A month of milestones

Today marks the one month anniversary of the best day of our lives. It is hard to believe that Maya has been with us for 4 weeks already and we have almost been home for 2. Time seemed to stand still during our 20 month wait and now it is just flying by. It is amazing to see the changes that have occurred over the last month. Each day we have little milestones which might seem insignificant to the average person but are a pretty big deal to us.

When we first got home Maya would barely like to be put down and would be freaked out if we walked more then a couple of steps from her. Now she is exploring each room of the house and not scared to venture into other spaces without us. Today she sat happily playing with her toys in the dining room while I cleaned up from breakfast. This is a huge step which shows she is getting more secure in her surroundings. She also woke up yesterday happily playing in her crib. We have only had this happen one other time when we were in China. This morning she was back to crying herself awake but hopefully we will get more happy awakenings as time goes by.


"Here I am!"

She is also becoming very vocal. She is still quite shy around other people but when it is just the three of us we regularly hear her babble to herself and to us. She is definitely discovering that her voice has volume. She thinks it's fun to yell really loud for no apparent reason other then to hear her own voice. Then she gives a giggle followed by a raspberry sound ppppppppllllllllllllll! Yesterday we went to the park where she sat quietly observing the other children. She sat on the curb with one hand on John's leg which was very sweet. She definitely was taking it all in. She didn't like the feel of the sand on her feet but would curiously touch some in a bucket with one finger. When we left the park she started talking away as if to tell us all her commentary on what she thought of the other people. Today when we returned to the park she would let me bury her toes and then proceded to like the sand enough that she wanted to eat it. The weird thing is she seemed to enjoy the taste even though I kept trying to reinforce that it was yucky to eat.


Maya and her bodyguard


Maya is also starting to meet other children beyond those in our adoption group. Fritzna who is my good friend Dawn's little girl just loves Maya and likes to play mama. Fritzna is only two and I think she looks at Maya as her personal baby doll. Fritzna will sweetly stroke Maya's head or hold her bottle for her. These two will be great friends I predict. She has met several other children and seems to respond really well around them. They have all been so gentle and patient with her. So far she likes to share but we'll see if that lasts long.


Fritzna feeding her baby doll Maya

This week also marked our first visit to her pediatrician. She wasn't too happy about the three shots she got but stopped screaming long enought to blow the doctor a kiss on the way out. That is her newest and greatest thing lately. She loves blowing kisses and will even make the smooching sound when she does it. Unfortunately she did not respond that well to the injections and became really irritable with a fever for the following two days. She just wasn't herself which made me feel really bad for her. But she rebounded and is back to the sweet silly little girl we love. She has gained almost one pound since we have been home and is now 13.7. The doctor said that despite her small size she is in excellent health which was music to my ears.

I'm completely amazed at how one tiny person can completely take over a house. The house gets cleaned up after she goes to bed but then promplty looks like a tornado hit shortly after she wakes. But she is such a good helper. Laundry consists of me folding and Maya unfolding just to make sure I do it right the second time....or even the third for that matter. And she definitely is going to give Emeril a run for his money in the kitchen. She has discovered how many fun things can be found in the lazy susan. I'm just waiting for her to crawl in and take a ride. Luckily for now she likes to pull out all the seasoning packets and spices making suggestions for mealtime.

Riding in Style


"I found the perfect ingredient"



The biggest problem we have is that she loves to play in Skeeter's water dish. Splashing is so much fun and she does it until she is soaked. We've tried distracting her with other things and saying no but she just flashes a grin and giggles. We've decided she likes being caught in a naughty, spicy act so we are trying to ignore it in hopes that she will just lose interest.


"Shhhhhhhh, I hear someone coming!"


"Skeeter made me do it!"

Speaking of Skeeter..........yesterday Skeeter had a tumor removed from his bladder. We are not sure whether it is malignant or not but the vet suspects it is. Poor Skeeter is 12.5 years old, blind and almost deaf. He is still very happy though so we opted to have the tumor removed in hopes that it would buy him another year or so. He had a catheder in last night which was really rough for all of us but mostly our poor boy. He was in a lot of pain and whimpered all night. We had to get up several times and carry him outside with bag attached to collect his urine. Each time we would finally get him back to sleep Maya would then wake up. I felt like we had two kids on opposite schedules. Luckily he seems to be feeling much better today since getting the catheder removed. Maya thinks he looks pretty strange with a lampshade on his head. Skeeter is just plain embarrassed.


