3 Years Ago....

Three years ago, I got that life-changing call.  Actually it was a text message from Eric saying that we had a baby girl.  Such a surreal feeling swept over me that I had to read it several times to believe it.

We began our journey back in 2001.  At that time, we were unaware of the road that we were about to travel down.  It never crossed our minds that having a baby would be so hard.

After two years of not getting any results, we went to a specialist.  I have never felt more violated in my entire life.  My arms were scarred from blood tests.  I had to talk about intimate details with a complete stranger.  Romance was thrown out the window and we were put on a schedule.  The worst part was I did not like this doctor even though he came highly recommended.  Everytime we went to his office, I felt like I was just a body.  I waited forever in his waiting room and usually got about 10 minutes of his time if I was lucky.  He never tried to find out what was the problem and quickly steered us into fertility treatments.  

I finally had enough of him and went to another doctor, who had a better bedside manner and wanted to know why I wasn't getting pregnant before starting any treatments.  So, again I was poked and prodded and even endured surgery.  Three years had gone by and we decided to go for it and try IVF.  

This was the hardest thing I've ever done, but if at the end of all of this I had a baby, it would be all worth it.  IVF is definitely not for the faint of heart.  I had to give myself injections twice a day at precise times, so that meant our lives revolved around those shots.  

I felt bad for Eric during this because there were times when he had to give me shots in the rear.  The nurse also explained what he needed to do if he hit a blood vessel and it started to bleed.  What a life we had!  Once the cycle of shots were over, I had to go under anesthesia, which I hate.  Unfortunately, after implanting 3 eggs, I still wasn't pregnant.  It was heartbreaking, especially when we found out I wasn't pregnant on Eric's birthday.  It took us about a year to even consider trying again.

During this time, many friends were having babies and just for self-preservation, I skipped baby showers.  When forced, I sat through conversations of babies with a reluctant smile on my face.  At the end of 2005, I finally decided that I was going to try again.  In Hawaii, IVF is only covered once by medical insurance, so I had to go through the process of changing insurances and going to a different doctor, but we got the ball rolling and started all over again.

Unfortunately, the doctor decided to try a different protocol and the results were awful and the eggs didn't even survive fertilization.  The next year was a blur as we tried to get on with our lives believing that having children was just not for us.

We talked about adoption, but never really considered it an option, but I began to get that longing again and knew I had to try something or else live with regrets.  In 2007, we applied to China and was told it would be an 18 month wait.  We waited this long, so what was a year and half.  In May, our case was logged in and we waited.  Everyday, I would check the China site to see if the dates had changed.  Referrals were moving at a snail's pace.  Everyone kept saying that things would pick up after Chinese New Year or the Olympics, but nothing was happening.  I started to give up hope.

A year later, the wait increased to 2-3 years and there was almost no movement in China.  I felt as if another door was being slammed in our faces.  Then that summer we got a newsletter from our agency and saw that there were openings in their Taiwan program.  We never even knew Taiwan was an option.  I called them right away and we were put on their list.  Luckily, our China paperwork was updated and we could use it for our home study.  Within a few months, our home study was sent to Taiwan.  Again, we were told that the wait would be up to 2 years.  

During that time, I happened across some blogs of families waiting to go to Taiwan.  I found great comfort reading their blogs and seeing updates of their beautiful babies.  It gave me hope knowing that there were families being united with their children.  I am so grateful for this wonderful community and being able to call many of them friends.

Well, we got the surprise of a lifetime when only 5 months after everything was sent to Taiwan, we got that faithful call.  A young woman in Taiwan had chosen us to be the parents to her baby girl.  Finally, after 8 years, our story had a happy ending.  It wasn't the easiest path to follow, but it made us stronger and it lead us to where we needed to be.  And that was to be parents to our beautiful Lexie.  No matter how hard life was, we wouldn't change anything because Lexie was worth every heartbreak and struggle we went through.

Three years ago our lives were changed because of Lexie.  We thank that courageous woman in Taiwan for seeing something in us.  We hope she knows that we have loved Lexie from the first moment that we saw her and that love has grown with leaps and bounds.

Easter Weekend Fun

We had a busy Easter weekend. We started with a trip to the zoo. Even though it rained on us several times, Lexie had fun seeing all of the animals.

It gave us a chance to meet Peyton! Our friends have been waiting a long time to bring this little guy home. Well, he's not so little. He weighs as much as Lexie. He's such a cutie pie!!

It was raining when we went to petting zoo, so Lexie didn't get to play with the goats, but she got to do some climbing.

And we're such bad parents! While we were talking, the little monkey was climbing to the top of this ladder all by herself. And then she wanted to do it again and again!

Nolan and Lexie were having fun riding in the wagon especially when it rained. Nolan was being camera shy and decided that he didn't want to be in the wagon if it meant he had to be in the picture.

