Another Busy Weekend!

Wow, Thanksgiving didn't end for us on Thursday. The celebrations continued throughout the weekend. On Friday, we went to dinner with Aunty Lorna, Uncle Greg, Alia, and Seth. It was to celebrate Greg's dad's birthday and they were nice enough to give Lexie a present. She loved it because it lights up and plays music. She also liked just playing with the box!



Thank you Aunty Lorna for buying Lexie some mum mum crackers. They were the toddler ones so mommy decided to find out how they tasted. They were actually more tasty than the baby ones. Lexie has to learn how to maneuver the different shape into her mouth since it's round.



Lexie loves to stand now. If she can find something to hold on to, she will stand. She doesn't like to use 2 hands and will hold on with 1 hand and then try to let go. She's able to balance on her own for a few seconds before she falls down. She's definitely an ox because she won't give up.



Lexie, Maxx, and Gohan just love their daddy. They are always trying to get on to daddy's lap and each one will squeeze into the smallest space just to be near their daddy.



On Saturday, we went to a memorial service for Eric's grandma. Lexie was really good and was very quiet for most of the service. By the end she got bored and started babbling loudly but by then, the service was over. We went to Aunty Jodi's for dinner and helped Aunty Terry make some crafts for her boy scout troupe. Lexie's cousins thought they would give her some hair.



Finally, on Sunday, mommy and daddy needed a break so we went to the movies. Thanks Aunty Jodi and family for watching Lexie. I saw "New Moon" with Aunty Lorna and Eric saw "Ninja Assassins" with Uncle Greg. We missed our little Lexie, but it was nice to actually watch a movie without interruptions.

Then after the movies, we rushed to Aunty Yvette's for our last Thanksgiving dinner. Lexie got to meet her cousin Jos.



And her cousin, Jackie.



"Wow, Bella, you look like a little Maxx."


"Mommy, can we have what you're eating??"

Lexie's 1st Thanksgiving

"Boy, that turkey was sure delicious!"


What a wonderful Thanksgiving we had! It was a great day of eating good food and spending time with our families. We are so thankful this year to have Lexie be a part of the celebration. It was a long day for her, but she was a trooper. She took a few short naps, but stayed up until 11:00 because she didn't want to miss out on the excitement. She had a good night's sleep. She drank her bottle and fell asleep about 11:30. She woke up a little at 3:00, but fell right back to sleep with a pat on the back and didn't wake up until 7:00.

"Mommy helping me get ready for my 1st Thanksgiving."


"Wow, grandma's turkey is bigger than me!"


"I wish I could eat some of that food. Yummy!"


"I'm getting ready to go to Aunty Jodi's for dinner."


"Uncle Les and grandma were singing to me."


"I finally met Uncle B and Aunty Joy from Maui."


"I played with Jade, Mikki & Aunty Lorraine."


"What a day, I'm pooped!"


Just having fun around the house!


"I like to help my mommy with the laundry."



"I like when daddy carries me around."


"I can make fishlips!"


"My favorite food is Baby Mum Mum crackers. Watch me eat them!"

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble

"Faster Gohan, we gotta catch a turkey for Thanksgiving!"


"Listen, Maxx, I hear a pumpkin pie calling my name!"



We hope everyone enjoys their Thanksgiving day with friends and family!

Lexie Being Lexie

"Why doesn't it add up???"


"Can we go to Disneyland??"


"I want to be a rock star!"


"Lexie's reaction to cold food"

What I'm Thankful For

Thanksgiving is coming up in a few days and if I were in school right now, my students would be telling me all of the things they are thankful for. Here are some things I'm thankful for:

Eric - even though there are times that he drives me totally insane, he is a wonderful husband and is someone I can always count on, he's my best friend that I can share everything with. I'm so proud of what an awesome dad he is. He is always right there to help change Lexie's diapers, give her a bottle at 2:00am, and hold her at the doctor's so I don't have to see her pain.

Maxx & Gohan - they will always be my babies and have brought such love to my life for the past 10 years. It's been an adjustment for them, but they are starting to learn that Lexie is not going anywhere. Thank you for always brightening my day.

My Itouch - the greatest invention ever! I'm never without it and now I've kind of handed it over to Lexie, so it can play her lullabies each night. I think she might be able to play some apps soon!

My job - I love being a teacher and I'm very grateful that I have a job to go to everyday especially since many people are losing their jobs. It's a great feeling knowing that I'm making a difference in a child's life.

Our house - thank you grandma & grandpa for giving us the opportunity to raise Lexie in your house. Thank you Uncle Steven for making sure that we have a beautiful new home to bring our little girl. We are so excited to move in!

