Maiya officially hates doctor visits. But, according to her Toljabee predictions, she has a high likelihood of being one! (If you don't understand what that means, read the post right before this one about the game we played at her party!)
On Monday, we went for Maiya's 12 month well check up visit with our pediatrician. She is growing well and now weighs 18 lbs. 11 oz. (15%) and is 29 inches long (40%). Her development seems to be right on track, and her communication skills are improving daily. She doesn't have any "real" words yet, but neither did the boys at this age, and they heard English spoken since day one! We are so pleased with how well Maiya has adjusted and blossomed since being home. She had four shots (which probably has something to do with why she hates doctor visits!), and is now pretty much caught up with her vaccinations.
Today we went back for her first check up for her DOC band. The doctor said that she was pleased with how things looked, and even made a few adjustments to the band because she had already seen some changes with the shape of Maiya's head. This is a good sign that the helmet is working and doing the job it is meant to do.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Maiya's Tol
We had Maiya's Tol party on Sunday.
The Tol table with several varieties of rice cakes, fruit "towers," and a guessing game for the Toljabee.
Each person wrote their name on a yellow stone and then put their stone in the jar that they thought Maiya would choose for the Toljabee game.
Traditional rice cakes.
Fruit towers and cake.
Watermelon (Maiya's favorite) and other food.
Bulgogi meat and rice.
Some of the guests.
For the Toljabee, Maiya got dressed in her beautiful hanbok. We spread the items out in front of her, and let her go. She choose the pencil first (scholar - smart girl!), and then the stethoscope (care taker!). So, it looks like Maiya will be a smart girl who cares for others. Sounds like a great future to me! (Pictures of Maiya making her choices are on the photo site!)
Maiya got some gifts from some family and friends. She has recently started to give kisses, and she was loving on her new doll and riding her new riding toy around the room.
We were lucky to have Dan's parents in town this weekend, and Maiya got to hang out with them for the first time. We are so blessed to have such a loving, supportive family and friends!
Thanks for a great party!
The Tol table with several varieties of rice cakes, fruit "towers," and a guessing game for the Toljabee.
Each person wrote their name on a yellow stone and then put their stone in the jar that they thought Maiya would choose for the Toljabee game.
Traditional rice cakes.
Fruit towers and cake.
Watermelon (Maiya's favorite) and other food.
Bulgogi meat and rice.
Some of the guests.
For the Toljabee, Maiya got dressed in her beautiful hanbok. We spread the items out in front of her, and let her go. She choose the pencil first (scholar - smart girl!), and then the stethoscope (care taker!). So, it looks like Maiya will be a smart girl who cares for others. Sounds like a great future to me! (Pictures of Maiya making her choices are on the photo site!)
Maiya got some gifts from some family and friends. She has recently started to give kisses, and she was loving on her new doll and riding her new riding toy around the room.
We were lucky to have Dan's parents in town this weekend, and Maiya got to hang out with them for the first time. We are so blessed to have such a loving, supportive family and friends!
Thanks for a great party!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Games we play
Maiya loves to play games. Some of her favorites:
- Peek a boo: This is how you win her over. You want her to smile? Hide your face and then pop out and say peekaboo. You're in.
- "This little piggy:" She will keep sticking her foot in my face to play this one over and over and over.
- Snack Kisses: I put a little snack (cheerio, food puff, cracker, etc.) in my teeth and she take it out of my mouth with her mouth. This is a great way to get her to give me some good eye contact and have some fun bonding time.
- Coming to get you: I chase her and say "I'm coming to get you!" She giggles and crawls away. When I stop chasing her, she'll start crawling after me and I crawl away and then turn around and scoop her up for a hug.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Helmet Head
Maiya got her DOC Band helmet today. After a rough night of sleep and still working on getting rid of a virus that she's had since Thursday, I was worried about her reaction to her new accessory. I was pleasantly surprised when she was chilled out and almost didn't even notice the helmet on her head. She was much more concerned about the doctor being in the room and touching her! After the doctor left the room, she sat on my lap and didn't bother with the helmet at all.
We spent the rest of the day checking her head for pressure points, heat spots (she was sweating like crazy!), and irritation. Every three hours, I take it off, look her over, and give her a little break from the band. After 20 minutes or so, I put it back on and we start the 3 hour rotation over again. We'll do the 3 hour rotation for two days, and then on Thursday, she'll start wearing it 23 hours/day. We'll take it off for about an hour in the evening to give her a bath and to wash the inside of the band with rubbing alcohol. Until her body gets used to having the helmet on, she'll be sweating and it might start to stink, so we'll keep it nice and washed up! Can't have my baby girl smelly!
