Saturday, October 9
What an interesting day! I'm writing this post for me, for therapy ;) This morning was wonderful, concerning Lilyanna anyway. My husband, who we thought was going to be able to avoid the worst of the "plague" that is going around the house, woke up sick this morning. What that means is that we spent another day just relaxing, camped out at the house. Lilyanna went down for her nap very well and woke up a happy baby. I'm so happy because she finally made the switch from two small naps a day to one longer nap. That means that I get more accomplished throughout the day, YAY! After she woke up from her nap we ate dinner, like normal. And that's when it all started! Today was a warmer day, the sun was out and the house was not nearly as chilly. So, I started working on "belly time" which obviously ruined the entire evening. I have never seen a child that hates being on her stomach as much as our daughter. She screams to the best of her ability the entire time. I am SO thankful that her "scream" really is nothing more then a loud whine. I hope that doesn't change!!!
I found myself telling her that I knew she hated it and that it was uncomfortable but that it was in her best interest to help her. If she doesn't learn to lay on her belly she will never crawl, which means she will have problems with walking and coordination. And then, the conviction set in. I'm learning already that God is going to use this child to reach my heart in more then one way. I was reminded that I often act like my dauther, kicking, crying, and resisting the very One that has my best interest in mind. Valuable lessons in baby training! So, Lilyanna continued to cry and resist but by the end of our belly time she did learn how to push up on her knees a bit and she was able to stay up on her arms a little longer then yesterday. I hugged her, comforted her, and praised her for a job well done.
After belly time I had to prepare things for her bath. I had to set her down in order to gather everything and that's what started another Lilyanna "melt down" session...as referred to by Melissa and Paul (you guys are so great!! I'm glad that we can atleast "suffer" together :) The orphanage treated Lilyanna like a real princess for sure. They loved her greatly and for that we are grateful. But, they spoiled her in a few areas that unfortunatly is making it harder for Henry and I and Lilyanna too. For instance, they used food to console her. Which means that whenever she screamed they gave her food to quiet her. Lilyanna thinks that whenever she whines we will treat her to whatever she wants. Mom and dad don't work like that. She is learning, slowly, but she's learning. The biggest challenge is that the orphanage held her ALL THE TIME! That's why she is almost 14 months old and cannot crawl. What that means is that as soon as I put her down to play then she cries. I pick her up and she stops. I put her down and she cries....and you get the point. If I held her all day then she would appear to be the happiest baby in the world. We are not going for that as well. So, we are working thru this, a little progress everyday but not without lots of tears and crying. The good thing is that she knows the difference with bedtime and and so she goes to sleep quickly on her own. I am so grateful for that!
And now to a different topic. I have to share a few things with you just so you can get the feel for a different culture, if you haven't experienced it already. The maid came in yesterday to clean the house and she approached my husband and I with a very "serious" concern that she had for our daughter. Of course, we listened intensly and she shared her concern. And it was this, that we are bathing her too frequently. My husband and I looked at each other and tried to hold straight faces. We explained to her that taking a daily warm bath was indeed healthy and that millions of people around the world take warm baths on a daily basis without danger of illness. She wasn't convinced but we smiled and thanked her for her concern.
A family member came to visit yesterday and was with us as we were feeding Lilyanna. Lilyanna began to choke up a little bit because she is still trying to get use to drinking from a sippy cup. The relative told us "quick, pull her hear so that she stops choking". We laughed because we thought she was just trying to be funny. A few minutes later Lilyanna was caughing a bit again from her water, when I turned around I found the relative yanking my daughter's ear up to the ceiling to keep her from choking. I'll be honest, I was annoyed but tried to act grateful for her ear pulling, "life saving" technique. She tried to convince us that the heimlich was not necessary, only ear pulling. Needless to say, we were not convinced as well but we put on our happy faces by principle.
And then there's the obession with clothes layering with the children. If the child is not sweating to death and wrapped up in atleast six layers of clothes then the child is not properly dressed. Another reason why our daughter cannot crawl yet. She could hardly move! On one occasion the wind began to blow and people started yelling "get a blanket for the baby". They then began running to find a blanket. It was almost 70 degrees outside.
Thru all of this we are reminded of 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 (for those that read the Bible) and how loving, serving and helpers others outside of our own cultures, customs, and ideas is really a work of the heart and is no easy task. We're also reminded that TRULY, there is no place like home :)
Love you all!
