Our Family

Summer Pictures

2008-05-25T17:07:00.001-07:00

Well I am on Facebook now so lots of our pics are on there and I don't know which are where...! But some of our friends and family are not on Facebook so here are some of our happenings.

Spring is Here

2008-05-15T14:23:00.000-07:00

Finally, New Pictures

2008-04-14T08:03:00.000-07:00

Happy Spring! We've been going through a lot of changes the past few months. Jim was very sick this winter but appears to have stabilized. Colleen is now working at UW Hospital, which she really enjoys. Josie attends daycare and loves it. Here is what we've been up to most recently (you know we have about 200 photos from the past few months, but here is what I have with me at work!)

A visit from our friends in Chicago! (Their mom was a bridesmaid in our wedding 14 years ago.)

Josie LOVES umbrellas! Last week when it was raining, we would drive on campus and she would point out each and every umbrella: "She has a green umbrella. I have an umbrella at home. She has a spot umbrella. She has a blue umbrella...."

Josie's "new friend Masee." (That's a hug, not a chokehold.) His parents just adopted him and returned from China less than 2 weeks ago. His name is Mason, but to Josie he is Masee.

Brave new parents go out to eat with us!

Sunday we went to "Breakfast on the Farm" sponsored by Women in Agriculture at the UW Stock Pavilion. Josie like the little chick the best.

Troubles in China

2008-02-04T08:45:00.000-08:00

If you don't already know, China is experiencing heavy snowstorms and severe power outages last week and this week. An organization that does great work for the orphanages in China is called Half the Sky. They have been in touch with as many orphanages as possible trying to find out how the children are doing and what their needs are. It has been very trying time for many, and in some cases there is no water or diapers or basic care for these tiny ones who already have so little. Some of the nannies are using their personal funds (of which there are little) to buy items for the children. We never want to forget where our family began, or the ones that we left behind. If you are interested in helping out these children, or just finding out more about their situation or the ongoing work of Half the Sky, you can go to www.halfthesky.org/work/littlemouse.php

Here is our sweet Josie last week. She still loves to help mom in the kitchen!

Winter Wonderland

2008-01-18T15:45:00.000-08:00

We have enjoyed a lot of snow here in Wisconsin this winter. I haven't had a chance to post in awhile, so here are pics of our winter so far. These first two pictures were taken from inside our dining room...some of the icicles were 4 feet long!

Josie's Christmas present was this pony - She loves it

I like to be most comfortable when I read.

Walking to the park with daddy.

This is the closest she would get to Santa...and it was by accident.

With her friend. This girl's daddy was the Santa Claus.

This is my "Baby Marcia" I am a good momma and take great care of her.

With my homemade gingerbread man.

Josie was a shepard in the church Christmas play.

With her friend Abbey. Abbey is a mother's helper (she practices babysitting on Josie while Colleen does housework and is available for assistance.)

A Little Taste of Norway for the Holidays

2007-12-17T12:45:00.000-08:00

In these parts there are lots of Norwegians, and we love to shop at their stores! Well, our friend Dustin's great-grandmother gave him her Norwegian-baking equipment, and when he and his wife Heather came over for dinner last week he brought some delicious homemade desserts. In the picture, starting from the left, he made krummkake, sand tarts, and lefse. They were delicious, so I say “Velkommen!” (and that’s all the Norwegian I know.)

As you can see, Heather and Dustin are some of Josie’s favorite people. (His name is not Dustin, its "Josie's Dustin.") She is in for a huge shock when they come home from China with their little one!

Badger Hockey Game

2007-12-04T12:36:00.000-08:00

We took Josie to a Badger hockey game last Saturday and she did GREAT! She had so much fun, and was very well behaved. She really loved the crowds and the cheering, and *espeically* the clapping! What fun to get to clap every few minutes with hundreds of other people!!!

Look Mom!

2007-12-01T07:07:00.000-08:00

I never knew that it started so young, but Josie has gotten into the habit of asking me to “Look Mom!” whenever she finds something interesting. It is SO fun! And eye opening, because it’s sometimes surprising the things she wants me to look at (“big boooger” or piece of dirt.) She also says, “Mommy come see?” when she finds something interesting in a book, and calls me “Mommy tell her?” when one of the other daycare girls is misbehaving! But my favorite is “Look mom!” It’s just the best!

Ever since daddy went back to work after paternity leave, if we find something interesting during the day, I will say, “We need to tell Daddy about that when he gets home from work.” About 8 months ago Josie started asking “Tell Daddy ….?” when she experienced something during the day. Again, some unexpected things she wants to tell him: “Tell Daddy owie?” “Tell Daddy fall down?” “Tell Daddy music?” (if she enjoyed listening to music that day.) Now she is speaking very full sentences and paragraphs, and has a large vocabulary. “Tell Daddy I made Ainsley cry?” “Tell Daddy I made a big mess?” “Tell Daddy I saw Elmo?”

We Got to go to the Mall

2007-11-30T19:57:00.000-08:00

Those of you who know me well know that I hate going to the mall. I don’t like shopping, except with my mom in cute little towns with cute little stores. But Sunday we went to the mall, and it was a wonderful experience, one which I had never really expected. We just happened to be at JC Penney getting our Christmas pictures taken and decided to walk through the mall.

We have spent a number of years watching families: watching our best friends have children; watching our siblings have children and get very busy; going places and watching kids with their parents. Several years ago I made a decision to spend less time where I would run into families with small children, as sometimes it was just too painful. Infertility has its own special brand of torture…And even when the raw ache seemed to be lessening, it was only being slowly replaced by dark emptiness. But this Sunday, we walked through the mall, proud as you please, with our own little child. I didn't expect to feel anything special, we were just on an errand. But it was an unexpected experience, to feel like a normal family, to do a normal thing. The raw ache was magically replaced with inexpressible bliss. There is my strong husband, and there is my adorable child.

Perhaps you don't think much of shopping with your children. Or perhaps you are like we were, wandering the hallways, watching little children run up to their parents, and asking yourself, “Can I ever have this?” and sometimes thinking "I will never have this," or wonder….what would that feel like? What would it possibly be like if *we* had a little one who refused to hold our hand in a crowd, or begged for ice cream? Well, now we know, and it is amazing.

A preteen walked by with an ice cream cone. I hardly noticed her, but Josie began to bounce excitedly (she's been bouncing for 3 weeks straight) and say, through the bounces so it took me a minute to understand: “ICE CREAM! ICE cream!” I said, “Ask your daddy.” So she RAN as fast as her little legs could go into the store to find daddy, wrapped herself around him and said, “ICE CREAM!” Of course you can have ice cream, doll! Anything you want. Don’t be surprised if we have a pony in our yard someday. We get to take this little one home with us. And she calls us “Daddy and Mommy.”

Our sleepy angel.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-30T08:37:00.000-08:00

We had lots of fun at Ammi and Poppa's house for Thanksgiving. It snowed the night before Thanksgiving. Josie loves to "walk in da snow!" It was melted by Monday and she keeps looking for it every time she goes outside.

Starting the Holidays in Minnesota

2007-11-20T10:18:00.001-08:00

We went to Minnesota last weekend to visit mommy's two brothers and three sisters. Josie had so much fun. She hated to leave one house, so I told her that there would be more cousins at the next house. When we got to the driveway, she yelled, "MORE cousins!!!!" Some of them are actually second cousins (Colleen's niece's kids.) Josie didn't do much decorating of gingerbread houses: it was too tempting to just eat the decorations. Her older cousins made some beautiful gingerbread houses. Next year we will have to make more intricate houses, maybe a little town!

