HOME ONE WEEK

One week ago today, Amanda was placed in our arms and hearts forever. It's only been a week, but it feel as if she's always been here. Maybe because in the past 4 months she has grown in our hearts while awaiting for her arrival. I can honestly say there is no difference in the experience of holding your child for the first time whether it is through birth or adoption. The emotions are exactly the same. The birth of one was physically exhausting for me, while the other was emotionally draining on me/us. The end results are just the same, and the power of that moment is indescribable.

Since the day Amanda has arrived home, she has been doing very well. Her demeanor is very calm and easy going. She loves to smile, coo and scream out in excitement at the top of her lungs. She is a very easy baby..... Way easier than Micah was. I think it has a lot to do with the care she received by her foster parents in Korea (Bless their hearts, for I can only imagine the pain they felt having to say good-bye to her), Amanda's temperament, and the fact that we actually know what we are doing the second time around. We believe it's a mixture of these three factors that has allowed Amanda to adjust so smoothly.

Amanda loves to roll around on the floor, and jump inside her 'Johnny Jumper'. We believe she has adjusted to the time change, and has slept through the night 3 out of the 7 nights she's been home. Her sleeping good has done wonders for the dark circles under my eyes! =)

Micah is enjoying his new role as big brother immensely!!! Micah loves to make Amanda laugh and he's hoping that her first word will be Micah. So far we have not seen any sign of sadness or jealousy over the attention Amanda requires to take care of her needs. Micah enjoys helping, and offers to change diapers, pick out outfits for Amanda to wear, and he enjoys feeding her a bottle from time to time. He's been a great help!

Now Samson my cat, he's the one who is not doing very well with the new addition to our family. He will jump up onto my lap as soon as Amanda is off of it. When playing with her on the ground or watching her jump around, he makes sure he's right there in sight. I think he wants us to gawk at him like we are gawking at Amanda. He had kept his distance from her, until this past Monday. I was taking pictures of Amanda playing under her little gym, and Samson sneaked under and laid himself down right next to her. She did not notice him at first, but when she did, she was not startled at all. She tried to roll over to touch him, but all Amanda accomplished was to kick Samson and then he ran off. I did get pictures of their first encounter.

"The furrless cat is not looking so I think I'll lay down next to her!"


"So far so good! I don't think she notices me yet."


"YIKES!!! INCOMING!!! RETREAT! RETREAT!"


Yesterday we took our "Little Miss" to the pediatrician to have her checked out. He said she was a perfect picture of good health and that developmentally she is exactly where she needs to be. He said he has seen many babies adopted internationally in his 30+ years of practice, and mentioned that the babies who are adopted from Korea are always the healthiest. Amanda now weighs 13 lbs. 12 oz. (20%) and is 27 1/2 in. long (95%). She is our long and lean string bean!!! He said we can start her rice cereal this week, then the next week we can add in some veggies. He then said after she's been on both for a few weeks to add in the fruits. We gave Amanda her first try at the rice cereal this morning and she didn't seem to mind it, she just needs to learn not to push it all out with her tongue.

I've decided that I will post updates each Friday on this blog. I will talk about our outings as a family and post pictures of the week. Here are some other pictures of Amanda from this week!

Mommy and Me


"I love my dolly!"


"I love to jump!"


The T-Shirt Says It All


HAPPY GIRL!!!


This Morning eating rice cereal.