Cade's 16th Birthday and Our One Month Forever Family Day Anniversary

October 6th was Cade's Sweet Sixteen birthday.  It was also the one month anniversary of when we got Raeanna in Shanghai.  Wow! What a month! 
Raeanna is such a joy. It's so awesome to see how God prepared her heart for us, and us for her. We've been "Mama" and " Baba" to her since the moment she first saw us, and she calls for us anytime she gets out of view. She has a pleasant little personality most of the time. She wants her whole family together, surrounding her, and when we're scattered in the house, she does a little "come here" motion with her fingers to us to get us where she wants us.  Is she bossy?  YES!  Is she demanding? YES! Does she mettle and plunder and make messes?  YESSS!  Is she sweet, adorable, loving, lovable and just plain precious?  YESSSSSS!  She's only been with us a month, and it seems like she's always been a part of our family.  She requires constant supervision, because she is like a 2 year old and no where near a 4 year old.  She holds her little arms straight out when she wants to be picked up.  Who can resist that?  Certainly not any of us. I'm tired, and my back hurts from lifting and carrying her.  After all, I'm old enough to be her grandmother.  But,  I wouldn't change a thing.  I would do it over in a heartbeat; without hesitation.  She is a very loved little girl.

I got a phone call from the nurse at the University of Kentucky International Adoption doctor with the results of the tests. I will receive the report sometime this week.  The nurse said that the renal ultrasound was normal,  her spine was normal, and her bloodwork was all normal. The bonescan of the growth plates indicated she is a little over 2 years, instead of 4.5 years old. I'll know more when I get the report.
We're going to a pediatric dentist tomorrow, and they're supposed to to do a dental age assessment.

Brett came home from Mississippi College last weekend for Fall Break.  At first, Raeanna wasn't too friendly, but then she got attached to him.  By Sunday,  I knew she was going to have a really hard time when he left.  I took him to the airport on Tuesday.  She was asleep when we got there, so she wasn't quite sure what to think, but as we walked back to the car, she started calling for him.  She calls him "du du" for ge ge.
She said it over and over again like a broken-record. When we started driving out of the parking garage, it got faster and louder.  I don't know if she thought I was leaving him behind or what.  As we entered the highway, she went to pieces!  She screamed and cried all the way to Cade's school, which was about 30 minutes away. She finally calmed down when Cade got in the car, but she still had the turned down mouth for a while. She skyped with Brett that  night, and I think that really helped. She wouldn't stop leaning over and kissing his face on the computer screen.  Really sweet!  She got upset the next day when we left Cade at school, but she's been okay with that since.

Raeanna still wants a lot on her plate, but she doesn't eat much of it.  She just wants to know it's there, in case she wants it.  She'd much rather it be on her plate than anyone elses.

We got the disposable cameras developed that I had sent to the orphanage. The children living in her group were all age 2 and under. She was very loving toward the children. In several pictures, she was hugging or had her arm around another child. There is one little girl in particular that I can't get off my heart.  She's in the pictures with Raeanna from December to July, and she always looks so sad.  She looks like she may be Russian and maybe Chinese mixed, but it's hard to tell. She and Raeanna were obviously friends, and they were always hugging. She may be in the process of being adopted, but I want to find out, and if she's not,  I want to help find her a family. I would love to be able to keep in touch with whoever adopts her for Raeanna and for her. I would adopt her myself if I thought it was the right thing to do, but I really feel like it would be better for someone else to adopt her, so I can focus on Raeanna and solving her health issues.

Some of the pictures I tried to post last time didn't upload, so I'll post them.


 



Boy, do I love my duh duh!

 


And Boy, do I love my other duh duh, Cade!





Looking out the China Hotel window at Guangzhou





Brett, trying to fasten the carseat!





Ready to leave the China Hotel and go to the airport to go home at 5:30am.




Sisters!





Waiting to go to the airport in the hotel lobby




Peacefully asleep in the lounge chair at home





Fish Soup in Guangzhou at a Cantonese/Portuguese Restaurant
Everyone sits at a big round table with a lazy susan.  One guy in our group ordered many dishes for everyone, and this was one of them.



FIrst Two Weeks Home

It's been a wonderful, blessed, amazing, and exhausting two weeks! After we recovered from the virus, we still had jet lag to get over, but it finally subsided. Raeanna got so tired of staying in the house that she led me to the car and to her carseat. She realized that riding in it was the only way she'd get to go somewhere, so she decided the carseat wasn't so bad after all! She LOVES "Shopping!" She puts stuff in our cart that we pass along the way. We really have to watch her with that.

Raeanna has seemed so at home since the night we walked in the door. Bedtime is still a little difficult, but getting better all the time. It took over a week to get her in bed before midnight, but I think that was because of the time change. We take food to bed with us. She doesn't always eat it, but it helps her somehow to know it's there. She still doesn't like the lights to be turned out, but a cellphone light seems to satisfy her until she falls out asleep. I don't even try to take her shoes off anymore. It makes her mad and wakes her up too easily, so she sleeps with her shoes on every night. She only takes naps in the car or sometimes on the couch when she falls asleep playing or when I'm rocking her, but she wakes up if I try to move her.

