Babba's stuck in the tv..............

Before I left to go back to work in Korea I managed to set up a web camera in the living room so that when I call home Alex can see Babba and I can see her.

So now when I call Darcie and Alex we see each other. I am on the Times Square tv we have in our living room and they are on my laptop.
The first few times Alex wanted mama to get me out of the tv. She could see me on it and could here me but couldnt understand why I couldnt just come out.
She understands a little better now which is a relief or I was going to have to figure out how to pull that off.....

Alex seems to be handling my abscence pretty well so far according to Darcie.
Every time the phone rings it's me and every plane she sees they are going to get me.
But she is ok with it when I dont show up. Apparently she called me like 5 times the other day on her "Margie" phone..........

And congrats to Margie and John who will in a couple of days leave for China to go get their Ragan and bring her home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Baba, Bows and Boo Boos

So I thought I would give everyone an update on things here. Dan left for Korea yesterday and to date I have been asked "Where is Baba?" 4045 times......We have talked about how Baba is at work etc... but anytime we go somewhere Alex thinks we will be meeting Baba. When ever she is hurt or upset with me...she wants Baba. We did get to talk to Dan on the phone today and see him on web cam.
Once Dan left...It took about 7 hours before I was bored out of my mind being at home, so we went to the store and got some finger paints, water color paint and sticker books. The pictures below are of Alex "painting" today.



Today was a busy day for us. Alex had her 3 week follow up appointment at the Adoption Clinic. All her test were normal, with the exception of a borderline anemia. They recommended I start her on a multivitamin with iron and zinc.
After her appointment, I took her to get fried chicken. Unfortunately, I had to cut lunch short due to an emergency appointment of my own. See, this weekend Alex accidentally hit me in the eye. It hurt...I mean really hurt. I couldn't see anything wrong however so I didn't think much about it. Until, that is, my eye continued to hurt and I found it unbearable to open it outside. I went to my clinic and my partner looked at it and thought I might have a scratch. At this point, I could see some changes to my eye too. I called my eye doctor this morning, but he isn't in the office on Wednesday. However, his receptionist called him and told him the problem and he agreed to see me at 1:30. So, we rushed through lunch...meaning I scarfed mine down and Alex ate hers in the car on the way to the appointment. Once we got there, I told her I would give her a piece of candy if she sat in the chair quietly while the doctor checked my eye, and she did!!!! When we finally got home almost 5 hours after leaving, there was a package and a gift bag on the front porch.
Below is an adorable outfit that Paige sent Alex. I can't wait for cooler weather so she can wear it. She also sent stickers....bless you!!!!! The gift bag contained hair bows from some friends in Dan's motorcycle group. Alex asked me to put all those bows in her hair. If you will notice in the picture..Alex is taking a picture. Yes that is a real camera that Dan bought her before he left.



Later this evening, my SIL Leslie and her kids drove up to meet Alex. Unfortunately, they were only able to stay about an hour as they are driving back to the Idaho. I know they drove WAY out of the way, and I was delighted to see them. Well, I'm off to put more drops in my eye and go to bed.

Look who got a pool!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today, Alex got to enjoy her brand spanking new $8 swimming pool.......I think she enjoyed it and so did we as itprovided her some fun and us some relaxation if only for a brief period of time...

the sign says it all.....

One of the things we love about our subdivision is that all the neighborhood kids feel safe enough to play out in the streets, which is fine by everyone here.
But unfortunately there has always been those few people who feel the need to break the land speed record from the end of the subdivision to the main road.....
One of the many tasks that Babba got accomplished while home was buying and installing these signs....I have a double sided sign at our driveway and today I installed another one at the entrance to our subdivision with permission of course of our neighbors who live there.
Lets hope it makes an impact and Babba doesn't have to install speed bumps next...........

Alex and Baba day

Pictures of Alex and her new play set. Dan worked most of the week to get this done before he leaves next week.

