SchnauzerKing says thanks

Those of you familiar with the Schnauzer breed know that these dogs are very expressive, both verbally and physically. So it may not be all that fitting that I call myself the SchnauzerKing since I really don't fit this mold. My posts, as pointed out earlier by the Redheaded Chick, have been few and far between. However, I felt it appropriate to post one last time on here to say thanks.

First, I'd like to thank all the little people in my life that allowed me to win this award. I could have done it without you, but thanks anyway. Ooops, sorry, that's my Oscar speech.

In reality, it's been a real treat (and at time wondrous) to see the outpouring of support for Tammy and I during our adoption adventure. The blogging community is just incredible. It was truly amazing to see the Chick approached in China by "strangers" who congratulated her and thanked her for her blog. Thanks to all the online friends.

Our friends and family certainly deserve a huge round of applause for their unending support, patience, and understanding during the last couple of years. We know we haven't always been that easy to be around during our high stress/frustration days. Thanks for sticking in there.

One of my many faults is that I don't offer enough thanks, publicly or privately, to my beautiful wife for everything she does. So last, but most importantly, I'd like to thank her for establishing and maintaining this blog. I can't count the many times I've checked the blog and laughed out loud at the posts, many of which were making fun of SK himself! I'll also admit that sometimes I've teared up at reading about the frustration she experienced. But it's always been an interesting and insightful site to visit. Thanks RHC, though one adventure is over, a more exciting one awaits and I can't think of anyone else I'd rather experience it with.

SK

Look what I can do!

Mmm...what's this?

When Daddy's at work, Bella misses him so much she has to play with his shoes.

Funny Face.

Movin' out.

As we prepare to say "good-bye", a few updates on Bella...
-She is crawling well, and pulling up. She can stand while holding onto something for a few moments.
-She has gained about two pounds since she has been home...she now weighs 17 pounds. This makes me feel better...I thought my arms were just getting tired.
-She is still in size 3-6 month clothing, but I expect she will be moving onto size 6-9 month clothing very soon.
-She has extremely sensitive skin, always. Just like her mom. But on Saturday, she broke out in a case of the hives, which the pediatrician believes is due to a cold virus. She has been sneezing quite a bit, but no snotty, runny nose. Yet.
-She does not like laying on her back. At all.
-We still haven't been able to get her to eat solid foods yet, regardless of whether we give her control or take the lead. We had her evaluated, and they confirmed that she was a tough case. Very orally defensive with food, although she loves to mouth toys. We were told to expect it to take a while, but to keep trying. And so, we will.
-Her 5th and 6th teeth are coming in.
-The theory that CCAA chooses children for adoptive parents in part by looking at the parents' photos is completely shot. This kid is just too damn good looking,

Thanks for the understanding regarding the need for me to take my blogging activities private. I have begun to receive email requests. Bear with me, as it will probably take me a week or so to get up and running with the new blog.

Just swinging along.

Getting ready to say "good-bye".

The time has come. We are ready to say good-bye to this blog. No particular reason...it's just that the "adoption" part of our adventure has ended. We will start a new blog, but it will be by invite only. This will be a family blog, and I cannot make any promises as to how often I'll manage to update. SK is a very infrequent poster and my days are now consumed by the little one.

If you want to follow along, and I know you well, please send an email INCLUDING YOUR PREFERRED EMAIL ADDRESS (I'll need it for the invite) to tammytimisabella@yahoo.com. And folks, please don't be hurt if you don't get an invite if I've never met you. It's not a judgement on you as a person...just a judgement on the closeness of our relationship.

When I first started blogging over two years ago, it was a relatively new thing. Not many people did it. Also, not many people knew about the blog. Oh, and yeah, we didn't have an actual child living with us. That's all changed. The blogging adoption community has started to trouble me a bit. Most bloggers and blog watchers are well-intentioned, but as in almost any community, there are a few wackos and mean-spirited individuals out there. Sad, but true.

Halloween will mark the two year anniversary of us becoming DTC. This seems a fitting day to say goodbye. If you've been following along, and especially if you've been commenting, thanks for being with us. It was a long haul, and I will never "forget" about the wait as most people say you do. But the child...well, the child is the most amazing thing that has ever happened to us. She takes our breath away. To all of you who have children, thanks for sharing your experiences with us. To all of you waiting, best wishes. I know it's an almost unbearable wait right now. You will have days when you are convinced it is simply not going to happen, days when you feel that you cannot take it for one moment longer. And however you imagine what receiving your child will be like, the reality will likely be different. But I believe this to be true...you will never be more scared, more thankful, or more in love in your life.

The truth is...

Motherhood is kicking my butt. The adjustment is, in my best Boston accent, WICKED hard. I love those people that say "I have no idea what we did before". Well, I know what I did before. I used to have coffee almost every blessed morning. I used to blog. I used to answer emails fairly quickly. I used to read. I used to go to the gym. I used to wear clothes other than T-shirts and jeans. Oh, yeah, and I used to have a job other than Bella.

But then she lays one of her million dollar grins on me and I don't care about everything I used to do. At least not nearly as much.

Yeah. We love the girl.

Girl in the hood.

Indie has taken a shine to Bella's toys.

Jumpin' Jumperoo.

Look at her go in the jumperoo LaSalette, John, and Emma were nice enough to lend us:

First Playground Outing in the US.

Pictures from Red Couch Picture Day

Yep, we are home!

Bad blogger, bad blogger, bad blogger. In my defense, for some reason, we could not post from the White Swan in Guangzhou. But we arrived safely home on Friday at about 11pm and Bella is doing well. We love having the time as a family to get to know the little one.

She has been reluctant to convert to US time. The first two nights, she screamed like a banshee all night because she did not want to go to sleep in her crib (we have decided against the family bed, which I know some of you will disagree with, but hey, that's us). She loves being rocked, which we've done a lot of, but once we tried to put her down, she just wasn't having it. We stood by her crib, patting, singing to and reassuring her, but she still was one upset baby. Maybe because of the singing part. Then she'd fall asleep around 5am or so (in her crib), and she wanted to sleep all day. The past two nights have been an improvement. She falls asleep almost immediately when we put her down at 8:30 PM or so, then she wakes at midnight or so, and wants to hang out for a few hours. The she goes back to sleep between 3-5AM, and we have had to wake her in the morning.

She enjoys playing around on the floor, and her crawling skills have improved considerably. In general, she is a lot less "floppy". She is smiling quite a lot and makes some good eye contact. She blows us away.

SK carries her around with his chest puffed up like a peacock. Yesterday we had our first shopping outing...to Babies R' Us and to Shaw's Supermarket.

Random person shopping: What a cutie.
SK: Thank you. Oh wait, you mean the baby?

On Monday she had her first pediatrician visit. She is in the 3rd percentile for weight, and the 10th percentile for length and head circumference on the US charts. However, the pediatrician did not seem concerned. We do need to work on the solid foods issue, which thus far has not gone well. Of course, we'll keep trying.

I wish I had some pictures for you, but that would involve finding my memory card reader, which remains buried in the travel rubble. Soon, I promise!