Halloween and Other Pictures

Here are a few  pictures from Halloween and a few others I thought were cute! Taya continues to do so well over all!  We are all so in love with her and it feels like she has been with us forever.  She was a dinosaur for Halloween and was such a good sport with her costume.  She LOVED getting  and especially eating  the candy she got, she calls it "nee"!   Tanner dressed up as Darrin Williams (a player for the Jazz), Tatum and her 2 good friends dressed up as toddler triplets, Parker was a nerd and Reagan was a Princess.  

Taya's First California Trip

We took a family trip to California over Fall Break Oct. 10-17th.  It was a fun trip and we all had a great time!  Taya did not like the ten hour drive and I think she only slept about 30 min. each way but we all survived!  We spent one day at Knotts Berry Farm and  another day at Disneyland and California Adventure.  Taya loves her stroller and did so well both days walking all over the parks.  She also loved going on a lot of the rides!  We also spent a couple days at the Beach, we had great weather so the kids were able to play in the water a little bit.  Taya was not afraid at all, she loved the water and we had to watch her pretty closely because the waves knocked her over a few times.  She also loved  playing in the sand with Reagan.  We all enjoyed the great weather and relaxing days at the Beach!  It was such a great trip we all had a hard time coming home and going back to school and work!

Home Two Months!!

Taya is growing and changing everyday and it is so fun to see her develop and  explore each new day!  She loves her brothers and sisters and they adore her and even Steve is one of her favorites now! She loves giving kisses and is getting very good at it!  She had a lot of fun playing outside, swimming, boating, jumping on the tramp  etc. this summer...we are all sad to see it end!  Other than sleeping (or not sleeping)  she seems to be doing great!  She is happy most of  the time and is adjusting and attaching well to all of us! The oldest three kids are back in school now so it is just Taya, Reagan and I at home during the day I think she likes the little more quiet, peaceful days but is always so excited to see the kids when they get home! Life is crazy once everybody gets home and we seem to spend most the afternoon in the car dropping off and picking up! 

We took Taya to Shriners for her first visit last week and they were very impressed with both her feet and hands.  They are just going to watch her feet grow for a few years and see what happens because at this point her deformity in her foot is not affecting the function of it at all, in fact she is learning to run and loving it!  Her hand also looks good!  They will perform surgery in January to release the tips of her fingers and the Doctor seems to think they can do it all in one surgery.  It will be same day surgery and she should have full function once they are separated!  We are so grateful because we know it could have been a lot worse! We can't imagine life without her now and feel so blessed to have her as a part of our family! Here are a few pictures taken about a month ago.  We took some more the other day of her and our family and will down load some of them when I get a chance!

Home and Doing Well

While I wasn't planning to do another post, I have had a few requests to provide an update since we returned home with Taya. If you happen to be reading this blog for the first time, might I suggest that you start from the first post back in May as it will make a lot more sense if you read the posts chronologically.

Let me preface this post by acknowledging that the amount of love and support from family and friends seemingly very invested in our experience has been incredible. We really are blessed with wonderful family and friends. You have made an incredible experience even more rewarding. Thanks to all of you for your kind words and thoughtful actions.

Our flight home was anything but fun. We took a train to Hong Kong on Tuesday night and then boarded a 747 Wednesday morning for the twelve hour flight from Hong Kong to San Francisco. We knew the flight would be difficult, but it was made more challenging because the flight was completely full and we were sitting in the back of the plane. Taya struggled to get comfortable and so she didn't sleep for more than a few minutes at a time. Brooke was again a trooper as Taya still wouldn't let me hold her without screaming (which would not have gone over well with the other passengers). So I was on the support crew (making bottles, arranging pillows, picking up toys, etc.) We then had a four hour layover in San Francisco before finally arriving in Salt Lake. All in all, it was a very long day that we were happy to get behind us.

