Happy Thanksgiving

We are very greatful this Thanksgiving for our many blessings. We are celebrating our first Thanksgiving with our beautiful boy. What a difference a year makes. Happy Thanksgiving to all--- Kate

How Long Has It Been ?????

I took a little(ok big) break from blogging. We had a less then desirable follower who was linking to pornographic websites.Had to take some time to shut that down. I have restarted with some more controls over the comments hoping that will work.
We are all doing wonderfully and don't remember a life without Matthew. He is doing amazing he is in five half day preschool and is thriving. His language is exploding and we are amazed at the words and sentences he can now put together. He is growing and is realizing what it is to be in a family. Olivia is well enjoying her soccer her team is 4th in their division we are very proud of her. looking forward to the holidays as a complete family-- All the Best Kate.

Faithful Follower

Someone continues to post in another language other than English. This is a public blog and I welcome everyone to it. I am uncomfortable being unable to read the comments that have been posted as of late. I will continue to remove them unless the posting is done in English

My Smart Boy

Matthew's language seems to be exploding over the last few weeks. Yesterday his first "sentence" Are you ready---- "Mommy Os spill" Yes they did spill all over the den and while vacuuming them up while trying to keep the dogs away I have never been so thankful for three little words

Matthew's Christening

Yesterday was Matthew's Christening we had a lovely day with family. He has come miles in just the short three months we have been home. His language increases everyday and it still continues to amaze us how much he understands.He is receiving services through early intervention and that is going well. We have also been to the cardiologist who said his heart is perfect YEAh!!! I have returned to work three days a week he goes to daycare at Steve's work and he loves it we call it school and he loves to go. Our lives and our home a full and at times chaotic and we wouldn't have it any other way. WE are looking foward to summer and the warm weather. Olivia and MAtthew are the light of our lives and we count our blessings all the time. Life is busy I will try to update more often All the Best---- Kate

Two Months Today

It is unbelievable to me that we have been home with Matthew for two months. We have spent the last two months falling in love with our beautiful boy and becoming our family of four. Matthew blossoms each and every day. We are seeing his sense of humor and playfulness. He is adorable charming energetic and loving. The attachment is coming in subtle ways. He now will just climb on our lap just because. He will play by himself but checks in every few minutes just to say hello.He says new words each day and understands completely when we talk to him. He doesn't always listen but he certainly understands. We have a child who will sleep late in the morning and goes to sleep easily at night. He says I Love You without prompting and just very recently i see he understands what those words mean. I can't explain it but lately I feel like Matthew understand what love is and understands that he is loved. I believe he no longer looked upon me as his caretaker and knows I love him. He no longer uses Aya towards me.He copies absolutely everything Olivia does and says he follow her around when she is home and waits for the school bus in the afternoon.He screams when he sees Steve's car in the driveway and helps him carry his briefcase in the house. He is my little helper during the day and helps me up and down the stairs with the laundry. We are still dealing with the food issues but do see slow gradual improvement. I return to work the beginning of April. We are beginning a slow transition to where he will be going to daycare and that is going better then we expected.
WE are so blessed to have both out beautiful children in our lives and I often remind myself to soak it all in.We had a terrible storm here this weekend and lost our power for a few hrs. I was reminded during that time that we need to simplify our lives. As we were sitting in the living room with candles just talking and cuddling our family close. I felt overwhelmingly lucky to have our family together and whole and complete. We are looking forward to Spring and certainly counting the days until the Easter Bunny visits--- All the Best Kate

Catching Up

It is hard to believe but we have been home for one month tomorrow. Matthew seems like he has been here forever. I will not lie adjusting to having a very active almost three year hold at times has had it's challenges but now I finally feel like we have a new normal. the first week Steve went back to work was very hard for me Matthew and I are finding our way and learning about each other. I have learned that boys are sooo different from girls. He has energy to burn and adaption to him in the winter is hard because it is difficult to find space for him to run off his energy. We have fond play places at the local malls and we visit them regularly. It is also good for him to be around other children. In the beginning he was very apprehensive around other children but it gets better each time.
One of our biggest challenge areas is eating. When it comes to eating Matthew has no off switch he would eat until it made him sick. He shovels the food in quickly and he is done when the table is cleared. We have adjusted our eating while we are teaching him to slow down and pace himself. The other issue we have is when I am in the kitchen he screams because he wants food right there and then. Because of the language barrier he doesn't understand that the food has to be cooked. It is challenging to prepare a meal with your son grabbing at your pant leg screaming. Th emotional end is heartbreaking because he is afraid he won't get enough to eat which breaks my heart. It is a work in progress and we are trying.
I am off work until early April we are in the process of looking at daycare centers and have Matthew evaluated by early intervention they have found him to be speech delayed(no surprise there) so he will qualify for services. Once we have all that narrowed down it will be easier to make that decision. Matthew also has to have a minor surgical procedure I will not elaborate here but it is of a delicate nature. We will have that done before I return to work
We feel blessed and happy to have our beautiful boy with us and despite all the challenges I have a new feeling of contentment knowing that our family is complete. I am not missing paperwork waiting for travel dates and all the ups and downs that come with adoption. Happy Valentine's Day and HAppy New Year I have a feeling the year for the tiger will be our families best yet. All the Best Kate.

