Lilly gets a haircut

Hi everyone!

The first two pictures here are of Lilly getting her haircut. While her big sister was getting her hair cut Lilly rearranged the shampoo bottles and then laid down on the floor to wait her turn. She doesn't seem to think public spaces are any different than home. After raising three older children I find I am more amused by these things and far less interested in people thinking I am a great mom with a perfect child. As long as she is not out of control or hurting others I just love to watch how she thinks and moves in the world. She sat so still when Emily cut her hair. She seemed to know without us even telling her. She gets such a serious look on her face. The other photo is of her playing with a little girl she met at the Star Cafe' in Cape May. Lilly loves other children and squeals loudly with delight whenever she sees another baby or small child. Sometimes the other kids just look at her like she is crazy. She is so social and thinks it is her job to greet everyone who comes within her "area". She is still a little comedian and cracks us up all of the time. Soon we will look into some type of preschool so she can start making some friends. I feel that she is totally safe and secure and knows who her family is. She is blossoming in every possible way. She is beautiful, smart, spirited and generous with her affection. I see that God chooses the perfect baby for your family no matter how they arrive. I give thanks for that each and every day.

Happy September!

Kimberly

Long time no post

Hello,

I am not sure who still checks the blog but here are some recent pictures of the Lilly Bean. That is a nickname that has stuck. One of the other traveling fathers gave her that nickname on day 2 or 3 and it has stuck like glue. She is the Bean. How much do we love her??????? There are no words to describe the blessing of it all. I have really been missing all of the other families that we travelled with. They are so much a part of my heart and I so wish they lived closer so I could see these girls grow up. We share pictures from time to time which is great. Speaking of pictures, I guess these are pretty self explanatory. Lilly with Jack the dog, Lilly eating her favorite food ...watermelon (mommy's favorite too). We go through one watermelon in about 3 days - just the two of us. It was one of the first foods she ate with us in China and she has been eating it ever since. The other picture is just an up close sweet expression of Lilly watching the big kids run in the slip and slide on July 4th. She is not saying too much but she is understanding EVERYTHING. She is so smart that it blows my mind. She is loving and very, very funny. She is so loved and we are so blessed.
I hope everyone is enjoying their summer.

Love,

Kimberly and Lilly

Lilly loves Dalton

First is the sweet sleeping Lilly this morning. Older brother Greg, better known as the baby whisperer just sits next to her on the couch watching Sesame Street and it's off to dreamland. The next photo is of Dalton (older brother Josh's good friend). Lilly puts her arms out to him the minute she sees him. She just loves him and it is obvious that the feeling is mutual. Some people just have a way with babies. He is very comfortable with her and it makes me really happy to see two 17 year old boys so gaga over a baby. I am feeling very tired so this will be a brief post. I saw a crocus coming up through snow yesterday. I love that! It means winter is loosening its grip and my birthday is almost here. We leave for Arizona, the Grand Canyon and California in 8 days. I packed Lilly's bags today and mine are next. It will feel so good to get the sun into my bones. I dream of living where there is no snow.
Good night,
Kimberly

Lilly on Easter

If this baby gets any cuter I am going to have to call the cute police. Lilly enjoyed her day and then we went to dinner at Grandma Nancy's. My Dad came as well as Scott's sister with her husband and son. The food was delicious and Lilly had the most fun putting plastic eggs in and out of the Easter basket. She played with her cousin and ate a very big dinner. She is sound asleep next to me now and now it is my turn to go to sleep. Just thought those that still follow the blog would like to see the most recent photos of this gorgeous child.
God Bless and Happy Easter,
Kimberly

