Digital Scrapbooking

I have been trying something new the past year-digital scrapbooking. I am enjoying being creative with my photos without the mess of paper, scissors, tape being all over my dining room table for weeks! I am currently doing the photos from China for Miah's lifebook. Here are a few I have done this past week.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! Miah enjoyed her day...the highlight being the Candy Cane she stole off the tree before breakfast and her new bike! It is so much fun to watch her discover new things and enjoy first experiences. Last Christmas at this time we did not know who or where Miah was and I was so hoping she would be with us this year to celebrate. What a gift she is to us! We feel so blessed to call her our daughter! What a privilege it is!

Meeting Santa

This morning I braved the mall and took the girls to see Santa. I thought Miah would probably cry and that there was no way Madi would get near him, but they all ended up on Santa's knee. The clincher for Madi was that she had brought "Sparkles" the class mascot and wanted to have her photo with Santa to show the class. Miah was so excited about the candy cane she got until she tasted it. She made a face of disgust and tossed it in the nearest garbage can. Not a fan of mint I guess.

Cuteness

First Snow

Today Miah ventured outside for the first time in the snow. It was -12 and she kept signing to us that it was cold...yes baby...Canada can be cold! Welcome home!

Caroling at the mall

Last weekend the girls church choir got to carol at the mall. They had a great time. This coming Friday and Saturday night they will be presenting "Christmas Shop around the Corner." It will be great free entertainment for the whole family. Come and join us if you can. Mission Creek Alliance Church. Showtimes are 6:30 Friday and 3:30 on Saturday!

She's Home!

Miah was released this afternoon. Now the fun begins. She needs to keep her arm restraints on, keep her fingers away from her mouth, she cannot be too active, cannot eat anything other than strained baby food for a few days and we need to keep control of the pain. After 7 days we can introduce some thicker foods, but nothing thicker than mashed potatoes for at least 3 weeks. Mommy needs to get creative in the kitchen!

3 Nights in the hospital...

Here are some photos of Miah from the hospital.. Yesterday she spiked a high fever and was really not feeling well. Today she is doing a bit better, but we are still waiting to hear if she will be discharged. She is getting a bit bored in her crib and has watched a lot of Kai Lan.

Waiting to be called into surgery. They gave her this bear and she has been holding on to it ever since!

First afternoon. Post-Op

Hard to build blocks with these things on my arm!

Sleeping. This was when her fever spiked.

Talking to Grandma!

Listening to Hannah Montana! Mackenzie lent this to her for the night...

Update

Miah is doing great!

We arrived at the hospital yesterday at 7:30. Mommy got up extra early due to the time being wrong on the alarm clock (a whole other story.) Miah was happy and excited to explore her new surroundings once we arrived at the hospital. A huge answer to prayer was that I was allowed to escort her to the OR. I had my whole "momma bear" speech ready to go, but when the Anesthetist arrived he said "So Mom you all ready to come in with her?" I didn't have to plead my case at all! Miah walked independently into the OR and was smiling and making all the OR staff fall in love with her! I got to hold her while they put in her IV and put her to sleep. She fell asleep in my arms with me whispering in her ear how much Mommy loves her. She was not frightened at all! An overwhelming sense of peace was on both of us. She quickly went limp in my arms and I was able to place her on the table, kiss her and walk away....OK...a few tears were shed by Mommy on the way out...there is nothing like feeling your child go limp in your arms, knowing they are no longer breathing. But I felt fully secure that she was safe in the care of the wonderful staff.

Her surgery was on time and lasted just under 3 hours. First the ENT put tubes in her ears and then the plastic surgeon did her palate repair. I was able to get a good look at it this afternoon and it is truly amazing! A perfectly shaped palate! They even added some tissue to her gum line and if it takes (we will know in two weeks) she might not have to undergo a second surgery when her adult teeth start to come in. Fingers crossed!