Getting Back to Normal

We are trying to get our lives back to normal. I am still battling the jet lag awake at three am and then falling asleep standing up by 5pm I am trying but this is tough. Matthew is doing great with the sleeping. He sleeps all night and takes a two hour nap. I am so grateful for this I can't imagine how hard it would be if he were also suffering from the jet lag. Today he went for his first new shoes he was so excited in the shoe store. Nothing better than brand new sneakers. He certainly had a spring in his step.It seems as if Matthew has been with us forever like he has always been here,. We let Olivia stay home from school today and she enjoyed the day with her new brother. She is a huge help with Matthew and her energy has come in handy when Steve and I had none.
Matthew was a the doctor on Saturday for his first visit. Since we received him he has been itchy all over. The doctor feels that he is allergic to something but that is difficult to determine because his whole world changed that day. He also found that he was wheezing. We have been giving him nebulizer treatments and an allergy medicine and the itching has stopped so we are grateful for that.His breathing is also better.We introduced our dogs to him yesterday and that is a slow process he is very afraid of them if they come near him. We are separating them and bringing Matthew to them while holding him. It will just take time I hope. Thanks for all the comments made to the blog while we were in China. I have taken the time to read each and every one and am so grateful for the time people took to comment. All the Best Kate

Priceless

We are home!!! All safe and sound These pictures were taken at 4 am Saturday morning when my whole house was up. My two children were on the couch sharing cheerios. Despite feeling tired and suffering from jet lag God is good and we are blessed. These pictures and knowing my whole family is under one roof is priceless. All the Best Kate

Goodbye China

Today is our final full day in China. We have loved our stay in China and appreciated the people of China and their welcoming spirit. We have especially enjoyed our time in Guangzhou and will especially miss the sixty degree temperture.We are having a final dinner tonight with two other families we have met along the way. We will then be up and adam early Friday morning to begin our  long trip home. We will always be especially grateful to the country of China and it's people for giving us our beautiful boy we will always make sure he knows what proud people he is descended from. We are ready to see our girl and finally have Steve and Kate plus two all under the same roof. I will post from home YEAH!!!!!    Kate.

Consulate Cleared

We have completed our final step to finishing up Matthew's adoption and his Visa will be ready tomorrow by 3pm. Our guide will pick it up and we will leave here Friday morning for our long journey home. At the consulate today we took our oath and signed our final documents. Everything went off without a hitch we are so looking forward to coming home. Tomorrow begins our final day in China.  All the Best KAte.

Consulate Paperwork Cleared

Our paperwork has cleared the consulate. We have our swearing in ceremony tomorrow (wed) and the pick up Matthew's visa Thursday and the the very long trip home to JFK via Seoul Korea on Friday. We have loved  our time in China but we are ready to come home. I miss my beautiful girl and can't wait to see her on Friday.  All the Best Kate

Over One Hurdle

Today we are all doing well. Matthew is feeling better and the medicine seems to be helping. We returned to the medical clinic today and his PPD was negative Yeah  no X-ray. I was dreading trying to hold him to get that done. We are off to go shopping this afternoon at a large mall called the Prudential mall.  We are enjoying Guangzhou although the whole island is under construction they are putting in a septic system and redoing the facades on most of the buildings so navigating with a stroller id difficult but we are managing. We had lunch at the White Swan the other day which was nice we are however enjoying the lower rates at the Victory.

