Meet Virginia and Some Apple Cider

Can I get one of those too?




Enjoying a great Red Sox game!!



I like cows just like Jo-Jo!!

Meet Virginia -She never compromises-Loves babies and surprises- Wears high heels when she exercises-Ain't that beautiful-Meet Virginia

Lyrics by Train

All my other babies loved lullabies, but not Addie. Addie's Nana thought she should listen to some classical music, so we tried that, but she wasn't too thrilled. Quite by accident we found what she does love for music. You see Miss Addie Ting hates to be in her car seat. After a few minutes in the car she begins to scream. In an effort to distract her one day this week, I pushed in a CD and "Meet Virginia" came from the speakers, and Addie instantly quieted. When the song ended, she screamed again. I went back to "Meet Virginia," and once again there was total silence. I mentioned this to Tommy, and several days later when Tommy and Addie and I were in the car she began her routine of protests. He tried one of his favorite songs in the CD player. It didn't work, so he skipped to the "Meet Virginia" song, and the silence was instantaneous. So odd, but at least it works.



This week Addie had her Physical Therapy, and we are happy to report that our PT did see improvement in her leg strength and in her bending and hip rotation. Balance is still very challenging for Addie, as is finding strength to support herself on her arms in a crawling position. During our Speech Therapy this week, our speech therapist was very amazed with Addie's progress in terms of eye contact and interaction with others. Addie made teeny tiny steps forward in her swallowing, and we will stay patient in this area. We are working hard to find ways for Addie to use those mouth muscles, beyond bottle sucking. We also had the wonderful opportunity to meet with an infant mental health social worker to discuss attachment issues. She introduced us to an attachment massage program which is really wonderful. One very exciting step made this week was brought to our attention by Bayley. When we first met Addie one of her self soothing behaviors was a head rolling behavior that most likely provided her with stimulation in the orphanage. Bayley mentioned this week that she had not seen Addie do this in some time, and it's true. Hopefully this means Ting is finding family to be a better means of being soothed when upset or stimulated when eager to explore.


As a family of six we enjoyed our first weekend away. We met Ron after his Friday technology conference and headed to Southern Maine to stay with Jeremy and Suzanne for a few days. Friday night everyone went to Jo-Jo's favorite place- Chucky Cheese's. Jeremy and Bayley were way over the top trying to accumulate record amounts of tickets. Tommy was thrilled with the safari games. Jo-Jo went from game to game with a huge smile on his face and, yes, Addie seemed to enjoy herself as well. She actually loved the kiddie rides. Saturday we ventured to Poland Springs for our traditional visit to Pumpkin Land. With pig racing, jump houses, a giant corn maze, and hayrides there is something for everyone. Jo-Jo was a wild man, and became quite the fan of the zip-line. Tommy and Bayley enjoyed hay bale jumping and the haunted hay ride. Addie clearly loved the animals, especially the goats, so it looks like our reservation for two goats for spring was a great idea. At lunch she ripped up the french fries, turned her nose up at the Gerber puffs, but attacked me for a sip of warm apple cider. Well that one sip turned into many-she loved it!!





Clearly as we venture into the next week we know that life is good as long as Addie has apple cider and "Meet Virginia" on hand.

Grins and Goats

Looking at the calendar it is hard to believe that next week will be the one month mark for Addie joining our family. Bayley and I first met Addie on September 16, 2008. Looking at the pictures from that day and thinking of how she appeared and how she is today, really is amazing. Addie is still very closed and many, many hours of her day are spent quietly observing the world around her. When out and about, people comment about her sad little face and ask why she doesn't smile. We don't know the answer, but only know that grins are reserved for only the most special occasions, like games of "Duck, Duck, Goose" with Jo-Jo, "Hippopotamus Hunting" with Tommy, and "Pulling Hair" with Bayley. She is not enthusiastic about practicing walking, and though we hope to strengthen her muscles with floor time, she absolutely detests our tummy time sessions. Crawling looks like it just may not happen, but she sure does have a very proud expression on her face, when she grasps our hands and pulls to standing. Without a doubt she really has made remarkable progress. I am the lucky recipient of the sweetest kisses ever. This week Ting is taking some tastes of food, mainly ice cream at Nannie's, and fresh squash at Nana and Buppa's house. She is allowing some tooth brushing, but is still hesitant about having a spoon near her mouth. Most exciting, Addie is actually swallowing some tiny bits of solid food. Soft blueberry Nutrigrain bars seem to be a favorite.

