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4/6/05
Alia is 1 year old!
It has been a busy, busy couple of weeks. Mom and dad came up and stayed with us for the weekend of Alia's birthday.
We needed help getting everyone around that weekend. Cierra had practice and try-outs for next years choir - she made
it. Next years practice is closer to home and on Tuesday nights instead of Saturday - she is really looking forward
to being able to sleep in on Saturdays again.
Lance had his SAT testing. He feels like he did pretty good on it. Had a little trouble with the math.
Dad had to take him for me - Dion was in class and I had to get Cierra out to West O.
Cierra also had a birthday party she attended...she got double cake that day! We had cake for Alia - which she
didnt eat. She did eat some ice cream though.
Garet came up with mom and dad. He is so fun! 3 is a great age. He's going to make a good big brother.
Mom and dad left Monday - and DeDe and Papa arrived Monday. Alia took to DeDe right away. She didnt seem
to have any problems with yet another set of people in the house -- and was playing with DeDe in no time. We were very
happy with how she took to them.
While DeDe and Papa were here Alia took her first steps. We were all very excited. But that doesnt mean she
is up and running yet. She is taking a few steps a couple of times a day - but hasnt taken off yet.
Lance turns 16 on Friday. We need to take him down to get the book to start studying for a drivers permit.
Where did the time go?
Dion is still in school and spends much of his time studying. Otherwise he is searching for a new vehicle.
Dont know if we will pass the Pontiac down to Lance or just get rid of it. It needs brakes and tires. I cant believe
it is still running with all the miles on it! He is also fixing the truck to sell.
Thats about it. We are all doing well. Alia's nose is about cleared up enough to take her to get her 1 year
pictures. Will get those out after we have them done.
4/11/05
I got some pictures developed so I am adding a few. I love the one of daddy and Alia. Will and a couple
of others to the photo album.
All is well out our way. We really enjoyed our visit with DeDe and Papa. Our visits are always too short
- but we sure love them!
5/5/05
It's been busy around here!
Alia had her one year check-up finally. Getting appointments out at the base can be a real pain. Alia now
weights 16 pounds and 10 oz and is 27 inches long. So she has put on 2 pounds and 2 inches since her apointment in January.
They are very happy with her progress on the growth charts....even though she isnt even on them!
Alia talks all the time now. She has a few words but mostly just jabber. Lance is her favorite word -- and
she will walk around calling for him when he is not at home. She now makes the "ahhhh" noise when she wants something
to eat. She still doesnt eat much in the way of real food, but she did discover fig newtons yesterday. Brother
broke her in on cookies and she definatley knows that word.
Alia is walking all over now. It seems real strange to see such a little bitty thing toddling all around.
Nano, Poppy and Garet came for a visit last week. Poppy took Lance to get his learners permit. Lance is currently
looking for a job so he can afford to drive.
Cierra went to KC to perform at Worlds of Fun last weekend. She had a great time. This weekend is her
last concert for the season - whew! She is all signed up for next year. We are amazed at how her singing is maturing
under her conductor. She recently had a school chior program she sang a duet in -- she received many compliments
from so many people afterwards. I dont know where she got that talent from but it sure is nice.
Our friends recieved their referral for their little girl from China! Alia and I are going out to visit them today.
We celebrated with the new mom and dad by going out to eat at Back to Guangzhou. Emily is about 2 weeks older than Alia
so we have someone her age to get together with! I cant wait to see her!
6/8/05
Another month has just flown by! Where does the time go??
Cierra just had her 10th Birthday bash. We don't usually do parties but we did something special for her first
"double digits" birthday. She invited 14 people to her jungle party and all but 2 showed up -- we were crawling with
people! Thank goodness it didn't rain and we were able to keep the party outside. She had lots of creepy
jungle food and jungle juice, an expedition pinyata, an expedition obstacle course, sticky frog throw, lots of jungle music
and they decorated their pith hats with bugs and reptiles. Mom is just glad it is over so I dont have to twist
any more of those paper bag vines!!!! I will put some pictures on Cierra's page.
Lance is still Lance. He's still finishing up his 10th grade work. Next week he will be gone to Colorado
for a Boy Scout High Adventure Trip. He is still learning how to drive -- but that is a father/son thing --I dont go
there! He is also looking for his first job.
Alia is running around acting like she has been here forever. She is becoming more outgoing in public and away
from the house. We still have the night terrors when we take her out too much -- but even that has started to settle
down some.
We finally have a baby that laughs all the time. I think that was the hardest thing to get used to at first - a
baby that never laughed. Now she starts giggling at the slightest thing. Talk about music to the ears.
Feeding is still an issue but we are making progress. She will now put solids in her mouth and give them a try.