Guangzhou and Matthew's Physical

We have arrived safely in Guangzhou and were right back at it with Matthew's physical this am at 940 am. Matthew and us had a tough flight last night it was late he was confined and very wound up. Matthew's adjustment is coming in the form of becoming very over stimulated he becomes almost frantic at time and difficult to manage. The flight last night was very cramped so glad for all of our long flights we bit the bulled and are flying business class.The man in front fully reclined his seat the whole time and I couldn't even move my legs all the while Matthew was screaming and throwing himself about We got the stink eye from quite a few people as they were deplaning oh well we'll never see them again.At Matthew's physical this am it turns out he has a throat infection and is congested no fever yet but I am sure that would have been coming. They gave me an antibiotic and cough medicine for him. The antibiotic  comes in a powder form and has to be reconstituted I had to dig way back to my nursing school days but I got it.
On the way back from the physical we passed a nice shop and Matthew is now the proud owner of squeaky shoes very cute ones with soccer balls on them.The squeaky shoe concept is lost on Steve he doesn't understand why we have to give Matthew more noise then he already makes but he is going with the flow
It turns out that there is another family from Homeland here. We met up with them this morning and will see them this afternoon. Soo great to meet up with other English speaking families. I was feeling lonely and missing home and  my beautiful girl but now feel rejuvenated and better able to do what needs to be done to bring our boy home  I will post with the comings and goings for now All the best----- Kate

Nanjing anf Matthew

Today id our final full day in Nanjing nothing planned until this evening Sandra brings us our papers and we are all going for dinner at 5pm. Matthew has a pretty good cold with a cough he was up for a few hours during the night coughing and restless. I was so longing for a 24 hr cvs to run and get him something but we muddled through. He seems better today not coughing as much but still a runny nose. Matthew was born with a VSD and he certainly does not seem to act sick but I will worry until I get the all clear from the doctor in the US.

My family has been saying that I am not posting enough pictures I am trying but it is hard to catch a moving target he is constant motion. I can't believe I am going to quote football here but we have gone from a man to man defense to a zone defense because he is wearing us out. We couldn't be happier to have  this way though.

We are looking forward to Guangzhou it is cold here not really conducive to walking much especially if he has a cold. I have been told Guangzhou will feel like a mini vacation and for sure it will be warmer so we can be out and about more. we're starting to get a little stir crazy.

Yesterday Sandra our guide took us to a silk brocade factory which was amazing and beautiful. Then we did some shopping at Confucius temple. A little retail therapy is good for a girl's soul. Steve and Matthew were unimpressed.

We leave for Guangzhou tomorrow at 7pm this will be a good test run for Matthew on a plane it could be a long ride home if her doesn't do well We'll see     All the Best Kate.

We're Officially a Family

We are all thrilled here in Nanjing as Matthew's adoption is official. He is now legally ours. The final paperwork was completed this am and the morning as topped off by a trip to Walmart for the purchase of a much needed stroller.My mommy muscles are sure out of shape and not used to carrying a two year old. Matthew is doing great and thriving on the extra attention. He is funny and playful and trying to copy all the sound we make very cute. He is starting with a runny nose sure hope we can keep it at that don't want him to be sick for our trip to Guangzhou. We are just waiting for his pass port which we will receive Friday am and we leave for Guangzhou Friday evening. This short trip will be a good test run for how we do on the long flight home.Matthew is eating great and sleeping great wish I could say the same I j just can't seem to sleep past 4am I'm sure that will work itself out the day before we come home.LOL Nonetheless we are enjoying our new son who is full of mischief and energy. Steve and I have been saying our house is not nearly baby proofed enough for our little whirlwind but we wouldn't have it any other way  All the Best Kate

Joy Rising

Our family is our whole life. We have been like a puzzle missing it's last piece. We searched, we cried, we became frustrated and we almost gave up. We didn't give up we kept going and today around the world in China we found the final piece to our puzzle. We have our beautiful boy. We are finally Steve and Kate plus two. God has blessed us today and we feel blessed and greatful. Truely joy rising    Kate and Steve

Nanjing

We are beginning our second day in Nanjing and our last day as a family of three. Tomorrow  10am we will be leaving the hotel to go get Matthew. We are both excited and nervous about all that he will go through tomorrow and the subsequent days but are praying for a smooth transition for him. The jet lag this trip is really taking a toll on me and I hope with each day it gets a little better. I just feel so tired and then can only sleep for about five hours. i know this will pass. We have been skyping with Olivia at home and that has definitely helped being able to see her and talk to her. Leaving Olivia was very difficult but I am managing.Today we are going to head up to the Hunan Rd and to the Nanjing Drum Tower. Then we will spend the evening getting ready for the arrival of our beautiful boy    All the Best   Steve and Kate.

Hello from Nanjing

We arrived safely in Nanjing as planned and checked into our hotel all is well but we are tired and fighting to stay awake to get over this jet lag. I spoke with the in country coordiantor today and we need to meet her in the lobby Monday am at 10am to go get Matthew. Now that I am here in China I just want to go get him now.  Steve and I are hoping to feel more human tomorrow after hopefully a full nights sleep and we will be out and about in Nanjing getting the lay of the land. Oh I almost forgot Happy New Year to all    I'll post soon    Kate