She is so funny about her bottle. When I offer her juice she is really not interested, but when she sees the Vanilla Pediasure drink, she is excited and makes very assertive vocalizations. This week Addie Ting has gained over a pound. She now looks around the room with a unique expression of anticipation when she hears Bayley, Tommy, or Jo-Jo's voice. She has learned to cough whenever Ron pretends to cough. She loves having Ron kiss her neck, and though she doesn't smile, she looks at him and makes a short mmm sound, meaning do it again. Just last night she seemed interested for the first time in a game of peek-a boo. The phone is also of great interest this week. Twice today I watched as she put the phone appropriately to her ear and uttered a most definite Chinese greeting of one kind or another. Her Uncle Lawrence bought her a walker which converts to a walk behind stepper. She seems to enjoy this, and hopefully her confidence in standing will grow.

On the sadder side, Addie is very scared of patty cake, and any clapping noise. Doors slamming also produce an odd response. I cannot help but wonder what these fears stem from. The more I read about the effects of living in an orphanage the more I am able to understand Addie's behaviors. Truly her mannerisms when upset, tired, curious, and excited do have a different quality to them and leave us wondering, until I get to the next chapter in a particular book on children raised in orphanages and then the behaviors are explained.

This weekend Addie met more cousins, and really seemed interested in them. Today was Open Creamery Day at the Painted Pepper Goat Farm. We took all of our kids, and there met friends Elizabeth and David and their newly adopted daughter, Abigail, from China. Jo-Jo loved the goats, Bayley loved the horses, and Tommy was in heaven as he wandered from pen to pen sharing some rather obscure facts about goats to anyone who would listen. Addie was a bit surprised when a goat decided to nibble on her dress. She had better get used to it though, because we ordered two goats for the spring. Do you think 5 ducks, 2 cats, 1 rabbit, 2 dogs, 1 lizard, and 2 goats qualifies as a farm?

One Week At Home

Ron and I were discussing how many people commented about reading the blog. It really was wonderful to stay in touch with family and friends even though we were half way around the world. Also we cannot say enough how much we appreciate all the love and support and encouraging words shared with us by so many many people. Certainly the purpose of the blog was initially to keep everyone up to date on our progress with adoption and then to introduce everyone to our China girl. What Ron and I also discussed was keeping up to date with the blog with the purpose now to be as a memory book for Addie and for us. I remember how diligent I was keeping Bayley's baby book up to date when she was young. I was not nearly as on top of things when it came time to do Tommy's baby book. Now the question is - "Does Jo-Jo even have a baby book?" Well, yes he does but there are way more gaps in there than should be the case. I guess with more children time becomes crunched, and hours to spend documenting milestones are no longer available. Knowing this, it seems that the blog will be our way of creating a baby book for Addie.

So Addie has been home with her family for one week, and we are already seeing changes. The little girl who would just sit in silence wherever she was placed is now a girl who immediately looks to see where mom is. She is so very quick to raise those arms and turn her hands in a very clear "pick me up please" motion. Though most parents are discouraged with a child always wanting to be held, I must say that this is different. She really wants to be held, and knowing that the first 18 months of her life did not include holding, we are more than happy to oblige. The little downturned mouth that initially made no sounds, is becoming more and more vocal each and every day. The cats, her siblings, the telephone, songs on the radio, and people now evoke great vocalizations from Addie. She still does not smile much at all, but the intensity of her curiosity in the world around her grows every single day.

This week was a big one medically speaking for Addie. Several days of blood work were exhausting for us to watch and for Addie to endure. With low muscle tone, one's veins collapse easily, so getting all those vials was next to impossible. She is drinking Pediasure to combat her poor nutrition and anemia, and we are hoping for no lasting effects from the melamine formula. She began physical therapy this week, and our PT is encouraged that Addie will learn to crawl and walk with practice on her part and patience on our parts. Speech therapy will begin next week, and because she cannot swallow solid food we hope to gain knowledge of ways to help Addie make this transition to a diet that includes more than liquid. Addie is also visiting the chiropractor for cranial sacral therapy in an effort to help with the flatness of her head. We hope that with all the expertise these people can share with us, Addie will make gains in all areas of her development.