A Little Treat
Saturday, October 9
A little something for you to enjoy. We thought we would risk it since the adoption will be final is just a few days ;) We used our photo camera so the quality is a bit sketchy...but you'll get the point.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X4HeCiqhvs
A little something for you to enjoy. We thought we would risk it since the adoption will be final is just a few days ;) We used our photo camera so the quality is a bit sketchy...but you'll get the point.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X4HeCiqhvs
Dr. Visit
Thursday, October 7
On Monday we were suppose to visit the Dr. but he couldn't squeeze us in so we ended up just spending the day making food and visiting with friends. The social worker came to our house on Tuesday to visit with us and observe how we have been bonding with Lilyanna. The visit went very good and she was happy with how Lilyanna has been attaching to us. We fed the social worker some of the cookies that I had made on Monday...cookies always make things better, right ;) Our daughter has been learning many things! Her latest is being able to take steps while we hold her arms. When we first received her she didn't know how to lift her feet off the floor and now she is walking all over the house, with help of course. She still doesn't know how to crawl but we're reserving that training until we get home. She HATES being on her stomach which means that she SCREAMS when we try to give her belly time so that she can learn to crawl. We'll stick to the walking for now so that our hosts don't think we're trying to torture our daughter ;)
After the visit with the social worker on Tuesday we were able to make it to the Dr. with Lilyanna. Thankfully, she checked out just fine. Everything looked and sounded good! She is average height for her age but she is a little under weight. That's not a surprise to us given the diet that she lived on while in the orphanage. The Dr. also mentioned her delays but he is use to seeing orphanage children with delays. He wasn't concerned at all and he was sure, along with us, that she will catch up quickly.
On Wednesday we had another free day which meant that we spent another day making food and visiting with friends. The Peruvians LOVE to gather with friends around food. No hungry bellies around this house! They are putting me to work since they know that I love to bake ;)
Today we ate lunch with friends and then had another visit with our social worker. We fed her carrot cake and banana bread and gave her a gift from Bath and Body works. The visit went very good. The social worker's only real concern is that our daughter needs to learn how to crawl. We agree with her but feel that it will be better to wait until we return home before starting on such a heavy task. It's cold here, there are no heaters which means the floors are very cold. Not the best encouragement for learning how to crawl around on the floor.
Now, a little bit about Lilyanna. We're learning more and more about our daughter everyday. We're learning the difference between raising girls and raising boys. The main difference being that girls like to whine...alot! When raising the foster children the boys usually just had an all out fit, got it over with, and then returned to playing happy. Lilyanna doesn't really throw fits when she doesn't get what she wants, she just whines alot. I'm still not sure which one is harder ;) She has learned what "no" means and she also had learned the command "Please, don't touch". Yesterday, I caught her heading for something that she knew she was not suppose to touch. I turned my head so that she didn't think I was looking at her. I wanted to see what she would choose to do. I continued watching her out of the corner of my eye. She held her little hand only inches away from the cherished, yet forbidden object. Her face was intensly focused on my face as she waited to see if I would give her approval or not. I could tell there was a battle going on in her little mind. After a few more seconds she removed her hands and placed them in her lap. A proud mommy moment! I showered her with praises of course. To be fair though, this was after 50 times of telling her "no" and removing her hands :)
She is still doing very good with naps and bedtime. She fusses for a minute after putting her down at times but nothing major. She has been sleeping 11 hours each night without waking. She also wakes up in a very good mood which makes me glad. Eating is going very good as well. She eats anything! She likes all the things that most babies don't like. Olives, broccoli, squash, garlic, onion, etc. I haven't found a food that she doesn't like yet. Because of all of the yummy, healthy food she is no longer having problems with constipation, which has got to make her feel better as well. I think we're all working on recovering from our colds. Henry was the last one to get it so he is still a bit under the weather but atleast Lilyanna is better now.
A few more random fun things about Lilyanna:
She puts the cutest look on her face when she gets caught doing a "no, no". At times it's really hard for us to hold a straight face while correcting her. We think it's her manipulation tactic. If mommy and daddy didn't know better, it might actually work for her :)
She has a fascination with turning the lights on/off when leaving rooms.
She likes puppies.
She goes to daddy when she wants to play, mommy for comfort and cuddling.