Recovering at home




"This is soooooo humiliating!"


We hope to see many of you that we haven't gotten to see yet. Maya is changing both physically and emotionally every day. Before we know it our little girl will be all grown up so don't wait too long!

New Horizons

We've been home in Colorado now only 5 days and Maya is showing signs that she's going to fit right in her new home. Its incredible to absorb where our little girl was just a short 3 weeks ago, before we held her in our arms for the first time in Changsha.


Ahhh, my own crib!

Maya's horizons and experiences have suddenly changed and expanded in countless ways. After shuttling between hotel rooms in Changsha, Guangzhou and Los Angeles with our adoption group she must have thought we some sort of weird world traveling baby show. The bus rides and plane rides were beginning to become old hat to her, so having a home and consistent things she can count on will be a refreshing change.


First time on US soil (LAX)

We all suffered from the time change from China. Crossing the International Date Line going eastbound really screws up the circadian (sp?) rythms, and I'm sure Maya is suffering the most. The first few days/nights were challenging as we only got a couple hours sleep, but we're slowly adjusting to mountain time.

Now home new experiences are everywhere. For one, the climate is extremely different here than in Hunan. It is very rare for humidity to go above 30% along the Front Range, where Hunan is sub-tropical. We'll try not to allow Maya to dry up like a prune here - it might even help with a head cold she's carried across the ocean.

The other obvious difference is the lack of Chinese faces. It might take a little time for Maya to overcome seeing mostly white 'big nose' faces everywhere. We'll have to arrange some play dates with Maya's Hunan sisters and other adoptive families.

First time in her new house, with all the different rooms gives Maya lots of area for exploration. She seems to go right for the few things that we will be trying to steer her away from (ie: dog dish, closets, remote control, etc.).

First time meeting our dog, Skeeter, was interesting. Maya was terrified at first of this big white furry monster. Once she saw Skeet lumbering around harmlessly bumping into furniture and peoples' legs (for the uninitiated, our dog is blind and somewhat deaf), I'm sure she felt a bit more at ease. Now she crawls after him yelling something that sounds like "dah" (dog?) and is totally fearless of him.


I suppose we can work this out

A sad side note on Skeeter. We only just discovered that he has a tumor in his bladder that will most likely have to be removed. We don't know yet if it's benign or malignant so we're hoping for the best. Thankfully, his caregivers while we were in China, Jenna and Jamie, adeptly noticed that there was some blood in his urine and were able to shuttle him to the vet for some tests.

First time on the lawn (I assume judging from the orphanage visit) was an interesting time. Maya didn't quite know what to think of this new surface. Is grass something to eat? Is it OK to crawl on? It kind of feels scratchy...hmmm, not sure yet.


Do I eat it or crawl on it mommy?

First time in the stroller was good. Maya seemed to enjoy rolling along checking out the neighborhood sights. The first two times in the stroller resulted in her falling completely to sleep so we will probably be using that to our advantage in our evolving daily routine.

First time to the neighborhood park and swings was a total blast! Maya loved the swings and the slide and will get plenty of chances to hone those skills.


I can get used to this!

We are both elated that Maya seems to bravely accept any new experiences with a strong sense of curiousity and abandon. I hope that is in some way the result of her feeling a stronger sense of bond with both of us. I've noticed that every day she seems to trust us a little bit more. The first few days she would scream bloody murder if both of us left sight of her for just an instant. Now if she's in one room playing and we leave for an instant she at least gives us a whimper warning before getting the all-out 'you've abandoned me again' wail.

Meeting new family or friends has been somewhat of a crap shoot. Sometimes she lets others hold her, and sometimes she screams and cries. I don't think there is any consistent reason for this, but every day she seems to show some signs that Lori and I are not just nannies on the day shift and we are not abandoning her.

