Lauren Jiang Henry

Updated Photo

2010-04-14T11:49:00.001-07:00

Same photo....different effects. I couldn't pick a favorite so here they are.

Almost B&W....left some color

Vintage

Lots of color!

I really like the texture in this one.

Lauren and The Slobberpuss

2009-11-10T21:15:00.000-08:00

The school bus picks Lauren up right in front of our house so I can keep a good eye on her (from the window) while she waits. Just for insurance sake, I send Katy with Lauren to wait for the bus with her. Katy and I waited with Lauren every day last year so Katy knows what to do....her job is to keep an eye on my girl.

The thing about Katy is that she is a huge baby. She is about 8 years old and is a very sensitive dog. She is good with kids and loves everyone. She is also very smart and very protective of us. She acts sweet and goofy most of the time but she loses that appearance very quickly when she feels protective. I have seen her in action a couple of times....she puffs up, barks very loudly and shows teeth that would make anyone back up and think twice about approaching. I have only seen her look like that a couple of times but I like the idea she stands next to my girl.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-01T10:54:00.000-08:00

Lauren was super excited about Halloween this year and wanted to be a fairy. She absolutely loves the whole thing.....the costume, the trick-or-treating and the party at school. It's really more of a harvest party but it's all the same to her. The kids get to dress up, decorate cookies, play games and get some candy. Lauren won most memorable costume and she liked that. It might have been the first time she won something!!!

I have been spending Friday in Lauren's classroom grading papers, etc. but I got to help with the party last Friday. It was really fun to be there and it was the first time that I actually was there for a party. I intended to help last year but looking back, things were still so overwhelming. Larry and I are much more settled into the parent routine this year and are able to take on more activities.

Since we don't live in a neighborhood with nearby houses, we had dinner and my sisters and then Julie happily took Lauren trick-0r-treating. They were out for about 1 1/2 hours and came home with a bag full. Truthfully, Lauren will eat some of the candy but the doesn't have an overwhelming interest in candy. She likes getting it and sorting it. I think her favorites are the Hershey chocolate bars and those will be the ones that she eats for sure.

Here's a few pictures taken before they headed out to trick-or-treat. By the way, no rain this year. Lauren has had two Halloween's....no wind or rain either year. It used to pour rain when I was a kid!

Even Mom's dog, Schatzie, got into the Halloween spirit!

Crabbing Adventure

2009-10-25T22:03:00.000-07:00

We headed to the Oregon Coast a couple of weeks ago to do a little crabbing. Larry and I had been crabbing the weekend before and we did pretty good and had a great time. The weather and tides were good the following weekend so we gave it another try, this time with Lauren. We camped for the weekend with Larry's mom, his sister Annetter and her husband, Donald. We didn't get as many crabs as the week before but we had a lot of fun.

I love this picture. I took it early morning on a dock on bay. It was really cold outside and she was drinking hot chocolate. I had her bundled up in her coat, a life jacket on top and my coat on top of that. It looks like she is going skiing instead of crabbing.

Ready to head out and do some crabbing. It warmed up and she was able to lose one of the coats! She stayed out in the boat all day despite a pretty cool wind.

Larry, Lauren and Larry's Mom

Let me tell you, Lauren loves her Aunt Annette

Lauren wasn't too sure what she thought of crab the first time she saw them. This was her second crabbing trip...we took her last year as well. She has gotten over the appearance and has no problem enjoying dungeness crab

Learning to clean crab with Uncle Donald

I thought I should help her out but she didn't need any help. She knew what to do and did a really good job

After Lauren took over the crab cleaning.....Annette and I just watched.

It turns out that Lauren can clean crab with the best of them.

More power to her.

Summer Catch Up

2009-09-11T08:53:00.000-07:00

The summer went by too fast! We managed to squeeze in a couple of camping trips and several boating trips. Lauren spent the majority of her summer at various sports camps. She did enjoy them but I can really tell the difference in her maturity from last summer. She will need to have a more challenging summer next year as she will be just too old for "sports camps".

Lauren's friend from her orphanage came for a visit and stayed for 5 days. I really can't describe how great it was to see the girls together. The had so much fun! We had professional photos taken and I will post them soon. Arianna lives about 5 hours away and we are so grateful that the schedules worked out so they could to see each other again. They did not speak any Chinese with each other and both girls claim to have forgotten how. We doubt that. Arianna's family, as well as us, have encouraged the girls to maintain their language but they could not be less interested. Unfortunately, it is low on the priority list after English, reading and math. I am sure they will remember enough to pick it up quickly at some point down the road.

We are looking forward to a Caribbean cruise in November. We are leaving from Miami and have a couple of nights in Florida before we actually sail. Lauren is extremely excited and knows that we will have "lots of time to play" together.

School has started and is off to a good start. She got the teacher that she really wanted. I was happy for her because it was one the first things she has had a strong opinion about and involved something that I could not control. In addition, Lauren is enjoying a little independence after school. We felt that Lauren was mature enough to stay home for an hour and a half by herself so we are skipping after school care this year. She was all for the idea and is more than willing to follow all of the rules. We think it is going to work out just fine.

Here's a few pictures from our summer...............

Lauren and Arianna. Could Arianna be any cuter? Believe me, she is an absolute sweetie!

Hey! Are you both sleeping? Worn out from a day of fun.

First night of our camping trip

The secret handshake

Fascinated with the fire pit.....Lauren thought it was great fun to pour water on the fire.

Owyhee Reservoir in Eastern Oregon. It's 53 miles long and a fabulous waterskiing lake. The area is desert and desolate but really beautiful. We camped for 4 days with my brother, his girlfriend and Julie. We should have stayed longer! Next Year!

