Day 10 - 12/27

Last night was so sweet. Peyton read books while the recipient read louder.  She also said "the end" as she closed the book.  Then she wanted Peyton out of her room (and was a little mean about it) so she could lay down with mama and go to sleep.  She did really well considering we were in a new place and a strange bed.  Our late afternoon nap proved to be not a smart move come bedtime.  Both Chris and I took a turn, but sleep seemed so far away.  She got back up and came downstairs to where the action was.  They were all lined up on the sectional playing with their iPads.  She and I went to bed in Maddux's bed; we were expecting Chris to join but he opted for the couch.  The Christmas tree provided plenty of night light and she slept till 5:00.  Then we turned off the tree to get some good sleep.  All was well until 7:00 when she fell out of the bed.  Parenting win of the year right there.  She was fine but it scared her and took awhile to get the tears to stop.

Bedtime stories

iPad fun

This morning she spent more time with Peyton stamping and stickering and listening to music with Peyton's new beats headphones.  She also wanted to spend more time with Uncle Glen and ate on his lap at least a couple more times.  We had brought a brand-new freezer container of chinese noodles and this girl demolished them in 24 hours.  Other than a few chips and a few bites of banana, that is the only thing she would eat.  The boys also showed her the nerf guns but she kept thinking the ammo was lip gloss.  She got some extra snuggle time in with Jordyn and Nana.  I think the weekend away with our dog went really well.  We are not BFFs yet, but she can tolerate being in the same room, throws toys and food at her, and she even petted her back with some convincing (*forcing).  Our dog rode back in the car with us and is hopefully home for good.

The car ride home was a little rough and we dealt with some car sickness pretty early on.  Luckily, after she got sick, she fell asleep and napped for a majority of the trip.  We stopped in Tuscola for fuel, and she kept pointing at McDonalds.  We have learned that at some of the orphanages, they go to McDonalds once a week so we wanted to try it.  She had a couple of french fries but was not interested in them.  She ate four chicken nuggets, but would not try any cheeseburger (she did throw a piece at the dog when we got home).  She also helped unpack her bag, helped start laundry, and helped wash her drinking cup when we got home.  She has also learned to say "dog", "woof, woof," and "Bessie."  She is still a little skittish around the dog, but we are on the same floor of the house:)

She loves to wear her hoods

Uncle Glen might be her favorite

Playing with the ornaments on Peyton's tree

Girl's selfie

Facetiming with one of Petyon's friends

Such a cheeser

Nerf gun wars

Posing with Jordyn

Posing with Nana

Being cute is exhausting

Enjoying McDonalds

Silliness at home

                                       

"Bessie"

Day 9 - 12/26

Last night went well and we may be on a roll with no tears:)  After her long and hectic day yesterday, she slept later than normal.  We got up and around and headed to Chicago for another Christmas.  She did pretty well in the car considering the long drive.  She was not interested in doing any of the activities I brought along in her backpack.  She did make quite a few gagging noises, but she never did get sick.  We put her sea band bracelet on but it was pretty obvious she was not feeling like herself.  We were hoping she would nap in the car on the way, but she had other plans.  Her eyes got heavy and she was quiet but she never had restful sleep.  We arrived at Glen and Steph's house and she made herself right at home.  She was greeted by cousins Jordyn, Peyton, and Maddux who have been anxious to meet her.  Our dog, Bessie, was already there with Nana and Smitty.  She was still scared but she would stay in the same room and no screaming or tears.  One time we even petted the dog with a lot of convincing.  Hooray for small miracles.

Luckily, we brought along our own food and she immediately wanted noodles as soon as we arrived.  She immediately went to Glen and wanted to sit on his lap to eat (three times).  She was also a big fan of Steph and wanted carried around by her.  Her new BFF; however, was Miss Peyton.  Peyton would help her escape to the upstairs (Peyton's room) away from the dog. They had all sorts of fun making bracelets, playing with stickers, eating skittles, and playing with lip gloss.  It is hard to believe that Peyton is nearly two years old than her.  Occasionally, she would request that "mama" or "bah bah" would join them to play.  She does not like skittles, but it is so fun to throw them in to each other's mouths.  She ended up with four or five in her mouth and wanted to spit them out but with a little convincing she finished them.  She also had lots of fun popping bubble wrap.  We took a late afternoon nap and she was much more comfortable after she woke up.  She mainly ate her chinese noodles and chips.  I lost count of how many "meals" we had today.  She wanted to take a bath and Peyton helped.  She wanted Peyton to help her get dressed.  After eating her bedtime snack on Glen's lap, she requested that he help to brush her teeth before bed.  It was the cutest thing.  It was another fun-filled day with family.