She is kept comfortable on a morphine drip as well as some Tylenol and Advil. However, the morphine does turn my sweet smiling girl into a grouchy angry bear when she initially wakes up. I have seen a side to her not seen before. She has been so cooperative with all the Doctors and Nurses and does exactly what they ask of her. She is wearing restraints on her arms to prevent her from pulling out the stitch in her tongue and even holds out her little arms for me to put them back on after I have taken them off to rub her arms a bit. The stitch in her tongue has been the most bothersome part for her and she keeps showing me her mouth in hopes that I will pull it out. They told me they have left it in as a way to pull her tongue forward quickly if they need to find an airway.

Tonight she has started sipping some soup broth and even had a few spoonfuls of ice cream for dinner. For lunch she enjoyed her Jello and even started asking for it by name.

Mommy came home tonight for a good night's sleep so Daddy is on duty tonight! I will go back and trade with him in the morning. I am sorry there are no photos...I brought home my camera to upload them, but forgot the connection cord at the hospital! You'll have to take my word that she looks pretty cute in hospital jammies!

Off to the hospital!

Today is Miah's palate surgery! I will try to update if I have access to wireless at the hospital! Thank you for you prayers! Mommy is very anxious!

Giving Thanks

Miah is always very insistent that we pray before a meal and before we put her to bed. It is very cute to see how quickly this has become a routine for her. Her favorite part is to yell a big Amen when we are done!

Palate Surgery

Miah's palate surgery is quickly approaching...only 8 more days. We have her pre-op appointment on Friday. I am hoping they will allow me to come with her into the OR until she is asleep. I know she would panic if someone were to take her from my arms and walk away. I'm sure she would think she was being given to someone else again. I am going to try to insist they allow me to escort her due to attachment reasons. The thought of her thinking I am giving her up breaks my heart.

In case you are wondering, this is a diagram of what her palate currently looks like. Her lip surgery was done in China when she was 15 months. I wonder how much of that experience she remembers....



During the procedure, they will make an incision on either side of her palate along the gum line and then bring the tissue together in the middle (ok...not a really good technical description, but that's about how I understand it.)


I think the part that will really hurt are those initial incisions along the gumline. They will not stitch those back together and will leave them raw. This is to prevent too much scar tissue from developing and further problems when her jaw is growing.

Post Placement Report

Today we had a visit with our Social Worker to do a post placement report to send to China. China requires two reports...one sent at 6 months and one at one year. Due to our Social Worker going on holidays and Miah's upcoming surgery, and to allow time to translate the document, we had our interview today.

Miah has been a part of our family now for four months. Most days it seems like she has been here much longer. Many people have asked us how attachment is coming and that was one area we discussed today. Having read all the worse case scenarios, we have been blessed and surprised at Miah's adjustment and her ability to not only attach to us, but to her Sisters and Grandparents. We are assuming that she must have attached to someone in the past, most likely a caregiver at the orphanage. She is building a trust with both Mom and Dad and she will seek either of us out for comfort. She has stopped looking to strangers (for the most part) for comfort or security. Initially she would go up to anyone wanting to be picked up, now she definitely looks for us. If for a second she does not see us, she bursts into tears. In the comfort of our home we can disappear from sight for a few minutes, but in a public place she will panic. So, I think it safe to say that she is attaching to us, but is still insecure. We are hoping that the trust will continue to grow and that once she acquires more understanding of English, we can reassure her that we are ALWAYS coming back. It must be so confusing to a child when their past experiences tell them that sometimes when people go away, they never come back. So we live day by day loving her and trying to build a safe trusting relationship.



Miah has come such a long way in the past four months! She loves life and REALLY loves swimming! On a side note...look at those beautiful straight legs! They were so bowed when she first came home and with some good nutrition and exercise have strengthened and straighted right up!

Miah's Adoption Video

I have been working on a keepsake adoption video for Miah. I wanted to make something that tells her story. Here is a sneak peek...it is still a work in progress...

Daddy's Girl

Miah is definitely a Daddy's girl. She loves us all, but if Daddy is in the room, she usually seeks out the comfort of his arms. It is amazing to watch the two of them fall deeper in love each day. It didn't take her long to wrap Daddy around her finger! Plus...Daddy can throw her much higher than Mommy can!

Sneak Peek

Miah was so excited to try on her costume...I wasn't sure how she would react to wearing it, but she didn't want to take it off!