Lauren had extra sunscreen on her hands which she used to style Uncle Jeff's hair. He was not overly impressed but a good sport. BTW...this is a rare photo of my brother...he is generally camera shy!

Playing in the hot springs near where we camped. The water felt really, really good! I had never been in a natural hot springs before. The water that actually came out of the ground was so hot that you couldn't put your foot in it. The area we were in was near a river so there was cold river water mixing with the hot water. Perfect.

Out of the hot springs. It was fairly early in the morning a beautiful day.

Life is good.

Wishing she could drive the boat.

We had a thunder and lightning storm pass through while camping. We waited it out in the tent. I am very opposed to camping in the rain but this short burst of rain was actually kind of fun.

Larry managed to get up on the knee board with Lauren on his back. Brute strength I guess.

Lauren prefers the ski biscuit

Hey...it's my sister, Robin. Wait a minute, that's Julie. Actually, I'm not sure.

No, it's Julie. I'm sure now.
(Where did my little niece go?)

A little knee board action with Julie

Oh No! This doesn't look good!

She pulled out of it!

Caught a small mouth bass. Much to my surprise, Lauren really likes fishing.

A Recent Picture

2009-09-02T17:06:00.000-07:00

This is a very recent picture of Lauren. I have tons of pictures that I will be posting this week. I am behind but partially because we have been so busy. Lauren's friend from her orphanage, Arianna, stayed with us for a week. We have been camping and having lots of fun together. We are getting ready for school to start next week. Check back for pictures!

Random Photos

2009-07-28T21:53:00.000-07:00

I have been so behind on my pictures! I don't take as many pictures as I used to and this drives me crazy! I love taking pictures of Lauren but I think our summer has been so busy that I haven't had the time to really think about bringing a camera along with us.

Lauren is attending sports and dance camps this summer and absolutely loves them. Every week is different and the camps are really good for her....she enjoys the socialization and the physical activity helps burn off her energy. I am constantly amazed that she never seems tired or run down. She is our Energizer Bunny....she keeps going and going!

I did schedule out about 3 weeks from camps and a young woman, Brittany, comes to our house in the morning and spends the day with Lauren. She works with Lauren on math and reading....basically trying to keep her skills up so she doesn't forget over the summer. She has taken Lauren to the zoo, parks and swimming when it's hot. It's been around 100 degrees lately so they have been in the pool alot!

Lauren has also been working with her reading tutor this summer as well. He has been one of our best investments. Lauren loves him and she has made progress in leaps and bounds. We are very happy with her progress.

Here's a few random pictures that I managed to take!

Trying to pose for a picture with Katy but Katy wasn't cooperating today.

Oops.....just got an unexpected kiss.

Asleep with Jodie. I don't think Jodie was having a restful sleep.

Lauren had a sleep over with her cousins. They had a great time.....Karaoke for a couple of hours, swimming followed by a facial mask and tons of snacks.

Singing in the car on our camping trip.

Very typical..... asleep in the car!

We went camping in southern Oregon. We stopped at a geological site...."Crack in the Ground". This area is a volcanic fissure over two miles long and up to 70 feet deep. We checked it out and it was actually pretty fun to walk through.

Heading down the rocks towards the bottom of the rock formation

Still likes to make a peace sign in pictures!

Larry told Lauren to lean against the wall with him and keep a serious expression on her face. She couldn't do it....she kept cracking up.

With Dad just before he left on a 3-hour motorcycle race

My Birthday Girl

2009-06-12T07:32:00.001-07:00

It was Lauren's 11th birthday on Wednesday, June 10th! Last year, she didn't really know what to expect but she did this year! She waited for her birthday with great anticipation and I tried to make it really special for her. She woke up extra early but there were a dozen Happy Birthday balloons waiting for her in her room. Larry had already left for work but she managed to get me out of bed extra early too! I had hidden a few small gifts around the house and had placed arrows on the floor as clues to point her in the right direction. It was pretty easy but she enjoyed the game an loved getting a few gifts before school. She got some earrings, temporary tattoos, hair clips and nail stickers.....little things but she had a great time.

When Lauren came home from China, she had absolutely no idea what to do with a wrapped gift....she sure knows what to do now!

Opening one of her early morning gifts

Lauren loves, loves, loves strawberries. There are lots of fields of berries around us and last year we would stop by the fruit stands almost every day. My mom helped Lauren plant some strawberry plants at our house and they are now bearing fruit. She was able to pick a few strawberries to add to her birthday breakfast of fresh stawberry waffles and whip cream.

Dancing after breakfast

Adding a song to the dance routine

Home from school.....presents!

But first, off for a kids manicure and pedicure with Julie. Lauren loves NAIL POLISH. It's been a struggle though. Larry is very conservative, at least when it comes to Lauren. He has only agreed to light pink and clear nail polish.....and she loves color!!!!! We have finally agreed to some darker and/or brighter pink colors now that she is 11. Personally, the nail color hasn't been a big deal to me but I did my best to stand by Larry on this one.

Checking out a Taylor Swift magazine with the Happy Birthday crown on

Finally, time to open presents. A Disney ICarley nightgown.

3-D sidewalk chalk from Aunt Annette, Uncle Donald and DJ........It really works!

Karaoke time!!!!! Lauren loves to sing and sings all the time. She got a karaoke machine that works with her beloved IPod. She got some Karoke CD's for it as well.

