Lynnelle and Lyndsey

Lyndsey is 2 today!!

2010-05-05T20:56:00.004-05:00

Lyndsey is 2 today! We had a little party for just our family. Her she is eating the birthday cake that Grandma and Pa gave her. Last year she wouldn't even try cake but this year she just dug right in. She really loves balls, anything she can ride on and chairs she can sit in. She is starting to become a climber, which is not good considering how unstable of a walker she is. She also loves being outside.

2009-12-28T12:13:00.003-06:00

Lynnelle went to her first gymnastic meet. Here is a video of her bar routine. It was her best event and she took 2nd place for her level. We are really proud of her!

Lyndsey's laugh

2009-05-11T12:48:00.002-05:00

For some reason Lyndsey thought it was really funny when Lynnelle would say "hey."

Lyndsey's One Year Old

2009-05-11T12:17:00.004-05:00

Lyndsey turned one May 5th. We had a family celebration on Sunday May 3rd then a celebration also on her birthday. We had been concerned that she still didn't have any teeth, well Friday May 8th she has cut her first tooth, now if we could just get her to eat solid foods. She still won't put anything in her mouth except a bottle, her hands, and a blanket or rag. I can occasionally sneak some baby food in a bottle mixed with formula but usually only a few sucks then she is done. She is still a poor eater. She eats 5 bottles a day of about 3 to 5 ounces at a time. Occasionally as much as 6 ounces. She can sit up on her own when she wants to but usually prefers to lay on her back. She is so much stronger and so alert compared to 2 months ago. She is not the same girl. She also can now say Momma and likes to be held. Last we checked she weighed 16 lbs.

Visa Ceremony

2009-03-18T10:07:00.005-05:00

Today was our Visa Ceremony. Cameras aren't allowed at the US Counsulate so we didn't get any pictures of the ceremony. Tomorrow we leave for Hong Kong in the morning so we got all our travelmates together for some final pictures. First are the babies. Then all the girls and finally the whole families. I don't think that we will be able to do any updates to the blog from Hong Kong so this will probably be the last update till we get home.

2009-03-18T10:07:00.001-05:00

Group Photo Day

2009-03-17T08:01:00.003-05:00

Here's some group pictures. Unfortunately 2 babies from our group were out shopping. Next is the street by our hotel. It's hard to walk with all the people most times, this is a break in the action. Last is a picture outside the Police traffic division of their motorcycles for my LE friends.

Zoo

2009-03-15T03:51:00.006-05:00

We went to the Guangzhou zoo. Lynnelle got to see her favorite animal, the Panda. Lynnelle also got to feed the monkeys. Lyndsey also has fun getting outside. By the way, you can click on a picture for a bigger view.

Rooster man

2009-03-15T03:27:00.005-05:00

There is a man dressed up in a rooster suit that plays a horn and sells candy to the kids. In the square we found a bronze statue of the "Rooster man." It is kind of cute that there is a little kid holding his ears on the bronze statute. The real man's horn is quite loud.

Free day

2009-03-14T20:43:00.004-05:00

Today was a free day for us. So we shopped a little. Lyndsey got a new hat and some squeaky shoes.

More Sightseeing

2009-03-13T07:17:00.004-05:00

Another day of sightseeing. It seems everywhere we go it involves climbing up 100 steps. The pagoda would have been more than that but it was closed because it is leaning. Lyndsey has been eating much better and also has been awake all day and very alert. She even has been laughing.

Sightseeing

2009-03-12T04:30:00.003-05:00

Today all we had to do was sightseeing. We went to some gardens and then an art museum. The best part of today is Lyndsey has been taking more formula ( 11 oz. as of 5:00 pm.) She hasn't spit up at all today. She also has been awake most of the day and is more interested in being held. We thank God that it's been a pretty good day. Thanks for all your prayers.

Busy Day

2009-03-11T04:37:00.003-05:00

Lyndsey had a passport photo taken today, then her physical and applied for her passport. The funny thing about the physical was the same doctor that did Lynnelle's in 2002 did Lyndsey's today. We think that Lyndsey has been constipated and today we had some movement. She is now eating a little better and keeping most of it down. Lyndsey only weighed 15.7 pounds and she was wearing a onesie , a diaper, a shirt, a sweater and a pair of jeans. She doesn't play with any toys but she does like to pull her sister's hair. All our appointments are done until the visa ceremony at the American consulate near the end of our trip.

Lyndsey is still weak but we are trying to encourage her to at least improve her head control by sitting her upright but she would prefer to lay down. I don't think she ever recieved much time out of her crib. Her favorite thing is to suck on her blanket.

We ask for continued prayer for her motor developement, her energy level to improve, her appetite,and for our calmness in these trying days. We appreciate all your prayers and we can can feel it. Most of the time she backarches when offered a bottle but she took 3 bottles today of about 4 ounces each. Still not enough for he tiny body but a vast improvement since we got her.

Tired Girls

2009-03-10T07:45:00.004-05:00

Everybody is really tired. We still want to sleep in the day and be up at night. Lyndsey is not eating very well. And when we do get formula in her she spits it all up. Diane is really getting frustrated. We have been trying many different formulas and strengths and bottles and still haven't hit on the magic one. We ask our family and friends to say a prayer for Lyndsey's appetite, tolerating food and Diane's nerves.

The wait is over! Gotcha day 3-9-09

2009-03-09T04:54:00.004-05:00

Introducing Lyndsey!!

She is very small, we thought that she would be in 9 month clothes but that is way too big for her. She came to us in a 3-6 month sleeper. She was very content when we got her. She really likes to suck her fingers, her caretakers said that she will suck both thumbs at once. Her caretakers said that Yan Yan means a blossoming flower as she was so small and they expect her to really blossom when she gets a Ma Ma and Ba Ba.

2009-03-08T07:13:00.003-05:00

Hello all. We made it to China safely and are waiting to get Lyndsey. It was a very long plane ride. Lynnelle was really bored. We went to try and sleep the first night in Hong Kong but since our bodies were still on Illinois time we were lying awake most of the night trying to sleep. Today we traveled by train into China. We will meet Lyndsey for the first time tomorrow at 2:30 pm here. We should have some new pictures to post tomorrow.

2008-12-30T16:06:00.002-06:00

It's a girl!!!

Lyndsey was born 5/5/2008

2008-10-17T18:22:00.001-05:00

2008-10-15T16:36:00.007-05:00

Six years ago Friday Oct. 17 we got a precious gift. To remember "Gottcha Day" we are posting a picture of that "gift." We started this blog because we are logged in to get a sister for Lynnelle. We hope to get a referral soon for Lyndsey. This is what Lynnelle looks like now.