You've Come a Long Way Baby

Enjoying her birthday present (I just couldn't wait and gave it to her early :) )

A round of applause please!

Today I took Zoe to Eric's school for a visit. The teachers were all so amazed at how different Zoe is now from when they first saw her when we came home in June. It got me thinking about everything this amazing little girl has accomplished in the 2.5 months she's been home. She went from a (dr. diagnosed) malnourished little peanut, to a chubby cheeked, well...she's still a little peanut. She may be rear facing in the carseat for a long time as she quickly got to 18 pounds but now her appetite has really slowed down.

When we first saw Zoe she could only sit unassisted for probably 10 seconds. Now she cruises around the furniture, stoops to pick something up, gets back up and continues on. She's standing alone for longer periods of time (when motivated) and the other day shuffled between the coffee table and couch without holding on. She would bring nothing to her mouth and now she self-feeds finger foods (when motivated). She had no idea of midline, and now she claps her hands. Zoe was so quiet at first I thought she may be deaf...now she babbles with inflection (particularly at Herman when he goes for her toys) and has said the word "up" appropriately. Her receptive language and grasp of English has truly amazed me. She developed the one finger pointing a couple weeks ago and now points at everything and seems to want it labeled for her. She also likes to point out all the trees and lights :) Most importantly, she went from complete apathy towards Eric and I, to loving us as her parents. In China Zoe often reached out for the other Chinese women (on the airplane, in restaurants, etc.) as they looked like her nannies in the orphanage. She and I were shopping at the outlets the other day and a very friendly Chinese couple came up to her and the woman reached out for her. Zoe grabbed on to me and buried her face in my chest. I'd always read about how quickly the girls develop once they got home, but Zoe has really exceeded my expectations, particularly lately. It's also been so nice to get updates from her China orphanage sisters and know that they too are doing beautifully.

In other Zoe news..she's cutting two bottom teeth. She had one rough night after 10 nights of blissfully sleeping through the night and we were afraid her ear infection was back until we saw the tiny tops of her new teeth poking through. Thank goodness for baby Tylenol! We're expecting some regression when daycare starts but hopefully it will just be for a little bit. I guess my next post will have pictures from her birthday. I can't believe she's 1 already!

An Apology...

I'd like to issue a formal apology to anyone to whom I gave unsolicited parenting advise over the years. I'm sure phrases such as "you need to", or "you should" have rolled off my unknowing tongue. See, as a psychologist I know what I SHOULD do for Zoe but really, all that goes by the wayside when it's your kid. When the amoxicillin hurt her belly and she wouldn't eat...I knew I should only feed her in the high chair (she'll eat when she's hungry) but no...since she's my kid and I was worried it was perfectly acceptable to feed her while she stood standing in the refrigerator :) Hey, anything to get her fed and keep up her weight. So to everyone without kids who has uttered the words "you need to", or "you should" to me over the past three months...I know you mean well, but talk to me when it's your own kid who's struggling :) I now completely understand when the parents that I work with occasionally used my least favorite phrase in meetings "Do you have kids?". Before I thought it was irrelevant...now I know it's the most relevant question they could ask. My answer, of course, used to be "No." Now it will be, "Yes, I understand.....and you still need to not let them set fires :)

Hmmm, what's for dinner?


I think I can, I think I can....


Phew, I made it!