Reading with Auntie Debbie and her grandkids.

Cousin Issac loves his Uncle Jim!

I had lots of fun with cousin Ava!

Getting Ready to make gingerbread houses.

Busted!

Sometimes you need to take a break from the hustle and bustle.

Bye-bye Uncle Matti.

Yunnan Kids International

2007-11-05T17:02:00.000-08:00

Josie was born in the Yunnan Province of China. One of our adoption support groups is made up of parents who have adopted children from this province. Last year we formed a 501(c)3 non-profit organization to help the children in this province. Projects have included sponsoring surgeries for children in foster care and sending clothing to those in the orphanages. Tuesday November 6 is the start of a one week fundraising auction. A lot of the donated items are Yunnan or China related, but some are just nice gifts (like a football autographed by Peyton Manning and a book on appreciating wine.) If you'd like to check it out and possibly help raise money for the orphans in an area of the world that is very important to us, check it out at http://www.missionfish.org/NPMMF/nphomepage.jsp?NP_ID=15967.

Happy Halloween!

2007-11-01T19:39:00.000-07:00

My neighbor buddy. We went trick or treating together.

I love chocolate!

Beautiful Fall Day

2007-10-10T08:40:00.000-07:00

We went to the Mt. Horeb Fall Heritage Festival with some friends on Sunday. It was beautiful, but too hot (over 85 degrees I think.) Anyway, it was fun, and we want to go back to Mt. Horeb to visit again - the Mustard Museum is really neat, and there are lots of great gift shops. Josie liked the lammas and alpacas.

Just a little closer....

God is With You!

2007-10-03T08:40:00.000-07:00

Josie likes to read her Bible before bed. She also sometimes climbs into mama's lap while mama is reading her bible in the morning. Sometimes she'll say "Read mama's bible?" and I'll read her some of whatever I'm reading. This past weekend we were in Michigan for Jim's grandfather's funeral. It was a difficult time for Jim and his family. Gordon was admired by many. Jim spent a lot of summers in his childhood living with his grandparents. A few times through the weekend, Josie found mommy's Bible and sat down to flip through the pages. It was so touching to watch her sit down with it and "read." She said the same thing over and over, flipping to different pages and reading the same words. "God is WITH you!" then "God is WITH you!" and again "God is WITH you!" What a sweet encouragement.

Happy Birthday Little One!

2007-10-03T08:34:00.000-07:00

Josie had a fun 2nd birthday. Daddy was home during daycare so we sang "Happy Birthday" and had cupcakes. Then Daddy had a surprise and took us to Ella's Deli. This is such a fun place, I want to bring her for every birthday. It is like an old time diner, complete with a thousand desserts and ice cream sundaes, but it's decorated like a permanent circus with interesting things all over the walls and ceilings. And of course the main attraction: a carousel! As soon as we pulled into the parking lot Josie said, "A horse! Josie ride horse!" Here are some pics from her big day.

Josie's Tree

2007-09-23T18:38:00.000-07:00

Here is Josie's tree. Daddy planted it in the back yard. It is a red maple. We hope to take her picture here every birthday.

The Rest of the Eight Things

2007-09-21T15:37:00.000-07:00

Well, I have some time now, and I probably won't be on the computer over the weekend so I'll finish our Eight Things. And I officially tag my niece (or niece-in-law, not sure how that works...she is married to my nephew...) Becca. She is at http://www.5finns.blogspot.com/. She is married to my "little nephew" Pete and her oldest son looks just like how Pete still looks in my mind (except he's blonde like his mommy.) Becca I love your blog and if you're reading mine, "You're It!"

3. Josie is named after her uncle Joseph (Jim’s only brother) and also a tribute to Joseph the Dreamer in the Bible (he was falsely imprisoned for 13 years and then led a full life of service and honor, and reconciled with his birth family who had sold him into slavery.) She is also named after Colleen’s mother, and also retains her Chinese name. She can’t say her full name yet!

4. We have lived in 9 different homes since we got married, not including short stays with family and friends during the course of our interstate moves. We are pretty sure this is our last house, besides the fabulous condo we will buy in downtown Madison when we retire as millionaires. This is also the longest time we’ve lived in one home - over 3 years… Yes, we are both “those who go” not “those who stay.” - a good match. We left our hometowns as young adults and we still get the urge to move every 18-36 months. I have finally started to really long to paint and decorate (i.e. settle in,) although the truth is that we’ve both talked about moving in the past few months…(We won’t because this house was a bargain for our location, and we want to always be very close to UW Hospital.)

5. Ever since Jim was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis 4 years ago, his age tends to match the number of years that the CF Foundation says is the median life expectancy of CF patients – this year they updated it to 37 years, and he will be 38 next month – Time to update it again CFF!

6. Colleen has 6 brothers and 4 sisters and Jim has 1 brother, 1 sister, and 4 stepbrothers. Our family is mostly Caucasian although we have a Chinese daughter, an African-American sister and an African American nephew. Perhaps we’ll add some more color in the coming years if Josie ever has a sibling.

7. We attend a local Christian Church that we found about a year and half ago. It has been refreshing for us to worship with this group of people striving to seek Him in all they do.

8. Colleen likes to read historical fiction and books dealing with women’s issues. Jim likes mystery/suspense fiction. We both like Greg Iles. Josie likes Clifford books, Nursery Rhymes, and anything that helps her learn new words.

Eight Things About Us

2007-09-21T06:06:00.000-07:00

I’ve been tagged to list 8 Facts or Habits about myself. This is a blogger game that I just learned about. When I'm done with my 8 things I will tag another blogger and they have to do the same! I was tagged by our friend Heather. She and her husband are waiting for their referral for their Chinese daughter. Their blog is www.cotecheck.blogspot.com. They have pics of the *amazing* Dr. Seuss nursery that they're painting during the horribly long wait for referral (over 2 years!! We waited only 1 year.)

I’m going to make our 8 things about our family because this blog is for all 3 of us. I will do 2 at a time because once I started writing it was paragraphs instead of sentences.

1. The first time I saw Jim was from a distance (I was on the second or third floor balcony of the Medinah Temple in Chicago and Jim was on stage.) The moment I saw him it actually was like a strike of lightening and I knew that I was going to marry him. I didn’t actually want to get married, and at the time I was still recovering from a painful relationship. And I was very grumpy, and Jim looked very happy and glowing – I was angry with him already because I knew that he was so joyful and I wasn’t, and that there was nothing I could do about it because we were destined to marry. Kind of like the past 14 years have been for us….Jim being hopeful and positive and me being grumpy and worrying about everything.

2. Jim was a dental tech in the Navy for 7 years. He spent 3 years stationed on the USS Theodore Roosevelt, an aircraft carrier. He did two 6-month Mediterranean cruises and many smaller cruises too. I really regret not spending the money to visit him in one of his port visits.

Two more tomorrow.

Back Home

2007-09-17T20:41:00.000-07:00

Well the Badger Football Season has started, so we are settling into Fall already. Jim's family comes down to Madison from Green Bay for the day for the football games. Josie gets to spend these days with her Feldhausen cousins - such fun! Usually the guys will go to the game and Kourtney and Colleen will go to the farmer's market or just hang out with the kids at our house. The weather is cooling off here and it feels great. It won't be long until the leaves start changing color.