Our friends Shawn and Jennifer and others have generously recycled several of the items from their childrens lives now that they are older (crib, changing table top, clothing, toys) and Maya already uses many of them! One of the more interesting items she has taken a particular interest in is this little walk along contraption that is either designed to improve toddlers' balance and walking skills or to terrorize small animals. Maya was almost running with this crazy thing last night and we were all laughing at how fearless she is. Skeeter almost got run over a few times as she barreled down the hall. She hasn't taken the inevitable first header yet though, so we're trying to 'throttle her back' a bit to give her time to strengthen those little leg muscles.


How do I steer this thing?

Ahh crap!

Last full day in China

Well today marked our last full day in Maya's birth country. Bittersweet to leave the land where she was born but exciting to move on to a new adventure with our sweet girl. Today we traveled to the American Consulate to have our swearing in ceremony to make Maya an American citizen. Unfortunately, we were unable to take pictures inside but the entire thing was pretty short and sweet. She will officially become a citizen when her passport is stamped for arrival at customs in L.A.




Tonight daddy and Maya celebrated with an ice cream cone. Not her first because apparently her and daddy had a secret date with some ice cream before when mommy wasn't looking. She seems to really like it once she gets over the shock of the cold on her tongue.





"What do you mean ya got no more ice cream!"

Tomorrow we will fly to LAX and spend the night there since there are no more flights tomorrow night. We will be arriving home on Saturday afternoon. We look forward to Maya meeting all her new friends and family. And we will cherish the new ones we have made here on this journey. See you all soon.

Dining with new friend Tillie


"This could get ugly"

Rainy Day

Today it was pouring in Guangzhou. We still tried to get out and about a little because we've started to feel claustrophobic in our tiny hotel room. Today John taught Maya to give him 5 and she has also learned to clap when you say "yeah". We were planning a dinner cruise along the pearl river but it ended up getting canceled. We went out to dinner with another couple at an American style restaurant here on the island. The waiter was so attentive that he would come up and wipe the babies mouths periodically. John is currently out having a foot massage which he has allowed me to do several times. Maya was extremely playful tonight and finally started exploring the room on her own. Usually she won't leave our side but tonight she crawled all over and then crawled to the bathtub and kept babbling. So at her request I gave her a tubby. She had a blast and kept singing to all the little creatures on the bottom of her tub. I put her down on our bed for her bottle and she threw up everywhere. I mean gallons. This is the first time she has vomited on this entire trip. She didn't make a peep during or afterward and then she continued to babble and talk. She even went to sleep easily. Housekeeping just left from changing all the bedding. I'm hoping that something just didn't agree with her and that she isn't getting an additional illness. Due to the rain we didn't do much today so Maya and I did our own little fashion shoot.






"Oohhh I like my pearls"



" I know how to work it"


"YEAH!!!!!!! I finished my first fashion shoot!"

Hanging Low

Today we stayed close to home.....aka our hotel room since I have not been feeling well. We all slept in until 8:00am which was a luxury since most of our group outings require us to be ready to go by 8:00a. Maya seems to be adjusting more to our new hotel surroundings and enjoys our afternoon strolls. Today we walked around and looked at all the incredible sculptures. There is one particular sculpture that we couldn't resist taking Maya's picture. A school teacher playing the violin with her students in tow. Maya decided she wanted to join in. Look closely or you might miss her.

" I want to join in too!"

Tonight we had a pizza party with some of the other families in the group. We have obviously hung out a lot with Brad and Kristi and the twins Stella and Lola. They are amazing parents of two beautiful, very very active girls. About 5 families with babies and other biological kids joined in on the fun which doubled as a birthday party for Adele (another baby) who turned 1 today. Maya really enjoyed the birthday cake. It is funny how quickly we have bonded with the other members of our group. It is nothing to sit around and discuss bowel movements and boogers....including our own. It is so funny when a smell filled the room and all the parents started individually smelling their children's butts to see if it was their baby responsible for the offending odor.

"Birthday cake is good!"

Maya is learning at lightening speed. Today Maya learned to shake her head yes....although we aren't sure if she knows exactly when to do it. She also seems much more relaxed around us. When we first got her she was constantly grinding her teeth. It was a horrible squeaky sound. I imagine it was stress induced because we have not heard her do this for several days now. She was so passive when we first got her and would not really put up a fight about anything. Now she tests her limits constantly. She is showing her spicy side more and more.

