Saturday, March 10, 2007

Well - here's the long awaited final entry for this Journal. As you could guess, we've been a bit preoccupied with our new little family member. It's hard to believe that we have been home with Becca for over a month now as it seems that she has been with us forever. She is adjusting so well to her new environment. Angie's worries about Maggie's response to Becca have been lifted, as Maggie and Becca have become best buds. Maggie loves to be in the chair with one of us when we are rocking Becca. She also likes to put her paw or head on Becca's leg. Becca is not overly fond of being licked though she does pet Maggie so softly.

We began our arrival home from China with lots of company. As noted in the last update, several family members and friends greeted us at the Springfield airport. My parents, Godparents and cousin were able to spend the weekend in Springfield and they instantly fell in love with Becca. Angie's parents, also falling in love with Becca, spent a week with us and helped us transition back to our normal lives. They did all of the cooking and cleaning allowing us to focus all of our attention and energy (what little we had!) on caring for and bonding with Becca. I was able to stay home for a few more days before returning to work the following week.

Our first week home was a difficult adjustment in regard to time and sleep; we sure learned what jet lag means. I was getting up around 3:30 AM each morning; Angie was getting only 3-4 hours of sleep a day and Becca would cycle sleeping and then playing for 2-3 hours at a time. We are happy to report that we are all now back to a regular schedule. Becca is now sleeping through the night with a regular bedtime at 8PM. She will cry for literally less than 2 minutes and then fall asleep, usually for 10-11 hours.

We are in the process of transitioning Becca from formula to regular food. She switched from a sweeter Chinese formula to an American formula (Enfamil Lipil with Iron) without a problem. She did have some difficulty getting used to the American bottles as the nipples are harder than the Chinese bottles. She has now been weaned from the 5 bottles per day she was taking at the orphanage to less than 2 bottles per day. She is a healthy eater and will eat most anything - eggs, peaches, broccoli, sweet potatoes, bananas, green beans, and of course, Cheerios and Goldfish. She is slowly starting to drink more cows’ milk. She is so funny and cute repeating "Mmmmm!" when food is around. We are being responsible parents and not using food as a reward or punishment and sticking to mostly wholesome foods.

The week after we arrived home, we took Becca to her first Mass at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, our home Parish. She was actually pretty good. Angie was busy trying to keep her quiet as Becca several times screamed out "Hallelujah" or "Amen" in baby talk. Becca didn't cry but if someone would wave or smile at her, which was often, she would make noises, laugh and generally put on a show.

On February 17th, we attended the Lunar New Year Celebration held by the International Adoptive Families of Southwest Missouri. Angie and I went last year but this year was really special as Becca accompanied us! We dressed Becca in one of the traditional Chinese outfits we bought for her in Guangzhou. Though too young to participate, Becca enjoyed watching others participate in the craft activities. She sure enjoyed listening to the music and "Mmmm'd" often at the sight of the Chinese buffet.

Becca had her first American doctor's visit in February. She wasn’t thrilled with the visit, especially when she received 4 injections (she has to be re-immunized). She weighed 17.7 pounds and was 30.5 inches long. Angie had to drag her to the lab for some blood work after getting the injections. That apparently was not a fun experience and I'm reminded of the difficulties we place on our patients when we impose these procedures into their lives. Becca and Angie were a bit grumpy for a few days after the visit but this was anticipated (so I simply stayed at work a few hours later each night -- just kidding.)

The last weekend in February was quite a busy one for us. On that Saturday, we took Becca to the Build-A-Bear Workshop to use a gift card she was given. We gave her choices of the stuffed animals with the safe sewn on eyes, and she was drawn to a pink kitty. Becca has not shown much interest in stuffed animals at this point, but she did like this kitty. When we asked her its name, she said “Da” (thanks to Malia for Becca’s favorite word!), so we now have "Da Kitty." Later that evening, Becca's Uncle Vince and Aunt Tammy came to stay with us. We all met up with cousins Jim, Connie and their granddaughter for dinner at Hemingway’s Restaurant located in the famous Bass Pro Shop. Becca was a bit tired as it was a late night for her. The next morning, she took quite a liking to Aunt Tammy, wanting to be held by her and no one else. It was quite cute, especially when she didn’t want to go to Uncle Vince. The next day, after attending Mass, we had a visit from our California, Missouri friends Emily and Eve Thibon. Becca was her usual charming self and Emily was wonderful with her. Too bad Emily lives too far away to baby-sit (not that we'd leave Becca!).

Becca is now involved in classes at The Little Gym, where she gets to participate in gymnastics, music, movement, singing, and play time with other children. Mommy gets to participate too! Becca seemed to like her first visit, as she was busy screaming while she was playing on the equipment. She stuck close to us at first, but after about 15 minutes, she crawled all over the gym carefree of our proximity.

The first weekend in March we traveled to Saint Louis so Becca could visit her grandparents and meet some more members of our family and friends. Uncle Vince and Aunt Tammy held a wonderful “Meet Becca” party with several family and friends in attendance. Becca was in her typical charismatic form and entertained the crowd with winking, clapping, blowing kisses, and letting everyone hold her. We were there for about 4 hours, and she was a doll the entire time.

This past week, we took Becca for her first "Water Babies" swim class. Angie joined Becca in the pool with 6 other babies and their mothers. Fun was had by all and Becca really found the "large bathtub" to be a joy.

Angie will be taking Becca weekly to her swim and gym classes. We will attend Baptismal preparation classes this month with anticipation for Becca's Baptism this spring. We will be coming to Georgia in July so Becca can meet the rest of her family and visit her grandparents.

I must interject the fact that Angie has been working with Becca on an hourly and daily basis. Becca did not come wrapped up in a nice bow being the "perfect" child that everyone thinks she is. Angie has molded Becca by being a wonderful, supportive, loving, patient and nurturing mother. Angie has stuck with the nuisances of repetitive training and Becca is responding well. So when you see Becca as being "perfect", remember that Angie is guiding her well down that difficult path of parenthood. Oh, and I am too - (Hehe! Patting my back.)

Well, that wraps up this Journal. We have had so much fun sharing our lives with all of you. We have started a blogsite so that we can post photos and stories of Becca on a regular basis (as regular as new parents can be) so put this website www.vicandang.blogspot.com in your favorite folder. Thanks for taking the time to follow our lives and may God be with you all.

As the Journey to Becca comes to a close, Becca’s Journey continues on…