Okay, so I just realized that all of today's pictures are of Zoe's backside :) I do really like those Princess pants though. Eric is now back to work..just in time for Zoe to decide that napping is optional. I go back on September 4th and am getting pretty ready to go back. I know the first couple weeks of daycare are going to be an adjustment, but I think Zoe will really enjoy being around the other kids. As you can see from the pictures she's gotten very good at climbing our very steep stairs. We had her climb them a couple times yesterday and then she slept 11 hours straight....boot camp for babies :) She's also finally able to self-feed with things down to the size of 1/4 a Cheerio. It's not perfect every time, but a HUGE improvement. The amoxicillin she had to take for her ear infection really did a number on her belly. She's been refusing foods that she once loved lately and is really prefering liquids and carbs like crackers. We're hoping she gets back to normal soon, but in the meantime I should buy stock in Yobaby drinkable yogurt. She won't take the regular stuff with a spoon but will still drink it happily through the bottle or sippy. Her language skills continue to develop and she's able to follow some one step directions without prompts or gestures. We were playing with her Little People cow today and she said "Moooo"...or maybe I imagined it :) I've finally been getting my "mama". Her first birthday is coming up and we're going to do a very low key affair with just family since I go back to work the next day.

Ladybug or Bee?

Two of the front runners for Zoe's Halloween costume.....ladybug or bee?

Who Needs Sleep?

I'm posting the lyrics to a Barenaked Ladies song because it most aptly describes life in the Hockensmith household at the moment. Who knew someone only 28 inches tall could wreck such adorable havoc.

Who needs sleep?(well you're never gonna get it)
Who needs sleep?(tell me what's that for)
Who needs sleep?(be happy with what you're getting
There's a guy who's been awake
since the Second World War)

A Day of Milestones

A family photo taken on Saturday.

Zoe had a little bit of a better night last night, but she still woke up around 2am and needed to be comforted. We're hoping that having another whole day on the antibiotics (which she hates, by the way) will make tonight even better. The medicine is killing her appetite though which doesn't make me happy. This is a little one who doesn't need to lose any weight.

Today was a very exciting one for Zoe :) She stood on her own for at least 15 seconds, much to the amazement of Eric and I. Her balance is getting better every day and she loves to practice. Then she figured out how to crawl up the step between our living room and dining room. The thing she did that impressed me the most happened after her bath today. I always comb her hair and say "combing Zoe's hair" and then comb mine and say, "combing mommy's hair", and then give her the comb which she puts in her mouth. Today I did that little routine with her and when I gave her the comb she combed her hair!! Then I said, "Comb Mommy's hair" and she put the comb in my hair! Okay, when I say comb I mean she put the comb to the side of her head and ran it up and down(several times actually) not that it actually combed it but hey, she knew what it was used for! Her combing actually took out a few hairs on my head :)

Ear Infection

Our poor baby has her first (diagnosed) ear infection. On Sunday night she started shaking her head back and forth, and I wrote yesterday how clingy she's become along with the lack of sleep. I took her in to the doctor today and she said that Zoe has an ear infection in the right ear and her ear drum has been perforated. This is the first time that a doctor has been able to look into her ears since she's always had so much wax (something they don't tell you about adopting an Asian child....hard ear wax) so this could have been going on in a more mild fashion for a while. She's now on antibiotics and isn't such a big fan. The doctor said this could explain the new clingy behaviors and her waking up in the middle of the night to sit up. Laying down causes the pressure to build up so she's in pain when she wakes up...poor baby!!!

The good news was that we did a weight check and Zoe is now 18.4 pounds....3 full pounds heavier than our doctor appointment in Guangzhou! The doctor was really pleased with her growth. We go back in three weeks to check her ear and for her 12 month appointment. While I've been less than pleased with the doctors we've seen in the practice before today, I love the receptionist and the nurses. Today we say a new doctor who happens to be Asian and she was so great with Zoe so I think I'm going hold off on switching practices and just request her from here on out.

What a big girl :)

Zoe finally drank, unassisted, from a sippy cup today. She finally held something on her own. Big moment in the Hockensmith household! For some reason we're back to having sleep issues again. We had 2.5 blissful weeks of slumber, but for the past two nights she's woken up for two hour stretches. Part of the problem is she has become really, really attached to me so when she sees me at night, and then I leave the waterworks start. When we first brought Zoe home she really couldn't have cared who held her but now she's very much a mommy's girl. She's always checking back on me when she's playing, plays a game of tugging on my shirt when I pretend to turn my back on her, and holds on really tightly now when I'm holding her. All of this is wonderful, as long as it's not a sign of insecure attachment, but I go back to work in less than a month now so I'm worried about that. She clearly loves Eric but doesn't seem to mind if he comes or goes from a room so he may have to do dropoffs on workdays. Oh, and she just pulled up on the coffee table for the first time (had been doing it on us and the couches so now my pictures and candles have to come down :) ).