We took her to our church last Sunday and today. She made it through the music part of the service before we had to go to the cry room. The cry room was great! It's a sound proof room and window on the 2nd floor that overlooks the congregation. She stood on a chair with her hands on the glass and watched everyone. Today, we made it through the whole service without going out, but she wouldn't let me hold her because she seemed afraid I would take her out.

Raeanna gets excited when we pick up Cade from school. When she sees him, she starts saying,"Ge ge" and pointing. It's so sweet to see the two of them gazing and smiling at each other in the back seat.

She loves her bath now that we are home! She hated it in China. She doesn't want to get out now.

She loves pretty clothes. She stands in front of the mirror and admires herself in new clothes. So precious! She's playing with toys more and more, but she still won't watch a tv show or play with toys for very long.

Raeanna still has some issues with food. She has gotten better, but she still wants everything on her plate. She also wants what is on everyone else's plate on hers, but she doesn't eat nearly as much of it as she did. She has gained 5 pounds since September 6th. That's quite a bit when you are 22 pounds to begin with. She loves several southern dishes, such as Red Beans and Rice and grits. We took her to a football game Friday night, and she was totally uninterested in everything to do with the game. What she watched nonstop was all the people eating. She would stare at them. The doctor told us to let her eat whatever she wants, and only slow her down if she begins to eat more than 2 grown men. She said these food issues usually subside in about 6 months.

I took her to the pediatrician last week. Dr. Robson held her close, and he was so sweet with her. He was very taken by her. She was not too scared, but she got mad when they pricked her finger, looked in her ears, and took off her shoes.

I took her to the International Adoption doctor in Lexington at the University of Kentucky. When she looked around and saw that she was in a hospital, she got very upset. The doctor ran several tests. It was a very long day. Our appointment was at 10:30 and we left at 4:00. They drew 10 vials of blood, took xrays, and did a renal ultrasound. The doctor said the same thing we've been convinced of since we got her. She said that there's no way she is four years old. She thinks she is closer to two years old and that her records were made up. She xrayed the growth plates, and she's sending us to a pediatric dentist for a dental age assessment. She said that we'd xray those plates again in a year and make a decision as to what age she is at that time. She assessed her at 24 to 26 months, but said that she may be 3 at most because of being institutionalized in an orphanage.

People from our church have been very kind, bringing us meals to help us while we recovered from the trip and being sick and adjusted to having a little one again. One family that came had a 19 month old little girl, and she was actually taller and stronger than Raeanna. However, Raeanna is getting stronger everyday. She has begun to climb stairs that were impossible for her just a few days ago.

Right now, she is upstairs with Brett and Cade. They were watching a Nick Jr. show, with singing and dancing. They walked up to the balcony, and she was dancing and singing a song with Cade about something being "Yummy in her tummy." I sooo wish I had the video camera on when they did that!

Raeanna doesn't want Mama ever too far away. In fact, she starts calling me if I step in another room. She wants all of us with her all the time, but because I'm the one who's the main caretaker, she never wants me out of her sight. Katey and Adam took her for a wagon ride a couple of days ago. She was so torn because she wanted me to go with her. I told her she could go with them or she could stay with me in the house. She went, but she looked at me with the most sad look over her shoulder. She got okay soon, but she kept calling for me. I'm not going to leave her with anyone for quite a while, but since it was her sister, and she was taking her out to do something she was really wanting to do, I felt like it would be good for her to see I would be here when she got back.

She loves to hug my leg when I'm cooking, and begs to be picked up. Even though she is little, she gets very heavy, but I try to hold her whenever I can. When she sleeps, she puts her head on my side and holds it there with force until she falls asleep. I guess she's hoping to keep me from going anywhere by doing that. She's very cuddly, but very independent. She likes to help me empty the dishwasher. She hands me dishes and points to where they go. If she can reach, she puts them away.

Raeanna is learning English pretty well. She repeats words we say, and she seems to understand most everything we say. For instance, the nurse told her to go stand by the door so she could take her picture. She walked straight over to the door. It even shocked the nurse that she understood her. We're teaching her to count. She really listens when the little girls who are our neighbors talk to her, and she repeats what they say. She seems fascinated with little girls who are older than her.

We're enjoying every minute with her. I think she is quite secure in the fact that she is loved by her family. She seems to love her Mama, Baba, ge ge's, and jie jie. She calls Adam ge ge, too.

We're very grateful for the prayers from everyone. God has been so amazing throughout this entire journey! He orchestrated everything so perfectly, by leading us to her a little over a year ago. He made clear the path He wanted, and He worked out every detail. Raeanna was so prepared for us and us for her. There wasn't really an adjustment period. She was waiting for us to get there. It's been absolutely amazing how things have worked out! We'll continue to need your prayers and God's power as we face at least one surgery with her in the near future, and as she overcomes issues related to being in an orphanage.

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