13 Weeks

Just 13 weeks ago we met our little girl.  But it's true what everyone says, it does really feel like we've had her forever.  How quickly our quiet household changed!   And my favorite of all the new sounds in this house is to hear her bare feet pit pat across the floor!  Oh, and the laughter...that is just music to my ears.

Cadie received this adorable Ladybug tea set from her Aunt Holly before we even received Cadie!  Her cousin Danielle is hosting her 2nd Annual Valentine's Tea Party this month and we thought it would be a good idea to practice our High Tea etiquette.  How are we doing?  We had a lot of fun and it turned out to be an almost all day affair-  I had to wait until she fell asleep to put the tea set away! 

Where did it go?

Where did it go?  It used to be that everything went in the mouth- now it goes through the "rabbit hole" to the basement steps when we're not looking.  But the bottom picture is the typical response we get when we ask her where her toy went! She loves to watch the cats go in and out of the door and watches them go all the way down the stairs and waits for them to come back up.  Every evening Christopher or I go down to the basement with a basket to bring up all the toys that were banished from the playroom!  Thank God she can't fit through the hole or we'd be in BIG trouble! 

Gotcha Day Video

So this is just a rough cut of our Gotcha Day.  As many of you know, we lost our Gotcha Day video, so this is what I put together with photos from our friend Carson.  Carson and his wife Jessica received their 2 year old daughter Avery on the same day.  This video still needs some cleaning up and I plan to do another video including other photos from our trip and return home. Enjoy and please feel free to leave comments!

What's this for?!

Yes indeed...what is this for?  Well, Cadie, it's a crib for sleeping in!  I could probably count on 1 hand how many times Cadie has slept in her crib.  She's quite enjoying all the cuddling, snuggling, and kissing she's getting by bunking with mom and dad.  We don't really mind it either...as sleep deprived as I am, I love the feeling of having her right there beside me (or on me, as she is most nights)!  I have to say, the powers that be have an uncanny knack of getting the right child with the right mommy, because snuggling is something me and my daughter both love to do!

Snow Day!

Finally, a little snow fall!  This was Cadie's first experience with snow, as she is from Southern China she never really experienced cold air (except for the cold snap in Guangzhou)!  The sled was designed and assembled by Cadie's Aunt Kelly.  She wasn't so sure at first, but really came to enjoy herself.  We had a good snow day! 

Home from China

So, we are home from China with our daughter, Acadia Xin (or Cadie, as we like to call her). We have been a family for 2 weeks and 2 days.  We had an amazing 2 weeks in China, Christopher, my mom, and myself.  We spent 1 day in Beijing touring the Forbidden City and the Great Wall.  The rest of the time was spent in Guangzhou and it was nice to settle into a routine there.  Gotcha Day was December 14, 2010.  I will remember that day for as long as I live.  Cadie looked so pretty in her pink suit and she walked right over to us with the help of her nanny.  She was so scared. She was trembling and silently crying for a long time.  We held her close for several days. Slowly, this beautiful, spirited girl began to emerge.  Everyday, we learned new things about her- likes (congee, bathtime, squeaky shoes) and dislikes (bedtime-ugh!) and were quite amazed at what a little comic she was.  We enjoyed the company and community of the other adoptive families at the White Swan and miss that now that we are home.  We are grateful to Cadie's orphanage, Maonan SWI, for providing us with a memory book that was started 2 days after her arrival there.  Included are pictures and narratives written by a nanny who seemed to love our daughter very much.  Half the Sky Foundation is actively involved with Cadie's orphanage and it would be my wish that every orphanage in China had HTS programs.  We also can't say enough about our guide, Helen, who made all of us Great Wall families feel at home.  She worked endless hours and went above and beyond the call of duty.  Helen sat down with Christopher and translated Cadie's memory book, which we captured on video.  Cadie loves to hear Helen's voice even now.  Christopher and I were also fortunate to have my mother accompany us on the trip and we will be forever grateful for her time and help.  Cadie bonded with her very quickly.  We have such great memories of 3 of us in China.  We shared many belly laughs and and a few tears over the two weeks!  We especially want to thank Carson for capturing this beautiful photo of our Gotcha moment.  We are grateful to have this image, as in the rush of all the events in China, we discovered we taped over our Gotcha Day video!  This picture is priceless to us.  Even though we are home and settling into a routine, China, our fellow adoptive families, and all the orphaned children without families are in our thoughts and prayer daily. We are truly counting our blessings this Christmas.