"I HATE You!!"

My precious Sarah obviously learned something new at school today. She got angry at me about something (can't even remember what made her mad) and she started yelling at me, "I HATE you! I HATE you! I HATE you!" My, my, such venom coming from my usually happy 4-year old!! She sat in time-out quite a while until she calmed down. I must say I was thrilled about how clearly she said her words. Her p-flap has made such a difference in her speech!!

A Trip to the Museum

Today we went to the Museum of Natural Science with my brother and his son. My sister-in-law is about to give birth to twins, so we decided to give her a break and let her stay home. The kids had a great time and enjoyed seeing the dinosaurs the best.

Sarah's p-flap surgery

Pre-Op: Monday, 2/9, we had our pre-op. Our appointment was at 10:30. Dr. Stal told me that of all the surgeries he performs, this is the most dangerous because of breathing issues that might arise (gee, thanks, doc). We were done at Dr. Stal's office around 11:30, but then we had to go pre-register for surgery. We did not get finished until 1:30. Sarah was a real trooper and behaved so well today!!

Surgery Day/Day 1: We left the house around 8:00 AM on Tuesday to check in at TCH by 9:30. We got to the check in area around 9:32, so we just missed it. I was worried Sarah was getting sick because she woke up with a cough, but the nurse checked her out and said her lungs sounded fine (I think she has allergies because she sometimes wakes up with a cough and then doesn't cough again all day).They took us to the surgical waiting area around 10:30, where I had to change Sarah into scrubs. She was fine until then, but when I changed her she started crying. Her surgery was supposed to be at 11:30, but it wasn't until about 12:15 that they came to get her. The anesthesiologist tried to convince her to go back with him, but she wouldn't budge. They let me go back with her to the operating room as she clung to my neck. I had to put on scrubs and a hat. (Good thing I've lost weight so I actually fit in the scrubs).I got to hold her while they put the mask on her face. After about a minute, she was out and I left. They told me the surgery would be about 1.5 hours, but after about an hour, they were done. Dr. Stal said her palate was a mess. He had to open it up and fix part of it and tighten some muscles. Then he did the p-flap (basically a flap of skin from the back of her throat to the top of her palate). He believes she now have the structure necessary to speak more clearly. (Gosh, I hope so!!) Dr. Stal said the first 2 days are brutal, but they do improve quickly after that.About 2:00, they let me go to the recovery room. She was shrieking in pain and lashing about. This just broke my heart. She had 2 tubes in her nose, one to keep her breathing passage open and the other was a drain into her tummy. She also had "no-nos" (arm restraints) on her arms. She was not a happy camper.The nurse gave Sarah some more pain medicine and she finally settled down. She did this several more times while we waited for a room on the PCU wing (Progressive Care Unit). The anesthesiologist finally agreed to let the nurse give Sarah a sedative so that she would rest. After it went into effect, we went to our room on the 7th floor. (Sarah is being given Tylenol with codeine every 4 hours and morphine every 4 hours for breakthrough pain)Throughout the night Sarah would rest for about an hour, hour and a half, and then wake up screaming in pain. She finally had to go potty around 10:00 PM (after not using it since 10:30 in the morning). Needless to say, I did not get much sleep last night. Around 2:00 AM I climbed into bed with her to try to get her settled and rested about an hour.

Day 2: At 5:45 AM Dr. Stal's resident came to check on Sarah. He removed her drainage tube and looked at the throat. He said everything looks great.Today has been a little better. She was able to sit up and watch videos for 30 minutes to an hour before conking out again. She still screams in agony when her pain meds wear off, but she is much more alert today. But she refused to drink anything so we probably not be released tomorrow afterall. Sarah mostly slept through the night. She woke up about 3:00 because she had to potty. After that, she was in pain so I called for the nurse to give her her pain medication. It took over 30 minutes and 3 calls to get him here (grrrrrrr.....). Then about 20 minutes after she had her medicine, she started throwing up. Again, I called twice for help and no one came. (I am definitely not happy with the night staff!) About 4:30, Sarah went back to sleep.

Day 3: At 6:00, Dr. Stal's resident came to check on her. He removed the breathing tube from her nose. He said her throat looked good, but he is concerned about her nausea and that she won't drink anything. He gave her something for the nausea and told me she can't be released until she starts at least drinking without throwing up. He said that the worst of her anestesia should be through her body today which should help the nausea. Sarah is feeling much better today and is watching a "Caillou" dvd as I type this. She let me leave the room twice today so I could go get something to eat (she usually does not let me leave her side). She is smiling today and feeling much better, but she is still not drinking. Ugh!