Lauren has been asking for a guitar for about the last 9 months. We did not get her one for Christmas, thinking the idea would come and go and not be worth the investment. She has never stopped asking for one so we "bit the bullet" and got this pink guitar for her birthday. She begins lessons on Sunday afternoon......I am keeping my fingers crossed that she enjoys it. We have a great teacher lined up that comes to our house. He says she will be playing something by the end of her first lesson.

The Scooter Incident

2009-05-27T20:02:00.000-07:00

Just to keep my blog about Lauren balanced......she makes mistakes too.

It's taken me well over 2 months to recover from "The Scooter Incident", as it is now referred to in our family. Time has passed, the trauma has diminished and I am finally able to write about it. Before I go into detail, let me say that I still don't know exactly what got into Lauren and why she did what she did. She has never done anything remotely close to this before nor has she done anything like it since.....Thank Goodness.

It all started early one morning....Lauren asked me if she could go outside and ride her scooter. Although it was a little early in the morning for scooter riding, I didn't see any real reason why not. It was a weekday and there was no school that particular day. I let her go outside. After about 15-20 minutes, I looked out the window. I didn't see her but I remember thinking she had to be nearby. I sat back down but immediately felt uneasy so I got back up and went outside to get a visual check on things. It was totally silent.......I didn't see anything and I couldn't hear anything....complete and total silence. I looked around, the scooter was gone, the helmet was gone and so was Lauren. At this point, I was still in my pajamas but I starting running around outside, frantically calling and looking for her. I looked everywhere I could think of and then ran back inside, quickly got some clothes on and grabbed my cell phone. I checked all the places I could think of and then in a state of panic, I called Larry. He suggested I drive around the new neighborhood behind our house. She is not suppose to leave the yard but he thought she may have gone to an area where he has taken her to ride her bike. I got in my car and drove around a bit. Nothing. I knew I had to call the police. I got home, double-checked she had not returned home while I was gone and called 911. It was surreal, I could not believe I could not find Lauren and I was calling the police. I gave a detailed description of Lauren and various details but I don't really remember hanging up from 911. I apparently called my mom afterwards. Larry was now on his way home from work.

It was just a matter of a couple of minutes and the police were in the driveway. The officers told me that several patrol cars where on the streets looking for Lauren and in the meantime they were going to check our house. They systematically went through every single room and closet. They looked under every bed and in every space a small child could fit. They said that kids are in the house 90% of the time. They asked if she had any money....apparently kids will leave and try to get to a store and buy candy. I told them she didn't have any money and even if she did, she wouldn't do that! By this time, I figured she had been riding her scooter and somehow managed to get herself lost....she had obviously left the yard. After the police finished looking through our entire house they were heading out to the garage and I heard it on their radio.....I heard the dispatcher say "They have found the girl".

Lauren made it 2 miles away from our house on her scooter (it is mostly downhill). She came back home in the back seat of a patrol car! There were police cars in our driveway when the police car with Lauren got to our house and I am sure she was totally overwhelmed at the sight. She had a very sad face and looked very shook up (appropriately so!). The officer gave me a minute alone with her and I was able to ask her "What in the world were you thinking" I went into how scared I was, etc. but her tears started flowing and I wasn't getting any information. I noticed she had a backpack with her.....I couldn't believe it. I checked it and she had packed her swimsuit and IPod. She told the police she was going to visit her Grandma. It made no sense whatsoever but she had obviously planned a "road trip".

The officer that found her told me he was pretty hard on Lauren and had given her a very stern lecture. At the end he told her everyone cared about her and wanted her to be safe. He scared the living daylights out of her.

After the police left, Lauren was very solemn. She really couldn't tell me why she left other than she wanted to be 'like a big girl". We talked about "stranger danger" and why she should never, ever leave our yard, etc. In my heart of hearts, I know at the time, Lauren didn't understand the magnitude of what she was doing. I honestly think she was trying to "spread her wings" a little and ended up going about it all wrong. She was very embarressed and worried her friends were going to find out. She apologized many, many times and it was obvious to me that she was genuinely remorseful.

We are extremely grateful for the police and how quickly they responded and how seriously they took the situation. They found Lauren within 15-20 minutes of calling 911.

It was hard on all of us but we tried to turn a bad experience into a good lesson. Lauren got the message loud and clear....no doubt about it.

The Training Wheels Are OFF!

2009-05-27T07:09:00.000-07:00

It's been a long haul but Lauren has learned to ride a bike! For some reason, this has been one of the hardest things she has had to learn. Initially, I don't think she had the proper muscle development and strength. We live in a hilly area so she didn't get a lot of practice unless we took her somewhere flat to ride and then of course, there was the winter weather. Riding a bike did not come naturally to Lauren and she really had to overcome a few fears to make it happen. She was so nervous for Larry to take the training wheels off. At the end, Larry had them on but bent all the way up so they didn't touch the ground. She just felt better knowing they were still there.

We have been promising family bike rides when she learned to ride so we all went riding last weekend. It was a perfect day for a bike ride and we rode about 5 miles....good for her first real ride! We went to a state park where the bike paths are very flat and it's very easy riding. We rode along the river and saw some deer along the way. Unfortunately, you can't tell on this small video but she had a huge smile on her face as she rode past me. We finished the ride with a picnic in the park which was also fun. So, we are over a hurdle and I see summer bike riding in our future!

New Pictures!

2009-05-12T21:50:00.001-07:00

Gotcha Day Anniversary Video

2009-03-17T18:19:00.000-07:00

I have recently realized that YouTube deleted the music from some of my videos...hugely disappointing. Apparently, it has to do with copyright law despite the fact that I did pay for the songs. I will have to redo the videos as I do want to keep them for Lauren. I think this method will work, at least for now.

This is a compilation of pictures taken over the past year in chronological order. I just love watching how Lauren changed as the year went on.

