Wow 15 months, time really does go fast. Life with Tianna has kept us so busy. It seems everything we do is some how wrapped around Tianna. Of course we would not have it any other way. Tianna has become VERY independent. She now wants to dress her self and pick out her own clothes to wear. Her speech has improved so much, this is do in large part to going to pre-k. Which she LOVES.
It is now just short of one year since her surgery and it is now a long distant memory. Tianna is has become friends with a number of her classmates and two of the her "China cousins" Jenny and Ava. She totally loves to visit her grandma and grandpa.
She has her own likes when it comes to tv shows and music. She is growing so fast and has caught up to kids of her own age bracket. Life with Tianna has been a joy and something we would not trade for the world.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Sunday, October 17, 2010
October 17th, home from China 10 Months
It is so hard to believe sometimes that 10 months have passed since we landed in Newark Airport. But these last 10 months have clearly have been the greatest time of our lives. We could never imagine just how much fun and excitement a little girl could bring into our lives. Until we met our daughter. She has touched not just Laura and my heart, but all who have met her. She is so filled with love and little girl excitement about life that you cant help but smile when you meet her.
Tianna has developed her own personality and charm. She knows what she wants and likes and is not afraid to speak up. Her speech is getting so much better every week. She still gets into these verbal rants and we have no idea what she is saying. But most of the time she communicates wonderfully. Even people who don't see her all the time marvel in how well she is growing and maturing.
I credit most of the maturing process to Tianna's wonderful mommy, Laura. Laura has done a fantastic job with this little angel. At times its not easy because Tianna and Laura have become BFF Best friends forever. With that Tianna is always looking for the approval from Laura for things she does well. But that is something that makes Tianna so darn cute.
It was one year ago today that some of our friends from the adoption world and church choir got together and gave Laura her baby shower. We marked that one year anniversary by attending the baptism of our friends daughter Shelby Grace. Tianna watched as Shelby had water poured on her head and she remembered when it was done to her during the summer.
Well tomorrow is Laura's birthday, her first one as a mommy. I am sure it will be special. As will the next couple of months as there are all the holidays coming up. Oh and Tianna picked out costume, she will be Tinkerbell.
Well that is all for now and we will post again during the holidays.
Tianna has developed her own personality and charm. She knows what she wants and likes and is not afraid to speak up. Her speech is getting so much better every week. She still gets into these verbal rants and we have no idea what she is saying. But most of the time she communicates wonderfully. Even people who don't see her all the time marvel in how well she is growing and maturing.
I credit most of the maturing process to Tianna's wonderful mommy, Laura. Laura has done a fantastic job with this little angel. At times its not easy because Tianna and Laura have become BFF Best friends forever. With that Tianna is always looking for the approval from Laura for things she does well. But that is something that makes Tianna so darn cute.
It was one year ago today that some of our friends from the adoption world and church choir got together and gave Laura her baby shower. We marked that one year anniversary by attending the baptism of our friends daughter Shelby Grace. Tianna watched as Shelby had water poured on her head and she remembered when it was done to her during the summer.
Well tomorrow is Laura's birthday, her first one as a mommy. I am sure it will be special. As will the next couple of months as there are all the holidays coming up. Oh and Tianna picked out costume, she will be Tinkerbell.
Well that is all for now and we will post again during the holidays.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
8 months
It's hard to believe it's been 8th months since we met our precious daughter. Alots happened. We celebrated Matt's first Father's Day.
Tianna was baptized on June 27th at St. Josephs Church in Ronkonkoma. She gave Matt the "What the heck are you doing to me" look when he held her over the water. But, she let Deacon Mike DeBelles do his thing with the water on her head. Then, while he was blessing her and talking, Tianna watched him intently, like she was really listening to everything he was saying. We had a great time at the party afterwards, even if the AC in the restaurant wasn't working and everyone was sweating to death.
We found that Tianna is really part fish. She absolutely loves the pool and is already swimming under water, holding her breath. No holding the nose for this little girl. She's meeting so many new friends between going to school and my high school friends who have children around the same age. Tianna's language and speech is improving every day. Our little girl is also growing every day. She's grown 2 inches in the 8 months we've had her.