Day 4: Sarah is feeling better today and sipping on a little bit of chicken noodle soup. The doctor came and asked if I thought she would drink more at home. He said if I wanted to go home, and thought she will drink, he will release her. He said of all the kids he's performed p-flap surgery on, Sarah has been at the hospital the longest. Great!! Not a record I wanted her to have!! Around 2:30 PM we were released.

Days 5-8: Sarah drinks more day by day. She still does not have her appetite back. Sleeping is now an issue. She wakes up from nightmares all night long. I think she is still scared from being in the hospital. By day 8 she is pretty much back to her normal routine.

Day 9: Post-Op appointment. All is well and Sarah can go back to school tomorrow. Yippee!!

2 Years Ago Today

Two years ago today, I met my amazing daughter, Sarah. We celebrated by spending some quality time alone at our neighborhood park. Later this weekend, we will all go out to eat to celebrate.

Who would have known this little angel would be such a little spitfire!! I am so blessed to be her mommy!!

Happy Halloween!!

Katie was an Auburn cheerleader and Sarah was Dora this year. We went "Trick-or-Treating" and had a great time. After we went one way around the neighborhood, we came back home. I thought we were just emptying their pumpkins to go back out again, but surprisingly, they both said they were done. We spent the rest of the evening sitting in our driveway to pass out candy. Our whole cul-de-sac sat outside to do this, which was nice. I just love our neighborhood!!

Mail Lady Sarah

Sarah's teacher has a lot of creative ideas. Today she came home as "Mail Lady Sarah". Thanks, Mrs.D. for being so wonderful with my baby girl!!

Sarah is Four!!

My wild-child is four today. She is my little bundle of energy and definitely keeps me on my toes. She makes me laugh and has given me many grey hairs. I am so blessed to be her mommy, too!!

A Visit to the Speech Therapist

Today we went to Texas Children's Hospital for a video fluoroscopy, also called a palate study. Sarah, my little loud-mouth dynamo, would not talk at all for Kris, the speech therapist. Talking is essential for the study. They needed her to say things like "yellow yo-yo", "wow wee" and "really low". She refused to say them for Kris. Kris would leave the room and Sarah would say them loudly for me. Kris said the study would be pointless if Sarah was not willing to cooperate, to which I agreed. Kris knows our local speech therapist, Lesa, and they have talked in length about Sarah's speech issues. Using this information and what she did hear Sarah say (quietly and through the door), Kris went to go talk to Dr. Stal. Dr. Stal decided to do a p-flap surgery on Sarah to help her speech. First we have to get Sarah's tonsils out. 3 months after the surgery, Dr. Stal will do the p-flap. I am excited to be moving forward.

1st day of school!!!!

My babies both started elementary school today. Katie is in kindergarten in our neighborhood elementary school and Sarah is in ppcd (preschool program for children with disabilities) at a different elementary school in our district. I was so worried about both of them today, but both did great and are looking forward to going back tomorrow.

I asked Katie if she learned any rules today and she said, "Yes. Do not touch the walls and do not touch the water fountain."

Visit to the Dentist

Today I took the girls to the dentist for a routine check-up and cleaning. It was Sarah's first visit. I was worried she's be scared, but she did great. Our dentist is wonderful and we love her to pieces. She doesn't let parents go back until the end of the check-up so I had no idea what was going on. First Katie went back to get her's checked. Then Sarah went back. After she was done with Sarah, she called me back to discuss their teeth. First she showed me Sarah's x-rays. My poor baby has 4 cavities. 3 are in the front on top and are due mostly to her cleft (her teeth in the middle are scrunched together) and the 4th is in her back molar. We decided to pull 2 of them because it would be tough to get crowns on them and 2 will be filled. I was kind of surprised Sarah's teeth were such a mess because she absolutely LOVES brushing her teeth. When Dr. L was done discussing Sarah's teeth, I braced myself for Katie's report (Katie hates brushing her teeth and has already had a lot of work done on her teeth~ 9+ cavities in the past). Shockingly, Dr. L said Katie's teeth looked great!! Praise God!! And that she has gotten her 6-year old molars, which may explain her crankiness lately. I have to bring her back to get sealant on her new teeth, but otherwise all is well. Poor Sarah will go back in 2 weeks to get sedated and have her teeth fixed.

