The Hospital & the Zoo

On September 23rd, Willow had to go to Children's for a diagnostic cardiac cath.  It's like an intense x-ray.  It's incredible what they can do; they went all the way to her heart with a scope through arteries from her neck and her leg.  She stayed under a little longer than expected and ended up having to spend the night due to a collateral that they had to coil.  Let's just say none of us slept much, but we gained great appreciation for the kind and talented nurses and doctors.  The most difficult time was right after the cath when she had to have 'flat time' to prevent clotting. Willow hates being made to lay on her back and just wants us to stand up and hold her like normal.  It was hard to not do what comforts her since she couldn't understand why it wasn't a good idea.  They ended up wheeling her to her final room laying on me on the bed since she finally had calmed down.  That was a fun ride!

Ugh, the wait...

Kyle was excited because her oxygen was looking good here...

Finally a little happier, but she still wants me to stand up...

We were so grateful she fell asleep for the last hour of her flat time.  The blanket tuck helped her feel like she was on her stomach!

The next morning Willow was in good spirits.  We looked at the train and then were so ready to get home!  

Getting outta there!  We look how we feel!

There was bruising but basically no other recovery.  So we took it easy a few days, and then that Saturday we went to the zoo for the first time!  

The first animals we saw were gorillas, and Willow thought they were really cool. Then we saw the zebras, and Willow was so very excited that she shrieked loudly twice!  It was the best thing ever to see her so happy and thrilled. She was happy to see all of the animals after that as well, and she kept saying 'more'.  The only thing we skipped was the train.  Here are my favorite memories!

Gorillas...

The zebras were prancing and eating grass; they were so cute.  They kept shaking their heads like dogs as well!

They are my favorite!  Willow has figured that out through books and things at home!

There was one African and three Asian elephants.  Willow liked how they brought the grass to their mouths with their trunks.

Kyle asked if she wanted to stand by the glass window on the other side of this wall, and Willow said 'No!'  She has kind of big, scared eyes here. Our normally fearless girl did not want to get too close!

We loved seeing the orange tigers, because they roamed around and came very close before laying down to nap.

Merry-go-round... She preferred the bench!

Feeding birds with her daddy...

Last but not least, on the third our little love turned...

The Bedroom

I realized that I never posted pictures of Willow's cute little room!  So, here we go...

Last night after basketball with her Daddy, Willow went to bed in her bedroom for the first time!  She has napped in there, but has never stayed there overnight.  She woke up wide awake and ready to play at 4:30, so the morning was kind of long!  I was glad she was comfortable there!

Being silly...

A few more funny things...

-When I shower, Willow hangs out right outside of it with toys and things.  She usually lays on a pillow and lounges.  I always leave her some Disney music on from pandora, but I can't hear it over the water.  I've realized that if she suddenly jumps up and gets a very happy expression, I can guarantee that 'Let It Go' came on the station.

-When playing with play doh, we made some characters from a show she likes called Doc McStuffins.  One of them got 'hurt', and Willow was giving her some TLC.  She handed 'her' to me, and I started loving on this play doh as was expected.  Willow pointed to my left shoulder, where she lays her head anytime she needs comforting from me.  So, yes, I placed a tiny bit of play doh on my left shoulder to comfort it.  :)

I will update soon regarding our visit to Children's and to the zoo.  God bless!

This couch sees a lot of fun...

A little update

Here are some things Willow does lately...

-She sat side saddle on her little push car all the way down the hall.

-She says 'cold' if our hands are cold or there is wind blowing.  

-She grabs the side of the bathtub to brace herself when we are washing her hair.  

-She doesn't prefer to sit but to stand when placed in the car seat.  She also doesn't want to get out of the bathtub.  :)

-The day she learned how to 'blubber' us might have been a favorite of mine.  (That's what we always called giving raspberries growing up.)

-She pooped in the tub.  It was accompanied with a terrified child, big tears and big eyed!  (Kyle, you're my hero.)

-She has started saying 'thank you' all the time!  It sounds like 'day dou!'

-Anytime we enter her bedroom, she greets all of the fisher price little people with 'hi!' or 'hey, little people!'

-She often tells us what to do.  :)

-We've all been a little sick, and anytime I sneeze or cough, she mimics it.  When she had the sneezes, she figured out I'd say bless you and check on her.  So, the girl started fake sneezing out of nowhere, and it sounded pretty believable!

-She lets us hold the drink (milk) she has for her consistently, like a bottle.  This hasn't been without effort and feels like a sign of trust to me.  We don't always hold it of course, but it's nice to know we can connect with her like that when we are able!  She allows it now!  :)

-She has started asking for 'bao bao'.  Bao bao means baby in Mandarin, so Kyle started this little pet name for Willow a while back.  We always said it to her after bath when wrapping her up in a towel, so now she has started asking for it after bath.  She also asks us to 'bao bao' her stuffed animals and babies so she can hold them in the same way.  

-She is starting to memorize really easy, one word books.  The first one I noticed it with was a book called 'My Day.' It goes like this-- Eat. Blocks. (It really says Build.) Play. Ride. Hug.

-At bedtime, Kyle typically sings Willow either Christmas songs (Silent Night) or As the Deer.  I usually sing Twinkle, Twinkle, ABC's, I Love You So Much, Good Night Sweetheart, or Sweet Baby James.

-Today Kyle took Willow after work while I went to get a pedicure which was so nice!  I called them on the way home, and I got to hear that tiny, adorable voice on the phone for the first time!!  Be still, my heart.

-Willow rocked at her first dental appointment!! 

We went out to lunch to celebrate Kyle's job change at work, and our waitress was of a different culture, English being her second language.  She asked us many questions that felt uncomfortable, not that unusual, but the one that stuck with me was when she asked if Willow's family cried when we adopted her.  I guess I had wrongly assumed that all people would understand the extensive process that is adoption, both for us as a couple and to confirm Willow's need for a family.  It was a difficult moment to think about how to respond in love and at the same time to educate the kind lady about the ethical process.  Just because they always take me by surprise, I am very thankful Willow can't understand these comments yet.  However, she does pick up on a lot.  I have some time to figure out how to respond when she comprehends more and people ask us in front of her.  

We have an early appointment this coming Tuesday for Willow's cardiac cath.  Please pray for things to go smoothly and for the doctors to find her heart functioning better than expected. 

Here are some recent pictures of our growing girl!!

More bubbles please!

Rocking her fork... Haha..

First indoor play area...

First firepit!  What an awesome evening this was.

Grapefest, family night!

We saw a huge inflatable shark, so we did 'shark teeth'.

She put her glasses up like this after watching me do it.  Crazy how much she imitates us!

We've been thinking about how it is like we have a three month old who happens to be two.  That is the best way to describe how a toddler adoption feels.  So if I have a hard time letting her do things that most toddlers do, please be patient with me!  We are such a new family and are finding ourselves full of gratitude and joy, pinching ourselves often.  

25 months old!

On her special day, we went to story time in Southlake and posed with a cow!  

She also started her vaccinations, which will be many and frequent as of now.  She has to catch up.  She was so tough after getting three shots in her legs!  As her parents, we decided we prefer shots over drawing blood.  No contest.

Willow gained an inch and a half in height in one month!  She also gained another pound, so she's up to 22 pounds now.  I think that pound went only to her cheeks.

First chalk experience!

She enjoys feeding herself most of the time.

I wish I could post videos on here, because I am loving taking videos of her doing various things.  She dances, she sings, she makes animal sounds, and she points to her body parts.  As well as other adorably funny things!