As we were leaving, a trainer was feeding the sloth. This animal has been at the zoo for 5 years and we've never known of its existence. Apparently, he's only awake for 1 hour a day and the rest of the time, he's curled up in a ball hiding.

Lexie helped to make chocolate marshmallow peeps and bunnies for her cousins. She had fun eating one. She ate the ears and just the chocolate and sprinkles and threw the middle away.

When Lexie woke up on Easter morning, the Easter Bunny had brought her a pillow racer. She was so excited to ride it. She loves zooming around the kitchen with Thumper.

Taryn came over to color eggs with Lexie.

Lexie just wanted to soak her hands in the dye and didn't care too much about decorating eggs. It was more fun coloring her hands.

Lexie got some Easter goodies from Taryn. She also got a basket from one of my friends at school.

Lexie went on her egg hunt. She's still learning how to gather eggs. She gets fixated on one egg and wants to open the egg to see what's inside.

She really had to be encouraged to get the eggs.

Lexie did fill up most of her basket and Taryn ended up picking up the rest of the eggs.

Aunty Yvette sprayed Lexie with silly string. She did not like that!

Lexie found the golden egg!

Was Gohan hiding this egg or did he lay it?? He's not telling!

That night we had Easter dinner with the family. Lexie and her cousin were having a ball playing with this chicken that lays eggs. Unlike her friend Hayden, this is as close as Lexie will come to getting eggs from a chicken.

Right after Easter, Lexie's sunflower bloomed. We can't believe they are taller than Lexie. We plan to plant a bunch of sunflowers along our fence.

3-Year Check Up

Lexie went for her 3 year check-up and did awesome. This girl continues to amaze us with her bravery and always makes us so proud. She walked right into the office as soon as her name was called. She graduated to the big kid scale and she's now 23 1/2 pounds. I never thought we'd get past 20, so big accomplishment there. She was a bit wiggly when they checked her height, so she's 33 1/2 inches but might actually be a little taller. Lexie is still not on the charts, but at least she's progressing upwards. Her body mass index is great and cholesterol is normal. She might not be big, but she's healthy which makes us happy.

Lexie had to identify pictures on a card. They were objects made from lines to see how her visual perception was. She was shy, but whispered the name of each object. It was cute because she said the house was a dog house, the bear was a panda, and the tree was a Christmas tree. Then she had to identify those same pictures from a distance. This girl has awesome vision. She also had to identify objects that were big and little, different shapes and colors and even copy a shape the doctor drew. She passed with flying colors!

Then it was time for the needle! Eric tried to distract her, but she didn't want him to bother her. She was very interested in what nurse Precious was doing to her finger, which was poking it, then squeezing her blood into a tube. Lexie watched the whole thing. She even wanted to see her TB test being done. Her nurse said that Lexie is the bravest 3 year old she's gotten blood from.

Before we visited the doctor, Lexie asked me if she was going to get a sticker and I said if she was good, she would get one. She told me she wanted a pony sticker, so as soon it was over, she screamed, "I want my pony sticker!" Well, this good little girl got 2 stickers, one pink and one purple. She was so happy!

Lexie says the funniest things. One night, I was working on the computer, Eric was playing on his iphone and Lexie was playing with her itouch. I joked to her that our dogs needed to have their own phones to play on. She told me, "Mommy, they cannot, Maxx and Gogo don't have fingers!"

Lexie got upset one day and wanted Eric to carry her. He told her that she was too big to carry. She said, "Daddy, I'm still little. I have a lot to grow!" How can you refuse that logic?

Sometimes it's hard to believe she's only 3. When it rains really hard, the mountains that we pass each day have these beautiful waterfalls. Sometimes there could be dozens of them. Lexie saw them and started saying that the mountain was "ruffing." We couldn't understand what she was talking about and you could tell she was getting frustrated, so she stopped and then changed her words and said the mountain was popping. She was trying to say the word "erupt". She thought the water coming down the moutains was like lava erupting from a volcano. We were pretty impressed that she could use a different word to try and explain to us what she was talking about.

She tries to tell jokes, not very well, but she thinks she is hilarious. She'll tell us knock knock jokes. She'll say banana and when I answer banana who, she'll say something totally unrelated and just burst into laughter. Lexie might take after me because I'm a bad joke teller!

Three must be the lucky number!! After 10 months of potty training, Lexie is finally pooping in the potty. She is pretty much staying dry in underwear and will tell us when she has to go. Now we're dealing with constipation because being the stubborn girl that she is, she still wants to be in control of when she goes. Lexie is usually pretty regular but now will hold it in for as long as she can, which causes her to be in pain when she finally has to go. We've had to change her diet to feed her foods that will help her to go more often and had to eliminate some of her favorites like bananas. So the potty saga continues......