As you might expect, there was a great deal of excitement in re-uniting our family and having our other children meet Taya for the first time. We were a little concerned about how Taya might respond to more new faces, but when she saw our kids for the first time a huge, convincing smile came over her face. Tanner, Tatum, Parker and Reagan were also very excited and have fully embraced Taya as a new member of our family (sometimes to the extent that we have to remind them to give her some space). So, it seems the kids have all taken this right in stride. The only exception to this is an occasional "attention-grabbing" episode by our little Reagan who is no doubt struggling just a bit with the fact that she is no longer the center of all attention in our home.

Brooke and I often discuss what Taya must be going through as she continues to adjust to her new surroundings. It is difficult to comprehend the dramatic and complete change she has experienced (culture, food, faces, language, weather, time zones, etc.) She has done quite well during the days and seems to revel in the relatively wide open spaces (compared to what she likely had in China) that our home and yard provide. But the past few nights have been difficult. Beyond the fact that she is now expected to sleep during what used to be her daytime; each time she wakes up, it appears as if she has forgotten what she has experienced and has to take some time to re-acclimate. We are also wondering if she has been having some bad dreams associated with this adjustment. Whatever it is, the result has been several consecutive sleepless nights. Last night proved to be the best since we have been home though (she only woke up crying twice) and that is a good sign.

It is fun to witness more and more of Taya's personality traits as time progresses. She has a great smile that we are seeing more frequently everyday now. She is extremely active and loves to explore. It is causing us to revert back to "baby-proofing" our house. She loves to jump on the trampoline and has a large bump on her head from a fall onto the springs a couple days back. She also loves to take walks.

Brooke remains Taya's favorite, as expected and desired. She also loves Tanner, Tatum, Parker and Reagan. Luckily, she has even warmed up to me the past few days and allows me to hold her (for short periods of time) and take her for walks in the stroller. We are also happy that she has been pretty comfortable with some of the family members and friends that have visited the past few days. Just a quick hint...if you want her to really like you, bring some chocolate with you (right Brittany?).

Well, that's it for now. I'll likely let Brooke get back to blogging for the occasional updates in the coming months. In the meantime, here are a couple pictures we took just before returning and a few we took soon after we arrived home.

Counting the Days

Today was US Consulate day and everything went smoothly and Taya is not only ours now, but tomorrow she will also be a US citizen. It has been quite the process (mostly completed by Brooke over the past year) in getting to this stage, so it feels good to be close to completion. Other than a few formalities, like the "swearing in" that happens at the US Consulate tomorrow morning, we are done with the adoption process.

Taya was up a few times last night and was a little unsettled this morning, but later in the day and this evening she has been great! She is now wanting to walk on her own and loves to explore. She also loves to open drawers, containers and anything else she can get her hands on. It is actually quite amazing what she can do with her hands despite her issues with her fingers. Below are a few pictures that we took today.

Tomorrow we head for Hong Kong by train and I'm not sure that we will have Internet access while there. As I explained in an earlier blog, Brooke initially intended to write this blog. But it soon become obvious that she would have nearly full-time Taya duty so the blogging was delegated to me. We wanted to write the blog to capture some of our feelings and experiences as we had them, rather than relying on distant memories and pictures alone. For those who endured reading this simple blog, I hope that it was not overly boring for you.

Adoption is likely not something that anyone would take lightly. It is an eternal commitment. Brooke and I spent months and months thinking and praying about whether or not we should adopt prior to making the decision. While it may not be easy to explain why, Brooke and I (at different times and maybe even at different levels) received the peaceful confirmations necessary to know that it was the right thing to do. It is interesting to think that out of all the children out there in the world who need to be adopted, our path led us to Taya. Even though she has only been with us for a few days, we now can't imagine not having her in our family. There will undoubtedly be hard times ahead. She will likely have have multiple surgeries from which to recover. She will also have to adjust to life in an entirely different environment. But we feel confident that her life, and the lives of each person in our family, will be greatly blessed as a result of this adoption.