Eric and I are considering moving again. We had priced new homes in the area in March but since we didn't want to have to move with Zoe into an apartment we passed on them. The developer had some spec homes available so we met with our realtor about those. I don't think those are going to work but he mentioned that with all the foreclosures and slow market in our area that a current home owner or bank in the case of forclosure might be willingly to accept a contingency contract whereby we buy their house if ours sells within a certain timeframe. So, we're going to get some work done on the house and look into that. Everyone that has been over lately can attest to the fact that we just don't have enough usable/kid friendly space on the main level. When we have playdates we have to have our guests sit on the floor in Zoe's room as it's really the only place 4 adults and 2 kids can fit. We're in a good position where we don't HAVE to move, and we love our house, so we'll see. Zoe's clawing for the computer so no pics today.

2nd Month Anniversary/11 month Birthday!

Just a few quick pictures of the past week.

Our very handsome nephew with Herman

Wow! We've had a very eventful week and a half. Eric's older brother came into town with our nephew for a week. It was so wonderful to see both of them, it had been too long. Herman already misses all of the attention Miles gave him. Thank you so much Miles for taking such good care of Herman and for playing so well with Zoe! Zoe's great aunt was also in town (don't let the "great" part make you think she'd old...she's a very hip younger 40s :) ). We're so glad she was able to meet Zoe, and we hope she takes her brother's advice and decides to move closer! We are looking forward to a trip, hopefully soon, to San Francisco to visit her.

Over the past week we also were able to meet our friends' daughters who recently returned home from China. Ava, Sarah, Indigo, and Catherine are all so beautiful and we're so glad they are finally HOME!! One last couple should be receiving their referral next month (finally!) and then all of our friends will have their babies.

Zoe continues to do really well. She's 11 months old today. She's now been with us for 2 months. Her receptive language grows every day. Eric has taught her to high five just in time for football season. I think her first words will be "Go Colts!" Actually, I hate to think that they will be some other phrase muttered by Eric during the Colts or Penn State games :) Zoe did say bye-bye clear as a bell last weekend though which was cute. She will look at Eric and say "Da" now; although I'm not sure if she really gets it. She's finally started to say "Ma". She imitates hand movements and raspberries, and it's so cute when you ask her to repeat something because you can see her trying to get her mouth into the right position. She understands "put it in" and "take it out" now. Self-feeding is still a challange for her but as she gets more comfortable with putting toys and objects into her mouth, I'm sure it will develop soon. She's eating graham crackers, wagon wheels, and bites of goldfish on her own. She's doing pretty well with a sippy cup now, although she doesn't hold it by herself. She gets stronger every day and requires less help from us to stand. Looking back at pictures from 2 months ago, it's hard to believe that she's the same kid!

The best news of the week is from my one of my friends who found out that her family has been matched with a birthmom (domestic adoption) who is due really soon! I'm hoping and praying it all works out for them. I'm not sure if she still reads this blog but for her I'm including one of my favorite (although cheesy) adoption poems (she gave me the Legacy of the Adopted Child poem at my shower which is my all time favorite and in our nursery). I can say that the "life gave me the gift of you" part is absolutely how I feel about Zoe.

"I didn't give you the gift of life
but in my heart I know
the love I feel is as deep & real
as if it had been so.

For us to have each other
is like a dream come true.
No, I didn't give you the gift of life
Life gave me the gift of you. "

author unknown (until someone tells me)