This Sunday's edition of the Wisconsin State Journal carried a nice article about Cystic Fibrosis. The print edition contained two pictures of our family: there was even a picture of Jim and Josie on the front page of the Sunday paper! The article also features our friends Deirdre and Hans. Here is a link to the article if you want to read it (no pictures in the online version.) http://www.madison.com/wsj/topstories/244586

Below is our little Badger Fan. She loves to sing "Varsity" and especially to shout "On WISC-ON-SIN - GOOOOOO Badgers!" She knows that "W is for Wisconsin!" And when she sees a picture of Bucky Badger, she says, "Bucky Badger! Josie saw him! Josie saw him at the volleyball game!"

Vacation

2007-09-17T20:10:00.000-07:00

We went to Michigan and visited Jim's mom and step-dad, then spent several days at Colleen's parent's home in the U.P. SO fun and relaxing!!

There are four miniature horses at Jim's mom's house...Josie LOVES them. She hasn't stopped talking about them since our last visit on June 30th. Sometimes over the past few months she's just said, "Bye-bye? Grandma? Grandpa Jim? Ride Horses?" So she was finally able to ride them again in September.

This is how her face looks when she rides: ecstatic!

Josie and Grandpa Jim at the river on their property.

Josie with Poppa (Colleen's dad) taking a dip in the lake during sauna. This is Lake Superior. Below is the same shot of them last summer.

This reminds me of that poem "Footprints in the Sand."

Beach fun with Ammi! (For those of you who don't know, we call Colleen's mom "Ammi", which means "Grandma" in Finnish.)

Josie went all the way in the water with Ammi, Poppa, and the neighbor's dog Chauncey!

That's an awfully big lake! I think I can see Canada on the other side....

The sauna.

So much fun with Daddy on the beach!

Helping Ammi and Daddy with their puzzle.

Why It's Difficult to Get a Picture of Josie

2007-09-17T16:57:00.001-07:00

She is a very active toddler! Here is what goes on trying to get a picture of her. I finally got her to stand still by asking her to stand next to her dollhouse.

This is what she does when you ask her to "Smile!"

Sister Friends

2007-08-18T09:57:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago to meet two of the other couples who traveled to China with us and adopted girls from the same orphanage. The girls were born the same week, and we are looking forward to encouraging a lifelong friendship between the three (they live in Chicago.) One family taught their daughter the question, "Who are your sister friends?" And she responds by naming Josie and the other girl. I think this is an appropriate description of their special relationships.

Summer Beauty

2007-08-01T20:02:00.000-07:00

She's A Genius

2007-07-27T21:21:00.001-07:00

This morning Josie started counting...I gave her a chip and said, "One," and she said, "Two...three....four....." I was pretty surprised as we haven't really tried working on this yet, but somehow she's really picked up on it. Later in the day I heard her little voice, "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine..." She likes to count when she's alone it seems, as I was upstairs and she was downstairs. Then later at night she was in the back seat and Jim heard her counting to 10, except she forgot 9. She's a little smarty-pants! :-)

Our Summer

2007-07-24T10:18:00.000-07:00

Well it’s been a long time since we’ve posted anything, but it’s because we’re having a wonderful summer. We’ve spent time with family and friends, and traveled just a bit. Josie is growing so quickly, and learning so much it would be impossible to tell you everything that she’s doing these days. She’s been saying new words every day for about a month now, and it’s so much fun! She’s made her own sentences, and says three syllable words. She is cracking us up all the time. A couple of weeks ago she took mommy’s sunglasses out of the diaper bag and brought them to daddy and said, “I got momma’s glasses!” Yesterday she scolded the baby for throwing food on the floor during lunch: She pointed her little finger at the floor and shook her arm and babbled and scolded “Floor! Floor!” I guess she’s imitating me when I tell her that she’s old enough to know better than to throw food on the floor - oops! She is big into “helping” and often runs to the kitchen to get a towel to clean up messes. She is trying to put on her own shoes and clothes, and she loves to climb, run, and jump. I will make several posts with pictures of our summer below.

Fourth of July

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With Grandma (Jim's mom)

My first horsie ride (on Grandma and Grandpa's minuature horse) I LOVED this horsie and still ask to get "on horse?"

Piano maestro

I am just pretending to sleep because it makes momma laugh! This was my first overnight trip away from mommy: Daddy took me to Green Bay to visit Grandpa. Momma said she's miss me so much, and I reassured her by looking her in the eye, pointing and say, "Back" (meaning "I'll be back," like momma tells me every time she leaves the room.") I had SO much fun with Daddy!

More of our Summer

2007-07-19T06:30:00.000-07:00

She is changing SO much every week, and saying new things every DAY. She is really cracking us up. I will make a few posts with pictures of what we've been doing this summer. Josie has the cutest little voice, and she works hard to pronounce things. She used to say her name as "ditt-da" (which in Finn means little girl, as I know because I've been told not to be a "ba-haaa ditt-da" which means bad girl - no idea of the spelling, just phonetically that's what it sounds like to me.) Anyway, Josie called herself "dit-daa" until about a week ago when she pronounced clearly "Josie." Now she correct her little friends when they don't say it correctly. One of her favorite things to do is look at "Josie Mess!" on the computer...We look at our blog and she names everyone and loves to see the picture of herself making a mess with daddy's instant breakfast. She also loves to "hehp" (help) whether it's putting trash away, wiping off the diaper changing pad, or anything else. She loves to identify whose is whose "Daddy's car, daddy's tractor, mommy's car, Josie's cup." So, she is talking up a storm and making us laugh with her cute antics. It's very helpful too, because the last couple of nights she's half-woken and said, "water!" After I give her a bit of water she falls right back to sleep...before I never wouldn've known what she wanted, even though it makes sense because it's been so humid here and she's sweating a lot. She also says "love you" and identifies dozens of animals and more objects in her "My First" books. Yes, she's a genius we think! The other day I commented to Jim that he and I couldn't have "made" a child as adorable as she is, and he said, "you got that right!" She is definitely the light of our lives!

Happy Father's Day & Happy Family Day

2007-06-19T07:34:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was not only Jim's first Father's Day but also our one year anniversary of Family Day, the day we got Josie in China. The year has gone by SO fast, and Josie has changed SO much! She is now running and jumping and saying many many words...The other day she was climbing and Jim said, "What a good job!" and she said "I know!" It's obvious that her relationships are very important to her, she names her friends and family members all the time, especially the ones she hasn't seen in a while and she misses them. We are so grateful to have this little one in our lives, and she has brought immeasurable joy to our home.

One year ago.........

Today

First Camping Trip - Devil's Lake

2007-06-10T15:38:00.000-07:00

We finally went camping! We haven't been since Jim was diagnosed with CF, and of course this was Josie's first time. She LOVED it!

Relaxing by the campfire.

Cozy in the tent.

Hiking with daddy.

The shores of Devil's Lake.

My friend Ethan (Eee-tin!) and his mommy.

Resting on a boulder during our hike (Josie was asleep on Jim's back for most of it, as in this picture.)

Josie loved playing in the woods.

Summer Chickadee

2007-06-10T15:33:00.000-07:00

I love to put on my purple sunglasses - I am SO chic!!!!

Cooking with Mama

2007-06-10T14:45:00.000-07:00

I like to mix it good!

Pretty tasty!!

Uh-oh! This is worrisome!

