Family Day - two years later

Two years ago, we were in Beijing meeting Abbie and becoming a family of 5.  How have 2 years passed already?!  She is doing great - I'll let the pictures cover most of the past year, but here are a few bullets to describe our little lady these days:

• Yack, yack, yack:  Abbie talks nonstop.  Non.stop.  All day (and night!) long, she's chatting about something.  Most of the time it's about what's going on around her, but she's also frequently lost in conversation with her baby dolls about princesses or tea parties.  
• Princesses:  We've got a bit of an obsession going on right now.  As you'll see in the photos below, we recently spent a week in Disney World and on a Disney Cruise.  Just about every cast member we encountered during our time at Disney referred to Abbie as a princess.  "Hi, Princess!"  "My, don't you look beautiful, Princess."  Etc.  Well, that was a little over a month ago, and she's still referring to herself as a princess.  
• Smarty pants:  Abbie is one smart cookie!  
• She can knock out a puzzle like nobody's business - even those that are pretty tricky.  
• She pays attention to EVERYTHING and takes in EVERYTHING.  She'll then play back EVERYTHING at a later date.  "Remember when [fill in the blank]...."  
• Montessori preschool has been a very good fit for her.  She retrieves her 'work,' rolls out her mat, rolls it back up when she's done, just like the best of them.  
• Cheerful:  She is the happiest, most joyful child!  She skips and twirls her way from room to room, giggling about something or other along the way.  
• Moody:  Adam and I sometimes wonder how we'll survive the teen years, given how moody and dramatic Abbie is at 3.  Oh my.  We can go from 0 to 60 and back to 0 in 5 seconds flat.  There are a couple of photos below that illustrate this budding attitude.

Picture time!  Here's a bit of a snapshot of the past year....

We went to Oregon in May for Uncle Rich and Aunt Sarah's wedding:

While in Eugene, we swung by the Holt offices for a picture in front of their sign:

 

In June, Abbie turned 3!  Her classmates made her this sign:

Here's the moodiness on full display - we went for a walk in the forest on the 4th of July to take some pictures, but as soon as her brother tried to put his arm around her, she let him know, in no uncertain terms, she wanted his hand OFF:

We played in the yard a lot last summer:

In July, we had the opportunity to meet Amy Eldridge and Jan Champoux from Love Without Boundaries.  They coordinated and funded Abbie's lifesaving surgery and post-operative care in China.  Words don't come close to expressing how grateful we are to Amy, Jan, and all of the wonderful volunteers and donors at Love Without Boundaries:

Back to school party at the boys' school - Gavin and Abbie were sharing a snow-cone on the curb:

Silly kids:

There was a torrential downpour whilst at the pumpkin farm.  Daddy stopped to pose for a selfie with Abbie as they were running through the parking lot to the van:

Minnie Mouse jack-o-lantern:

 And here's another of the attitude on full-display.  She refused to pose with her Church School teacher, Brittany, before the Christmas program:

But once the program started, the little angel (ahem) was all smiles:

Heading out to the Christmas program at school:

She loved her "pretty dress" and put on a nice display of twirls during the program.  At least we had better success than last year's performance:

On the way to Christmas Eve service:

Back home from Christmas Eve service:

Christmas morning:

I could write an entire post (or two!) about our vacation in January, but here are a few of my favorite pictures.  Abbie in front of the Disney Dream in port in Nassau, Bahamas:

Meeting lots of princesses in the parks and on the ship:

Lots of opportunities for family photos:

 

 Hugs with Grandma:

 

Like I said last year at this time, it's hard to imagine our lives without Abbie.  She's come a long way since those first days together - we all have - and we look forward to all that awaits us this year!

Family Day - one year later

One year ago today Abbie joined our family.  We had met her the day before and then I went back the next afternoon, March 3, 2012, to pick her up and we became a family of 5.  When I walked into her room, her nanny called her over and took her in to change her.

Her caregivers had prepared a bag of snacks and formula for her.  We then went downstairs together and her nanny, the woman who had cared for her every afternoon for the previous 10 months, handed her to me and we got in the van and drove away.

Shortly after we arrived at the hotel, our friend Nancy took these photos.  They're beautiful and I'm so grateful for them.  Abbie transitioned remarkably well, but in these photos I see her sadness and confusion about her world being turned upside down once again. 

One year as a family.  While it's been hectic in many ways as we've dealt with Abbie's medical needs, the never-ending juggle of two working parents and three active children, and well, just life, what I'll treasure most are the little moments of normalcy over the past 12 months.  It's been a year of lazy weekends around the house:

And becoming a sister:

This is all just crazy to me - I can't remember, nor can I imagine, our lives without her!  We love you, Abbie.

Home

Abbie's surgery went very well on Monday and she was discharged this afternoon - way ahead of schedule.  She's uncomfortable and in pain, but all things considered, she's a little rockstar. 

This was the two of us right before I brought her back to the operating room:

And this was in the recovery room as she was coming in and out of anesthesia.  Her little face was so puffy and she had absolutely no interest in staying flat.

Night 1 was a long night.  Very long.  See that IV in her arm?  Poor thing absolutely hated it!  It made her miserable. "Baby" - the $10 stuffed doll from IKEA, is her favorite and it was the ultimate comfort.  All of the medical staff that entered her room were introduced to Baby.  (And every single one of them asked what "dolly's" name was!  Dolly?!  She'd just look at them and matter of factly say, "Baby.") 

This was after she got clearance to start sitting up a bit.  We opted for a big bed instead of a crib - I knew she'd be apoplectic if she was in a strange place confined in a box with bars all around.  This choice meant that I had to sign a waiver and sleep in the big bed with her.  She was much more comfortable than she would have been.

The best moment came last night as we were cuddling in bed.  I was telling Abbie that we might get to go home the next day.  She sweetly looked at me and said, "I wike ome."  (Translation: I like home.)  Doesn't get any better. 

Surgery #3

Abbie will be going in for surgery on Monday - her third since we brought her home 10 months ago.  This will be the most significant of the three, by far, and we would appreciate your thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery.  She's scheduled to remain in the hospital for 3-4 days post-op and will need to remain completely flat for that period of time.

I look forward to reporting that all went well and she's home and back to her cheerful, spunky self soon!

And a happy new year!

Christmas was grand, and I'll let the photos do the talking.

The children dressed up for their Christmas program at school.

Abbie was in love with her outfit - she proudly proclaimed "PRETTY!" as she looked in the mirror in her bedroom. 

As her class entered the performance hall and the children were being arranged in their line to sing "Jingle Bells" - she spotted me.  You can see that moment captured below...

And she quickly turned around to show her teacher, "There's Mommy!"

And then....well, it was all downhill.

So, like any good mother (*ahem*), I snapped a photo and then scooped her up.  She had no intention of standing up with her class to sing the song she'd so excitedly performed all over the house in the weeks leading up to the performance night (and still does).  She plopped down on my lap and was quite content to be an observer for her and her brothers' class performances.  But dang did she look cute....

We had an extra string of LED lights that she was totally fascinated with. 

Alas, it was Christmas Eve and time to snap some pics before heading off to church.  Take 1 - Big Brother pitches a fit.

Take 2 - getting better.

Take 3 - all children sweet and charming.

And the whole family.

Abbie was pretty excited about opening her stocking on Christmas Eve at Grandma and Grandpa's.

Santa knew exactly what she'd want - he brought her a Minnie Mouse pillow all the way from Disneyland (via the North Pole, of course).

Christmas 2012 is officially a wrap, and we're looking forward to 2013!