"I'm not spicy! I'm an angel"

I think we are getting pretty comfortable with parenthood. We would get up every 15 minutes to check on her the first few days. One little whimper and we would be at her crib. Now we are starting to learn which cries are sleepy cries and which ones mean business. It will be interesting to see her in our home environment which will seem like a mansion to her. She has been so used to the small little space we all share. The dresser doubles as the diaper changing station and the bathroom doubles as the formula making station. Yesterday I was changing Maya's diaper and before I could get her new one on she was pooping off the side of the dresser. Apparently my frantic attemp to catch it all was pretty funny to her as she giggled out loud watching me.

Hanging with Daddy

There are some things you should know about Maya before we get home. She may seem pretty serious. She is just now giving smiles to the other parents in the group who she has known for almost three weeks. None of them ever believed that she smiled. So if you don't get a smile out of her the first time you meet her don't be surpised. She seems to hold back and observe new people. If you hold her be prepared for her to throw her head back. She will do this when she is mad or even happy and just wanting to see the world from a different perspective. But it can definitely catch you off guard if your not prepared for it. Finally you should know that Maya has mongolian spots. These spots can look different on each baby but are common among asian babies. On Maya they look almost like blue bruising and run from her butt up her back. We did confirm with the doctor in the group that these are in fact Mongolian spots. Usually the children will outgrow them with age.

It seems Maya is growing so quickly. She feels heavier and has a little belly now. In fact when she is full her outy belly button sticks out like one of those turkeys with the ready button that pops out when it's done. We are excited to get her home so that everyone can enjoy her little acclomplishments. We only wish that all of our family and friends lived closer. We show her everyone's pictures so that she becomes familiar with those she might not see as often. Only 4 more days until we are home!!!!

Hello Guangzhou

Sorry we haven't posted sooner. I've been down for the count with this cold and now I have viral pink eye in both eyes. You'll see more pictures with me in my glasses since I'm unable to where my contacts right now. Every spare moment which is few and far between I've been trying to get some rest.


"Are you sure it's ok to sit on this tray table?"


Lets see where my closest exit is

Well we arrived safely in Guangzhou on Saturday. It took seven hours for a one hour flight. Not such a big surprise since we have 15 families and 16 babies and lots and lots of luggage to manuever. Maya did fair on her first flight so we are curious to see how she does on the long flight back home. Mostly she just hates being confined. But, we are here now and it's completely different from Changsha. We are staying at the Victory Hotel on Shamian Island which sits along the Pearl River. The island has a rich history with a colonial feel since this area was once occupied by England and France. Beautiful colonial buildings surrounded by big trees, parks and statues everywhere. It is subtropical with lot of beautiful foliage. We have enjoyed strolling in a more peaceful area then the hussle and bussle of Changsha but miss a little of the authentic China feel. They also cater to adoptive families and almost everyone here speaks English. There are lots of shopping and eating places within walking distance. Yesterday we went to the jade factory and pearl market where we purchased things for Maya's graduation and wedding day.

Napping on the bus between shopping

We also visited the Chen Family temple which is beautiful with the typical Chinese architecture. I've tried to imagine what it was like when people were living there. We then visited the Six Banyan Buddhist Temple where all three of us were blessed by monks which was very special. Daddy and Maya climbed to the top of the temple which is 9 stories on the outside but 17 inside. Apparently the insense smelled really good but my stuffy nose didn't detect any of it.


Pagoda at the Six Banyan Temple


Monk that blessed us


Our buddah baby


Today we had Maya's medical exam which is necessary to get her visa to leave the country. The room was buzzing with screaming parents trying to comfort screaming babies. Maya was no exception. She was crazy mad when they tried to take her temperature under her armpit. Seeing how that went we'll try to avoid rectal thermometers in the future. The whole exam took about 20 minutes with three stations. One station where they do weight, length, and temperature. Another where they exam her ears, nose and throat. The throat was pretty easy since she was screaming so loud and showing off her uvula (that dangling thing at the back of your throat). The hearing test basically consist of shaking a toy on each side to see if she looks. Pretty low tech. The final station they measure her head and check her body. Not quite sure what they were looking for.