There are 25 other kids all over the U.S.  All of these kids are here in hopes of finding there forever families.  We had no expectations when we went down this journey.  It has been unbelievable.  If you are interested in finding out more information about hosting in general or want to learn more about one of the kids wanting to find their forever family, please let us know.  This is such a great opportunity to learn about a child and really get to know their personality before taking a leap of faith towards international adoption.  Such a cool program, and grateful that we learned about it.  Feel free to email us at christopherswing@yahoo.com or kelslading@hotmail.com.

Wearing Mama's shoes

Car selfie

Sleepy girl

Uncle Glen

Aunt Steph w/ Jordyn's sunglasses

Getting stamps on her hand in Peyton's room

Cousin love

Sticker fun

Dress-up with earrings

The whole group

Lip gloss fun

Uncle Glen ... again

Uncle Glen brushing teeth

Throwing skittles

Day 8 - 12/25

Merry Christmas!  So thankful for the birth of our Savior and grateful for an extra blessing this season.  From the bottom of our hearts, we say "thank you" (which seems so inadequate) for the outpouring of kind words, support, and prayers.  Our adventure is going better than we could have ever imagined.

We finally had success at bedtime = no tears.  She was pretty wound up but eventually fell asleep with Chris in her bed.  This morning she was up bright and early at 7:00 saying, "bye bye bah bah."  Chris brought her into our bed while I was sleeping.  She did not want to lay down; she kept pointing outside (as if to say, look its daylight) and saying "up."  Breakfast started as scrambled eggs and ended with a fried egg.  Nana and Smitty brought our dog back this morning for a visit for a few hours.  There were moments where we almost had tears but as soon as I would say "no" she would stop.  We spent some time in the same room with the dog and she even walked over to Chris while he was holding the dog.  Also threw some cheerios at the dog to share.  Glad to be making some progress before we head to Chicago for the weekend with extended family and the dog is going along.

Early naptime before company arrived - she fell asleep and slept by herself.  Late lunch included leftover italian beef, mashed potatoes, and green bean casserole.  We spent some time playing with a Melissa & Doug reuseable sticker book and it was a big hit.  No concept of placing stickers in right setting, but fun all the same.  We enjoyed a visit with my childhood friend, Stephanie, and her husband, Steve, who were in town for the holiday.  They have been keeping up with the blog so I'm sure it was fun to see her in person.  She even showed them her room.

We were originally supposed to have Christmas at my mom's but since she has two dogs, we relocated Christmas to our house.  Grandma (Gigi) and Grandpa Barker arrived for their first meeting with her.  Then Brooke, Dale and Kinsley.  I had purchased matching Christmas outfits for the girls weeks ago and Miss Kinsley showed up in hers.  She immediately went to her room, opened her dresser, pulled out her matching outfit (the one she wore to church last night), and wanted it on.  She would not wear her white tights because Kinsley was not wearing tights.  Then Nana and Papa Gene arrived and the girls were ready to party.  Kinsley was nice enough to bring her dress up clothes from Santa so the girls got all decked out in princess attire.  The high-heeled shoes were difficult to walk in so this was pretty short-lived.  Once the princess clothes were removed, they ran around naked and laughed, giggled, and squealed on Mama/Aunt Kelsey's bed.  Nana brought some cool toys for them to play with too (like a princess magna doodle).  Grandpa Barker brought both girls a small green tractor.  They both know how to run their tractor motors.  She really took to Brooke this time and wanted her to take her potty.  We kept dinner simple with Subs, chips/dip, veggies/dip, fresh fruit, and Christmas sweets for dessert.  She had already eaten chinese noodles and fried rice but wanted to sit down with the rest of us.  She ate some chips, cucumbers, and a deconstructed sub sandwich (ham and mayo).  Kinsley would only eat the bread so we just should have shared a sandwich.  There were a couple of presents for the girls to open.  They both opened a pair of high-healed princess shoes for dress-up from Nana and Papa Gene.  She got pink and Kinsley got purple (which is her favorite color).  Kinsley opened a box of princess bangle bracelets from Gigi and Granpda Barker and was nice to share with her.  We also had her open one toy she can take back to the orphanage which is a small tablet-sized magna doodle and also a purple rolling backpack for her return trip.  They had fun opening and helped the grown-ups open their gifts too.  I think a great time was had by all.  My family may be partial, but I think everyone was impressed with how much she is communicating and understanding.  The girls were getting cranky so we called it a night.  Bathtime with me.  Of course, she wanted congee before bed (I lose track of how many "meals" this girl has in one day).  And bedtime and reading with Chris.  There was plenty of stalling (I need a drink, my skin itches, where's mama?, etc.), but I think she is out with no tears.