Pumpkin Carving

I know this fits in here somehow!!!


Tonight we carved pumpkins...I should note that it started as a family affair, but in the end Drew and I were left with the task. With the occasional "Are they done yet?" coming from the family room, we were pretty much deserted after the initial cut. Miah did however hang around and was very intrigued with the whole process.

Rub a Dub Dub

One of Miah's favorite things to do is have a bath. We have learned that it is a great alternative to a grouchy morning or just when she needs an energy boost! She insists that one of us sit down on the floor beside the tub and will get upset immediately if we stand up...not sure if she is scared we will leave her in there alone or if she thinks we will take her out of the tub before she is ready to get out...

3 months

Miah has been a part of our family for three months now. She has made huge progress over the last couple of months. Today she had a developmental assessment done, and in every area other than speech & language, she was right at par with her peers. When I look back at the photos from July she looks so much younger and smaller. She has put on a few pounds and is a definitely a girl who loves what life has to offer!


July

October

Pumpkin Patch

Today we did a family outing to the pumpkin patch. It was a beautiful, but very cool fall morning. The girls enjoyed the hay ride and corn maze. They each picked a pumpkin to take home and enjoyed cookies and hot chocolate too.

Surgery Date Set!

Today we met with the plastic surgeon who will be correcting Miah's cleft palate. He took a look at her and said it looks like it should be fairly straight forward. He will be performing a VY pushback procedure, and from the reading we have done, it seems to have good outcomes. She will be in surgery for 2 hours and we have an OR booked for December 2nd. She will spend 2-3 days in the hospital and then come home for Mommy and Daddy to look after her.


Yesterday we had some family photos taken as we will have a post placement report to send to China soon and we are required to send some family photos. Here is one I snapped before the real photographer came...Miah wanted in on the action too, but her cute dress is hidden in this photo as we were trying to save the lovely dress from getting too much drool on it before the real shoot. But she looks cute anyway!

Harvest Moon Festival

The Moon Festival is a holiday in China. It's an occasion for a family reunion. Chinese families like to get together to eat the moon cakes and watch the moon at the Moon Festival night.

Tonight we started a new tradition in our family. Once the sun set we put on our jackets and headed outside, just in the nick of time to catch a glimpse of the moon before it disappeared into the cloudy night sky. The girls played with glow sticks and Drew read to the them the book "The Moon Shines Down."



After that we talked about Miah's birth family and the nannies at the orphanage who loved her very much. The girls each released a balloon, sending them as good wishes to China.



Once inside we "enjoyed" some moon cakes together. I say "enjoyed" lightly...we each had a taste, but no one ate very much of the interesting pastry.

During the Yuan dynasty (A.D.1280-1368) China was ruled by the Mongolian people. Leaders from the preceding Sung dynasty (A.D.960-1280) were unhappy at submitting to foreign rule, and set how to coordinate the rebellion without it being discovered. The leaders of the rebellion, knowing that the Moon Festival was drawing near, ordered the making of special cakes. Backed into each moon cake was a message with the outline of the attack. On the night of the Moon Festival, the rebels successfully attacked and overthrew the government. What followed was the establishment of the Ming dynasty (A.D. 1368-1644). Today, moon cakes are eaten to commemorate this legend.



Not too bad!!!

Miah's Dedication

Today was Miah's dedication. We were honored to have both sets of Grandparents come to church with us today as we dedicated Miah back to the Lord. We know that she is a gift from him and we thank Him everyday for this amazing blessing. After church we went out for lunch at our favorite Chinese restaurant, where we were surprised to see Miah using Chop sticks. She knew how to hold them and was quite successful picking up her food.

First Haircut

OK...so there was not much to trim, but we really needed to trim those bangs as they were starting to get in her eyes. Miah was not too sure about sitting in that chair though. After all the blood tests and Xrays she has had lately she is a little less trusting of strangers touching her. The hairdresser managed a little pony on top, but Miah pulled it out before we got home...good thing I took a photo before.

Cute as a button! Even with the tear stained look!

The Big Day!

Waiting for her surgery to begin. She was pretty nervous, but was still smiling!
No more Tonsils...still smiling!