Good Sleep All Around

2007-06-04T12:33:00.001-07:00

Well, Josie is doing very well sleeping in her crib, and by the 2nd night I was so tired that now I am sleeping well on my own too. I will continue to sleep on the bed in her room for a few more nights just so she gets reassured quickly when she wakes up. But next week she should be fine, she only looked for me once last night. It is still sad to me, she is so independent, and Sunday I didn't get hardly any cuddle time with her. But Sunday night and then this morning and afternoon, she was back to her cuddly self, so I think I will survive not cuddling with her at night. Plus, I get to move back into my own bed with Jim after a few more days of sleeping in Josie's room - besides a couple of months last fall, it has been almost a year since we slept in the same room on a regular basis. Not as bad as all those months that he was out to sea with the Navy, but it will be nice to be home again.

Josie the Big Girl, Momma the Baby

2007-06-01T20:46:00.000-07:00

OK, tonight Jim is in Green Bay visiting family and I am home alone with Josie. Tonight is the first night in many months that I am supposed to NOT take Josie out of her crib and sleep with her in her bed. Last September she was doing great with sleeping in her crib through the night. But several months ago we started just putting her to sleep on her bed, and then if she woke up several times during the night, I would just stay on the bed with her and cuddle with her and both of us would sleep soundly until morning. This helped me because I hated getting out of my bed and walking to her bed many times per night. If I am in her bed, I don't really have to wake up to reassure her. However, she is now showing signs of not being able to sleep unless I am with her, which really makes me a prisoner in my own home especially because for the past couple of nights she wouldn't sleep soundly until after 9:30 pm. So we are back to the crib, and the thing of it is: Josie is doing great, I am not doing well. She went to sleep at 7:15 tonight, and has not woken up since. She fussed a couple of time, but put herself back to sleep. I am all nerves, and can't sleep a wink, even though when I was singing her lullabies I fell asleep in the rocking chair at 7:00. It's 11:00 pm right now. Do you know that last night I was fully committed to this idea of no longer co-sleeping, but then this morning I was dead asleep on her bed, and I was awakened by a big kiss on my lips: I opened my eyes and Josie's big crinkly smile was right in my face! She smiled and kissed me solidly two more times, then laid back down and went to sleep for another hour and a half. I don't want to miss out on that!!! Also, last week I was sleeping in her bed and I was awakened by a very strange choking sound. When I was fully awake I looked over and Josie was cracking herself up in sleep: Laughing with her mouth open, eyes closed, and just laughed for awhile. Must have been some wonderful dream!! I suppose after she is used to sleeping on her own for awhile, we'll have her sleep with us for a few hours on Saturday and Sunday mornings, for our sake, so we can continue to have these special times. She loves laying down between us, and makes sure she gives us both a couple of full smiles before she puts her thumb in her mouth and goes to sleep.

Josie's Backpack

2007-05-31T17:53:00.000-07:00

Josie loves her backpack - it is adorable the way she pronounces "pack-pack!" She loves to wear it, and to pull out her treasures...sunglasses, play cell phone, photo album...

Our Busy Days

2007-05-31T17:26:00.000-07:00

Josie is growing up too fast!!!! Here she is in crooked ponytails....she won't keep them in for very long.

Helping daddy in the yard.

We belong to the only support group in the nation for couples who live with Cystic Fibrosis. Our coordinators received a grant to create a video to be presented at a medical conference in the Fall, to teach people how to facilitate these groups. Last night the camera crew came to our house and set it up for a photo shoot: they interviewed us and two other couples re: life with Cystic Fibrosis. It was nice to be able to answer specific questions, and helped me to think more about our situation and how much our life has changed in the past four years since Jim was dianosed: that's what they mainly asked me about since we are the only couple in the group that found out one of the partners has CF AFTER we were married. They also asked about our decision to have children in light of all the challenges that CF brings to daily life. It was fun to have everyone in our house, and Josie enjoyed checking out all the wires and cameras and umbrella lights everywhere!

A Day at Home

2007-05-25T20:56:00.000-07:00

Here is a little of what I see during the day. I have a box of miscellaneous dress up clothes, and Thursday the girls came up to me with these handkerchiefs, trying to put them on their heads. I put them on, and they spent a good deal of time sitting on the steps and admiring each other.

Josie got ahold of Jim's Instant Breakfast the other morning.

Our Profile

2007-05-24T10:08:00.001-07:00

I updated our profile on the right side of the blog since I realized that it was way outdated (it said we were waiting to adopt our baby.) But I am putting the old information here to save it for posterity, and in case someone down the road starts reading the blog they will know a little more about our story.

Jim was raised in Green Bay, WI. Colleen grew up in Wadsworth, IL as one of 11 children. We met at church in Chicago in 1993, and were married on August 20, 1994. We lived in San Diego, CA until June 1995, and then moved to Norfolk, VA where Jim was stationed on board the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt with the US Navy. He spent most of the first 4 years of our marriage at sea. He got out of the active duty in 1998 and continued to serve in the Reserves as an Intelligence Specialist while attending Old Dominion University. He graduated with a BS in Accounting in December 2001. We decided it was time to return to the Midwest in June 2003 and are loving it here in Wisconsin. We celebrated 10 years of marriage in 2004 with a dream vacation to the French Quarter of New Orleans and then a 7-night cruise that included gliding in the Jamaican jungle, swimming with stingrays in Grand Cayman, and exploring the Mayan ruins of Tulum. We were thrilled to adopt an amazing baby Josie from China in June 2006. Now Colleen does home daycare and watches Josie grow up quickly!

First Mother's Day

2007-05-14T07:14:00.000-07:00

It was a wonderful Mother's Day. We spent Saturday in Illinois with my family, and Sunday at home in Madison. Jim cleaned and took Josie out for a while so I could nap (the best present ever!) He also got me a video camera so I can start taking some videos of Josie. Josie got me an adorable Winnie the Pooh card and some chocolates. Then Jim made king crab legs for dinner - YUM-MEEEE!! I am wearing a beautiful corsage that my dad gave me.

Colleen's dad cooking fish for a cookout on Saturday. (Fish was caught by my brother Jim - see his wife's blog at ://www.midlifebliss.blogspot.com/ to see pics! She started the blog a few weeks ago, and it is so interesting!)

Our Baby is Growing Up

2007-05-03T06:53:00.000-07:00

It's very sad to see Josie growing up so fast! But it's lots of fun too!! She is saying and doing new things all the time. She is very expressive, and has the best facial expressions. They're very difficult to capture on camera. She's been spending lots of time with Ammi and Poppa lately, and talking about them throughout the week. She would visit them every day if she could. It's hard to give an update of what she's up to, because she's doing so much. One of the funny things that the poor child has learned is that "bye-bye" means that people walk out the door and then come back for their keys! Whenever I leave the house, she says "bye-bye" very sweetly. Then when I'm gone she looks at the door and says "uh-oh keys!" and waits for me to come back for my keys! This is true for daddy as well. She will never know (at least not for many years) that normal people say "bye-bye" they just leave and don't come back for a while. Here are some cute pics.

Swinging with Poppa

Dancing with Ammi

What did you find?

Happy Easter!

2007-04-09T19:43:00.000-07:00

We had a great family time this weekend!

Daddy Helps Me Find My Easter Basket!

2007-04-09T19:34:00.000-07:00

Love You Daddy!

New Photos

2007-03-22T19:52:00.000-07:00

Getting ready for bed.

Papa, I know how to make things work better, just like you taught my mom how to do.

I love s'ketti!

I use every pillow in the house as I need to be well nested.

Marshmallow Baby

2007-03-02T08:24:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

2007-02-25T19:10:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we celebrated the Year of the Golden Pig with Madison Families with Children from China - what fun! Madison Hope Chinese School and Madison Lakeside Chinese School had their students perform traditional Chinese dances: the youngest dancer was 4 years old - so precious! Also a Kung Fu group did a Lion Dance - very loud and exciting!