She's full of personality. Has her own style of clothes. She picks out her clothes every day.
Tianna loves Dora the Explorer, Go Diego Go, The Wonder Pets, and now we can add, My Little Pony and the Care Bears. Of course, she still loves Mickey Mouse and her Barbie movies. We found that the library helped us with the My Little Pony and the Care Bears. lol.
Tianna still loves her barbie dolls and playing with her learning toys. She can not only sing the alphabet song, can recognize all her letters and knows many of the sounds. She watches the Leap Frog learning DVD's. She's learning so quickly. I am so proud at how well she's doing.
Tomorrow, we'll be driving to NJ (about a three hour drive) to visit with my brother Michael and his lovely wife Joni (whom I always thought of as a sister and a friend). We'll be spending the day in their pool (Tianna will be thrilled) and then spending the night at their house. Something Tianna has never done before (slept away from home other than a hotel in Disney). We're looking forward to it but a little nervous since Tianna started having night terrors while in Disney. But, she'll enjoy our visit with the family and their two huge Bernise Mountain Dogs name Darla and Rocker. Monday, we'll visit my old job there in NJ and I look forward to seeing some old friends.
Tianna was baptized on June 27th at St. Josephs Church in Ronkonkoma. She gave Matt the "What the heck are you doing to me" look when he held her over the water. But, she let Deacon Mike DeBelles do his thing with the water on her head. Then, while he was blessing her and talking, Tianna watched him intently, like she was really listening to everything he was saying. We had a great time at the party afterwards, even if the AC in the restaurant wasn't working and everyone was sweating to death.
We found that Tianna is really part fish. She absolutely loves the pool and is already swimming under water, holding her breath. No holding the nose for this little girl. She's meeting so many new friends between going to school and my high school friends who have children around the same age. Tianna's language and speech is improving every day. Our little girl is also growing every day. She's grown 2 inches in the 8 months we've had her.
She's full of personality. Has her own style of clothes. She picks out her clothes every day.
Tianna loves Dora the Explorer, Go Diego Go, The Wonder Pets, and now we can add, My Little Pony and the Care Bears. Of course, she still loves Mickey Mouse and her Barbie movies. We found that the library helped us with the My Little Pony and the Care Bears. lol.
Tianna still loves her barbie dolls and playing with her learning toys. She can not only sing the alphabet song, can recognize all her letters and knows many of the sounds. She watches the Leap Frog learning DVD's. She's learning so quickly. I am so proud at how well she's doing.
Tomorrow, we'll be driving to NJ (about a three hour drive) to visit with my brother Michael and his lovely wife Joni (whom I always thought of as a sister and a friend). We'll be spending the day in their pool (Tianna will be thrilled) and then spending the night at their house. Something Tianna has never done before (slept away from home other than a hotel in Disney). We're looking forward to it but a little nervous since Tianna started having night terrors while in Disney. But, she'll enjoy our visit with the family and their two huge Bernise Mountain Dogs name Darla and Rocker. Monday, we'll visit my old job there in NJ and I look forward to seeing some old friends.
Friday, May 7, 2010
5 Months and Mothers Day
WOW, 5 months, its been 5 months since Laura and I 1st met our daughter. It has been a wonderful time. Some lows but so many more highs. Tianna had her cleft pallet surgery back in March. This week she received a clean bill of health from the surgeon. She is now back on normal foods and can feed herself. She is oh so very happy.
Her speech is improving every day, mainly because of the surgery. However she is now is school, pre-k, and its only been two weeks and you can hear a huge improvement. She knows her colors, well at least the main ones. She can recognize shapes and is able to put complete sentences together.
We are putting finishing touches on her Christening, set for the end of June. Also in two weeks grandma and grandpa and the three of us are heading to Walt Disney World. Tianna does not understand but I got a feeling she will understand when we see Mickey and Minnie for the 1st time.