The trip to China has been wonderful! It most cases, it has exceeded our expectations. But, we now look forward to returning home soon to our family and friends and getting back into the routine of normal life. See you soon!

Back on Track

What a difference a day can make. After a tough day yesterday, today was a welcome change for the better! Surprisingly, Taya woke up this morning and seemed to forget yesterday altogether and picked up from her progress in prior days. I don’t have the picture to prove it, but she even stopped crying while I was holding her this afternoon. Brooke had gone out to run an errand while she was taking a nap and she woke up only to find me in the room. She cried for about ten minutes, but then finally warmed up to me and let me hold her. It was awesome.

It was Sunday today, but felt like just another day here in China. Unfortunately, there are obviously not any options for church here in Guangzhou (except maybe attending the local Buddhist Temple). The adoption agency had arranged for us to go to a Safari Park this afternoon. Within the park we took a train ride through an area that had all kinds of animals walking around and then it had another side of the park equivalent to a zoo. It was really nice and we were all enjoying it until a thunderstorm hit and we got caught in one the fiercest down-pours we have ever experienced. All of us were completely soaked! Oddly, Taya seemed to love this. She was giggling out load as we ran through the rain trying to get back to our bus.

Taya made some additional progress today (beyond letting me hold her without crying). She walked around, jabbered, laughed, and even teased a little bit. She still wanted to be close to Brooke, but ventured a few feet away at times. She was definitely happier overall and we were pleased to see the additional progress.

We are counting the days now to our return home. It will be fun to bring Taya home with us and to witness her integration into our family. Tomorrow we interview with the US consulate and then on Tuesday Taya will become a US Citizen. We will then travel to Hong Kong by train on Tuesday night. Only a few days left!

Here are some pictures from today, most of them were taken at the Safari Park.

They had an awesome Panda exhibit with about eight to ten Pandas.

This was taken while on the train ride.

This was the first time Taya would let us put her in a stroller. Brooke distracted her by giving her a cracker.

Here are a few pictures of her walking with Brooke in the rain (not the down-pour yet).

Brooke and Taya in front of the elephant exhibit.

This was after the down-pour and Taya (and everyone else for that matter) were soaked clear through as we ran back to the bus. It was crazy how hard it rained.

Brooke feeding Taya a bite of broccoli. She is turning out to be a really good eater.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back...

We have now been in China for eight days. In some ways it has gone quickly, but in other ways we feel like we have been gone for a very long time. We are definitely missing our kids and can't wait to return home to see them.

After reading yesterday's blog, you might have been thinking "wow, things are going great over there." Well, they were. But that was yesterday. Today was a little more challenging. We started early as we had to get up at five a.m. to catch our flight from Guilin down to Guangzhou. After we arrived, we spent the remainder of the morning at the medical clinic where Taya, along with all the other adopted children, were given a series of medical tests. Picture about twenty children screaming in a couple of small rooms as doctors tried to communicate in English with frustrated parents. No, it wasn't fun. We were all tired, hungry, hot and wanting to be done - especially the babies.

After the experience at the medical clinic, Taya seemed to rewind about three days. Obviously she had been starting to feel more comfortable over the past couple of days, but after the medical exams she went back to the way she was acting around day two.

This afternoon, Brooke took Taya to the hotel so that she could put her down for a nap while I worked on yet more paperwork. Most of this paperwork was actually for the US Consulate where we have an interview on Monday morning. It took around two hours to complete the paperwork and get it all ready.

Not to make the day sound too bad, but it also rained all day today here in Guangzhou. Fitting for one our more difficult days, I suppose.

Lest I sound too gloomy here, we had a nice evening tonight and even found a place where we ate some pretty decent pizza. Taya has been a bit happier tonight, albeit not back to yesterday's demeanor just yet. A good night's sleep should help!

Sorry, didn't get any new pictures today. I was going to take some at the medical clinic, but Brooke told me she didn't want to remember it. Here's to a brighter tomorrow :).