We played this video at her "Gotcha Day" Party. My sister put a video together of Lauren exploring our house for the first time. As soon as I figure out how to get it loaded, I will post it as well.

Valentine's Day

2009-02-15T21:08:00.000-08:00

So hard for me to believe how much Lauren has changed over the past 11 months! As we approach our 1 year anniversary I find myself looking back at the pictures we took in China and remembering all that we have been through and how far Lauren has come. Lauren has learned so much...her language skills have just exploded lately. She is reading so much better and really catching on. Her math skills have improved significantly as well. It's like it is all starting to come together for her and make some sense. We think her tutor has made a huge difference and has filled in some of the blanks but maybe it has just been much needed time. Time to absorb everything that came at her so fast and time to adjust to hernew life. She called me at work the other day, for the first time, to tell me about a Valentine's Day card that she got in the mail. Larry's mom had sent her a princess card and she was very excited about it. It was shocking for me to answer my phone and hear her voice. I asked were Dad was and she told me he was outside working. It made me feel really good that we have made so much progress....all the little steps are adding up and she is able to communicate her thoughts so much better. It's all so amazing!

Chinese New Year

2009-01-28T20:47:00.001-08:00

My sister introduced me to one of her friends from high school who also adopted an older child. Katie is just one year younger than Lauren and we have spent a couple of afternoons together. The girls are still a little shy with each other but I think they will form a nice friendship over the next few months. We were invited to attend one of the local Chinese New Year celebrations which was alot of fun for all of us. I want Lauren to continue an interest in Chinese culture as well as continue to speak Chinese. Unfortunately, Lauren has rejected just about everything Chinese and refuses to speak Chinese. The Chinese New Year celebration was a nice cultural experience for her and I am so glad we had the opportunity to attend. I think her favorite part was watching the children sing and dance. She said she was very familiar with some of the songs we head.

The following day, Larry took Lauren and Julie to Mt. Hood. There is an area for sliding on innertubes and it was a great day to be on the mountain. She definitely has appreciated the snow and enjoyed it but I know she is looking forward to warmer weather. I have to say that she has been a really good sport about the cold weather. She rarely complains but usually manages to squeek out at least one complaint at the bus stop in the morning! The cold has been really hard on her skin....she is just not used to the cold, dry air. We use a lot of moisturising cream to keep her from feeling dry and itchy. Otherwise, Lauren continues to do just great. She has made HUGE strides in language lately. She is doing well in school and still loves it. We met with her teacher last week, just to touch base, and got a good report. Her reading tutor is helping a great deal and has been well worth the investment.

All in all, we couldn't be doing better. We are so lucky!

One of the dragon dances

Working on some paper crafts at one of the booths.

Lauren and Katie

There was a fire truck on display. It was Lauren's first peek inside a fire truck.

Lauren took this picture of Julie on the way to the mountain.

More fun in the snow

Getting a push from Julie

A self portrait of Lauren, Julie and Larry

Almost caught up!

2009-01-12T19:59:00.000-08:00

A couple of pictures and I am caught up with my pictures...I think!

My friend Brenda took these pictures and this one is one of my favorite pictures of Lauren.

My very dedicated and very good friend, Brenda actually pulled Lauren around on this sled because there wasn't a nearby hill. Wow!

More Christmas Pictures!

2009-01-09T06:19:00.000-08:00

My dad gave me my very first nutcracker about 15-20 years ago. Sadly, my Dad died from cancer 6 years ago but the week before he died he gave me 5 more nutcrackers. He had them for months and had planned to give them to me for Christmas. His disease progressed very quickly and he knew he wasn't going to make to Christmas that year....he died on December 16th. The nutcrackers have become a treasured holiday decorations in my house and I look forward to seeing them each Christmas....I think of my Dad whenever I look at them.

Julie is now adding to my collection and has given me one or two nutcrackers every year on Christmas Eve for the last 5 years. She always sets the new ones somewhere in my house and I end up finding them and I am always surprised....even though she does this every year.

Our "Gotcha Day" happens to be St. Patrick's Day hence the Irish nutcracker. I just love it!!! Leave it to Julie to come up with just the right one!

Lauren really wanted a video game for Christmas and this was the compromise. The particular game does have some educational aspects to it and she seems to like it.

There were a few Hannah Montana items in her stocking.

Larry helping Lauren put one of her toys together. Jodie is patiently waiting to be petted.

At my sister's house on Christmas morning.

My sister gave Lauren this doll. It is the only baby doll she has had and she really loves it. She carried it around for days and we made a little bed for it in her room. She seems to have gotten past carrying it with her everywhere and it now resides in her room. I can tell that she still plays with it from time to time. I feel bad that I didn't get her a doll sooner. I think she really needed to have one.

She got this scooter from her Grandma and she LOVES it. She has learned to ride it well and it has been really good for her sense of balance.

My long-time friend Helen and Lauren on Christmas Eve

Lauren, Julie and Kayla. Nice face Lauren!

Lauren's first Barbie doll

Christmas Pictures!

2009-01-02T16:04:00.000-08:00

We made an valiant attempt at getting a family picture taken for Christmas but they just didn't turn out well. One of us was looked horrible in every picture so we settled for a couple decent ones of Lauren. I will be wiser next year and have a better plan.

Sledding and More Snow!