In terms of family living, we have had a great week of getting Addie familiar with those who love her. She met many cousins, and had her first play date. She is most interested in ducks and cats and dogs. She enjoyed a wonderful hike up Pigeon Hill on Saturday. She hummed and chatted as we passed the many colorful leaves on the way up the mountain. At the top when the other kids dove into PBJ sandwiches and chips, Addie sank those sharp teeth of hers into her first banana. She then had fun ripping leaves from branches within her reach. Addie had more firsts at her great -grandmother Nannie's as she devoured a Klondike bar off the fingers of her Aunt Janie. To wrap up the weekend, Addie and Daddy and Jo-Jo and Tommy planted fall bulbs. She was very inquisitive and Jo-Jo kept saying, "Ok Addie Ting Ting- we did the daffodils, now we'll plant the tunas." He meant tulips, but she never knew the difference.

So Good To Be Home

We're home at last. Including flights, and layovers and more flights, our travel time was a little over 37 hours. It was absolutely exhausting. The flight from Hong Kong to Newark was 15 hours and 40 minutes and little Addie did an awesome job, with no crying. However she did not sleep but three of the fifteen hours. She wanted to be held, cuddled, and entertained. I didn't mind thinking she would at least sleep during the long 9 hour layover in Newark. I was wrong. She seemed totally wired and did not sleep. Bayley on the other hand slept for 8 hours on the floor on the plane, and then she dozed on and off on the floor of the Newark airport. The funny thing was how Bayley would just plop anywhere on the rug in the airport, and it always seemed her head was on a coffee stained spot or whatever else we can imagine the stains to be. Finally at 12:38 am we landed in Bangor, and Addie met her Dad and her wonderful brothers.

We all crawled into bed sometime around 3:30 this morning, and then the crying and screaming began. It lasted for hours. Perhaps some of it was fear, but the major problem was again severe constipation for Addie. Today Addie had a very good day meeting many new people in her life. Everyone is quite surprised by her delays, as she does not seem like an 18 month old in any way. Her muscle weakness is quite severe, and she has every sign of a frightened and very neglected little girl. While in China I chose not to criticize her care for fear the blogs were monitored, but now I can clearly say that her level of care was atrocious. The flatness of her little head tells much of the story which included day after day of just being in a crib on her back. When offered toys she has no idea what they are. She rarely smiles, as if she doesn't know how. With all this said, there is something in her eyes that lets others know she is very much interested in the world and just needs lots of love and patience as she figures it all out. Her head is constantly moving in attempts to seek out what antic a particular sibling is up to. She hears every sound and makes small soft noises in reaction to things she loves.

She explored the outdoors today with her grandfather, and once again loved the grass. She slept so soundly and relaxed on her great grandmother's bed, and then had her first messy chocolate cookie upon waking. She played a special foot kissing game with her Uncle Lawrence, and every time he would stop, she would lift it up for him to kiss again. She hummed at her Uncle Jeremy and loved tinkering with the pens in his pocket. Clearly, she has so much to learn and much catching up to do, but today was a very good day for the start of her new life with us.

The picture is one taken by another couple as we put our sweet girls on the famous White Swan red couch in their traditional Chinese dresses.

We've Been Flooded

Things are a bit crazy here now. We woke this morning, and I didn't hear the wind. I said to myself that things or the typhoon must have passed in a different direction. No such luck. The heavy rains in the night flooded the island we are staying on. Business men and women are forced to walk the streets in water up to their knees. The same shops we bartered in last evening are flooded, with water damage to much on their shelves.The bad thing is that the typhoon hasn't really arrived yet. So we are very unsure what this means if more rains are on the way. If we flood even more, I fear we won't be able to leave the island for tomorrow's flight to Hong Kong.

This afternoon we are heading to the U.S. Consulate appointment off the island by bus, and we hear that for the moment the waters have receded a bit. Our Living Hope friends were not as lucky. Their daughter had a medical exam scheduled for this morning, and they were forced to walk in the knee deep waters to the clinic. Based on their report it was truly scary, as the water brought out giant earthworms. Dead cockroaches were floating everywhere, along with feminine products and other unmentionable things. I am horrified. As a precaution this family started their antibiotics. Hopefully Bayley and I and the baby can avoid the water, but even if and when the sun comes out we are told to stay off the streets, because they are still filled with germs.

