One Week Later

It is one week later, one week home, one week back to school, one week with mommy to myself, one busy week later....it is funny, we started our week off on Saturday afternoon by going to the grocery store. There, the checkout clerk said "oh, what a cute addition to your family" as we all smiled and said thank you....today, I went in with Mason-Kate to buy a few things and we happened to have the same checkout clerk....this time she stated "so, you still have her!" Well, of course we do! She is a keeper for sure. Mason-Kate has done remarkably well with adjusting to life in Georgia. We started her off with church on Sunday. We went a little late hoping to not cause a scene....well, that backfired. When word got out that we were there, the majority of the congregation came out into the narthex to say hello (sorry about that John - didn't mean to interrupt the service). It was so wonderful to have everyone there to welcome us home and to see our little girl. They embraced all of us and made us feel so special and loved. Mason-Kate gave them a few smiles and then we all went to lunch with my parents who were in town to meet MK. Monday we started off the day late....well, except for Ryan who had to rush back into work after being gone for almost 3 weeks. The boys chose to sleep until 10....I woke them up, took Colin to school - everyone was so glad to see him and he took it all in stride....they dubbed him the "world traveler" and he proceeded to be the social studies teacher for the afternoon....topic of discussion was China of course. Pryce and I took MK to the pediatrician for her first official check up....she is a Drafts child no doubt, she has a big head (85th percentile), a medium tummy (weight 35th percentile) and short little legs (20th percentile for height)! She was ok with it all until the ear exam....ugh, the gunk was thick and they had to get it out to see her eardrum - that was not fun....alas, she has a double ear infection....she fell asleep while I calmed her down after the ear trauma only to be rudely awakened by the two shots and finger prick that followed....she was not happy at all! It was at that appointment that I realized beyond a shadow of a doubt that I love this child and I hurt to know the pain she will feel in the upcoming months during the surgery that is inevitable to fix her palate. One funny part about her visit was when the doctor asked me about her speech and what she was saying....well, really she doesn't say a whole lot....everything is the usual 14 month old "uhhhh" or "mamamama"....then he asked me if she said any chinese words - well, exactly how would I know?! Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were pretty predictable....we took the boys to school, ran an errand or two and then came home for a nap. She naps twice a day which makes it nice for now. She is so easy - we have learned that she is a "blankie" girl....Colin had the beloved "monk-monk" monkey that he was attached to, Pryce was a pacifier child and it looks like MK will be our blanket lover. We now have two - one for the car and one for the crib. During the week we have tried numerous foods - among various other healthy foods, she loves Brusters! Bless her heart, she had me worried as she would not think of eating pizza or bread....when I saw her eat ice cream and motion for more, it just made me melt. Some other quick takes, we went to the park - she loves to swing, the higher the better for her....we had our first hairbow tragedy during a walk around the neighborhood - MK has gotten quite fond of taking them out unfortunately....we had our first bath without screaming....mommy learned that taking the dog, the baby and the 5 year old for a walk around a very hilly neighborhood is best left undone especially if the 5 year old is bike riding....MK is sleeping 12-14 hours a night, her parents are hoping that continues....it really has been a pretty easy transition....I think the hardest part was going to the grocery store and trying to figure out how three children could all sit in one cart! Today we went to visit the doctor who is the Cleft Palate Team surgeon....he is Chinese by birth also. He told us pretty much what we already knew - that she will have to be examined by the ENT for hearing purposes and to determine whether or not tubes will be needed (I am pretty sure that they almost always are with cleft palate babies), he told us that her cleft was wide, that it is the most common cleft seen being that it is unilateral and on the left side, and that she will get all fixed up and be ready to go....our goal now is to get her into surgery as soon as possible for her palate closure - we hope to get her in during the month of May. So, with that being said, we are just praying for strength and knowledge during the upcoming weeks. We will continue to update often so please check in once in awhile....take care.

The first picture is MK trying grits for the first time...she loved them!; MK in the yard

MK's first smile in the bathtub; Studying up on boy stuff; The Band