2009-01-01T14:18:00.000-08:00

I just have to post a few more snow pictures. We haven't had this much snow reported in the last 50 or so years. Larry and I were both off work for over a week because of the snow and of course, the schools were closed. The roads were snow covered and not plowed....we just don't have the snow removal equipment available because it never snows so much. The temperature was in the low to mid 20's, to cold for the de-icer on the roads to work. At one point, we had some freezing rain with more snow on top. Basically, the entire area was shut down, we hunkered down and waited it out. Larry did chain up the truck and was able to get around pretty well so we could get out some. I had hoped for a white Christmas for Lauren and my wish came true, and then some.

Larry took Lauren sledding several times during the heavy snow and she loved it. They were always gone for a couple of hours at a time and frankly, I think she would have stayed out sledding twice that long. She said she didn't get cold and was able to really experience playing in the snow. These pictures were taken when they were sledding at night.

She was pretty adventurous and had Larry help her make a jump. She wished she had a faster sled but as it was, were were lucky to even have one for her to sled on. Again, we NEVER get enough snow for good sledding!

Our house

The snow was about 1 1/2 feet deep.....it was just beautiful.

The Mom Song

2008-12-16T17:19:00.000-08:00

My sister sent me this link and although I think I have seen it before, it makes much more sense now. Although I hate to admit it, there was a time (forgive me Robin), that I thought my sister just wasn't organized enough and that's why she she was so busy all the time. Well, believe me, I have reevaluated my opinion! Now that I am a mom and know all that goes into being a mom, I have a whole new appreciation. My sister is a million times more organized than I am! So, this is cute and sums up the busyness pretty well.

First Snow at Home!

2008-12-15T16:10:00.000-08:00

Outside our front door

We had the first snowfall of the year and it has been incredibly cold. It was 18 degrees when we woke up and the high for the day was 25 degrees. It very rarely gets below freezing here and we are barely tolerating the subfreezing temperatures. The dogs hate going out in the snow, even for a few minutes. I practically have to drag the doberman out so she can get her business done. The cold temperatures have me worried about my chickens too. We have done everything we can to keep them warm and are feeding them extra well. They are spending their day in the coop, not venturing out into the snow at all. We have some heat in the coop and have made it as windproof as possible. I think it is actually pretty tolerable for the chickens now...I just feel sorry for them because the cold weather is going to be around for awhile.

We are expecting a big storm on Wednesday and again over the weekend. School was closed today and will be closed tomorrow as well. In fact, I doubt there will be any school at all this week and Lauren will end up with a 3-week holiday vacation. On top of all of this, Larry has a raging stomach flu which has him feeling horrible. I am just hoping Lauren and I manage to avoid getting it after spending so much time stuck in the house with him and all of his germs.

The up side of all of this was that Lauren loved the snow. She had a million questions about snow and couldn't wait to get out in it....she had a blast. I didn't think Lauren would last too long outside since it was so cold but it didn't seem to bother her at all. Of course, I had her totally bundled up so keep her as comfy as possible!

Heading out to play in the snow Sunday night

Lauren's first snowman

She really wanted to throw that snowball at me!

The Pink Tree

2008-12-05T16:43:00.000-08:00

This is the tree I bought for Lauren's room right after we took it out of the box. I will post pictures of the decorated tree soon. She totally loves her tree and has been having fun decorating it. I didn't buy too many ornaments for Lauren because I wanted her to find her own ornaments and have the memories of where she got each one. However, she was more interested in volume and starting plucking ornaments off our tree to fill up her tree. We settled on sharing a few ornaments and she is slowly get her tree decorated. It's looking good!

Lauren is really conscious of not wasting electricity and always turns off unnecessary lights. It took several days before she would stop unplugging our Christmas tree everytime we left the room. She finally leaves our tree on but rarely turns the lights on her tree on....probably too much trouble plugging and unplugging every time she goes in and out of her room! I love Christmas tree lights.....I am going to set it up so the tree lights turn on and off with her bedroom light switch...that should solve the problem!

2008-11-23T11:22:00.000-08:00

I took this picture a couple of days ago and have been playing around in Photoshop. I wish I knew more about photography in general, had more time on my hands not to mention I wish I had some natural talent but I am enjoying the learning process. It's been a nice distraction from the miserable orthodontia that I have going on. I just have to hope that Lauren will continue to put up with me and my camera because my dogs aren't as cooperative!

I was looking through some of my adoption files this weekend and ran across some old photos of Lauren. These pictures were taken with the camera that we sent Lauren in a care package. It's weird because I totally forgot about the pictures and when I looked through them, I had to sit down and really look at them. It actually felt like I had never seen them before but on the other hand, I knew that I had. The pictures below are of Lauren at the orphanage with some of the things we sent her including a Hello Kitty backpack, a photo album of our family, hair clips, and a Beanie Baby.

It all seems so long ago now....I really struggle with the fact that last year at this time we were long overdue for our letter of approval and enduring the holidays without Lauren. This year is so different. Lauren is beyond excited about Christmas. She is literally counting the days and I don't think she knows why she is so excited...she just is. She loves the beautiful Christmas trees, all of the lights and ornaments and she hasn't seen anything yet! She just can't wait to get into my Christmas decorations and help decorate our house for the holidays.

I bought Lauren a pink Christmas tree for her bedroom and she is really looking forward to decorating it. We have been talking about where in her room to put it. She can't make up her mind because she knows she can't move it around once it is decorated. She loves looking a Christmas decorations(so do I) so we went to several stores this weekend and picked out a few new ornaments for her tree. The more sparkle, the better! We also bought some supplies so that she can make some of her own ornaments. I am waiting until after Thanksgiving to get into all the Christmas activities!