My friends & family - the support and love that you've given Eric & me has been truly appreciated.

Pumpkins - I love pumpkin pie, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin cake, pretty much anything pumpkin. This is the only time of year that I don't feel bad eating it. If you know me, I can eat a whole Costco pumpkin pie by myself, so I'm thankful for Costco too!

And last, but definitely not least - Lexie! This holiday season is going to be all about you! We are so thankful that we took that leap of faith and changed programs. That was the best decision we ever made because it brought you into our lives. I sometimes watch her sleeping and still can't believe there's a baby in our house, but I quickly come back to reality when you're screaming at the top of your lungs!

I hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving with their families!

"Pay attention, Maxx, I'm trying to read to you!"

She is Amazing!

Lexie is just amazing us. When we got her in Taiwan, she could roll around and she would get on all 4's and try to stand. She had no clue how to move her little legs to crawl. A few days after we came home, she started dragging herself on the floor and that was the closet thing to a crawl. And now it's a week later and she's zooming around the house, like she's been crawling for a long time.

We used to put pillows around her and that kind of slowed her down. Not anymore! She's like a monster truck and nothing, not even Maxx, can stop her. If one of the dogs are in the way, she just goes right over them.

We think she's also going to start holding her own bottle soon. Eric put her bottle on the table and she grabbed it and pushed her mouth on to the nipple. She tried to lift it, but it was too heavy. It was very cute to watch. We tried to video tape it, but she wouldn't do it again. Then she got mad because we weren't feeding her. Bad mommy and daddy, hungry babies come first!!

Getting Lexie on a Schedule

As a teacher, I know how important it is to have a routine and to be consistent. My students always remind me if I'm not following the schedule, so to keep our sanity in check, Eric & I decided that we needed a bedtime routine for Lexie. Waking up every 2-3 hours was just not cutting it. We weren't getting enough sleep, we were cranky, even Maxx and Gohan were looking a bit drained.

On Monday night, we put Lexie to bed at 8:30 and she cried for almost 20 minutes. It was the longest 20 minutes of our lives. It was a good thing that it was windy and rainy that night because it drowned out her screaming. Finally, I went to pick her up and she fell asleep instantly in my arms. We put her to bed and she slept for over 7 hours. That's the longest ever!!

The next night, we had dinner, then Lexie got to play a little. She had her bath and I read to her. Then at about 7:30, Eric gave her a bottle and he carried her until she started to get sleepy. We put her to bed before she fell asleep and we've been putting Eric's shirt with her so she thinks he's still carrying her (she's daddy's girl all the way). We also bought a glow seahorse, so we turn that on and it plays lullabies for 10 minutes, then turns off. Like magic, she fell asleep. She woke up in the middle of the night, but was able to get her back to sleep with a pat on the back and she was in la la land again and didn't wake up until 4:00am for her bottle.

So far, Lexie has been keeping to this schedule and she gets upset at us if we don't stick to it. Tonight, we had dinner a little late and she wasn't too thrilled. When 7:30 comes around, she starts yawning already and she knows it's bedtime. Eric & I couldn't be happier because we're actually able to get things done while she's asleep and we can have a good night's sleep!

Lexie & Her Brothers

Ever since we got Maxx and Gohan, we always hoped that we would have children for them to grow up with. We were getting a little worried because Maxx is now 10 years old and we were scared that he wouldn't be around when we adopted our baby. Luckily, Lexie came into our lives and now the 5 of us can be a family.

At least for now, Lexie has to be happy with her two furry brothers. Eric & I haven't decided yet if we're going to stay in the China program. Our renewal is up in February and that means another trip to immigration to pay our fee plus get fingerprinted. We also have to get another physical and TB test, plus get clearance from Child Protective Services. We also have to get our financial information updated to make sure we can support a child. Then we need to do a new home study since we now have Lexie and we'll be moving into a new home. I think if people who are contemplating getting pregnant had to go through all of this, they'd think twice about having a baby!!

We've also noticed that China has slowed down considerably. It has taken them most of 2009 to go through cases for the month of March 2006. That's March, 3 YEARS AGO!!! And we're May 2007, which is a year later. At this rate, we're lucky if we go to China in 5 years, it looks more like 10 years. Which means we would need to renew at least 6-7 more times.

We've thought about going to Taiwan again, but our agency only has limited spaces and we were lucky to even get into the program the first time, so that's not really an option.

I think Maxx & Gohan are all the siblings Lexie can handle at the moment. What do you think?

"I like to wear cups on my head. They make cool caps!"


"I want to try one on!"


"Me too!"