Getting ready to go...I haven't worn my squeaky shoes in SO long - woo hoooooo!!!
We arrived early to help decorate.
This little girl, Kaylei, is 9 years old. She was 17 months old when she was brought home from China, the same age Josie is now. She "babysat" Josie while mommy decorated.

.
Josie kept going up to all the little girls and looking at them trying to make friends. She recently started putting her hands on her hips all the time, and she kept doing it yesterday- so cute!

Madison Lakeside Dancers

The sleeping lions

Watching the Lion Dance with daddy

More new friends

With my friend Ruby and her mom Sarah.

I love balloons! Early in the afternoon, one popped really loud in my hands!!! I cried, but in a few minutes I was back playing with them again. All in all, I had a great time playing for hours, making lots of new friends, and enjoying all the loud music and noise- I love excitement!

Time to go home....Mommy set me on the table while she gathered her stuff, and she thought I looked like a little centerpeice so she took a picture.

Badger Fun - Last Hockey Game

2007-02-22T07:56:00.000-08:00

BRRRRRR........!

2007-02-05T12:48:00.000-08:00

While I was making my coffee this morning I looked out the window at the thermometer and it read -18 degrees. That's right: NEGATIVE EIGHTEEN DEGREES!!!! We are not in Virginia anymore! There has been a wind chill advisory in effect since 3 am Saturday morning until Tuesday at 10:00 am. With the wind chill it is even colder than what the air temperature reads. Thankfully, we are blessed with a warm home and hot running water! We even have a nice stone fireplace. It was a nice weekend just the three of us. I normally run errands with Josie on Saturday morning so Jim can get some extra rest, but instead I ran the errands on Friday (even though it was already zero degrees outside, it was only going to get colder over the weekend!) So Saturday morning I took Josie into the basement to play so Jim wouldn't hear us. He actually couldn't sleep so at 8:00 we were all hanging out in the basement. Jim made his world famous chili (two versions - one spicy and one super-spicy) and I made pasties (ended up with 32 pasties and 2 pasty pies.) We just enjoyed one another's company and Jim did a LOT of housework.

Tonight we are meeting with our social worker for Josie's "6 month chekc-up". (There is just one more, at 12 months post placement. We submit 16 photographs each time!) The social worker wil write a report on how Josie is doing and send it to the Chinese governmental office that handles adoptions, and also to her orphanage. We will also be sending the orphanage updates about Josie, as well as donations for those children who are still there.

Hope to post some pics but having tech troubles, so soon I will. Hope all is well with our friends and family around the world! (By the way my brother Matt's wife had a baby boy last week! Little Isaac has three older sisters, aged 6, 8 and almost 10 years old. Mommy has lots of helpers!! You've seen their pictures on previous posts.)

This picture is from our re-adoption hearing, when Josie's adoption was finalized in the U.S.A. in September. We received her social security number in December, and we have two more hoops to jump through (filing forms with CIS, formerly INS) which should take about 6 months and then she will be a U.S. citizen.

Fun Times In Winter

2007-01-26T14:15:00.000-08:00

I try to keep up with Ainsley!
I can walk up and down the driveway! (Mommy loves my winter coat and hat so there are lots of pics of this...)

Another Little Kitty

2007-01-26T14:07:00.000-08:00

A basket in the living room.

Kitchen drawer

Just like our cat loves to climb into things, so does Josie! (These 2 pictures were taken a week apart, even though she's wearing the same sweater. ) It's very surprising to leave the room for a few minutes and come back to this!!

Josie Update

2007-01-17T08:39:00.000-08:00

Plowing snow with daddy.

Maybe I'll be a beautician... I must read everywhere, even in the bathtub.

Oops busted!

Josie is doing very well these days - something new almost every day!!! She is walking a lot now, picking herself up when she falls, and steadying herself well. She says a lot of words, and is obsessed with pointing at things and asking "dis?" or "dat?" She still loves to read, and she is mostly obsessed with her daddy. She says his name in a hushed whisper "(dad!)" like she is just in awe of him. When she wakes up in the morning, she asks for him, and throughout the day she points to the front door and waves and says "dad!?" When he comes home from work she says "dada!!!" and loves to play with him. When he is getting his breakfast or dinner ready, she watches his EVERY move - she is a little groupie!!!!

She also says cat, sock, wow, mama, ow, uh-oh, yes, nigh-nigh, and it seems like a few more but I can't remember now. I think she is starting to say "meow" for the cats, but it comes out like "eow" without the "m". But everytime she sees or hears the cats, she says "cat" then "eow".

Life is good! I will post some pics.

Waddup Jose?!

2007-01-17T08:32:00.000-08:00

Here she is with all her "bling"! For several days now, she goes to the box with her lacing beads each morning and puts them around her neck and wears them all day.

Christmas

2006-12-31T19:07:00.000-08:00

Christmas Morning

Watching Santa with Auntie Aileen

I love the bracelet Brooke gave me. This is the first time I've worn it. I can't stop looking at it.
Mmmm....Christmas cookie!

Yay, what a wonderful Christmas!

Reading with cousins.

By the way, the mystery of the wooden pony has been solved: it was a gift from Grandma Evie and Grandpa Jim!!!

Santa?

2006-12-21T07:51:00.000-08:00

Tuesday afternoon I went out to take the girls for a walk, and there was a Radio Flyer riding wooden pony on the front porch! It is wonderful and so sturdy, we love it! It reminds me of a classic Christmas, traditional and fun. However, it came with no note, only addressed to Josie Feldhausen. - Perhaps Santa came early? If you sent it to us, please let us know! :-)

As you can see, Josie seems to love it too!

More Pics

2006-12-06T12:41:00.000-08:00

In my wagon, watching dad rake leaves.

It's most fun to read while sitting in the toy box.

Reading the Sunday paper with dad.

November in Wisconsin

2006-11-23T21:02:00.000-08:00

Play hide-n-seek with cousin Rea
Fun with cousins

Buppa Hausen reads to me!

tired baby with daddy

Gingerbread house making cousins.

Halloween

2006-11-10T15:23:00.000-08:00

Not sure about this...

With mommy at my first Halloween party.

With my super tall Daddy
This is mommy's other daycare baby, Annalise. Wise, she is.

Some Pics

2006-10-22T12:49:00.000-07:00

Here is our house for those of you who haven't been here. We love the red leaves on the front tree. It actually snowed here on October 11 & 12, and again last night. We woke up to snow covering the ground! Yes, things are different here than in Virginia!

Hey paparrazi mama....
All dressed up to go out for Daddy's birthday.

Updates

2006-10-16T12:31:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a few weeks since we've posted anything, but that doesn't mean we haven't taken 300 more pictures! Josie is growing up so fast we can't keep up. Colleen is running a home daycare business and taking classes on nights/weekends. Jim's family has been coming into town for Badger football games - what fun! Here are some fun photos...

September 25 - Josie is One Year Old

2006-09-25T23:26:00.000-07:00

It is difficult to believe that our little baby is already one year old! She certainly has changed a lot in a few months and is acting like a toddler. She's crawling everywhere, pulling herself up, standing, and walking around while holding onto furniture. It won't be long until she's walking all by herself. She babbles all the time and is showing her preferences for books, certain songs, and games.

