Lily's first birthday is fast approaching. She's not walking yet, although she has learned to get around the house quite well without mom and dad holding her hands. One of her modes of transportation is what is known in babydom as "cruising." Here she is on one of her trips around the house, hanging on to whatever she can find. She's even skilled enough now to mash herself against a wall and pull herself up.
Her other mode of transportation I call her "Crouching Tiger-Hidden Dragon" move, or as Julie calls it, "The Scuttlebutt." How to describe it? Well, think of Kung Fu movies, where the martial arts experts fly through the air with one leg straight out and the other one tucked in? That's kind of the way the Pinger scoots across the floor. And this girl can move! Here's a shot of Lily doing her butt-scoot-boogie. Next to her is her friend Madeline, who came to visit this past Saturday.
Now it's Grandma "H's" turn to stay with us for a while (although she's only an hour away). Here she is with Lily in one of her happier moments today...Lily's, that is, not Grandma's...not to say Grandma wasn't happy today. The Pinger was out of sorts today due to a cold plus getting two vaccinations at the doctor's office. She needed two others that we get here in the US but they don't give in China.
Julie's mom came up to stay for another reason. Julie also has a bad cold, but even more troublesome for a new mother...a bad back. She must have pulled a muscle or two or her sciatic nerve is acting up. Either way, she's in a lot of pain and can't well pick up the baby. I've been back to work at the church but have also tried to be available at home as we get used to the baby routine. But it's been nice having an extra set of hands around here to come to the rescue.
Besides, even mommies need their mommies sometimes.
Grandma "O" and Great-auntie Karen visited for Lily's baptism and stayed for a few extra days. Here's Grandma "O" trying her hand at feeding a baby after a few years' hiatus.Lily is adjusting well to her new home. She is finally on a regular schedule and is sleeping the night through. She also has stopped crying every time we put her in the car seat (which hasn't been that many times...but at first she really hated it). In fact, she seems to enjoy kicking back for a while and going for a ride.Her ride this morning was a breeze. Little did she know what was in store for her. We had to take her to the hospital for her first blood draw to test her lead levels. The children from her orphanage have historically had high lead levels, although from what we hear, the situation is improving. Anyhow, Lily cried her little eyes out when the two burly technicians and her dad had to hold her down so they could get the needle in her arm. Dad and mom couldn't help but get teary eyed watching their daughter suffer so much. Once the needle went in, she calmed down a bit and was okay for the rest of the day. Now we'll see how she does when she has to go in for some additional vaccinations which she didn't receive in China. I'm sure that will be another torturous event.
Well, Lily seems to be adjusting to Pacific Time, but now I'm wondering if her dad is. Here it is, 1:45 am, and I'm sitting at the computer having a hard time sleeping. I think it may be new dad jitters, I'm not sure. Whatever it is, it's given me a few moments to post some more pictures of our China trip. Click here or in the sidebar to view them. I've still got a bunch more that I plan on posting, but it takes about a half hour each time to upload six pictures at a time, so it's a slow process. That gives you a reason to keep checking back in on us and seeing what's going on with the Pinger.
Lily has now been twice adopted. Yesterday our Heavenly Father called her into His family in the sacrament of Holy Baptism, uniting her with her Savior Jesus and creating faith in her heart through water and the Word of God.
In the top picture are her sponsors. That's Julie's brother John on the left, cousin Jan Johnson (my China traveling partner and parenting coach) in the middle, and her husband Rich on the right.
We had a little gathering later on in the afternoon. All the activity seemed to really wear the Pinger out, which was a good thing. She slept the night through for the first time since we got home, except for a brief half hour around midnight. We'll see if she can make it two nights in a row.
I can't believe how much this kid is learning. Lily was fairly docile when we were still in China, but in a few short days has become very active. She can't crawl yet, although she is making great efforts. On mom and dad's bed, she is able to roll over without help, but not yet on the floor. I have a feeling she may walk before she crawls. She loves to pull up on your hands and stand up and walk with you holding her (like in the picture above). She plays peek-a-boo, pulling a blanket up over her face by herself and pulling it down. And it didn't take her long to figure out where the snacks are kept in the kitchen pantry. When she's hungry, she makes a funny little sound (a close approximation would be "NUM!") and points toward the kitchen.
Lily's first birthday is fast approaching. She's not walking yet, although she has learned to get around the house quite well without mom and dad holding her hands. One of her modes of transportation is what is known in babydom as "cruising." Here she is on one of her trips around the house, hanging on to whatever she can find. She's even skilled enough now to mash herself against a wall and pull herself up.
Her other mode of transportation I call her "Crouching Tiger-Hidden Dragon" move, or as Julie calls it, "The Scuttlebutt." How to describe it? Well, think of Kung Fu movies, where the martial arts experts fly through the air with one leg straight out and the other one tucked in? That's kind of the way the Pinger scoots across the floor. And this girl can move! Here's a shot of Lily doing her butt-scoot-boogie. Next to her is her friend Madeline, who came to visit this past Saturday.