Sweet Lilly

Hi everyone, Long time no post! I apologize. I have been totally sucked up into the baby zone. Eat,play, sleep. Take a bath. Eat, play, sleep. Repeat day after day! I am not complaining. I love it. Lilly is a joy and brings happiness everywhere she goes. People are always very drawn to her. For one she is beautiful but more than that she has a spirit that is strong and graceful. She seems to bring a lot of comfort with her presence. We had a scare in late January .... Lilly had a febrile seizure in the middle of the night and we had to go to the ER in an ambulance. I thought she was choking on phlegm (sp?) and then she lost conciusness. I called 911 and then she came to but I had no idea what had just happened. It turns out that a febrile seizure is caused by a sudden rise in temperature. So she had gone to bed with no fever and it developed quickly between the hours of 10pm and 1am. We came home from the hospital emotionally drained and spent the next several days holding her on the couch. The ER Dr. thought she had a virus that would run it's course. Four days later and she was worse instead of better so off we went to Convenient Care late Sunday night (Super Bowl Sunday to be exact) and she ended up having chest x-rays and was diagnosed with pneumonia. That was a couple of weeks on the mend. She is all better now and on the go. She is not walking or crawling but she is moving around the furniture pretty good and can hitch herself on her belly pretty well. She is still eating anything and everything and looks like a picture of health. She is sleeping on my lap as I write this. Her favorite word is cat and even the dog is currently a cat. She seems determined to get this word exactly right before she moves onto the next one. She understands lots of English though - she knows kiss, hug, clap and she is great parrot and will copy any facial expression that we make. I can feel the nickname coming..........Silly Lilly. She is hillarious and cracks us up all the time. She has a very developed sense of humor and entertains us daily. She loves her brothers and her sister very much and it is so sweet to watch how they each have their own special relationship with her. Hope all is well with everyone reading - I will post some more recent pictures in the coming week.
Love, Kimberly and Lilly

Lilly Celebrates her first Christmas and turns 1 on January 16!

The first photo is the morning we left Guangzhou. From left to right is Elsie, Kimberly, Dennis and Simon and of course Lilly in the stroller. We are in the lobby of our hotel and getting ready to take the ride to the airport. It was very bittersweet leaving everyone and I still miss them, especially Dennis. We are talking about a reunion with the other families that we travelled with and trying to figure out how we can get Dennis over here. Of course one photo is of bathtime and the others are Christmas and her birthday. How cute can this girl get? If she gets any cuter I won't be able to stand it! It looks like Lilly and I will be travelling to Nashville in the near future. Molly and Chloe live there as well as Lisa, Gene, Madison and Shelby. Shelby, Chloe and Lilly were all in the same orphanage. It will do my heart good for Lilly to see her "sisters" and for me to be with my new extended family. The connections are so strong and I never imagined it to be this way. I thought we would meet great people but I really never thought the bond would feel this strong. What a precious surprise. My good friend Ester lives in Nashville as well, so we will be able to see a lot of people that are so dear to us. My sister's baby should arrive on or about February 21 so we will either travel very soon or after my new niece makes her debut. They have already named her Madeline. A great story about that is over the summer I bought an old high chair at a garage style. It is wooden and hand painted and so much more charming than the plastic ones they have now. I bought it for ten dollars and intended to paint it on many different occasions this summer. I never got around to it then Lilly was here and needed a highchair so I washed it up and put her in it even though another baby had their name painted across the back. I just covered it up with a blanket and figured I would paint it sometime after the holidays. On Christmas I showed my Dad the name on the highchair and later that morning he travelled out to be with my sister and her husband. That was the day they decided to reveal the name they had chosen for their new daughter.....Madeline. The name on the high chair?????? Madeline. Now I know why I never did get around to painting it and everyday Lilly eats her meals in a chair with the name of her new cousin. Very sweet and the chair will remain unpainted until Madeline is here safe and sound. Isn't that a great story???