We had her first birthday pary on Saturday at Colleen's parents' house in Illinois. Her cousin Shad was born one day before her so we had a joint party. You can see how fun it was by their pictures. Shad was so funny with his cupcake: he took the sugar cone off and licked the frosting, then systematically dipped the cone into the cupcake to get more frosting so he could lick the frosting again. And he didn't want ANY interruptions! Josie completely ignored her cupcake and proceeded to eat the plate! Finally she ate the sugar cone after her cousin Janie showed her how.

More Pics

2006-09-25T21:14:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty comfortable in a crown.
Shad had his system down right - dip in the frosting, lick the cone, dip in the frosting...

This didn't taste how I had expected...

More Birthday Pics

2006-09-25T20:49:00.000-07:00

With cousins Shad and Kirby, all born in 2005

Some of my aunties say that my mom must not feed me enough fiber....

OK, I'll eat the cone if you insist.

Pics

2006-09-25T17:58:00.000-07:00

Uncle Joe walked with me - Yay!!

On the way home - with my new dolly!

How is Josie Doing

2006-09-15T02:06:00.000-07:00

I can't even keep up with all that Josie is up to these days. I will post pics of some of her latest activities, but others have asked how she is, so I will try to give an update. It is almost sad because she is less and less like an infant and more like a toddler. She will be one year old in 10 days!

She talks A LOT. Lately her favorite thing to say is "daa-wooo." She also likes to point at things and say "ooooh!" and act very surprised. (Every morning she is very surpised by the lights on the ceiling and they are fascinating to her.) She says "uh-oh" when she drops something. She waves "bye-bye" and "hello." When she wakes up from her naps, she waves "hello" to her daycare friends when we are walking down the steps.

She loves to stand up and walks along her play tables and toys. She will play for long periods of time by herself, standing on her tables and moving stuff around and talking. Sometimes she whispers and sometimes she becomes very authoritative and emphatic. She is very excited about standing and walking. Sometimes when she's standing up by herself holding onto something stable, she'll start to bounce up and down and dance and say "woo! woo! woo! woo!" It is Adorable! Last week she really became obsessed with walking when holding adults' hands. She wants to do it ALL the time. When you stop and prop her up against something she won't let go of your hands and starts to cry.

She has been very frustrated the past few weeks as she is learning to crawl but can only go backward while in the crawling position. She spends a lot of her days backed into corners and crying in frustration. But she has learned other maneuvers to get around a little bit and now can cover most of the living room by herself. Actually today I think I saw her crawl a few times, for 3 or 4 steps. We'll see how it develops. She prefers to have her feet on the ground, rather than her knees.

She is sleeping all night her in crib, and is wonderful with naps. She puts herself to sleep when you put her in the crib during the day. Lately she's even stayed awake for a little of her naptime and enjoyed jabbering for a bit before nodding off. This is great improvement because for a long time she wouldn't go near the crib without screaming - really screaming and sweating and sometimes throwing up.

She can pick up finger food, but she refuses to put it in her mouth. She will eat crackers by herself, but that's it. She learned from Ainsely to say "mmmm!" after each bite. She has eight teeth and has at least two more coming in. From past experience with the last four that came in, these next two may take a month or more to actually show up. But she is drooling and chewing on everything, and you can see the bud beneath her gums.

Josie loves to play games and laugh and be funny. She is amazing!

Josie in the Kitchen

2006-09-15T01:25:00.000-07:00

Last night I was cooking dinner and Josie was standing and digging through one of the kitchen drawers. She was so happy to be doing so! She sat down a couple of times to get things that she dropped and she was able to pull herself up. The funniest thing was when she came across a very large wooden spoon. She tried to eat with it! When I came over to talk with her about it, she tried to feed me with the spoon. It was absolutely adorable and of course we had to take a lot of pictures. Her sound effects were so cute too!

more pics

2006-09-15T00:32:00.000-07:00

Da-wooh!

Squidgy face

Family Pix

2006-09-12T11:49:00.000-07:00

Cheesehead

2006-09-12T07:59:00.000-07:00

Thanks Uncle Joe and Aunt Mary!

New Pics of Josie

2006-09-03T20:23:00.000-07:00

Most mornings I don't smile until Daddy comes to say Good Morning. I LOVE hanging out with him. He is SO fun. I love to be tossed round and make funny noises (see pucker face a few pictures down.)

Mommy says I look like my Great Aunt Becky in this photo. What do you think?

I like to pucker my lips.

I'm becoming a big girl! Mommy says I don't look like a baby anymore, but a toddler.

In my cute jeans skirt.

I look good in most colors: purple, red, pink.....

My New Friends

2006-08-19T20:08:00.000-07:00

My "uncle" Jeremy gave me a Badgers cheerleader outfit!! (Jeremy is daddy's little brother from Big Brothers Big Sisters.)

Riding in the burley with mommy's daycare baby Ainsley. We ride together every morning and only poke each other sometimes.

Michelle let's me pull her hair! Her parents were born in China but now they live in Madison. They play volleyball with my daddy.

At daddy's volleyball tournament. They played volleyball but I took a nap.

Cute pictures

2006-08-19T20:01:00.000-07:00

A beautiful bonnet that my Auntie Judy made for me.

Mommy loves this dress.

UW Madison Party for Josie

2006-08-19T19:56:00.000-07:00

Jim's coworkers gave Josie a wonderful welcome home party.

A Visit from Matti & Janel

2006-08-19T19:06:00.000-07:00

Playing with cousin Alyssa.

Rhea has a real live doll.

My cousins make me laugh!

In the Badger Red hat that my cousin Alyssa knitted for me.

With Lela, Alyssa, and Rhea.

Playing with cousin Rhea.

Playing with cousin Lela.

And More...

2006-07-25T21:24:00.000-07:00

With Colleen's brother Andy's family (L-R:Eva, Anna, wife Kari,Janie,Colleen,Jim& Josie, Andy & Kirby.) Andy's two other sons, Keith and Karl are not in the picture. Kirby is just a few months older than Josie. I think Josie has three cousins born in the same year as her, all boys. One of them, Shad, was born one day before her. It's kind of special too because Colleen was with Shad's family the day he was born and was able to see him within hours of his birth. Josie also has some first cousins once removed (Colleen's great neices and nephews) that are very close in age. (My neice Emily and my nephew Josh had girls 5 and 9 months after Josie was born. I used to babysit both Emily and Josh so it feels funny becoming a first-time parent the same time as them!)

I love my pink and purple swimsuit!

Just hangin' out with daddy.

More Pics

2006-07-25T21:15:00.000-07:00

The bib says "Auntie Loves Me" (from Auntie Janel.)

I LOVE my exersaucer! I'm getting stronger every day!

This bib says "Uncle Loves Me" (from Uncle Matti.)

I'm getting stronger every day. I can stand like this forever (well, a very long time) and sometimes I even do it one-handed!

(Don't ask me about crawling, I'd rather stand and walk.)

Feldhausen Family Reunion

2006-07-25T21:06:00.000-07:00

One of the few pictures of the 3 of us together.

Jim's dad and grandparents.

With Buppa Hausen

It's been over a week so I have lots of pictures!

More Pics

2006-07-25T20:59:00.000-07:00

Playing with my cousins, Cade & Emma. Cade always makes me laugh.

J-lo has nothin' on me.

My caseworker,Kris, from Lifelink. It has been a long time in coming, but this is the full circle. Mommy and Daddy met with Kris for the first time in January 2005. Now I am HERE!

I've been trying for awhile now to post pictures but for some reasons they won't upload. Hope these work.

Josie is Adjusting Well

2006-07-18T10:56:00.000-07:00

With Poppa at the camp(Colleen's dad).

I love to read! (with Ammi, Colleen's mom)

Feed me!

