Hi everyone! If, in fact, there is anyone still reading (or trying to read non-existent posts), I commend you! The last time I posted was over a month ago and time is flying by. I think an update is way past due!
Grace has her own opinion on the matter - she just gave me the raspberry - but I'm going ahead anyway. Little Miss Grace is now just over 5 months and keeps getting bigger. She's up to 16 1/2 pounds! Still measuring around 24 inches but I still think length is hard to measure consistently. At least, I hope she's moving past 24 inches... this can't be all, can it? Her birth mom is a tiny thing and we're told her birth father is short as well - but I hope she gets a few more feet on her before stopping!
It's actually been a few days since I started this post. Time does not stand still no matter how much you'd like it to!
We finally received our dresser/changing table earlier this week and I have a couple hours now I can spend putting it together. I can't wait to finally fold up the pack-n-play and have the last bit of permanent furniture up in the room. We have some decoration ideas but haven't started painting or anything. I know most people have this stuff all done well before baby arrives but I'm glad we waited. I feel like I have a better idea of what I want to do. Top of mind is palm trees - Grace loves them! Both Jeff and I have shirts that have palm trees on them and Grace will stare and smile and even reach for the trees on each. When we were in the RMI she would love to look up at the trees when we'd take her out on the balcony and it would pretty quickly calm her down if she was cranky.
The weather is starting to get pretty crisp at night - we've had a few frosts. Grace doesn't seem to mind the cold. Good news to her RMI family and the CAA who thought we were going to have to keep her bundled all year round. Maybe she's meant to be a Minnesotan down to the "hardy, bring on the cold" attitude.
We are now on week two of daycare. Grace really likes it and likes her teachers. We weren't sure how it would go but it seems to be going just like any other 5-month-old. She has ventured into the art world with her first attempt at finger painting... a beautiful image called "Fall Colors". Although, she doesn't seem to enjoy the feel of the finger paints. They currently have it hanging in her class room but we'll get to keep it when another exhibit takes it's place. Check it out:
We actually went to the interview with her school expecting not to like it but were very impressed with the Assistant Director, the teachers we met, and the facility itself. In addition, I know 3 co-workers who also bring their kids to the same place and all three really like it. The teachers in Grace's room were given rave reviews by two co-workers so we feel pretty lucky they happened to have an opening at the time we needed it. I'll refrain from posting the name of the school since this is a fully public forum and, well, you know... we need to keep safety in mind.
Grace currently goes to school (okay, it's really daycare but they do have a curriculum and call it school) 3 days per week - the same days I work - and then we get two days off to hang out during the week. In November I'll be going back to work full-time and Grace will start going all 5 days.
Some other big news - Grace is now rolling over! She's only done it twice that we've witnessed. The school has a policy that, if you want, they will not tell you when they do something "first"... they'll just tell you to look out for things as your child might be close to "________" (fill in: roll over, sit, stand, talk, walk, etc.). I've never been one to try and fool myself that way (ex: if I set my clock 10 minutes fast so I'm not late, I just remember to subtract 10 minutes every time I look at it) so I told them I'd want to know.
Grace has shown some interest in our food so we've tried solids a couple of times so far. She does a fair job of opening for the spoon but just doesn't want what's on it! Here's what she thinks of it:
And then I laughed at her pushing the cereal out of her mouth and she thought that was amusing:
We finally scheduled pictures with an actual photographer - our session was last Tuesday. Of course it was at the exact time Grace would have preferred to lay down for a nap but she did really well. The photographer said she got a lot of really good shots. I'm not sure how... squirming, flailing and looking in the opposite direction seemed to wreck almost every shot. If she got more than 10, I'll be truly impressed. If she got more than that, she'll be my photographer for life! We'll receive a CD of all the photos and can make whatever prints we want. She'll also put together a small collection that she'll post on her website. I'll make sure to share some here when they're available.
We've been invited to 3 different kemems (first birthdays, Marshallese style) - 2 have already happened and the last is coming up in another week or so. It's been wonderful to connect with the other RMI families in the area. There are now 5 little girls in our group - ages 5 months (guess who?) to just over 2 years old.
Another family is in the RMI right now and has completed the adoption of their daughter. They are just waiting for the visa. And, there are another handful of families who are waiting for their referral. Our agency tells us there are now 40 families in the RMI program at various stages of paperwork. Some friends of ours even reached out to us to see if we'd be willing to meet some friends of theirs who are just starting the process. It's an amazingly small world!
I feel like there's so much more that has happened since we returned but most of it's a blur. A good blur :) I'll try to be better about blogging and posting photos. But now it's time to assemble furniture!
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