In April grandpa, uncle John and myself took Tianna to her 1st Mets game at Citifield. She had fun, even if she did not totally understand what was going on.
Of course this Sunday will mark the 1st Mothers Day for Laura. We have a nice weekend planed that includes dinner out for the three of us on Saturday and an afternoon lunch with Micheal and Joni. Then Sunday night we will be spending the evening with my parents and brother Jim and his girlfriend.
Its been a wonderful ride, one that I know will always have new surprises each day.
Her speech is improving every day, mainly because of the surgery. However she is now is school, pre-k, and its only been two weeks and you can hear a huge improvement. She knows her colors, well at least the main ones. She can recognize shapes and is able to put complete sentences together.
We are putting finishing touches on her Christening, set for the end of June. Also in two weeks grandma and grandpa and the three of us are heading to Walt Disney World. Tianna does not understand but I got a feeling she will understand when we see Mickey and Minnie for the 1st time.
In April grandpa, uncle John and myself took Tianna to her 1st Mets game at Citifield. She had fun, even if she did not totally understand what was going on.
Of course this Sunday will mark the 1st Mothers Day for Laura. We have a nice weekend planed that includes dinner out for the three of us on Saturday and an afternoon lunch with Micheal and Joni. Then Sunday night we will be spending the evening with my parents and brother Jim and his girlfriend.
Its been a wonderful ride, one that I know will always have new surprises each day.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Surgery complete
Tianna and mommy came home this afternoon after spending parts of three days at Stony Brook University Medical Center. It was a tough three days for all involved. But with the support of family and friends we all made it. The surgery was Monday morning and Tianna had no idea what was about to hit her. She was given a "loopy" medicine around 7:30 and in about 15 mins she was medically drunk. Laura brought Tianna into the OR and that's when Tianna began to fight. She pulled the mask off of her face and gave a swift kick in the ribs to one of the PA's.
Waiting for the surgery to finish was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. The surgery started around 8 am and was finished at 11:30. Then the fun began. Tianna was not happy with the arm restraints that keep he from putting her hands in her mouth. And of course the pain and discomfort was driving her crazy. Outside of a painful attempt to put an IV into her on Monday afternoon the rest of the time at the hospital was about what we figured it would be. There was a lot of pain, discomfort and Tianna just did not want anyone around her at times.
When I look back on the three days I feel there are a few people to thank. 1st one is Tianna, the little girl was a real champ dispite all that was thrown at her. It was painful, uncomfortable and confusing but she really held up strong. Next is Laura, her skills as a mom really came through this week and she showed just how much love she has for Tianna. I may not say it enough but I am really proud of Laura.
Our sister-in-law Andria, who is a nurse at SBUMC came by about 7 times during the 1st two days in the hospital to make sure everything was going well. And to make sure Tianna was get the best of care. My parents came by all three days. On Wednesday they stayed there until the end as I had to go back to work and they drove Laura and Tianna home. Laura's sister Maureen and her Aunt Dingy and our friend Missy all stopped by as well. And to all our friends on FB who gave Tianna prayers and well wishes.
Tianna appears to be adjusting to her arm guards. She may hate them but she is making the best of it. It is only a short 4 weeks or so. By May we will be in Disney and Tianna will forget all of this.
Waiting for the surgery to finish was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. The surgery started around 8 am and was finished at 11:30. Then the fun began. Tianna was not happy with the arm restraints that keep he from putting her hands in her mouth. And of course the pain and discomfort was driving her crazy. Outside of a painful attempt to put an IV into her on Monday afternoon the rest of the time at the hospital was about what we figured it would be. There was a lot of pain, discomfort and Tianna just did not want anyone around her at times.
When I look back on the three days I feel there are a few people to thank. 1st one is Tianna, the little girl was a real champ dispite all that was thrown at her. It was painful, uncomfortable and confusing but she really held up strong. Next is Laura, her skills as a mom really came through this week and she showed just how much love she has for Tianna. I may not say it enough but I am really proud of Laura.