I love the cats, but they always stay just out of reach...

We've been home (in the U.S.) for over two weeks and during that time Josie has traveled 7 hours to Colleen's parents' cabin in the Keweenaw Peninsula of upper Michigan, and the next week she went 5 hours to Iron Mountain Michigan for Jim's family reunion. She did pretty well in the car. She had a little trouble a couple of days when she was held by several new people: she let them hold her and was quite social. One time when we got home she looked at me in extreme anger and started crying- she was not happy with me! But both nights she had trouble sleeping and would cry out if mom wasn't holding her. (She fell immediately asleep whenever I picked her up.) So it's a good sign, she is attaching well so far. She sleeps in between me and Jim,and she stretches out both of her arms so she can feel each of us there.

She wakes up very smiley! It's a great way to start the day! I've started going for walks with her at 9:00 each morning and she likes it, but then she falls right asleep - good nap for her and good exercise for me.

She has started to babble- more and more each day. She says "bababababa" a lot - Baba is Chinese for Daddy so maybe she's saying she loves her daddy?? She also coughs as a form of communication and says "ahhhhhh." When she is tired she puts her thumb in her mouth and whispers "gagagagaga." She is so adorable!

HomeComing Posts

2006-07-11T20:31:00.000-07:00

I am posting the pictures that my sister took of our homecoming. Didn't she do an amazing job? Yay!!! In the next day or so I will post some more pictures that we took since coming home. Josie is doing great! She has adjusted her schedule to U.S. time and is continuing to bond with mommy and daddy. Daddy doesn't have to go back to work until next week so we're really enjoying this family time together. What a dream come true!

Arriving at the Airport

2006-07-11T20:30:00.000-07:00

Josie sees Madison (home) from the airplane!

Daddy waiting at the airport at the bottom of the escalator.

Bottom of the escalator.

Meeting Daddy

2006-07-11T20:18:00.000-07:00

Family!!!

Yay!

Looking at our new little one.

Going to see Daddy.

WOO HOO!! I finally found my Daddy!!!!

Coming home

2006-07-11T19:38:00.000-07:00

Getting acquainted at the airport.

Bedtime first night at home. (Someone can't keep his eyes off of her.)

Home Sweet Home

2006-07-03T04:04:00.000-07:00

YAY!!!!!! We MADE it! We are home safe and sound with daddy. I don't have photos yet but when I do I will post them. (I left my camera in the bathroom in Kunming and when I remembered it ten minutes later it was gone...) I used a disposable camera this weekend to shoot some more photos and will get them put on disk.

Josie did wonderfully on the flight from Hong Kong to Chicago, sleeping most of the way. We were blessed with a very patient travel mate sitting next to us. Our flight from Chicago to Madison was delayed a couple of hours due to mechanical problems. Poor Jim had to wait a bit longer to meet his daughter. But all turned out well, and we saw him from the top of the escalator at the Madison airport. He watched us come down the escalator and I delivered his special package to him at the bottom of the steps. Josie took to him immediately and started smiling and playing with him.

The very first night back Daddy took care of Josie as Mommy proceeded to sleep for 15 hours. I would've slept more except he woke me up so I would sleep on Saturday night. However, I couldn't sleep Saturday night anyway. I'm all screwed up with the time change and feeling sick again. I must've been sick in Kunming due to exhaustion and stress, because I feel the same way now. Josie is still adjusting to the time change as well, although last night she finally went to sleep around 1:00 and is still sleeping now at 6:00 am. (Yesterday she didn't go to sleep until 5:00 am) I have been up since 4:00 and am going back to bed now.

Jim has been incredible - he knows so much about taking care of her. He feeds her food and formula, cuddles her, changes her, and overall just showers her with love and affection. He has taken over and is letting me get rest. I hope I'll be back on schedule and eating again in a couple of days. It is so much fun to be a parent with him.

We plan to go to my parents' cabin in Michigan later in the week and spend about 10 days there until Jim's Family reunion in Iron Mountain on the 15th. I look forward to spending time with my parents with our baby, and also bringing her to Jim's reunion. He was the first of the Feldhausen grandchildren to get married, 12 years ago, and since then many of his cousins have married and had children. Now he will bring his child and introduce her to the rest of the clan.

I can't thank you all enough for your love and prayers. This is truly a miracle that's happened in our family, and what was once a distant hope has become a reality. I'm looking forward to posting more pictures so you can see what God has done with our lives.

love,
Colleen

VISA Day

2006-06-28T08:46:00.000-07:00

Today we went to our appointment at the US Consulate here in Guangzhou for the VISA ceremony. I swore an oath that everything we've told them in our adoption papers is true. They issued Josie a Visa to enter the US as an immigrant. She will not be a US citizen until Jim and I re-adopt her in the state of Wisconsin. We now have all the documentation we need to take Josie out of the country. Tomorrow morning we're taking the train to Hong Kong. Then Friday morning we're taking the plane to Chicago then Madison - three full days of traveling as it will be Saturday morning Hong Kong time by the time we reach Madison (but Friday evening in Madison.)

We CAN'T WAIT to see Daddy!!!!!!!

Almost Home

2006-06-28T08:35:00.000-07:00

If I can hold my green wand, everything is all right!

HEY - WAZZZUPP? I got something to say!

Sometimes I just need to be held.

pics

2006-06-27T08:19:00.000-07:00

At the medical clinic where Josie had her medical appointment.

Josie and Katie Crawford.

Famous Red Couch

2006-06-27T08:06:00.000-07:00

It's a tradition at the White Swan that the babies get their picture taken on a red velvet couch in the lobby. It is quite a task getting four small babies in a picture with no adults.

We've Been blessed with an amazing travel group

2006-06-27T08:03:00.000-07:00

Three of us are first time parents and the other couple has an older daughter that they previously adopted from China. They are a great group!

I don't know if I like swimming...

2006-06-27T07:59:00.000-07:00

Almost Home

2006-06-27T07:48:00.000-07:00

I met with our guides tonight and it seems real now that we are on the way home. Our guides are absolutely amazing - they take care of every little detail, including filling out our customs forms. All we need to do is sign things. Then every few days they meet with us individually to give/collect documents and go over our expenditures and we reimburse them.

Tomorrow afternoon is our US Consulatate Appointment. It is a ceremony where at the end we receive the children's visas so they can leave the country. Then Thursday morning we will travel to Hong Kong, and Friday morning we are on the plane home!

Josie is doing well, still adjusting to a new lfe and new formula - both big issues. I can't wait to get her in one place that she'll stay in forever! Aileen and I have also been having fun doing some souvenir shopping and enjoying the Chinese culture - by that I mean massage. We went to an authentic massage parlor this afternoon. It was such a wonderful experience - the entire building was so neat to see - and smell with the insence they were burning. It was actually called a medical clinic. They do consulting and stuff but we had already decided we wanted a foot massage. The shortest appointment they have lasts for 90 minutes and cost 68 yuen, which is about 10 us dollars. We couldn't imagine that they could massage your feet for 90 minutes, but they first soaked our feet in chinese herbs as they massaged our neck and back, then arms. Then we got out foot massage. We are going back tomorrow for a body massage - This one is more expensive, like $12 for 90 minutes!?!?!?!