Lauren had a little bout with a "stomach bug" last week. She stayed home from school one day and slept most of the day (except when she threw up all over my bed!) This was the first time she has been sick (other than a medication reaction) and although I knew the day would eventually come, I didn't expect it this time. She was fine when she went to bed but when I woke her up in the morning, she was sprawled out on her bed, holding her stomach and telling me how much it hurt. For awhile, I wasn't sure if she had a stomach flu or something more serious. It took awhile to sort it all out but after the episode on my bed, she felt better and just slept it off.

The other big event of the week was my nephew Scott's 18th birthday. We had a family party on Friday night and Lauren was so excited. I can't believer my Scotter is 18! Does he know we wanted him to stay little forever? He was just the cutest little boy....Scott, I will never, ever forget our camping trips together! Lauren loves Scott and totally enjoyed the party. Scott, very generously, let Lauren help him open a few presents and she just had a ball. She is going to miss him when he goes to college next year!

Check out the goofy grin!

Overnight at Grandma's

2008-11-16T10:11:00.000-08:00

Lauren spent Friday night at Grandma's house and had a blast! Her aunts, Annette and Julie were there as well her her cousins, Mark and Brian. It was Lauren's first time away from home (other than Julie's house) and they did everything possbible to make sure Lauren was comfortable and having a good time. They cooked her favorite foods, put a gingerbread house together on Friday night, went to the park on Saturday (I think Annette and Grandma froze while the kids played), and played lots of games. I knew they were really showing her a good time, to the degree I was a little worried she wouldn't be happy to see me when we came to pick her up. She did, however, greet me with the usual big hugs and kisses and seemed happy as ever to see me. When we got in our car to go home, she told us she had so much fun and that everyone was so nice. She was so happy but so, so tired. She slept all the way home and got into bed as fast as she could as soon as we got home. There wasn't the usual long goodnight conversation. She said goodnight, I love you, see you tomorrow and she was asleep after that. I know where to send Lauren to wear her out!

Putting her gingerbread house together

Mark and Lauren with their final masterpieces!

Playing Jenga with Mark

At the park

On the climbing wall with Mark. I thought this looked like fun!

Getting a push from Grandma!

Teeter totter with Mark

A chair that wiggles! Pretty funny!

It doesn't look like it but Lauren is on top of a huge pile of sand and Mark and Lauren played in it for a long time....I think that is when Grandma and Annette got cold!

Taking a break in sand at the park

Mom playing with Photoshop

The Tooth Fairy Came!

2008-11-10T22:20:00.000-08:00

Jodie was trying to be part of the fun

Lauren loved Halloween and now she is finding out about the tooth fairy. She lost a tooth at school about a month ago but threw it away...at school. When she came home from school that day, she proudly showed us her smile and happily pointed out the missing tooth. We had to break the news. We explained the whole process and told her that if she puts her tooth under her pillow at night, the tooth fairy will come and leave her some money. She didn't seem too disappointed about her missed opportunity so we didn't say too much more about it. (If she had she been upset, we would have had her write a note or something and made sure she had a visit from the tooth fairy.)

This week Lauren lost another tooth but this time..... she made sure to keep track of it this time. She didn't want me to keep it, she wanted it in her possession at all times. She definitely didn't want to let an opportunity slip by this time! At bedtime, she carefully tucked the tooth safely under her pillow but seemed a little skeptical about how money would actually appear in place of the tooth (although I have an idea that she suspected). Sure enough...there was $1.75 under her pillow in morning and she had it in her little hand when she came downstairs in the morning. She was pretty thrilled and I am glad she got to have at least one experience with the tooth fairy, even though we didn't leave much. We had no idea how much the tooth fairy leaves these days. Back in the day, Larry and I got a quarter so I figured I better up the amount a bit. Lauren still has absolutely no concept of money. The little bit of money she does have is tucked away in her room. She never asks to spend it, maybe she doesn't know she can? We try and explain how much this or that costs but I know she really doesn't get it yet.

This weekend is another first for Lauren. She is staying overnight at her Grandma Henry's with her Aunt Annette and Aunt Julie. I know they have put a lot of thought and effort into planning a fun evening and day for Lauren. I am really excited for Lauren to have this time with them and she is really looking forward to it. She got off the bus and wanted to know exactly what time we were leaving to go to Grandma's house. I know they plan to put a gingerbread house together and I can't think of anything that Lauren would enjoy more....she is going to love it and have a ball.

Last weekend we watched Kayla, my friend Brenda's daughter, in an ice skating competition. I had a really hard time getting pictures due to lighting but I am posting a few because we are just so darn proud of her!

Kayla really didn't want me to take this picture but I did it anyway!

Her spin was just beautiful...I am so jealous!

Simply Gorgeous

Our Trip to Ohio!

2008-11-10T20:11:00.000-08:00

They say "better late than never"! I have been meaning to post some of the pictures from our trip to Ohio to visit Lauren's friend, Addison. I finally got it together to get it done...I feel better now!

Addison's family (Vickie, Robin and Ali) met Lauren on their trip to the orphanage when they adopted Addison in October 2007. Lauren and Addison are very fond of each other and it was great to see them together. I think it meant a great deal to both of them.

We spent about 3 1/2 days together at the end of August. Vickie and Robin gave us the royal treatment and I just can not express what a wonderful time we had. We took a trip into Amish country and it was absolutely beautiful. We went on a Amish horse drawn wagon tour of a wild animal farm....like nothing I have ever seen. The farm had so many wild animals.....zebras, giraffes, water buffalo, a variety of deer, elk, pot belly pigs, llamas plus many, many others. The animals came to the wagon and basically ate out of our hands. For the most part, they were tame and very much used to the fact the wagon would pass by and they would get to eat. Most impressive to me was how clean and well cared for the animals were. They did not appear over or under fed and the property was full of trees and grass. There was plenty of shade and terrain for the animals to roam around on. It was an experience that I will always remember.