Christmas was quiet and I was honestly glad to have it pass by. It was 12 days after we returned home and I was just getting over a serious case of jet lag. Lilly and I were sleeping such strange hours - somedays we went to bed at 3 in the afternoon and did not get up until 7 or 8 the next morning. We are doing great now and she sleeps straight through the night. Usually from 8 or 9 pm until about 8am. Pretty good! Her naps are a little sporadic. She usually takes two each day but they aren't very predictable yet. We are getting there. This cold weather has really kept us in most of the time and we just snuggle up on the couch and watch HGTV (my favorite). Lilly eats everything and I still haven't found anything she doesn't like. She is such a sweet, sweet girl and everyday she wakes up smiling. Her first birthday was last week and we went out for Chinese with Grandma Nancy and Sharlyn and Lisa and of course Scott and the kids too. Last night we had cake and ice cream and presents at Grandma Nancy's and Dad Dad (my Dad) and Papa and Grandma Ginny (Scott's parents) celebrated with us too. Scott's sister and her husband and their son Gabe also came. Tomorrow we are planning a trip for the weekend to Fredonia to visit our friend Kristie. It will be just Greg and Lilly and I. Heidi will be going with my Mom to visit my sister. I intend to update this blog more often for those of you who want to continue to follow Lilly's story. I am looking forward to many great things in 2008. I hope you are too.

Love,

Kimberly

We are home safe and sound!

Hello from home! We arrived last Friday at 2am and went straight to bed! The next days were a blur as we tried to shift our schedules. Our days were our nights and nights were our days. Until two nights ago Lilly and I were going to bed at 3 or 4 in the afternoon and sleeping until 7 or 8 the next morning. She would wake for a bottle but that was it. I have never been so tired in my entire life. It was so easy to shift into the change when we got to China and not easy at all when coming home. I have heard many people say that it is harder when you gain time flying "backwards" through time. It was very surreal to leave Beijing at 7pm and arrive in Washington DC at 7 pm. How is that possible? A total mind boggle. We are finally feeling human. It is hard to believe Christmas is tomorrow. We are keeping it very simple this year and I am glad. After you visit an orphanage and you see true needs for just the basics in life it seems so crazy that Christmas has turned into a buying frenzy instead of a time to connect with people and keep the old fashioned traditions alive. Heidi's friend Alexa has been here for the last couple of days. She is a wise one for someone so young and I always enjoy having her here. Last night as we were all snuggled up in my room and Alexa was laying next to me as I fed Lilly her bedtime bottle she made the most simple yet profound statement. She was watching Lilly cuddle up to me and wrap her tiny fingers around mine and she said "Lilly just loves being loved." So simple yet so profound. And don't we all love being loved??? It was such a beautiful thing to say. Lilly does love being loved and we love loving her. I sometimes wonder if our need for love surpasses our need for food or sleep. If we did not give or recieve love I think the world would come to a screaching halt. Loving Lilly is so easy and she is such a sponge for all the affection that is offered to her. I cannot even describe the powerful spirit that this child has and how she is touching hearts wherever we go. I will keep this blog up until people stop reading it or I get sick of doing it - whichever comes first. I have a feeling it will be a long while before I get tired of taking pictures of Lilly or talking about how fascinated I am with every little thing she does. It has really shown me how much I love to write and take photos and document experiences. I just love to tell a story. I have really enjoyed hearing that people have followed this blog and have looked forward to reading it everyday. One of my mother-in-laws friend's even called it her "Lilly fix". A pretty healthy addiction I would say!! Lilly is doing great and there is no doubt that we are deeply bonded. Everyone is so in love with her. These photos are of Dennis and Lilly. We are really missing him and wish he could be here with us. He really feels like family. I am missing China and all the other families. They are so deeply in my heart forever. The bonding that took place is beyond anything that I could have imagined. What a blessing. I feel like my already big family just got bigger. I am looking forward to a car trip and the opportunity to see everyone again. I want to wish each of you a peaceful holiday and I will try to post every few days and let everyone know what Lilly is doing and share photos of her as well.
Merry Christmas and God Bless,
Kimberly


We LOVE our Uncle Dennis the Menace!!!!!