She loves to have her hair blow dried and played with.
She likes to say, "chow"(bye), "yeah", and "eso" (that's short for 'what is that' in spanish).
She likes her feet (she was so bundled in the orphanage I don't thinnk she ever noticed them until now)
We don't have anything to work on with the adoption until next Thursday. We should receive custody of her on Tuesday or Wednesday. On Thursday we start working on her final birth certificate, passport, one more Dr. visit, and translating some of her documents for the embassy. The following week we will set up the appointment with the U.S. Embassy and then we're done! Yay! We leave back for the U.S. on the 28th so we hope to have a week of free time to be able to acutally enjoy Peru.
Much love and hugs to you all!
http://www.picturetrail.com/gid23517188
On Monday we were suppose to visit the Dr. but he couldn't squeeze us in so we ended up just spending the day making food and visiting with friends. The social worker came to our house on Tuesday to visit with us and observe how we have been bonding with Lilyanna. The visit went very good and she was happy with how Lilyanna has been attaching to us. We fed the social worker some of the cookies that I had made on Monday...cookies always make things better, right ;) Our daughter has been learning many things! Her latest is being able to take steps while we hold her arms. When we first received her she didn't know how to lift her feet off the floor and now she is walking all over the house, with help of course. She still doesn't know how to crawl but we're reserving that training until we get home. She HATES being on her stomach which means that she SCREAMS when we try to give her belly time so that she can learn to crawl. We'll stick to the walking for now so that our hosts don't think we're trying to torture our daughter ;)
After the visit with the social worker on Tuesday we were able to make it to the Dr. with Lilyanna. Thankfully, she checked out just fine. Everything looked and sounded good! She is average height for her age but she is a little under weight. That's not a surprise to us given the diet that she lived on while in the orphanage. The Dr. also mentioned her delays but he is use to seeing orphanage children with delays. He wasn't concerned at all and he was sure, along with us, that she will catch up quickly.
On Wednesday we had another free day which meant that we spent another day making food and visiting with friends. The Peruvians LOVE to gather with friends around food. No hungry bellies around this house! They are putting me to work since they know that I love to bake ;)
Today we ate lunch with friends and then had another visit with our social worker. We fed her carrot cake and banana bread and gave her a gift from Bath and Body works. The visit went very good. The social worker's only real concern is that our daughter needs to learn how to crawl. We agree with her but feel that it will be better to wait until we return home before starting on such a heavy task. It's cold here, there are no heaters which means the floors are very cold. Not the best encouragement for learning how to crawl around on the floor.
Now, a little bit about Lilyanna. We're learning more and more about our daughter everyday. We're learning the difference between raising girls and raising boys. The main difference being that girls like to whine...alot! When raising the foster children the boys usually just had an all out fit, got it over with, and then returned to playing happy. Lilyanna doesn't really throw fits when she doesn't get what she wants, she just whines alot. I'm still not sure which one is harder ;) She has learned what "no" means and she also had learned the command "Please, don't touch". Yesterday, I caught her heading for something that she knew she was not suppose to touch. I turned my head so that she didn't think I was looking at her. I wanted to see what she would choose to do. I continued watching her out of the corner of my eye. She held her little hand only inches away from the cherished, yet forbidden object. Her face was intensly focused on my face as she waited to see if I would give her approval or not. I could tell there was a battle going on in her little mind. After a few more seconds she removed her hands and placed them in her lap. A proud mommy moment! I showered her with praises of course. To be fair though, this was after 50 times of telling her "no" and removing her hands :)
She is still doing very good with naps and bedtime. She fusses for a minute after putting her down at times but nothing major. She has been sleeping 11 hours each night without waking. She also wakes up in a very good mood which makes me glad. Eating is going very good as well. She eats anything! She likes all the things that most babies don't like. Olives, broccoli, squash, garlic, onion, etc. I haven't found a food that she doesn't like yet. Because of all of the yummy, healthy food she is no longer having problems with constipation, which has got to make her feel better as well. I think we're all working on recovering from our colds. Henry was the last one to get it so he is still a bit under the weather but atleast Lilyanna is better now.
A few more random fun things about Lilyanna:
She puts the cutest look on her face when she gets caught doing a "no, no". At times it's really hard for us to hold a straight face while correcting her. We think it's her manipulation tactic. If mommy and daddy didn't know better, it might actually work for her :)
She has a fascination with turning the lights on/off when leaving rooms.
