All in a day's work for Helen

Learning to use a spoon. With a little help, she's pretty good!

Chewing on the other end is, perhaps, more fun.

Helen loves making the Little People's House toilet flush. She flushes and flushes and flushes.

Reading Is Fundamental

Reading books before bed with Dad.

In Minnesota, the Sleep Sack is a MUST!

Helen would rather read books than play with her toys. Current favorite: Busy Monkeys. She could listen to that book all day and some days...does! She knows what a monkey says and the past few days, when she sees a picture of an animal, pretty much any animal, she makes the monkey noise, "Ooooh, ooooh, ooooh". In her case it's actually more of a "mmm, mmm, mmm". She also knows where her feet, toes, and belly button are! Grandpa Pokorny will be pleased to learn Dad has taught her "pupik" as well - Czech word for belly button.

I'm amazed at how much I'm learning every day - about Helen and about myself. Lots and lots about myself. I've learned that I'm not as patient as I thought I was and I'm more selfish then I knew. With those 2 things in mind, how our day goes at home together is all up to me. Helen is a week away from 14 months and she is very busy with that. The only one standing in our way of having a great day is me. It only took me about 3 months to figure that out... What a life lesson that is, huh? Being home with her every day is the most difficult and awesome thing I've ever done. Some days 6:00, when Stew gets home from work, cannot come soon enough. That said, those days often end up being the best ones because I've managed to learn something very important. After dinner, I usually collapse on the sofa and watch as Stew plays or reads with Helen. It's this perspective, this little bit of distance after a paticularly long day, that always gets me. As I watch this amazing, beautiful, smart, hilarious kid play with her daddy before bed, I get a little weepy. How lucky I am. How very lucky, indeed.

Finally - Christmas 2007 pix

Stacking cups Christmas tree.

Aunt Missy showing off Helen's Christmas dress.

Christmas in Iowa!

Opening presents at home.

Grandkids with Grandpa - Helen taking a good look at cousin Abby.

Getting a squeeze from Aunt Barb.

I know I promised Christmas photos for my next post but this is WAAAY better...

Today - Thursday, January 17, 2008 - I said, "I love you" to Helen and she said, "luh yuh" back to me. I know I've been up since about 5:15 this morning and am slightly delirious, but I'm telling you she said "luh yuh" to me. That was the best thing EVER.

Who needs socks?!

Milestone, baby!

AND HELEN IS...

UP!

ALL THE WAY UP!

Sorry, this last one's a bit blurry but I was clicking fast to catch her on tippy-toes. She's been pulling herself up since Sunday - so surprised when we walked into her room to get her up from her nap and she was standing in her crib! Finally had the camera at the ready and captured it. Stewart and I are having such a great time watching Helen cruise through her milestones, ticking them off her list, one after another. A few Christmas photos still coming...

New photos!

Very serious about scaling dad's legs.

At least once a day, Helen crawls over to visit her friend - the Huggies baby.

While there's something a bit "Girl with Pearl Earring" about this, I swear to you the hat is cute in person. Love this photo because you can sort of see what she's going to look like when she grows up.

Sorry I've been away so long! The holidays, what can I say. Stewart's back at work (bummer) and Helen/I are back to our regularly scheduled programming. We had a wonderful first Christmas together and will share some holiday photos in my next post.

Helen has changed so much in the last month. This weekend, she stood unassisted for a few seconds a couple of times and I wish I could describe the noise she made when she realized what she was doing. It was a hilarious combination of laughing and freaking out all at once. She's all over the floor, crawling after us where ever we go. Once she realized she could follow us, she was much happier, indeed. Changing diapers has become an all out war - her against us. Our baby book says to learn to change her while she's standing up and all I could think was "Really? Huh." Do ya really do that? It sounds impossible. She's just begun copying noises we make, especially when we're reading books. So cute. I'm suspicious that "Nah-nah" is me and am hoping that's NOT her commenting on my age.

If I can figure out how to load some video in the next couple of weeks, I'll treat ya'll to Helen In Action! Stay tuned...

Sharing our birthday

Helen sporting her Tiger Hat (thanks Allyson!) on her First Birthday.

Chinese Folklore - babies wear this hat on their one year birthday to catch all the heavenly goodness falling between the tiger's ears.

Yukking it up with Dad.

Yukking with mom.

On our birthday, I took Helen to Stew's work and the three of us had a nice lunch together. Later at home, we did the birthday cupcake thing (still poking through those photos for a good one - stay tuned) and opened cards and gifts. On Saturday, we had brunch out with friends. Have to say, my best birthday ever - sharing it with Helen!

My Uncle Roger and Aunt Connie visiting us in MN this past weekend.

Helen continues to do so well. She had her 12 month check-up last week and had grown almost 3 inches since her medical exam in China, putting her in the 56 percentile for height! The doctor was so happy with her progress that she said Helen is now within the normal range developmentally, as well. I have to admit, I got a little weepy (with joy) over how quickly she's caught up. She has amazed Stew and me every day but it meant so much to have the doctor confirm her progress!

Thanksgiving

Day after Thanksgiving at Grandpa Pokorny's.

Check it out - she's using a sippy cup!

With cousins Ashley, Brianna, Ellie and Elizabeth.

Posing with cousin Abby.

Playing with cousin Gabe.