We plan to decorate the band a bit, but we're going to wait until we go back for our recheck next week, just in case they have to make any adjustments. Wouldn't want my hard work decorating to get ruined!
We spent the rest of the day checking her head for pressure points, heat spots (she was sweating like crazy!), and irritation. Every three hours, I take it off, look her over, and give her a little break from the band. After 20 minutes or so, I put it back on and we start the 3 hour rotation over again. We'll do the 3 hour rotation for two days, and then on Thursday, she'll start wearing it 23 hours/day. We'll take it off for about an hour in the evening to give her a bath and to wash the inside of the band with rubbing alcohol. Until her body gets used to having the helmet on, she'll be sweating and it might start to stink, so we'll keep it nice and washed up! Can't have my baby girl smelly!
We plan to decorate the band a bit, but we're going to wait until we go back for our recheck next week, just in case they have to make any adjustments. Wouldn't want my hard work decorating to get ruined!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Luke's Bible
At our church, they give all first graders a children's Bible. Today was the day they presented the children their Bibles, and Luke was very proud to be up in front of the church. We look forward to reading it with him!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Sickies and Snuggles
Maiya has come down with her first fever since coming home. She woke up Thursday morning with a slight fever, which got up to about 102 during the day and the night. Friday was another day of fever - slight in the morning, higher in the evening.
She was generally still happy, but as each day progressed, she got cranky and wanted to be held more than normal. It may sound strange, but it was kind of nice to see her be sick and want to be held and comforted by us.
Maiya is doing so well adjusting to her new family, home, and life. Sometimes, I think she might be doing a little too well. If she is off playing alone and I join in her play, she will sometimes crawl away, or push me away if I get too close. While this is normal and appropriate, I still want her to know that I'm her Mommy and that she should come to me when she is sad, hurt, or in need of some snuggles. So, when she wasn't feeling well and would come over to curl up on my lap, I took that as a good sign. We have snuggled more in the past few days than we have since the first week coming home! It's been quite nice.
I'm sure she'll bounce back from her fever, but in the mean time, I'm going to soak up the snuggles.
She was generally still happy, but as each day progressed, she got cranky and wanted to be held more than normal. It may sound strange, but it was kind of nice to see her be sick and want to be held and comforted by us.
Maiya is doing so well adjusting to her new family, home, and life. Sometimes, I think she might be doing a little too well. If she is off playing alone and I join in her play, she will sometimes crawl away, or push me away if I get too close. While this is normal and appropriate, I still want her to know that I'm her Mommy and that she should come to me when she is sad, hurt, or in need of some snuggles. So, when she wasn't feeling well and would come over to curl up on my lap, I took that as a good sign. We have snuggled more in the past few days than we have since the first week coming home! It's been quite nice.
I'm sure she'll bounce back from her fever, but in the mean time, I'm going to soak up the snuggles.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Pictures of Stuff We're Doing
We have been having fun lately. Here are some photos of things we've done.
Evan loves painting. On "red" day, he kept saying he was painting ketchup.
He is starting to enjoy building "big, big towers" so we are taking pictures of what he builds to add to the "block book" we made when Luke was younger. (It's just a photo album full of pictures of block structures.)
Evan's hanbok is really big on him. Here he is modeling his giant pants.
My Mom's birthday was last weekend and she and I went to dinner and then went to see a movie. It was fun. Happy Birthday, Mom!
I took the kids to the sprayground this morning. This was Luke's first time going and he loved it! Maiya loved it, too. Evan said it was "too freezing."
Evan loves painting. On "red" day, he kept saying he was painting ketchup.
He is starting to enjoy building "big, big towers" so we are taking pictures of what he builds to add to the "block book" we made when Luke was younger. (It's just a photo album full of pictures of block structures.)
Evan's hanbok is really big on him. Here he is modeling his giant pants.
My Mom's birthday was last weekend and she and I went to dinner and then went to see a movie. It was fun. Happy Birthday, Mom!
I took the kids to the sprayground this morning. This was Luke's first time going and he loved it! Maiya loved it, too. Evan said it was "too freezing."
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Maiya's Baby Book
I researched online for a baby book that would be appropriate for Maiya. I wanted something that would celebrate her adoption, and also had a place for me to write in things about her first birthday, her likes and dislikes, her first teeth, step, etc.
I found this book, "My Family, My Journey" and it had good reviews, so I ordered it.
It came today and I'm so happy with it! It has adoption appropriate pages (how we started the process, the wait, the referral, our trip, coming home, etc.), and it also has a page to record memories from each month, along with a page for "firsts" and for her birthday, etc. It's an all around great book, and I'd recommend it to anyone with an adopted child! Happy Shopping!