I can't wait to get home and see Jim. Josie has been talking to him on the phone. Tonight the funniest thing happened: Josie has been super tired but refusing to go to sleep (i.e. crabby.) I decided to put her in my kozy carrier because she kept falling asleep in my arms but screaming whenever I put her down. So I was walking around wearing her and talking to Jim. She was pretty relaxed but still not sleeping. I asked him to tell his daughter that she needed to go to sleep. I put the phone next to her ear and I could hear him say,"Listen up young lady. Your mama needs you to go to sleep, and you need to get some rest..." She shot straight up and her eyes got so big! She looked at the phone incredulously! It was so hilarious I busted out laughing - no one talksto her like that around here! Aileen and I just keep telling her what an adorable little princess she is! I laughed so hard, and Josie started laughing too. It was so cute!

more pictures

2006-06-26T07:29:00.000-07:00

Daddy's Little Girl (that's what the outfit says!)

The view from our hotel room.

More pics

2006-06-26T07:20:00.000-07:00

Another Update

2006-06-26T06:49:00.000-07:00

Thank you all SO much for the emails and comments! It means so much to hear from you! It is very strange being on the other side of the world. Because of the time difference we can't talk on the phone much to Daddy and other family members. It is so encouraging to hear from you.

Things are going extremely well here. I am exhausted all the time, but very happy. Aileen is exhausted too. She is working so hard. I don't know what I would have done without her. I would be a basket case for sure. Josie is having so much fun with Aileen. She always looks around to make sure we are both here. Today she learned how to stick out her tongue. She thinks it is the funniest thing in the world!

On Saturday we flew from Kunming to Guangzhou. It was sad to be leaving Josie's home city. Who knows when she will be back. She was very good on the flight. We are staying at the White Swan on Shamain Island in Guangzhou. It is a city of 10 million people - just huge. We are so tired that we don't ever plan to leave the island. This hotel is *amazing.* Aileen and I stayed at a five-star hotel once in Dublin with the other women in our family. This hotel might even be nicer than that. It is unbelievable. I am so happy especially because Aileen is able to enjoy it - you should have seen her on the journey from Kunming to Guangzhou - she looked like a pack mule with her bag, giant backpack, and my huge diaper bag/backpack. I carried Josie and my backpack with the laptop.

We told mom that we discovered the way we want to be treated for the rest of our lives - just like we are here. Our hotel room is immaculate, beautiful, with an amazing river view. Someone knocks at our door gently each evening to deliver the newspaper. Someone also knocks on our door to offer turn-down service before bed (we never accept it - we don't know what it will be. Do they kiss you on the cheek and read you a bedtime story after tucking you in???) Even if we refuse the turn down service, they present you with a tiny ceramic pot. When you open it up there are chocolates inside. There are waterfalls and fresh flowers everywhere. Each time we get off the elevator on our floor (11) a woman guides us to our room - every time! The first time it was very weird because we didn't even know who she was and she was guiding us to our room! Whenever we show up to the elevators she pushes the button and when one opens up she guides us to it. Every time you leave or enter the building, a door is opened for you by a man who stands at the door all day. Very very different. This is the best way to be having a new baby. All we need to do is take care of Josie and decide how to get some good food every day.

The weird thing about being here is that this hotel is full of other adoptive parents. The US embassy is nearby, and this is where we all need to go to get our babies' visas issued so they can leave the country. There are American couples everwhere with Chinese children of all ages. It is a surreal experience. When we first walked in the door on Saturday, the other moms and I in our travel group just busted out laughing - it is just strange, I can't explain it.

There are lots of little shops within a couple of blocks of the hotel, and that is where we've spent our free time. I bought Josie some small gifts to give for her birthday each year.

All in all, things are going very well. Thanks again so much to all of you for your emails and comments. I'll try to remember some other things to tell you about Josie. Oh, she loves to take a bath. She likes to splash and watch the water move. Those of you who gave us bath toys, THANK YOU! She is going to love them! She went to her doctor's appointment today and was diagnosed with bronchitis. She received some zithromax and cough medicine. She is a very happy baby and is having a lot of fun being adored by her mommy and auntie.

Josie is very much like her daddy - An extrovert. She hates being in the room for very long. She loves being around people and just watching things go by as I walk around with her. She doesn't like to go to bed, even when she's so tired she can hardly keep her eyes open. She is eating better and sitting up more each day.

pics

2006-06-23T15:16:00.000-07:00

More pictures

2006-06-23T15:06:00.000-07:00

Signing papers at civil affairs.

gotcha day pics

2006-06-23T15:04:00.000-07:00

Echo

More pictures

2006-06-23T14:35:00.000-07:00

Aileen on the way to the airport in Madison. (I like this picture.)

Laundry in the hotel room. Not a great idea as it took 3 days to dry, but it ended up working out good in the long run.

Some things about Josie

2006-06-23T05:51:00.000-07:00

I think that Josie is attaching pretty well, maybe better than I expected. I've been "wearing" her all day since the moment I got her, in my Kozy Carrier. This is supposed to promote bonding. I asked Aileen not to hold her until Thursday, so Josie would get used to me always being here for her. I think she is used to my heartbeat and feeling my skin. The first night she slept very still and didn't move (her muscles were very weak then too.) Now she will wake up every once in a while and roll to her side and put out her hand. If she doesn't feel me she will start to cry. If she does feel me, often she'll smile in her sleep. It is the most beautiful thing.

She gets mad at me often as I have to clear her nose (she has a runny nose and congestion) and give her medicine, and orajel as well as she is teething. After these times she won't look me in the eye for awhile, but eventually she forgives me. :-) I am amazed that she is so loving. When she is riding in her kozy, especially when she's sleepy, she will stare up at me. Today I was holding her and talking to Aileen, and Josie just gave me a short shove with her hand until I looked her in the eye. She is doing very very well, and sleeping pretty well, too.

Aileen plays games with her and Josie is having fun being so well adored. She is developing rapidly. It's unreal how much she can grow in one day - on Monday she couldn't lift her head at all if she was laying on her stomach. She also did not reach for anything as she could not grasp and didn't understand the concept. That has already changed - she is holding her head up and also reaching for things. She loves to hold things, and is moving so much more in general. She will catch up very very quickly. She will probably be rolling over in a couple of days. We started videotaping some of this today so Daddy will be able to see her growth as well.

She is very smiley in general, and loves to laugh and play games. She loves to smile at herself and us in the mirror. Every time we get in the hotel elevator she looks in the mirror at herself, then Aileen, then me, usually smiling at us. It seems that she loves to see us all together. We are just amazed at her beauty.

More Kunming

2006-06-23T05:36:00.000-07:00

Green Lake Park is near our hotel. Kunming is called "the city of eternal spring." The weather is totally spring-like - a little warm but always a cool breeze. Sometimes it rains but usually heavy drizzle and not for too long. There are flowers everywhere.

Aileen and Mary, our guide.

Kunming City, Yunnan

2006-06-23T05:22:00.000-07:00

There are so many people everywhere, and there seems to be no pattern for traffic. They are walking, biking, mopeds, motorcycles, buses, cars.

We did our shopping at Walmart. Quite different from our Walmart - it was HUGE. There were so many people in the store. So many workers too, we can't figure out what everyone was doing. We went during the slow time, but there were still about 20 people in each aisle. We would not have been able to shop without Mary. I don't know howanything was organized or how we were supposed to find the checkout. Instead of stairs or elevators, there are large ramps to go from floor to floor, pushing your cart up or running behind it on the way down. We bought some local baby formula and some long pants for Josie as it is cooler here in Kunming than I had planned.

Past photos - flight to Hong Kong

2006-06-23T05:08:00.000-07:00

On the way to Hong Kong, arctic circle fly over.

Hong Kong from the plane.

Josie with Auntie Aileen

2006-06-23T02:30:00.000-07:00