Bonding with Grandpa Pokorny.

Giving herself a kiss.

Classic bath shot.

We had a great time in Iowa over Thanksgiving, spending a few days with my sister and her family and a few days with the Pokornys. Helen made the ride down with barely a peep - she slept and hung out for 4.5 hours! Couldn't believe it as she'd really been stuggling with sitting in her carseat. Once in Iowa, she napped and slept through the nights like a trooper. We're SO lucky she's a good sleeper. Was fun watching her take-in each new family member and a couple even managed to successfully hold her for a little bit without tears! Baby steps on that front, but making progress. She had fun playing with all her cousins and aunts, uncles, both regular and great, and grandpa. So many wonderful people! Really wish a few pictures from our time at my sister's house turned out, but alas, they didn't so we'll give it another try at Christmas.

Thursday is Helen and my birthday! Will post the obligatory baby with first birthday cake photos so stay tuned. Will be thinking of Helen's birth family on her big day. We hope they have some sense that she is well, happy, and surrounded by love.

Highchair shots

Things are going really well at home! Helen is sleeping great, two naps and through the night. We've got our sleep routine and most of the time we're able to put her down with very little difficulty. Couple rounds of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and the kid is reaching for her crib. Is she tired or does she just want us to stop singing, I don't know but it's working so either way, right?

Mondays are hard days so far, as Stewart goes off to work. Helen and I both get a little fussy. We've had lots of visitors and done a fair amount of visiting ourselves. Last week, I took Helen to Stew's work for lunch and to meet folks (shoutout to the kind folks at UHG!). We also trekked out to our good friends, the Sahrs, for a super fun playdate for the kids and their moms. It was great practice for our Thanksgiving trip to Iowa since it was a longer car ride and I was able to put her down for a nap in the pack-n-play with no trouble. The girl is a trooper, seriously. Also managed to make it to playgroup with some friends who have previously adopted from China. We're so happy to have these wonderful families in our lives.

Helen has gained over a pound in the past couple of weeks and if you check out the photos below, I think you can see it in her face. Even her legs are getting a little pudge to them and it does our hearts good to see her thriving.

She likes that foot.

Um...wrong end, sister.

Is that the beginnings of a double-chin I see there? YAY!

First Halloween

If she's already giving us this look, can you imagine the teen years?!

Digging having her socks off.

Our little pumpkin.

Pumpkin pie, Helen? No, I've got my pumpkin foot, thanks though.

AND A VERY HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY TO OUR DEAR NIECE ABBY KOPRIVA!!

Photos from home

First ride in the Cadillac of strollers!

Started sitting up on her own as soon as we got home.

Boogers and drool - girl knows how to work a look.

I'm so relieved she thinks we're funny. I think that'll carry us a long way.

Nonplussed about her first time in her highchair.

This is what happened when we turned on the TV, for a minute, just to see what would happen.

Progress!

Helen is making great progress in getting through the night. Three nights ago, she awoke a couple of times and fussed but was able to go back to sleep. Two nights ago, she had a hard time settling down to go to bed but once down, she stayed there. Last night, she went down like a rock at 7:30, woke up a few times early on and babbled but did not melt down. When Stew went in to check on her this morning at 7:00, she was still out. Such good news for all three of us. You can see it all over her face, that's she's started to "catch-up" on her sleep. It does our hearts good to hear her waking up babbling instead of crying - knowing that she's getting more familiar with her crib, her room, and us - that when she wakes up, she knows where she is and feels safe and happy. We've been leaving a nightlight on in her room and that seems to have helped tremendously.

Will get Stew on loading new photos at home, so stay tuned!

Home, Safe and Sound

Hey everyone, sorry to leave you hanging out there like that for a few days. We've just been getting our butts kicked by the time change. We've got 13 hours to find and I think we're only finding about 1 hour a day. Poor Helen. She is struggling so with the switch to opposite days and nights. Progress is slow but we're trying to maintain our sense of humor and do everything we can to try to help her transition, not only to the new hours, but also to everything being all new again.

The flight was fairly uneventful, with Helen sleeping a good portion of the time. She had her own seat so we made a little bed for her. Stew was able to catch a few winks, as well, but I was bug-eyed awake for all but about 20 minutes. Enough about us...back to Helen...

Arriving in the U.S.

Showing everyone how she can stand like a big girl!

Welcome home, peanut!

One for the Road

Heather is taking a quick shower and then we're going to finish up packing. It's about 10:30pm and we leave for the airport at 5:30am. We've had an amazing experience in China. I really hope we will be able to come back someday. Although we are sad to go, we are ready to come home. We're looking forward to seeing friends and family and having everyone meet Helen. -Stewart

Red Couch photo and more

White Swan Red Couch - traditional garb

During the photo shoot Helen gets a bit of attention from these great ladies.

Molly and Helen

Raspberries - number one favorite passtime.

Can you tell she's feeling better?!



Done with having her pix taken.
(Just in case you're thinking all she does is smile...!)

We're packing 'er up today. Stew bought an extra suitcase last night so we can haul all our extra crap home. He paid $15 for it and we have NO idea if it'll make it so we're packing our clothes in it, which are replaceable, instead of our treasures, which are not. I think we'll scare up a luggage strap or two to give it it's best chance for survival.