The following day we went fishing. Lauren didn't catch any fish but Ali couldn't miss....she caught a bunch that day. She definitely had the touch! Nonetheless, the kids had a blast and it was such a relaxing time for us!

It is such a gift that Lauren is able to maintain a friendship with Addison and Arianna. We are very lucky indeed.

Lauren managed to charm herself into the cockpit of the plane. I was shocked we even got close to it let alone were allowed inside. The captain took our picture...I have a cheesy grin but Lauren probably thinks everyone gets to sit in the captains seat!

Lauren just loved Ali and Addison's jeep! She was a little big for it but loved driving it up and down the sidewalk.

There's that smile!

Lauren and Ali met Addison at the bus stop after school.

Addison is a wiz a folding paper into boxes and animals. She was showing Lauren how to fold paper in this picture.

In the wagon at The Amish Animal Farm

The wagon is pulling away from the animals that came to eat

Ali up close and personal with the giraffes

There were so many animals...everywhere we looked!

I just loved the kangaroo with her joey

The girls feeding the goats

Fishing

Lauren and Addison

Halloween....Finally!

2008-11-01T07:17:00.000-07:00

My Snow White
Lauren had a great first Halloween! The forecast had been for rain but at the last minute, the forecast changed and we had clear sky and a decent temperature. The kids didn't even have to wear a coat! Larry went with the kids and they managed to collect quite a sack of candy! I think they actually ran from house to house. Lauren was pretty tired by the end of the night but topped the evening off by spending the night with Julie.

Getting ready...Lauren loved the idea of having curls in her hair. I had to dig deep to find my old hot curlers!

A Very Happy Snow White!!!

Always posing for the camera!

Julie came over after Lauren got home from school and helped me get Lauren ready to go Trick or Treating

Kayla, Julie and Lauren just before it got dark enough to start Trick or Treating!

I think our Fairy, Hannah Montana and Snow White looked so cute!

Look Mom! A bag full of candy!

Happy with all the candy she collected!

Even Larry got into the action by wearing Julie's wig!

Lauren tried a few bites of this taffy-type candy but didn't like it after all. Her favorites include Kit Kat bars, Gummy Bears and Starburst

Hannah Montana!

2008-10-26T16:50:00.000-07:00

Who is this? I don't recognize her!

Lauren has never paid too much attention to any one thing or gotten wrapped up in any single activity....except for Hannah Montana. Good Ol' Julie introduced Lauren to Hannah Montana (thank you very much Julie) early on. Lauren was captivated at the get go and the fascination has yet to pass (even though I keep thinking it will be over soon). She listens to Hannah Montana music, likes anything that has Hannah Montana's name on it and the television show is one of the few TV shows Lauren watches.

Yesterday, while shopping, I ran across Hannah Montana wigs on clearance for $2.00 each...I couldn't pass them up. Lauren absolutely could not wait to play with the wig but I insisted that she wait until Julie came over on Saturday night with my sister. Lauren was dying to play with make-up, which she very rarely gets to do, and was thrilled to find out I said it would be OK. My motive....I wanted was Lauren occupied by Julie so I could visit with my sister and my good friend Brenda for a little while...uninterrupted. It worked like a charm and Lauren had an absolute blast.

She hammed it up for the camera, laughed, danced and almost gave Larry a stroke when he caught a glimpse of all the make up on her face! Oh well, I figure it's all part of playing dress up. She was back to her usual self by bedtime and had a big smile on her face when I tucked her in.

Dancing

In her pajamas, the make up is gone but the wig is still on!

Grandma's birthday

2008-10-19T08:28:00.000-07:00

We had a birthday dinner for Larry's mom on Saturday night. All of our family was there and we had a really nice dinner together. Lauren was so excited...she loves a birthday party! She had a special birthday song that she was really belting out around our house but got a little shy in front of everyone at the party. She managed to sing a little once the crowd thinned out!

Lauren has discovered candy and has decided she likes it...a lot! She has not expressed much interest in it up to this point and we didn't encourage it. She has had much more exposure to it lately, probably because of all of the Halloween candy around and thoroughly enjoys it when she can get her hands on some. Her aunt Annette and Grandma gave her the chance to practice her trick or treating skills last night and no problem there! She is ready for Halloween. She is going to be Snow White....a decision she made by herself a long time ago. I can't wait!

Lauren and Grandma

If there's a bow around, she will stick it on her head! I can't believe her hair is long enough for pig tails! She does her own hair every morning and comes downstairs with some pretty interesting hairstyles...some are pretty good and others need a little attention!

I just love her beautiful smile!

The Dentists

2008-10-18T10:21:00.000-07:00

Lauren and I have both had enough of the dentist. Lauren had 4 fillings yesterday and although she tolerated it we are both glad it's all done… 2 hours was a bit much for her. Although I took her to a pediatric dentist, I nervously waited in the waiting room after she was anesthetized. I got the impression it was their preference and she couldn’t see me from the exam chair anyway. She fell apart after about 1 ½ hours and asked for me. I was so happy that I was able to calm her down and coax her into finishing the last ½ hour. I think what convinced her was that I explained that even Julie, her cousin that she worships so much, has had to have dental work done…..everybody has to take care of their teeth. She took a deep breath, fell back in the chair and totally gave in after that! She had a couple of cavities in permanent molars and a couple in 2 baby teeth. The dentist wanted to fill them because her baby molars will not be lost for a couple more years and he felt it was important to do so. Interestingly, although I am calling them cavities, he referred to a couple of them as “holes” in her teeth that were there when the teeth were formed. He said that small holes can sometimes be covered with the sealer that is used but hers were too large. Otherwise her teeth are in good shape, her bite is right (thank goodness as you read on) and we don’t have any more work on the horizon. Yeah!