Lexie Visits a Pediatric Cardiologist

When we got Lexie's referral, she had been in the hospital for about a week because she had ASD (atrial septal defect) and PS (pulmonary stenosis). ASD is when there's a small hole in the wall that separates the 2 sides of the heart and PS means the valve leading from the heart to the lungs is very narrow. Before we accepted Lexie's referral, we talked to 2 pediatricians and a pediatric cardiologist and all of them said that this was something very minor and Lexie would grow up to be a healthy child.

We visited Dr. Reddy, who had Lexie take a chest x-ray to look at her heart. She also was wired up like Frankenstein to take an EKG and then had to do an ultrasound. She wasn't happy about any of these procedures.

Dr. Reddy said that Lexie is doing fine, but the hole is still there, but not to worry. It won't cause any limitations to her physical activity and it doesn't hurt her. We just have to keep monitoring it. When she's about 5, we can choose to have minor surgery if the opening is still there. Luckily, she doesn't have to have open heart surgery. There is a new procedure that a tube will be inserted into a blood vessel in her leg and they can close up the hole. It still sounds kind of yucky, but at least they don't have to open up her chest.

In many cases, the hole can close on its own and that's why they don't want to do any surgery on Lexie since she's still so young. Eric has a positive attitude about this and believes that with our love, we can fill up that hole. I hope he's right because we love this little girl so much!!

Busy Weekend

Wow, we made it through our first week at home. We are all slowly getting adjusted to each other. Lexie is not afraid of Maxx and Gohan and they are definitely treating her just like one of the family. They'll step right over her if she's in the way, just like they do to mommy and daddy, no playing favorites. Gohan is our poop smeller. If he starts going by Lexie's butt, we know she pooped.



On Friday, we took Lexie to my school because they were having a fun fair. She got to meet the wonderful kindergarten teachers who I work with. Debbie, Paul and Mary (my amazing substitute) were busy making popcorn and thank you for saving me some butter mochi! It was delicious!



Everyone was so excited to finally meet Lexie. She got to meet most of the teachers and staff. Mel stopped by to chat and said that Lexie was such a cutie pie!



Lexie even got to meet my principal, Ms. Hibbs.




Lexie got to meet cousin Kyle. She also played with Lee and Reyn for a little while before they had to go to their game. They are so cute because when they left, they gave Lexie a big hug and kiss.



Lexie also met cousin Kevin.



We took Lexie shopping at Ala Moana on Saturday. We had lunch at Ruby Tuesday. She was pretty good about eating in the high chair and we were able to enjoy a nice meal. Our goal is to finish all of our shopping before I have to go back to work in December. Lexie got a little fussy at times because she likes when the stroller is moving, but eventually she fell asleep so it was much easier to shop.

On Sunday, we headed out to Costco where we ran into Uncle Greg, Aunty Lorna, Seth and Alia. We had lunch with them. Thank you Aunty Lorna for entertaining Lexie so we could eat. Lexie and Alia kind of just look at each other, but they're still not really interested yet. Hopefully when both of them are running around, they can start playing together.

Lexie's nanny told us to feed Lexie nori so that her hair grows really black. We tried to give her some today, but it just stuck to her tongue and then it stuck to her lip and finally when she tried to wipe it off, it landed on her chin. Eric was laughing hysterically because it looked like she had a goatee!



On the medical front, Dr. Ryan said that all of the results from her blood tests have come back negative and that her hearing is fine. We're still waiting on a few more tests, but so far, everything looks good!

We're still working on Lexie's sleeping at night, so if anyone has any successful ways to get babies to sleep through the night, let us know. We put the upside down rooster in her crib.

Last night was the best night so far. Even though she woke up a few times, it was easy to get her back to sleep. She slept at 7:30 and then woke up at 10:30, Eric rocked her back to sleep and she was out within 5 minutes. She woke up about 2:00 and had a bottle and then was out by 2:45. She didn't wake up until 7:00 this morning. The key has been these lullabies that I downloaded from itunes. As long as they are playing, she's very relaxed and it puts her to sleep. It also put Eric to sleep because he started snoring once his head hit the pillow.

Lexie Gets Gifts from Grandparents

Lexie finally got to meet her Grandma Sharon. Thank you grandma for the cute clothes and purse. I promise I'll eat lots so I can grow into to them.



Lexie got a special delivery from her grandpa in Chicago.



Grandpa sent her some pretty dresses, christmas stockings and cute holiday bibs. He also sent her a book and a stuffed fish to go with it. Lexie is going to be a reader, she loves to look at the pictures.



Lexie loved the fish that grandpa sent and so did Maxx. He kept biting it and shaking it. When we shook it in front of Lexie, she just burst into laughter. She is such a cutie pie!