I found this book, "My Family, My Journey" and it had good reviews, so I ordered it.
It came today and I'm so happy with it! It has adoption appropriate pages (how we started the process, the wait, the referral, our trip, coming home, etc.), and it also has a page to record memories from each month, along with a page for "firsts" and for her birthday, etc. It's an all around great book, and I'd recommend it to anyone with an adopted child! Happy Shopping!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
All Kid Update
Luke started first grade on July 26th. He tells me, "First grade is very different than Kindergarten, but I still like it." When he gets home from school, he reports on who he played with outside, what he had for lunch, and what he wrote about during writer's workshop. He's very into drawing and writing, and anytime something happens he'll announce, "I think I should write a story about that." He's doing well with reading and we have gotten into reading chapter books together (Magic School Bus chapter books and Captain Underpants are favs). He feels special staying up later than the other two kids and I love our snuggle/reading time on my bed. He's doing taekwondo and is a "high yellow" belt. He enjoys it and seems to prefer non-team sports, so this is good for him for now.
Evan is my social butterfly. He talks with anyone and couldn't care any less about silly things like learning colors, shapes, or letters. He's super sweet, snugly, happy, and loves Luke with a passion. He wants to love Maiya, but she annoys him when she comes over and takes his toys or grabs his hair. He isn't going to any kind of school this year, and I'm a little worried that he'll miss being with other kids (he's been in full day child care for awhile). But, I think we'll be okay with "playdates" and other adventures.
Maiya is eating and growing like a weed. She gets her head helmet on Aug. 24th and has to wear it for 4 months. She loves watermelon more than life itself, and has also recently discovered the joy of pasta. She got her first tooth last week and turned one on Sunday. She is crawling like a champ and almost walking. She takes one or two steps and then plops down. But, she can cruise just about anywhere. She makes her way around the perimeter of the room by holding onto couch, tables, walls, etc. It's funny to watch. She loves looking at books and playing with cars. So much for baby dolls and girl toys. She loves trains and trucks. She does the sign for "more" and also claps her hands if we sings "If You're Happy and you know it." Her latest trick is to put her hands up high if you ask, "How big is Maiya?" All very cute.
Evan is my social butterfly. He talks with anyone and couldn't care any less about silly things like learning colors, shapes, or letters. He's super sweet, snugly, happy, and loves Luke with a passion. He wants to love Maiya, but she annoys him when she comes over and takes his toys or grabs his hair. He isn't going to any kind of school this year, and I'm a little worried that he'll miss being with other kids (he's been in full day child care for awhile). But, I think we'll be okay with "playdates" and other adventures.
Maiya is eating and growing like a weed. She gets her head helmet on Aug. 24th and has to wear it for 4 months. She loves watermelon more than life itself, and has also recently discovered the joy of pasta. She got her first tooth last week and turned one on Sunday. She is crawling like a champ and almost walking. She takes one or two steps and then plops down. But, she can cruise just about anywhere. She makes her way around the perimeter of the room by holding onto couch, tables, walls, etc. It's funny to watch. She loves looking at books and playing with cars. So much for baby dolls and girl toys. She loves trains and trucks. She does the sign for "more" and also claps her hands if we sings "If You're Happy and you know it." Her latest trick is to put her hands up high if you ask, "How big is Maiya?" All very cute.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Happy Birthday, Maiya!
Today is our baby girl's first birthday!
We are going to eat dinner at a Korean restaruant this evening, and we'll give her a few little gifts. We are going to have a bigger first birthday party for her in a few weeks, and we'll be incorporating some traditional Korean customs during that party.
Today, we are thinking of Maiya's birth mother and her foster family. This is a happy day for us, since our girl is home with us to celebrate. However, we also know that her birth mother is surely thinking of her daughter on this day, and we pray for her to be surrounded with peace. Her foster family is also probably thinking of Maiya today and wondering how she is doing. For all of the people who have loved and cared for Maiya during her one year of life, we are so grateful.
We are going to eat dinner at a Korean restaruant this evening, and we'll give her a few little gifts. We are going to have a bigger first birthday party for her in a few weeks, and we'll be incorporating some traditional Korean customs during that party.
Today, we are thinking of Maiya's birth mother and her foster family. This is a happy day for us, since our girl is home with us to celebrate. However, we also know that her birth mother is surely thinking of her daughter on this day, and we pray for her to be surrounded with peace. Her foster family is also probably thinking of Maiya today and wondering how she is doing. For all of the people who have loved and cared for Maiya during her one year of life, we are so grateful.
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