She likes puppies.
She goes to daddy when she wants to play, mommy for comfort and cuddling.
She loves to have her hair blow dried and played with.
She likes to say, "chow"(bye), "yeah", and "eso" (that's short for 'what is that' in spanish).
She likes her feet (she was so bundled in the orphanage I don't thinnk she ever noticed them until now)
We don't have anything to work on with the adoption until next Thursday. We should receive custody of her on Tuesday or Wednesday. On Thursday we start working on her final birth certificate, passport, one more Dr. visit, and translating some of her documents for the embassy. The following week we will set up the appointment with the U.S. Embassy and then we're done! Yay! We leave back for the U.S. on the 28th so we hope to have a week of free time to be able to acutally enjoy Peru.
Much love and hugs to you all!
http://www.picturetrail.com/gid23517188
A Little Rest.
Thursday September 30.
Today was the big day. We went to the orphanage at 9:00 a.m. and picked up our daughter for the final time. It was a very sad moment for the orphange mother and the children. We can tell that they loved our daughter very much and she will be greatly missed by them. The children all gave their final hugs and kisses and the orphanage mother couldn't help but to cry. It was, in a small way, a very strange moment for us. It's hard to be happy when you know that someone else is heart broken. How is it that one mother can be rejoicing in gaining a child while another mother is crushed. We can relate though. After being foster parents we realize that it is no easy task to raise children and then give them away. We tried to comfort the orphanage mom the best we could. I'm not sure that it helped much but we did try. We promised to send pictures frequently and hopefully we can visit again within the next few years. On the other hand, our daughter was happy and seemed to be very oblivious as to what was going on around her.
After leaving the orphange we signed some final papers and then headed back to Juliaca where we would catch our plane to Lima. Lilyanna did so good with everything! She had no problems with the plane ride at all. She played the entire time and seemed to enjoy her daddy very much. I am one of those not so fortunate souls that gets motion sickness when flying which means that child entertainment was totally up to dad. And I must say, Henry is a pro when it comes to making children smile and laugh. I not only married a man who is an amazing husband but he is also an amazing dad too! Once we got back to Lima we gathered our luggage (yay, it was all there), made it back to where we will be staying for the next few weeks, took a shower, read a book, and then we all crashed. It was a good day!
Friday, October 1st.
Today was a more relaxed day. Which is good, because we needed it! We all woke up with sore throats and not feeling our best so rest was on the agenda. We did have to sign a few papers and introduce our daughter to SNA here in Lima. It went well and everyone was impressed that Lilyanna was so cheerful. We spent the rest of the day running a few errands and just relaxing and enjoying our daughter. Lilyanna is adjusting quite well. Nap time and bedtime is not problem at all, thankfully! She has had some feeding challenges but we're working through them slowly. The orphanage was so poor that all that they could afford to give her was watered down evaporated milk. She would receive watered down soup one time a day along with the milk and that was it! Because of this she has had problems with constipation her entire life so far. We are being careful about how quickly we make changes so we're limiting ourself to one big change at a time. The milk was the first to go! We've been introducing solid foods along with juices and formula. She's doing fairly well, a little fussy at times but she'll adjust quickly. I can tell already that she's not going to be a pickly eater. She pretty much eats whatever we give her. This makes momma very happy!
Saturday, October, 2.
Today I stayed back at the house with Lilyanna because we're both not feeling the best :( Lilyanna was very fussy this morning and is taking an extra long nap right now. She is teething (8 teeth coming in at the same time...that's gotta hurt), has a cold, probably a sore throat too, and is trying to adjust to everything all at the same time. Poor baby! She officially threw her first tantrum this morning...tons of fun! One thing that we observed at the orphanage is that anytime Lilyanna would start to cry or fuss then they would just give her a bottle of evaporated milk. Not good! The orphange mother was doing the best she could but some days she would end up giving Lilyanna a bottle every two hours. What that means is that mommy and daddy are in the process of teaching her that just because she throws a fit it doesn't mean that she's going to receive a bottle or whatever else it is that she wants at that moment :) We worked thru it this morning and she layed down for her nap as a happy baby. One good way to look at it is that atleast she feel comfortable enough around us to express her feelings ;) She is learning fast so I know she'll work thru this quickly too.