Lexie is Crawling!

Lexie has made so much gains since she has been home and it's only been a week. In Taiwan she would go on all fours and didn't know how to bend her knees to crawl. She's starting to figure it out especially when she's determined to get something. We've found that she likes electronics, like keyboards and remote controls. If we have the remote on the carpet, she will go after it full speed ahead.

Trying to Get into a Routine

Lexie got to meet Uncle Kent, Aunty Steph and cousins Sheri & Kelli. Thank you for your generous gifts and Lexie loves her Hello Kitty doll and hooded towel. So cute!



Aunty Lorna & Uncle Greg stopped by. Lexie got to meet Alia and Seth. Hopefully Alia and Lexie can become the bestest of friends. They're only 4 months apart. Thanks for all of the clothes!


Eric finally got a chance to take some nice pictures of Lexie. She is such a ham and loves to make her gummy smile.







We are trying to get Lexie into a routine. It's been tough since we got back to Taiwan. When we were in Taiwan Lexie had little naps throughout the day, then she would have a nap after dinner and then would take a bottle and sleep for about 6 hours. Since we've been back, the longest she's slept is about 3 hours. We know that everyone wants to visit with her, but she's been so wound up and excited that she has tantrums at night because she can't fall asleep.

Today was the first day that we stayed home and she actually took some naps. It gave Eric & I a chance to rest for a bit also. It's 7:45pm and she's taking her night nap. When she wakes up, we hope she can have her bottle and she'll be out for the rest of the night. We're keeping our fingers crossed, so we can finally get a good night's sleep too.

We don't want to discourage anyone from visiting because Lexie loves all of her aunties, uncles, grandmas and cousins, but if you can call first and visit us in the morning, that would be wonderful. That way she can have her afternoon naps. We would greatly appreciate that because a happy baby needs happy parents!!!

Life is Busy with a Baby

Lexie went for her first doctor's visit. She was so good during the visit. She's 13 pounds, 11 ounces. A little small, but her height is in the 50th percentile which is great since the last measurements we got, she wasn't even on the chart. The only time she cried is when they had to take her blood. My heart went out to her because they took 2 huge vials from our little girl. She was so brave because after they were done, her crying stopped and she was laughing again.

We got some of the blood tests results back and everything came back negative, so she's doing good so far. We also have to collect stool samples. That was awful. I was going to do it, but the smell was so bad. It's a good thing that Eric can't smell because it took awhile to use the tiny spoon they gave us and fill the container to the required line. We have to do it again tomorrow.

We took Lexie to Babies R Us to buy her a bouncer. This little girl wants to walk before she can crawl. She loves to try and push herself up and is so happy if she's standing. Here she is dancing in her bouncer. She loves to bang on the buttons to play music and will start dancing and singing.



We went to dinner at Aunty Yvette's house. Thank you so much for watching Tweek (our turtle). The funny part was that when we were driving home, we got a call because we forgot to take Tweek with us. Sorry Tweek, everyone was so excited to meet Lexie. We'll be by this week to get you.

Aunty Yvette & Jacob loved meeting Lexie.


Davis & Taryn met Lexie. I remember when I used to babysit Taryn and Davis and they were teeny tiny like Lexie. Look how big they are now!!


It's been a long time since we've had a baby in the family. Aunty Linda plays with Lexie.


Even though Aunty Tootsie is in a lot of pain, she wanted to meet Lexie. She played with Lexie and was able to get her to crawl the longest she's ever crawled.


We went to have lunch at grandma's. She is totally in love with Lexie. They were having so much fun laughing. I felt sorry for her yorkie, Yuri, who was a little jealous that she wasn't getting any attention.


Lexie is getting used to riding in a car seat. She fights and screams everytime we put her in it, but once she sees herself in the mirror she's okay. She loves to look at herself. By the end of the ride, she's usually fast asleep.




Lexie finally met her cousin Corey. She was acting shy around him, but then didn't want him to stop carrying her.


We're still getting adjusted to being home, the time difference and getting to know Lexie. We've found that she can't have formula with her meals because it's just too much food for her and she'll throw it all up. She had a huge crying fit the other night and it took us 30 minutes before she finally got exhausted and fell asleep. She really has bad nights if she doesn't get a nap in the afternoons or early evening. We're so happy that she loves baby food. We were a little worried because her nanny fed her a lot of table food, but she took to the baby food really quickly.

She is finally loving her baths. In the beginning, she cried when we put her in the water. Now, she splashes and plays with her toys.

Lexie loves her new bouncer. She is such a cutie!