I hope you all had a blessed Christmas day.

New artwork for the fridge

Sticker fun

Lunchtime

Posing with Gigi

Posing with Nana

Brooke helping

Princess admiring herself in the mirror ... again

Dress-up fun

They always find this spot to "hang out"

Two little monkeys jumping on the bed

They kept the door shut for their squealing and
probably so they would not get caught

Posing with Papa Gene

Princess Magna Doodle was a big hit

Sharing is hard (Magna Doodle and daddy!)

Everyone wants held at the same time

New dress-up shoes

New backpack

Smiles all around with Nana and Gigi

Day 7 - 12/24

I wish I had better news to report but last night's bedtime was more of the same.  We started process at 7:30 which consisted of bathtime, brush teeth, lotion, jammies, read books with Chris, I walk into give Benadryl for itchy skin, breakdown with tears, up, eating congee (not a fan of this routine and it seems to be on repeat).  She wanted more congee but I said no, go to bed.  She actually walked down the hall and climbed into her bed by herself.  I could not believe it.  By the time I finished a few things and got ready for bed, she was asleep.  It just took till 10:30.

One of the recommendations (requirements) of hosting is that we make sure the child has a pediatric exam, dental exam, and vision exam.  Although she is in a great orphanage, access to these services are limited.  We have been fortunate to have these services donated.  Anything behind these basic services is a bonus.  This morning we sent to SBLHC because Dr. Leifheit recommended she have an echocardiogram and a bone age test.  She had heart surgery when she was a baby so just want to make sure everything is going well.  The bone age test will determine the age of her bones to see whether they think she is a 5 year old or 8 year old and will help determine whether she may be able to catch up in size to her peers.  She has health insurance during her stay but it is for major accident or illness only.  Luckily, the SBLHC Foundation had some funds designated to help cover the costs of pediatric patients in need.  We will still have some out of pocket, but a few hundred dollars sounds a whole lot better than several thousand.  Grateful that she can have access to these services and that the Lord has provided the resources.  She did great on both and now we wait for results.

Chris:  We had an early lunch and naptime before our company arrived.  I always volunteer to take the shift that includes naptime and this time was no different.  We headed to bed 3 times prior to going to sleep but when you are stalling it is important to make individual trips to get drinks, small snacks and a bathroom break.  I am pretty sure she has this routine down to a science and she definitely knows that I am weaker than Kelsey.

Papa Swing and Grandma Barb arrived around 1:30.  She was just waking from her nap so they were welcomed by a very reserved little girl.  This was her first time meeting them.  We played with waffle blocks and she eventually warmed up to them.  She opened her stocking which contained a bunch of candy that she probably will not eat (Chris is thrilled).  Her favorite stocking stuffer was a two-pack of chapstick.  She immediately wanted it opened and it went into her purse.  She also opened one gift which was Christmas jammies.  We had a nice dinner together and we doubted the she would partake in our American cuisine.  You are never going to believe this, but she ate italian beef, mashed potatoes, and green bean casserole.  I was in shock, but thrilled.  Not sure she will eat it tomorrow as leftovers, but we will take it.  She also tried some of a peanut butter blossom cookie.  Lots of laughs all afternoon and evening.  This girl knows how to turn on the charm.  Grandma Barb was a huge hit and I'm pretty sure they are BFFs now.  She wanted Grandma Barb to hold her, take her potty, and put on her dress clothes for church.  We all went to Christmas Eve services at church and the music was fantastic.  She just sang right a long with us while coloring, eating goldfish, and tracing our hands onto paper.  She turned to the page with the nativity scene and said "baby."

We just had bathtime and she insisted on wearing her new Christmas jammies.  Eating a snack and hopefully heading to bed with no tears.  I am hearing lots of laughter from the bedroom as she and Chris are reading books.  Hopefully that is a good sign.

Waiting at SBLHC with her new bear

Echo - it was super difficult for her to hold still

Echo

Bone age test - x-ray of one hand

Hanging with Papa Swing

Stocking fun

She insisted on sitting by Grandma Barb (which included sharing
the items she did not want to eat on Grandma Barb's plate)

Posing with Grandma Barb before church

Looking at pics on Papa Swing's phone

Christmas Eve services

New jammies - ready for Santa

Before church

Before church with Papa Swing & Grandma Barb