Feeling More at Ease

Today we spent another day in Guilin. We have really enjoyed our short stay in this city. And for that matter, so has Taya! Today was her best day yet. She ate more, smiled more and even let me give her a kiss once in a while (as long as mom was holding her close). We also got a few giggles here and there. Finally, for the first time, she let Brooke put her down to walk around a bit. We haven't seen much personality from her, but today it started to come out. It is amazing how excited Brooke and I can get from just seeing her smile.

Tomorrow we leave for Guanzhou. We have some additional interviews and paperwork as well as Taya's medical exam that we have to do while there. While in Guangzhou she will become a US citizen. Our plane leaves at 7:30 am so it will be an early morning for all of us.

Below are some more pictures from today.

We went for a walk this morning in a great park that was right by our hotel, next to the river. We thought a picture by this statue was fitting.

Yes, I finally got to hold a baby that didn't cry! Ok, so I had to pay some guy a buck fifty to hold his baby monkey...it was totally worth it (yes, the monkey is real). At least the monkey didn't scream.

Later in the morning we went to a cool cave here in Guilin. There were amazing formations and it was also quite cool inside which was a nice break from the heat.

And now the exciting part, Taya was brave enough to separate a few feet from Mom and walk around. We probably took twenty pictures of her because we were so excited to see her do this.

Below is one of the plates they brought out at dinner tonight. Tanner, Tatum, Parker and Reagan, I took this picture for you since you love fish so much. Maybe we will bring some home for you :).

We took this picture this evening. This is only a few hundred yards from our Hotel. This city really has been the most beautiful by far and we can tell why many Chinese and international tourists visit here.

Slow, But Steady, Progress

We haven't been able to post for a couple of days as we have been traveling. Yesterday, we took a long train ride from the Southern part of the province (where we were in Nanning) to the Northern part of the province arriving in a city called Guilin. While the train ride was very long, we passed through some beautiful mountains and farm land. Guilin is quite different from the other two cities - Beijing and Nanning. It is a tourist destination and is surrounded by incredibly lush mountains that are stunning in formation. We took Taya on a boat down the Lijiang River that goes through many of these incredible mountains earlier today. It was really cool.

Taya seems to get slightly better each day, but it is a slow process. She still doesn't want anything to do with anyone except Brooke and we often look at her and feel bad as we can see the sadness in her eyes. But, she also laughed for the first time today and actually let Brooke put her down to play (Brooke just couldn't move an inch or she would cry). As you will see in one of the pictures below, she continues to warm up to me quite nicely...ok, maybe not.

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Brooke was planning to do most of this blog, but since she has nearly full-time Taya duty right now (which we would both love to see change), I get blog duty.

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Here are a few pictures from the last couple of days.

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The Day After

We woke up today excited to spend our first full day with Taya. On the other hand, Taya woke up today likely hoping that yesterday was all a bad dream. Not surprisingly, Taya wasn't the happiest for the first little while and cried quite a bit more than yesterday. However, by mid-morning she was doing pretty well. She still wants to be held constantly (by Brooke) and is quite melancholy most of the time. But, for what she is going through, we believe she is doing very well.

We spent much of the day today being interviewed and signing forms. In all interviews they asked very specific questions to verify that we really wanted to adopt and that we would take very good care of her. Considering the amount of paperwork and beauracracy we have been through in the past many months, it is amazing how much work we still have to do here.

Later this afternoon, we arrived back at our hotel and went down the street for lunch. While there, she actually ate quite a bit (she apparently likes Corn Cakes - whatever those are) and even smiled for us in the picture below.

Below is another picture at lunch, Brooke is feeding her a bite of the corn cakes. This restaurant had some pretty strange food on the menu (frog, camel, pig intestines, etc.). I tried a steak and some fried rice (it said it was beef, but didn't quite taste like Outback Steakhouse) Brooke had some spicey noodle dish.

Here are a couple more pictures. We are still trying to figure out who Taya likes more...