My poor mouth is another story. Most people know that have been struggling with jaw pain for a while now. I have tried the least invasive ways to deal with it but so far nothing has really made significant improvement in the situation and it fact, it has deteriorated in the process.

The boring history is that my teeth have been in a cross bite all of my life. That, by itself, is not a big deal. For a variety of reasons and in some cases, a cross bite can lead to jaw pain (TMJ pain). In my case, the pain has varied from mild at times to quite severe. I am not able to open my mouth as wide as I should be able to (Don’t say a word Donald!!!), I have a lot of trouble chewing food properly and have to avoid all foods that aggravate the situation such as baguette breads, bagels, nuts, tortilla chips, corn on the cob, certain meats and anything chewy no matter how small. Any kind of stress definitely flares the condition and makes it incredibly difficult to tolerate.

So…..to make a long story short….orthodontia is the only answer. Of course, regular braces would not be sufficient for me. I will be going through months and months of a series of upper and lower retainers (18 hours a day-minimum) to expand my teeth followed by a 12-18 months of braces. I am under the impression that my future does not hold the “usual braces” either. I think they have something “really special” in store for me that will make it especially traumatic for me to go through. But….what choice do I have? If I do nothing…I see a completely soft food diet in my not too distant future and constant facial pain. On the other hand, I can do what the specialist is recommending and power through it.

I have been trying to not feel incredibly sorry for myself and to put mind over matter but make no mistake, I really, really hate this. I keep telling myself that I a lucky that I have a doctor willing to tackle this problem, that there are many people with more serious, life threatening illnesses that would trade places with me in a heartbeat and that this will get better over the next few years. Intellectually, I know all of that. Nonetheless, I really don’t like it and it is horribly inconvenient.

I got my retainers yesterday and let me just say….talking is a whole new deal for me. These retainers are extremely bulky in my mouth and talking is just plain old difficult and exhausting. My doctor has tried to assure me that I will learn to adjust and it will get better, especially as my teeth expand but I have my doubts. Somehow, between now and Monday morning, I have to get the hang of it because I need to function at work and not sound like a babbling idiot.

The good news is that I think there might actually be a silver lining to all of this. I think I am on the “My mouth is so full of stuff that I can’t eat whenever I want to weight loss plan” (not a joke opportunity Donald!). We’ll see…..so far it has to be really worth the effort for me to want to remove the retainers and eat.

So, I write all of this to hopefully spare myself repeating the whole story over and over. Lauren is very curious about all of this but is getting used to it. She doesn’t totally understand what is going on but we are working on that too! So although Lauren is done with the dentist for another 6 months...my saga continues.

Deanna

A New Blog!

2008-10-15T21:16:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Lauren’s new blog. It’s been a struggle to get it up and running but I am glad it’s finally done! This has been a “live and learn” process for me and I wish I would have made different decisions along the way. My previous blog through babyjellybeans.com was user-friendly but has been nothing but a pain in my tail end since deciding to move on to a less-expensive format. If anyone is debating about what blog format to use and is interested in my BTDT experience, send me an email or comment and I will fill you in on the pro’s and con’s from my perspective.

Now, with all that off my chest, I am happy to report that Lauren continues to be doing great. She is enjoying school so much and is still so excited about her dancing and gymnastics. Her school conference is later this week and we are anxious to meet with her teacher to see what she has to say about Lauren’s progress! We don’t have a good grasp on what is going on at school. We are in pretty close contact with her teacher but I think a face to face meeting will prove to be very beneficial. We do know that her conversational language is coming along well and she increases her vocabulary on a daily basis. Unfortunately, despite all of her progress with English, the language is lagging behind all of the questions we know she has. She still needs to increase her language skills for the complex conversations that she would like to have with us. We do our best but I don’t think it’s very satisfying to her yet. Examples of Lauren’s typical questions are:

How did we get her?
Why do so many Americans want Chinese children?
Why don’t we have other children?
Could we have a baby? (she wants a brother or sister)
How much does a house cost?
When can she drive a car? Why do you have to be 16 years old to drive a car?
Why do people walk when they can drive a car?

(I don’t know why all the car questions but FYI….I did say a big N-O on the baby issue and I think she got the picture about that!).

It is painful to watch her struggle with words, especially when she is tired. It sounds like she is almost out of breath while she tries so hard to come up with the right words to use. Lauren tries to tell us a little more about her life in China and is able answer some of our basic questions. I don’t always feel like we are getting the right answer so we don’t press to hard about it. I haven’t had the nerve to ask her about her heart surgery yet….I guess I want to wait until we have a little more language to support our conversation about that! I am a little afraid of what I might hear from her.

Lauren is getting physically stronger every week and has grown considerably. She is extremely flexible which has been a tremendous asset in gymnastics but she has not had the muscle strength to support many of the things she would like to do. I guess I was a little surprised about this…she always seemed strong with decent muscle tone. The current theory is that something was different about her physical activities in her early years which resulted in underdeveloped muscles in certain areas. I am glad we figured this out while she is young and her coaches are really good about working with her to develop those muscles and her stamina.

Well, this post went in a different direction that I expected but I am glad to just finally get something written for the new blog. I will be writing about our visit to Ohio to see Lauren’s friend Addison (from Jiangmen City, SWI) in my next post. We had the best time ever, it was great for the girls to see each other, Addison could not be any sweeter and I have lots of pictures. Check back soon.

Deanna