Pumpkin Patch

We had a great day! We went to the pumpkin patch with Sandra, Rex & Holly and painted a pumpkin. It was so much fun!

Shoes

Grace is picky about her shoes...I learned that when we bought shoes last Sunday from Stride Rite. She let me put them on her but she had no problem taking them off. When I tried to get either of the pairs on her on Monday, she screamed! So, I guess that later on this weekend I'll be returning her shoes. She went up a whole size in one month! One month! We went to the outlet (our favorite place) and got some new tennis shoes and some brown mary janes. They were super cute and the best thing is that she liked them. She also got a pair of robies (she thought they were neat)...the shoe freak in me is like, "YES! That's my girl!"

ECI came by on Friday. It looks like Grace will qualify for the program. The great thing is that it's a monthly fee and they come to you. So, we'll continue speech, OT & PT until we start services with ECI. I am so glad that I won't be paying the $20 copay for each service (it's 60 a week). It'll be $20 a month. Hot dog!

Did I tell you my child is also a daredevil like her mama? Yep, she thinks she's invincible and likes to climb on things, especially chairs. She actually has pretty decent balance. She's gaining weight...she's like 22.5, 23 lbs. She's getting taller and she's starting to be a little more vocal and trying to make word sounds.

This past week seemed to have been a breakthrough week. She is finally starting to relax and she's becoming more affectionate with me and less affectionate with strangers (which was an attachment issue). Tomorrow we're going to the pumpkin patch with my bff Sandra, her hubby and her sweetie pie, Holly. I'm super excited, especially since the weather has finally gotten a tad cooler. Let the fall begin!

First Week in Daycare

Well, it seems that daycare is good for Grace except for the fact that she got BIT today by another girl who didn't want her to hold her hand. It was a bad bite too. This kid had to have held on pretty hard and pretty long. I'm upset but what can I do? Things like that happen and I can't keep Grace in a bubble. I hope it doesn't happen again.

Grace got her 5 shots yesterday. 3 in one leg, 2 in the other leg. Poor thing! She was miserable, I think of the whole trauma. I gave her tylenol before and motrin before she went to bed. I gave her a nice warm bath and really massaged her legs. She was fussy all night. About 4 a.m. I put her in bed with me and we slept together until 6 a.m. She did the morning routine with me (usually she's asleep). She was so tired but she didn't want to sleep. She actually had her blankie and laid down on my bathroom floor while I was getting ready. I felt so bad for her that I picked her up and put on my makeup with one hand.

Tomorrow we go to the Moon Festival with our FCC. I'm looking forward to it. I'm also on a quest for a rain coat for Grace and a new cell phone for me.

First Day of Daycare

It seems that daycare is good for my girl. I always suspected it but now I know. I dropped her off at 7:20 this morning. Can I just say how much I love her teacher, Ms. Karen? She rocks. She held my girl and offered her fruit loops. Girlfriend was good to go. I heard she played with the big boy, which I'm not surprised. Grace seems to be drawn more to boys. My parents picked her up at 12:30 for OT & PT and she woke up in a good mood. She was happy this evening and so far...knock on wood...no night terrors. I'm so proud of her...I'm so proud of me. I only had a few tears when I got into my car but I was good when I got to work. I hope daycare helps her with her language. I had to call ECI to get Grace evaluated for speech. It seems that where we go for OT & PT, it's so backlogged so we have to find other avenues. They are supposed to call next week to set up an evaluation.

Everything is going well. Life is good.

4 months!

Grace and I have been a family now for 4 months. We had been doing better sleepwise until we started synagis shots on Tuesday. The sucky thing is that those are going to be happening once a month until March. The good thing is that it will help prevent respiratory illness. So because she hasn't been feeling great or safe, she's having sleeping issues again. It's going to get worse too because she is going to start Country Home Day Care for 3 days a week which is going to knock her off her schedule and on Thursday she has to have 5 shots. I feel soooo horribly for my girl. But she's a trooper and she's gonna be okay. I know the daycare will be good so she can have socialization and I really liked the teacher. And shots, well shots are inevitable part of life. She's going to be poked for the rest of her life because she is a heart baby.

I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday. I get to spend the weekend with my girl. My life is so much better with Grace even when she's a grumpy squirrel.

Daredevil

I am raising a daredevil. My mom would say, like mother, like daughter. I guess that's a true enough statement as I am supposed to go skydiving again at the end of this month. We went to the National Night Out at the park in my neighborhood. Grace wanted to go to the playground because all of the kiddos were there. She climbed up the high steps and then she went down the slide all on her own! She did it over and over again. She was getting tired towards the end but she was so proud of herself. I have to admit, I was too. I think she likes that dropping feeling because at Mass she'll stand on the kneeler and then let herself drop to sit down on the kneeler. It almost gives me a heart attack every time because I think she is going to whack her head either on the pew in front of her or the seat. She's a crazy girl.

She's been getting more frustrated because she can't articulate what she wants. She's obsessed with the wheels on the bus song and demands it be sung in the car, or when she's upset. I think Mom is ready to start part time daycare. I think it will be good for her so she can be with other kiddos. I think she misses the orphanage sometimes. I know she misses her friends there. I'm so glad that we are able to keep in touch with the girls who she played with while she was at Fengxin. You should see these girls...they are so beautiful and they are growing and blossoming, just like Grace. It makes my heart happy.

Starting to Doggie Paddle

I might jinx myself when I say this, but I think I have moved from treading water to doggy paddling. I am almost caught up at work and I have even started the ball rolling for an author visit in March. I actually made dinner at my house today (yesterday I made my parents tacos) for me and Grace. She even ate all of it (it was whole wheat rigotoni with pasta sauce) and some ice cream. I got her bathed, in bed and asleep by 8 p.m. I'm ahead of my question writing so I can actually go upstairs and watch some TV that I have DVRed. Or I can actually watch live TV. (Did I tell ya'll my downstairs TVquit on us and I bought another one but I'm waiting for Geek Squad to install on Sunday). Things are good. Grace is starting to cuddle a little more. She's not a cuddle bug kind of girl but she likes to put our heads together and she actually leaned against me this morning when we read Panda Bear, Panda Bear What do you See? So, I'm seeing light at the end of the tunnel. I'm sure there is going to be another tunnel of darkness in some bend along the track but we can weather through it. I knew motherhood was not a simple thing but you can't even imagine the complexities until it's your turn. All I know is that it is making me a better person.