Well, I know you have all been on the edge of your seats, waiting to hear how the day went..........It went fine. I hardly slept a wink last night I was so worried. The worry was needless. When Alex woke up, she sat in my lap for about 20 minutes while I drank my coffee. Then, I started getting ready while Dan fed her breakfast. Before I left, I told Alex that I had to go to "school" today and she needed to stay home with Baba so he wouldn't be lonely, then I gave her my lipstick case and told her to hold on to it until I came home. I even put some chap stick in there for her. The kid is crazy for chap stick. I left and managed to wait almost 1 whole hour before I called to check in. Alex choose her own outfit...I wish I had a picture of how she was dressed and Dan took her for a walk around the neighborhood. Then, they went up to the bike shop to see some friends. They had lunch with Yaya Frank at Hooters. Alex got 2 balloons and crayons while she was there. After lunch, they came home for a nap. Nap time continues to be a problem and while Alex did not have a temper tantrum today, she laid in the bed and cried while Dan laid on the floor next to her bed. Dan finally got her up after an hour. That afternoon, they played upstairs in her room and outside on the swing set. The girls next door came by to play as well. During the day, I called during every break and talked to Alex 3 times. Tonight, she was exhausted due to the missed nap, so she was asleep by 8. I have to finish my classes tomorrow, so hopefully it will go well again.

One Month

Today is 1 month since we first held Alex in our arms. So, just to update you....
Alex is learning English quickly, almost too quickly, I'm kind of sad to hear the Chinese slipping away.
She can count to 10 in English and is starting to sing her ABC's..although she gets confused somewhere around G and reverts to some type of Chinese song with the same tune. I really need to get it on video.
She loves the cats..the feeling is NOT mutual. Two tolerates her better then everyone else. She likes to see the dogs, but still doesn't want to pet them. She also like looking at the horses in the pasture behind the house. We have started round of doctor visits. Thus far, Alex has had her hearing checked (normal) and she has been fitted for new braces. Our appointment with the Spina Bifida clinic isn't until the end of Sept, so we don't know when she will have surgery.
This past weekend we were very busy. Saturday morning, Alex played with the girls next door. I think she was a bit overwhelmed by them. That afternoon, we went to our friends house and played in the kiddie pool with Cameron. Thus far she seems to like her play dates with Cameron the best. He cried when we left, so I guess the feeling is mutual. Sunday we drove up to see our friend Rachael and her 4 kids. Alex didn't sleep much on the way up, so the ride up was rough. She slept most of the way home however. Today, we went to story time at the local library and then went to Micky Dees with some other friends. Alex had a great time. Unfortunately, when we got home, Alex was over tired and when I tried to put her down for a nap a 3 year old tantrum started that lasted 15 minutes. Currently, Dan is working on a play set for Alex. Once it is done I will post pictures. Finally, per request.. her are some new pictures.

Alex in her bubble bath.
Extreme close up...Alex loves seeing pictures of herself.

Bubbles are fun!!!!

Alex looking at herself in the mirror. This is one of her favorite activities. She makes faces and watches herself talk.

Alex has discovered stickers..We have gone through about 200 in the past 2 days. Her she is with an entire package of My Little Pony stickers on her dress. If you are reading this....send more stickers!!!!!!!

This weekend will be a real test for the family. Per Alabama state law I have to have 20 hours of Continuing Education a year and my only chance to get it is this weekend. This will be the first time I have been away from Alex, the first time she has been away from me and the first time Dan has been completely alone with her. Please pray... no I'm serious....Alex is a major velcro child with me. Dan is great fun and she loves him to death but after about 10-15 minutes she comes looking for me.

That is all for now. I promise not to wait so long to post next time.

Trains are bad.........

Today we were at a friend's house for a play date with our friend's Jodi andAllison,parents of Alex's new love, Cameron.
While outside a train came by on the tracks not too far from their house. Alex had a little bit of a nervous breakdown and then it hit us, it reminded her of the earthquake that she experienced in Chengdu in May of this year. It terrified her so much when the train went by with all the noise and the rumbling.......My child has experienced way too much for her short three and half years.....and we reassured her over and over it was ok. She calmed down and was fine shortly there after and back to her normal routine.....as normal as it can be....