Sunday, October 3.
Another lazy day in Lima :) We're still all trying to get well and recover from our colds. It's really gloomy and cold here today so it's a perfect day to drink warm teas and snuggle under blankets. Tomorrow Lilyanna has a doctor's appointment so hopefully she'll be feeling better as well.
I posted a few more pictures for you to enjoy. The wifi is really bad today and wouldn't upload very many pictures. I'll try again soon. Hugs!
http://www.picturetrail.com/gid23517188
Today was the big day. We went to the orphanage at 9:00 a.m. and picked up our daughter for the final time. It was a very sad moment for the orphange mother and the children. We can tell that they loved our daughter very much and she will be greatly missed by them. The children all gave their final hugs and kisses and the orphanage mother couldn't help but to cry. It was, in a small way, a very strange moment for us. It's hard to be happy when you know that someone else is heart broken. How is it that one mother can be rejoicing in gaining a child while another mother is crushed. We can relate though. After being foster parents we realize that it is no easy task to raise children and then give them away. We tried to comfort the orphanage mom the best we could. I'm not sure that it helped much but we did try. We promised to send pictures frequently and hopefully we can visit again within the next few years. On the other hand, our daughter was happy and seemed to be very oblivious as to what was going on around her.
After leaving the orphange we signed some final papers and then headed back to Juliaca where we would catch our plane to Lima. Lilyanna did so good with everything! She had no problems with the plane ride at all. She played the entire time and seemed to enjoy her daddy very much. I am one of those not so fortunate souls that gets motion sickness when flying which means that child entertainment was totally up to dad. And I must say, Henry is a pro when it comes to making children smile and laugh. I not only married a man who is an amazing husband but he is also an amazing dad too! Once we got back to Lima we gathered our luggage (yay, it was all there), made it back to where we will be staying for the next few weeks, took a shower, read a book, and then we all crashed. It was a good day!
Friday, October 1st.
Today was a more relaxed day. Which is good, because we needed it! We all woke up with sore throats and not feeling our best so rest was on the agenda. We did have to sign a few papers and introduce our daughter to SNA here in Lima. It went well and everyone was impressed that Lilyanna was so cheerful. We spent the rest of the day running a few errands and just relaxing and enjoying our daughter. Lilyanna is adjusting quite well. Nap time and bedtime is not problem at all, thankfully! She has had some feeding challenges but we're working through them slowly. The orphanage was so poor that all that they could afford to give her was watered down evaporated milk. She would receive watered down soup one time a day along with the milk and that was it! Because of this she has had problems with constipation her entire life so far. We are being careful about how quickly we make changes so we're limiting ourself to one big change at a time. The milk was the first to go! We've been introducing solid foods along with juices and formula. She's doing fairly well, a little fussy at times but she'll adjust quickly. I can tell already that she's not going to be a pickly eater. She pretty much eats whatever we give her. This makes momma very happy!
Saturday, October, 2.
Today I stayed back at the house with Lilyanna because we're both not feeling the best :( Lilyanna was very fussy this morning and is taking an extra long nap right now. She is teething (8 teeth coming in at the same time...that's gotta hurt), has a cold, probably a sore throat too, and is trying to adjust to everything all at the same time. Poor baby! She officially threw her first tantrum this morning...tons of fun! One thing that we observed at the orphanage is that anytime Lilyanna would start to cry or fuss then they would just give her a bottle of evaporated milk. Not good! The orphange mother was doing the best she could but some days she would end up giving Lilyanna a bottle every two hours. What that means is that mommy and daddy are in the process of teaching her that just because she throws a fit it doesn't mean that she's going to receive a bottle or whatever else it is that she wants at that moment :) We worked thru it this morning and she layed down for her nap as a happy baby. One good way to look at it is that atleast she feel comfortable enough around us to express her feelings ;) She is learning fast so I know she'll work thru this quickly too.
Sunday, October 3.
Another lazy day in Lima :) We're still all trying to get well and recover from our colds. It's really gloomy and cold here today so it's a perfect day to drink warm teas and snuggle under blankets. Tomorrow Lilyanna has a doctor's appointment so hopefully she'll be feeling better as well.
I posted a few more pictures for you to enjoy. The wifi is really bad today and wouldn't upload very many pictures. I'll try again soon. Hugs!
http://www.picturetrail.com/gid23517188
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