On a positive note, Addie is not stressed at all- as long as she can have the whole box of Ritz crackers.


4 hours later - we are back from the Consulate. It went well and we were told they will get us to our flight no matter what. We leave the hotel at 5:30 am and hopefully this is our last post from China. We can't wait to bring Addie to her home and meet family and friends in just a few days. Our total travel time from leaving the hotel here until we reach Bangor is a little over 30 hours. Yes!!! We're coming home!!

Barbies, Bowels, and Bartering

Yes today has been filled with Barbies, bowel issues for Addie, and bartering once again for Bayley. Today all the babies who came to the White Swan yesterday received their complimentary Mattel Barbie carrying a Chinese baby girl. We showed the doll to Addie, and she flung it to the floor. Probably because she couldn't identify with me not looking quite enough like Barbie. In the playroom today, Addie again was frightened of the toys but did seem very intrigued by an older boy's temper tantrum. One toy we predict Addie will like is a puppet. When Bayley puts a sock on her hand and makes noises, Addie is quite amused.

The main issue today was that Addie had not had a bowel movement since last Friday, and she was not comfortable. Probably it is the iron in the formula, but as you know we are not changing from the American formula. At last tonight, we had a true explosion. It freaked Bayley out. Addie is resting much more comfortably now.

Moving right along from bowel explosions to food, we can say that supper this evening was wonderful. We went to Lucy's, known for its American cuisine, and I had the BLT that was in my dreams several nights ago. It was delicious. Bayley dreamily ate her fried chicken and french fries, and Addie smacked her lips often on her grilled cheese. We enjoyed dinner with the other Living Hope family we met in Beijing. Their little girl is adorable, and like us they were incredibly pleased with the food.

After dinner Bayley had another wonderful bartering night with the vendors along our street. She is so like her Uncle Jeremy. We now have enough Chinese fans and chopsticks to last quite some time. In the shops Addie makes very quiet humming noises as she reaches for things on the shelves. Yesterday she pulled several candy bars from the display counter at the 7-11 store. This evening she pulled at any dresses we strolled by. While on the street, we heard news that a typhoon is headed our way this evening and tomorrow. Winds are expected to be strong with very heavy rains. Hopefully things will be clear and not delay anything with our flight for early Thursday morning. Our big event tomorrow with be an oath ceremony at the U.S Consulate, and then packing all those fans and chopsticks Bayley has accumlated on market days.

We are counting the hours and thinking of home.

We're In Guangzhou And Getting Closer To Home

Today has been a very busy day. We left Nanchang early this morning and flew to Guangzhou where the final portions of our paperwork will be completed. Addie was great on the airplane, but then again that was only 90 minutes. Let's hope we can just manage on the big fifteen hour flight from Hong Kong to Newark, then the eight hour layover before the final flight to Maine. On the plane she ate quite a few cookies, so I can clearly see that snacks will be a top priority in packing the carry on for home.

Bayley absolutely loves the White Swan Hotel. The pools are gorgeous, and the lobby is filled with ponds of large goldfish and a huge waterfall. Here there are tons of families finalizing adoptions. Walking around Shaiman Island where we are located feels incredibly safe.

Right after our arrival in Guangzhou we had to hustle to get Addie to her adoption medical exam. She was very sleepy as she had missed her nap, but it went very well. Three doctors felt that her reflexes had greatly improved since the last medical reports, and that her muscle tone and weakness were more a matter a neglect. With lots of attention and physical therapy they predicted that things would go very well. Her hearing tests and the exam indicated she is plugged with wax, but they said they didn't have the tools required to remove it, so I should get that seen to when we arrive home.

This evening we went to the large playroom here at the White Swan. Addie was scared of the toys, but at the same time very interested. She also seemed timid around other children. She is absolutely suspicious of balls, and she squints her eyes when a ball rolls by. Bayley and I were so surprised when once while standing at a table with blocks she completely let go and stood alone for perhaps 10 seconds. As you can imagine we cannot wait to get home, but things are more comfortable here. Hugs and big kisses to the boys.