Our sister-in-law Andria, who is a nurse at SBUMC came by about 7 times during the 1st two days in the hospital to make sure everything was going well. And to make sure Tianna was get the best of care. My parents came by all three days. On Wednesday they stayed there until the end as I had to go back to work and they drove Laura and Tianna home. Laura's sister Maureen and her Aunt Dingy and our friend Missy all stopped by as well. And to all our friends on FB who gave Tianna prayers and well wishes.
Tianna appears to be adjusting to her arm guards. She may hate them but she is making the best of it. It is only a short 4 weeks or so. By May we will be in Disney and Tianna will forget all of this.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Looking back on Three months home
Well St. Pattys day marked three months home for Laura, Tianna and my self. This has been three months like we have never seen before. Laura and I have both settled in nicely as parents. Laura has been staying home and taking care of Tianna. And despite that fact that at times it may seem like no one notices what type of a job she is doing, take it from me "she is doing a wonderful job". Tianna feels so comfortable with us. She wakes up every morning singing a tune, in Chinese we assume. Most mornings she has a smile when either of us go in to get her out of bed. She has learned that there are things in her life that are HERS, and no one is going to make her share it with no one.
She love to eat just about everything we feed her, not all but most. She loves Corey, I am not to sure if Corey loves her. However Corey will run into her room to wake her up. She loves Mickey Mouse and we have booked our May Disney world trip. Tianna does not understand that we are going, I guess we can keep her in the dark until we get there.
The next big step in Tianna's growth will come this Monday the 22nd. She goes for her Pallet repair surgery. We have a top of the line surgeon working on her, but Laura and I are still nervous and since Tianna does not have a full understanding of English it is hard to explain to her whats going to happen. But we know this is for the best and one day she will look back on it and know we did this for her.
Well that's all for now, please pray for Tianna for a successful surgery and recovery.
She love to eat just about everything we feed her, not all but most. She loves Corey, I am not to sure if Corey loves her. However Corey will run into her room to wake her up. She loves Mickey Mouse and we have booked our May Disney world trip. Tianna does not understand that we are going, I guess we can keep her in the dark until we get there.
The next big step in Tianna's growth will come this Monday the 22nd. She goes for her Pallet repair surgery. We have a top of the line surgeon working on her, but Laura and I are still nervous and since Tianna does not have a full understanding of English it is hard to explain to her whats going to happen. But we know this is for the best and one day she will look back on it and know we did this for her.
Well that's all for now, please pray for Tianna for a successful surgery and recovery.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Looking back on the 1st month
Today was Tianna's 4th Birthday and of course her 1st USA Birthday. We have now been home for just over 1 month and it has been an interesting one. Jet lag really did a number on the 3 of us. But that only took a week to over come. Laura lost her uncle and then we went right into the holidays.
The month has been filled with doctor appointments, 1st time meetings with family and friends, my birthday and my parents 50th wedding anniversary party. Then today Tianna's birthday. Through it all Tianna has fallen into a routine that has made life easy at home. The crying when its nap or bed time is all but gone. She is learning English and now can count to 10. She understands so much more then I ever thought she would this quickly.
We are now preparing for her cleft pallet repair surgery in February. We are all looking forward to the Chinese New Year Celebration that our agency is hosting next month. At that time we will be able to reunite with some of our travel group. And the best news is that we are looking into to heading to Disney World in May.
Laura, Tianna and I are getting into a groove as a family. Life is good right now.
The month has been filled with doctor appointments, 1st time meetings with family and friends, my birthday and my parents 50th wedding anniversary party. Then today Tianna's birthday. Through it all Tianna has fallen into a routine that has made life easy at home. The crying when its nap or bed time is all but gone. She is learning English and now can count to 10. She understands so much more then I ever thought she would this quickly.
We are now preparing for her cleft pallet repair surgery in February. We are all looking forward to the Chinese New Year Celebration that our agency is hosting next month. At that time we will be able to reunite with some of our travel group. And the best news is that we are looking into to heading to Disney World in May.
Laura, Tianna and I are getting into a groove as a family. Life is good right now.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