The Terrible 3's

"Do you wake up grumpy?"

"No, I let her sleep."

I love this joke. "Grumpy" in our family right now is Sarah (and mommy when Sarah is on a roll). She is going through the "terrible 3's" with a vengance. She whines and cries all day long. If anyone has any advice, I'd love to hear it!!!!!!!!!

I'm off for the summer but am seriously considering sending her back to school early. Does that make me a bad mommy??????????

Right now Sarah is crying because she wants to go to gymnastics NOW!! (it is 9:30 and class does not start until 1:00)

PS Sarah dressed herself (in case you think I dressed her this way).

Happy Independence Day!!

We had a nice 4th of July. In the morning we met some friends at a park. We had a great time until it started raining. In the evening we went to the race track to watch the fireworks display with my brother and his family. Katie and Sarah both hate the noise of fireworks, but both did amazingly well. This is a picture of Katie and Sarah with their cousin, Ben, waiting for the fireworks show to start (notice the earmuffs we got at Lowe's to reduce the noise).

Swimming Lessons

Katie and Sarah finished their 2-weeks of everyday swimming lessons today. What a difference 2 weeks makes!! Katie has always been terrified of getting her face wet. After the first day of lessons, she told me, "I'm not going back to swimming lessons. I'll just go watch Sarah. I'll just use my vest and noodle forever!!" We will continue with 2 days a week after the 4th of July weekend. I am so proud of my girls!!!!

Sea World

For the past 5 years, I have been scrimping and saving to pay for my adoptions and have not really traveled anywhere, except Kazakhstan and China. I decided it was time to take my girls on a vacation. I have such fold memories of my family vacations when I was growing up and want my kids to have the same memories. We went to SeaWorld and had a great time. Sarah LOVED Shamu (and getting soaked) and Katie loved climbing the big rope wall (and giving mommy a heart attack in the process).

Gangsta Sarah

Look at my little mess maker......

Sisters

Are they "real" sisters? Heck, yeah, they are!!!!

Family is not about blood, it's about love!!

Toddler Pictures of Sarah

I received the most wonderful surprise in the mail today. Toddler pictures of Sarah!! When I accepted Sarah's referral, she was 19 months old, but her referral picture was taken when she was much younger (click here to see it). I did receive scanned copies of these pictures when I was waiting to travel, but they did not scan well and were blurry. Apparantly Kathy, my agency's China representative, found the original pictures and mailed them to my agency. What a wonderful blessing to have these pictures. Thanks, Heritage!!

Bluebonnet Pictures!!

Today we went to take pictures in the bluebonnets. Sadly, I waited too late in the season to take my girls so the flowers look pitiful. To see our bluebonnet pics from the past few years, click here. The last weekend in March seems to be the best time to go. We'l be going then next year.

Naked Sarah

Sarah loves to be naked. As soon as we get home, she strips to her underwear. At night, when it is time for a bath, she takes off her panties and shakes her butt for us. Here is a picture from the other night (cropped, of course). I think this is a beautiful picture of my baby girl. She is growing up so fast!!

A Year Ago Today

A year ago today we became a family of 3. After sightseeing in Beijing, we flew to
Nanchang to meet Sarah. We thought we would get time to go to the hotel and get settled before meeting her, but our flight was delayed and we went directly to the civil affairs building. There she was, looking so terrified, with the representatives from the orphanage. Her face was beet red and she looked nothing like the pictures I had been staring at for the past 9 months. They handed her to me and she screamed for the next 3-4 hours. My heart broke for her. I can only imagine what must have been going through her 28 month old mind. She lost everything she knew. In the days ahead, she learned to trust us, and the rest is history.

A year later, it seems like Sarah has always been with our family. She is a bundle of energy and loves to give hugs and kisses. Sarah is the athlete of our family. She is a rough and tumble girl once minute, and a princess the next. Sarah loves her big sister to pieces and they are quite a pair. With Katie, I thought I had this parenting thing down pat. With Sarah, I realize I have so much more to learn!!

This has been an amazing year and I am so thankful for both of my girls. I don't know what I did to deserve them. They are the light of my life and the most amazing blessings.

Happy Family Day, Sarah!!