Not so happy about the medical exam

According to their scale Maya is 12.8 lbs. Yep, she is shrinking. Actually in all the hotel rooms she hovers right around 13lbs....either way she is a little peanut. But strong as an ox when she doesn't like something. Maya was very happy to get out of that place. Unfortunately we will have to go back to the doctor when we get home so that she can be immunized with American immunizations. I'm not looking forward to that.

We also took a group photo at the White Swan hotel on the famous red couch. Thousands of adoptive babies have posed for pictures on this couch throughout the years. It is extremely difficult to get 16 babies to cooperate for one photo as you can see. Maya is on the couch farthest on the right.


Tomorrow we have decided not to go on the group outing but instead enjoy some quiet family time and hopefully catch up on some rest. Only 5 more days and we'll be home!

Goodbye Changsha

We are leaving Changsha to go to Guangzhou for the final leg of our journey. Once in Guangzhou we will have several appointments which will allow Maya to leave the country. We are sad to leave Changsha but excited to get one step closer to home. Tonight we enjoyed a dinner with traditional folk dancing which Maya loved. The people of Changsha have been wonderful to us and we hope to bring Maya back here one day. We won't be posting again until Sunday. In the meantime enjoy a few more pics of our girl.



Uncle Jackie our guide in Changsha


Something fun to do in the hotel room


Showing off Buddah


"Im packed!"

One week later.....

Standing with help from mommy






Eating is so much fun!









And so is tubby time!



Daddy wanna cracker?






Where's my biscuit?



Thank you!






Well it has been one week since we got the best gift ever.....our precious Maya Xiao Jiao. It seems like we have always been a family. I'll admit for the first few days I felt like we were babysitting and at any moment she would be taken away from us. But now we are getting into the groove of parenting and really feel like a family.

Maya has made amazing strides in the last week. She is very talkative and loves to imitate. We can't tell if it is baby babble or if she is saying something in Chinese. We made huge progress in the tubby department. The first couple of days that we tried to bath her she would scream bloody murder. No the water wasn't too hot.....we just think she had never really had a bath. I noticed at the orphanage a small square like shower thing in the corner with a big sprayer. So I think she was used to getting hosed down. When we stayed overnight at her orphanage city the hotel had given us a rubber ducky with 3 baby rubber ducks inside. We had forgotten to pack hers so we were thrilled to get some bath toys. I ended up getting in the tub with Maya and she cried for a few seconds and then realized splashing with the ducks was very fun. Today she required two baths following her fun eating session. I put her in the little tub and she had a blast. Oddly enough she likes to put her head face down in the water and blow bubbles and feel the water with her mouth. She would then sit up and be covered in suds giggling. One time she sat back up and had the perfect beard as you can see from the pictures.

Another great thing is that Maya has started to wave when people say hello or Nihao (chinese hello). It is so cute. Today we took a walk and she was just waving at everyone. People are always astounded because she is so small and she can do all that. She appears much younger so people think we have this brillant baby. Well of course we think so.
She will also shake her head no when she doesn't want something. And she now thinks it is really fun to feed us food. Nothing like a good soggy spit soaked biscuit in the morning! This tells me she is starting to trust us more.

Sleep time is still a bit of a struggle. Now when we put her down to sleep she will pop her head up to see if we are still there. Once reassured she will put her head back down. She hasn't been sleeping through the night lately. Last night she woke up about 4am and after a bottle we put her in bed with us. This morning I felt a little tug at my hair and when I opened my eyes she just looked at me with her big brown eyes. I said "good morning" and she gave me a huge grin. All our troubles are washed away with one smile.

We all have been fighting bad head colds. We decided to stay home from the big tour today. Instead we just hung out in our jammies and played. It was a fun day despite feeling icky.

We have heard from home that our little Skeeter is sick. Our pet sitter has been taking good care of him and taking him back and forth to the vets. Thanks Jenna! It is hard to be miles away worried about our first baby. Keep him in your thoughts.

Just one more full day in Changsha then we will be headed to Guangzhou on Saturday. Looking forward to a change in pace and one step closer to home.