time. I kept asking, "is this the last one?" and they kept saying no. It was painful for all of us. By the end Eric had her sweaty headprint on his shirt and snot and tears all over his arms. One of the guys gave her a toy camera and she held onto it the whole time. Then it was over and she stopped crying and all was forgotten. I hope. I'm pretty sure everyone in the crowded waiting room heard the screams.

When we got home we ate second lunch and then she puked it all over me and the couch. That's the first time that has happened to me. I thought she was just going to burp or cough or something and it all happened in slow motion. Otherwise, it's been a pretty mellow day. Just the usual, reading "This Little Doggy" over and over and over. Then she was studying it on her own, which was pretty cute. The first page is me: "This doggy wants to sleep." Page two is Casey: "This doggy wants to play." I can read it with my eyes closed. The sad thing is that it bugs me when she loses interest before I'm finished reading it.

Visitors

My friends Heather and Aaron (from grad school) came over with Hayley yesterday. They brought Casey some alphabet blocks. But not just any alphabet blocks, these have Greek letters. Eric said "This is the best present they've ever brought me!" Then we got in a fight trying to teach Casey what the Greek letter rho stands for. He says density, I say correlation. H & A like to bring out the geek in us. We try to get the tower as high as we can before Casey can knock it down.

Our visits with H & A have always included swimming, hiking, or biking. This visit we didn't get out of the house. We had lunch and played with blocks, toys, and books. We fed babies and changed diapers. Casey and Hayley played tug of war with a ribbon. Hayley is surprisingly strong for a 9 month old.

They also brought Casey a really cute hat that looks like a strawberry top. After they left we put it on her, along with her giant fuzzy pink coat (also from them), and took her to the train station where the Christmas train dropped off Santa and some carollers. Casey and Eric sang along to all the songs. She loves singing and music and especially the clapping in between carols. Santa came right up to her and said hi (he was workin' the crowd) but she didn't seem to notice that he looked or dressed differently from anyone else. She got a LOT of compliments on her hat. We couldn't walk 4 feet without someone stopping to talk to her. She smiled and was very social.

Got books?

Now that she knows the sign for milk there is a lot less yelling in this house. I'd say that's what she wanted half the time. And now she knows the sign for book, so it's cut down even more. I wonder what the sign for catfood is.

An excursion

We went to the grocery store today. I was afraid to go there alone with her but Eric took her to Whole Foods AND Target after work the other day, so I figured I should be able to handle Lucky on a weekday during the day. She liked the cart and didn't even complain when I strapped her in. All I had to do was keep the cookies coming, let her hold the toothpaste, and say "wheee!" occasionally. We got a ton of food and when we got home I realized the hard part was still ahead of me -- getting the groceries into the house. We held hands for the first two trips and then for the rest I sat her on a step in between the garage and the front door and ran back and forth as fast as I could, talking loudly so she could hear me.

Before that we met Max again at the park for a walk. We let Casey get out of the stroller and walk quite a bit. Even though we're trying to get her to gain weight I don't want to be one of those people who takes the kid running or hiking every day in the stroller and wonders why their kid is so chubby and out of shape. We checked out the animals at the farm again and watched the chickens and ducks get fed. She loved it.

The morning was like any other morning, trying to get her to eat and nap, and changing diapers. I didn't even attempt a bath today (for either of us, unfortunately). Her favorite toy is no longer the Wet Ones or the Kleenex packet. Yesterday she discovered the pantry and pulled out almost everything on the bottom shelves and came up with two favorites: a can of tomato paste and a can of Fancy Feast catfood. She's been pretending to drink them for two days now. No, we didn't get a cat, but sometimes we feed the neighbors' cat when they go out of town.

The other new thing is that she knows what her nose is. Today when I asked, "Where's your nose" she stuck her finger in her nose. But then I thought maybe it was a coincidence because while she was playing with our junkmail Valu-Pak coupons she pulled off my glasses and I said "No" and then she handed me a coupon for laser eye surgery. Maybe she just has good timing. But I asked her in front of Max today so I could have a witness and she stuck her finger right in there. She also knows her belly button. That's as far as we've gotten.

I fed my baby butter

This morning when I got back from my run, Eric was giving Casey some oatmeal with fruit babyfood like we always do. I decided to give her a second bowl and lace it with butter. I put little chunks of butter in and let them melt and put some more babyfood on top and started giving it to her. She didn't seem to notice but she did notice the stick of butter sitting on the table and started grunting and pointing. Alright, you want butter, you got butter. So I gave her little pieces of butter. She didn't seem to love it but she kept eating it. I wasn't sure if I wanted to laugh or gag.

The entire day was devoted to feeding her as much as possible. I made potato buds (mashed potatoes from a box) and added whole milk and butter. Mmm they were good. I think this weight gain plan might bring back the 8 pounds I lost in China on the Chickenhead Diet. (You don't have to eat the chickenhead, you just need one on the platter so you lose your appetite. You also need to chase a toddler and carry 20 pounds for 2 weeks.)