We've had cake and a few other things that she really loved -- of course! Her favorite is to eat the cookie off ice
cream sandwiches.
Alia continues to grow and put on wieght. She has little chubby legs and arms now. We took her off of
formula and put her on whole milk. Now if we could just get her to eat table food and get rid of the baby food.
We saw Olivia and Michaela and McKinsy again. It's amazing how they are all growing. Olivia is so smart!
They are all just gorgeous!
The latest is that we have started a support group for our agency for the people adopting from China. We are
making so many new friends and having a great time with it!
And now someone wants my attention so I'm off!
7/8/05
Boy! June was a busy month!!
Alia is spending lots of time in her little plastic pool. She has gotten so brown! I'm so jealous.
She really loves the water. We fill the pool in the morning and set it in the sun with a clear shower curtain over it
-- this makes for a bath water warm swim in the evening after dinner. Cierra usually joins her.
Alia went on her very first camping trip. She had a good time and did well. I was afraid that she wouldnt
be able to sleep and would keep us up all night...not so. But, when the temp dropped and she got cold she did wake up
crying -- so I put her in bed with us and she got warm and fell right back to sleep. We had a good time -- but
Alia did come home with a cold. Need heavier pj's for her next time.
Alia went on her first trip to the zoo. We went with another family that is waiting for their baby from China.
They have 2 children already so their family dynamics match ours pretty much. Alia loved being rolled around in
the stroller. Her favorite was the aquarium with the big sea turtles. She even said turtle!
Alia is finally eating like a normal kid. I'm not allowed to have anything unless I share it with her. Right
now her favorite is popcorn -- which is labor intensive to have to break up into small pieces and keep the kernels out.
We have a new cousin! Audrey is about a month old now -- and has a full head of red hair! We havent been
able to go see her yet as Alia and Cierra had a cold at the time I had scheduled. Work has kept me from trying again
-- but I'm hoping to go down this coming week just for an overnight.
Hopefully July wont be as busy as last month! As of today I'm done working 3 days a week for my Chiropractor. Now
I will only be going in for once a week for a while. The support group is up and running and the newsletter has been
pretty easy up to this point -- thinking of adding a web site but not ready to tackle that yet. Mother/Daughter book
club with Cierra is up and running. We are starting to invite more girls. GS is only once a month in the summer
-- mostly field trips. Cierra is done with summer school and horse camp. Now we only have Lance going to Boy Scout
Camp in late July and then camps are over.
Dion is learning to golf. (Yawn) Lance hasnt found a job so doesnt have his license yet. Can't think
of anything else new at the moment! Take care everyone!
8/1/05
Another month has come and gone. Where does the time go?
Alia has 4 teeth coming in at the moment so she drools on everything! It is rather gross -- and I feel bad for her because
is causes her a lot of discomfort.
Walking has become running. She runs full out most of the day. She is always a bit off balance and has a
lot of crashes along the way. But it doesnt phase her any - she keeps on running!
We had our first real kisses the other day. Not as impressive as it sounds. She saw daddy kissing mommy and
decided she needed to cut in. But I will take whatever I can get! The next day the kisses dried up. So sad.
Alia has learned some new sign language and has a couple of new simple words such as "more" and "mine" (thanks Cierra).
She wants to eat all day long and drives me nuts asking for more - but that sure beats eating nothing. Unfortunatley
it looks like we still have issues. She does not seem to be able to swallow real foods very well. This might end
up being an issue that needs occupational therapy to resolve. Time will tell. We will bring it up at her 18 month
appointment if it is still an issue.
We had a picnic with our support group. Our travel mates from Crieghton traveled 3 hours just to be here with us!
I was so excited! Emma is doing so well and looks so good. Plus we had one of the new babies, Emily, there. All
three are about the same age (one week difference). We missed the other new baby because of medical issues still being
worked out. But we got to see her about a week later at another meeting held by our agency.
Cierra and her friends held a concert for the neighborhood. It was lots of fun and I was surprised at how many
people actually came. What a wonderful neighborhood we live in!
Alia is letting us leave her in the church nursery for an hour. This is a big thing. We dont make it through
Sunday school and church yet but all things in time! Dion and I are also able to have date nights now with no night
terrors or problems to deal with afterwards. Now that is worth celebrating!
All is going well enough that if I had the funds I would be ready to start paperwork for number two. But,
Alia was a gift from Uncle Gordon -- and I don't see another Uncle Gordon in the future so this is it. God is good.
Alia is a blessing like no other and we all 4 adore her. I would highly encourage anyone thinking of adding to their
family by adoption. I can honestly say it is not any different emotionally than having biological children.
Take care all! We are thinking of all of you in Texas and in Florida! Hope this has been a summer full of family
and fun!
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