International adoption clinic

Today was the day for our International Adoption Clinic appointment. Eric came home at 12:30 and we headed over to Oakland. Casey was one of the only babies that didn't cry when they got checked by the doctors in China (which was chaotic), and two of her friends have already been to the clinic and survived (only cried during the ear check), so we didn't think it would be too bad. Casey hated it. Hated the doctor. Hated the room. Hated the equipment. Hated it all. She's never cried so much since we met her, which was one month ago today, by the way. There were a few two or three minute periods where we got her to stop crying by singing, dancing, spinning, making formula, giving cheerios and juice boxes, showing her her own books and toys, showing her new toys, walking, talking, making faces, and singing some more. She wouldn't even look at her favorite pack of tissues. She cried so much I was almost crying.

The worst part was that she's lost weight since China. She weighed 19 pounds. On our scale at home she weighs 20.6, but I guess that is wrong. I felt like she was eating so much, but maybe that's just compared to the first few days when she wouldn't eat at all. The doctor gave us a sheet of weight gain tips. She started going through them and told us to give Casey lots of butter. After that I said we can just read the list at home because Casey was bawling again. I assume it's the opposite of all of the weight loss tips I've seen over the years. Other than the weight (and VERY waxy ears) she looks good but we have a lot of tests to do (I have to take poop to the lab, waah) and vaccinations to get. She couldn't hear Casey's heart very well over the screaming and offered to do it again if we want to stop by another day. Hahaha. Yeah, right.

On the way home we stopped at In-N-Out for burgers and shakes. Eric and I have a rule that we can only go there on road trips and special occasions and we figured this was a special occasion. And if I was trying to gain weight, I would start with milkshakes. That's got to be on the list. We got her a vanilla shake and she was as happy as she'd been sad earlier. She didn't know what to think at first but then she kept doing the sign for "milkmilkmilkmilk" with her little fist while she drank. I hope we haven't ruined her for formula. She drank half the shake there and is finishing it off at home now, still smiling.

Here are some pictures from her first trip to In-N-Out. I was going to take a picture of the doctor trying to hear Casey's heart over the screaming and crying, but I didn't want to risk her thinking I was unfit. It would have been a nice contrast though.

Don't forget

If you want to help Casey's friends who are still living at the orphanage, go to

http://www.lovewithoutboundaries.com/

Her orphanage wants to buy better quality formula for the babies. Even $10 will help.

click on the Visa/MasterCard icon in the bottom left
click "other donation"
and in the notes section write "YangDong Orphanage assistance, in honor of Casey". Or if you prefer to donate to them in general you can just write "In honor of Casey."
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Or you can write a check and include the same note. Send it to
Love Without Boundaries
306 S Bryant, Suite C
PMB 145
Edmond, OK 73034
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Kate will let us know when a donation is made in Casey's honor. And it's tax deductible.

Making up for lost time

Saturday and Sunday Casey skipped her morning nap. So, thinking that maybe she doesn't need them anymore, I didn't try to get her to sleep yesterday morning. At 10:50 she fell asleep and so I figured I had 30-45 minutes to clean the house and do the laundry. I did the laundry, washed the dishes, threw out the trash (we have trash all over the house because every time we open something we give her the wrapper), and even washed the pots and she was still asleep! Once I was done washing the pots I didn't even know what to do with myself. She slept for two and a half hours! Geez! We were late to meet my friends for lunch and then late for our walk at the park, but it was worth it! Right now she is sleeping and I have my fingers crossed.

Yesterday's lunch was at a Japanese restaurant. She ate and drank everything in sight. Avocado, chicken, rice, a huge glass of apple juice -- she even tried the miso soup. Then we went hiking and Wendy was nice enough to bring her a box of Cheerios! Best present ever. I was shocked when she ate them the whole way. I didn't even think to bring a snack after the meal she'd just eaten.

This morning I went for a run while Eric stayed with Casey. I came home at 7:50 and he was showered and had her in the high chair eating. He'd already had one conference call and was preparing for a second one. Why does he have to make it look so easy?

Oops, 30 minute nap today. Ah well. I hardly got anything done. She woke up really smiley though!

Backpack

Saturday Tim came over and we took Casey for a hike in the backpack. We weren't sure how she'd like it. She loved it for the five minutes she was awake. Then she was hanging over the side and looked so uncomfortable. When she woke up we were walking back home in the dark and she sang the rest of the way home. Lalala, yayaya, zazaza. It's easy to sing along.

Victory

There is no feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment like getting a sleeping baby out of the carseat and into the house and back to sleep. It's so risky but who wants to sit in the car for an hour. We did a little victory dance.