Olivia went back to the pediatrician last week for the results of the TB skin prick test. Fortunately that was negative, as well as all the other things that they tested for. While that is good news, testing negative for one meant we have to re-vaccinate for a few things. Either they didn't really vaccinate for those in China, or her body rejected it. Nevertheless, she had to get yet another shot on Thursday, meaning that she really hates the doctor now! That also means that we have to go back in 6 weeks for another round of vaccinations in the series. We also did 3 stool samples last week that we are waiting on results for.
Regarding jet lag, it took Ansley about 4 days to completely adjust to Nashville time, but it has taken Olivia longer. In fact, it took about a week. She did wake up at 4:30 Sunday morning, but hopefully that's just a fluke. 6am became her "normal" later last week. I can handle 6 much better than 4:30!
She is still eating everything! The only thing she has really turned down so far is strawberries. She LOVES bananas and the Danimals drinkable yogurt. Thanks for that suggestion, everyone!
Olivia has learned to kiss, and it is adorable. If you say, "Kiss," she'll pucker up. So sweet!
She hasn't quite gotten who "Mama" is. She knows me, but she doesn't know that's my name. Right now, she pretty much calls any female, "Mama," even Ariel the doll. That's okay, though, she'll learn.
Olivia has learned to kiss, and it is adorable. If you say, "Kiss," she'll pucker up. So sweet!
She hasn't quite gotten who "Mama" is. She knows me, but she doesn't know that's my name. Right now, she pretty much calls any female, "Mama," even Ariel the doll. That's okay, though, she'll learn.
We braved church on Sunday morning. Olivia sat with us in the worship service and did great. Eventually, I will introduce her to her Sunday School class slowly. I will more than likely stay with her for a few weeks and then try to leave her once she's comfortable. That, along with day care, is going to be interesting. I'm not sure how the separation anxiety is going to work, but we'll figure it out.
We got to spend Sunday (Mother's Day) afternoon with extended family. She did really, really well and went right to several people on her own....after she spent some time observing. She is doing better than I ever imagined. She doesn't let me get too far out of her sight in a situation like that, but it's still good to see her warming up so quickly to everyone.
We haven't really cocooned like a lot of people do. We have pretty much gone about "business as usual," and she is fitting right in. If we begin to have challenges, or if I feel it is not the right situation for her, we will pull back and not do something. But, so far, so good. I haven't braved Target or the grocery store with her quite yet.
She got to see a cat and dog up close on Sunday as well. I'm pretty sure she has never been around animals before. She really wanted to pet Charlie (the dog), but she wasn't quite sure. She was definitely intrigued. By the end of the day, she had warmed up to Carey as well and was leading her around the yard.
We got to spend Sunday (Mother's Day) afternoon with extended family. She did really, really well and went right to several people on her own....after she spent some time observing. She is doing better than I ever imagined. She doesn't let me get too far out of her sight in a situation like that, but it's still good to see her warming up so quickly to everyone.
Warming up to Hilary and Case...
Beth's "Aunt" shirt in Chinese...
Grammy's "Grandmother" shirt in Chinese.
Warming up to Cody...
We haven't really cocooned like a lot of people do. We have pretty much gone about "business as usual," and she is fitting right in. If we begin to have challenges, or if I feel it is not the right situation for her, we will pull back and not do something. But, so far, so good. I haven't braved Target or the grocery store with her quite yet.
She got to see a cat and dog up close on Sunday as well. I'm pretty sure she has never been around animals before. She really wanted to pet Charlie (the dog), but she wasn't quite sure. She was definitely intrigued. By the end of the day, she had warmed up to Carey as well and was leading her around the yard.
After an already wonderful Mother's Day, Philip arrived home late Sunday night. We are thrilled that he's back. Olivia picked right back up with him! It will be interesting to see what our new routine ends up being. I'm so ready for a routine! It will also be good for Ansley to have him back as well.
This is going to be a busy week for us. It seems like we have something every day this week!
We had our first post-adoption meeting this morning (Monday). This is the first of six required meetings that we will have over the next few years in order to complete all of our requirements for the adoption. The social worker is from Catholic Charities. While we did not use Catholic Charities as our adoption placement service, we use their services in order to fulfill the post-adoption requirement for the adoption. They also did our last Home Study and paperwork update for us. It is hard to explain, but they are Hague Accredited; therefore, China recognizes and approves of them doing these post-adoption reports. The social worker was at the house for about 30 minutes. She asked us about our trip, our adjustment, how Olivia is bonding/attaching, how she is eating, her health, etc. They require 8 photos with captions on the back of each. This set of photos will need to be of our trip to China, with at least one being a photo with all 4 of us in it. So, I will get those together this week and turn those in to them. Our first report is due next week and then the next required report is due in 6 months, so we will do it again at that time.
TEIS (Tennessee Early Intervention System) came out in the afternoon for an "Intake Meeting." This is a service provided by the state of Tennessee for children under the age of 3 with disabilities or developmental delays. Our pediatrician recommended evaluation primarily due to the fine motor concerns that we have, as well as speech. The therapist was at the house for a little over an hour today for the initial evaluation. Part of it was parent interview where she asked me questions. The other part was asking Olivia questions and seeing if she would respond by doing an action or answering her. She looked at 5 areas of development in Olivia: adaptive, social, communication, cognitive, and motor (gross & fine). Olivia scored under threshold in communication and cognitive. This is not really surprising due to the fact that she doesn't know English. Part of passing the test was being able to perform commands without using motions. Needless to say, she didn't know what the therapist was saying, and you could not act out the part for her to pass….which is what we have been doing for weeks now….a form of charades. She did pass the motor portion of the test, so no further evaluation there as far as I know. She is doing much better with her fine motor skills, so I think exposure is the answer to this. She is getting really good at blocks and continues improving with the stacking cups. The next step of the process will be an even more in-depth evaluation in order to come up with an IFSP (Individual Family Service Plan). In order to be eligible for services, a child must be delayed 25% in two areas or 40% in one area. We think that we will be eligible for communication, due to the language. While I'm not concerned with her learning English, I spoke with my cousin the Speech Therapist about this yesterday. She recommends that if we are eligible, we go ahead with therapy. She feels that this will help jump-start Olivia in learning the language. So, if we are eligible, more than likely we will go ahead and do the speech therapy. Unfortunately, her clinic does not take our insurance, so we'll see what our options are there. In terms of the cognitive portion, the only reason she failed this portion was because she would not mimic her playing peek-a-boo and would not copy her silly faces. I'm definitely not concerned with Olivia's cognitive skills at this point. Olivia will only be eligible for these services until the age of 3. At that point, they do have other options if we need to go that route.
Olivia's dental appointment is tomorrow. I'm definitely anxious to hear what he has to say.
I found some pictures from our trip in China that I thought you might like to see. These were all taken the day we left for the US. Enjoy!
I found some pictures from our trip in China that I thought you might like to see. These were all taken the day we left for the US. Enjoy!
This is the lobby of the Garden Hotel in GZ. They changed out the centerpiece the night before we left to get ready for their national holiday on 5/1. I don't know if you can tell, but there are balls of roses on the bottom, and live roses in this grapevine rose up top. Beautiful!
The girls looked really cute in their Tennessee dresses before Olivia got sick on hers in the van on the way to Hong Kong. This girl looks good in orange! Go Vols!
This is what the scene looked like in the Hong Kong airport.
Olivia enjoyed putting the rings on her arms like bracelets. The funny thing is that Ansley used to do the same thing. As you can see, Olivia had a wardrobe change into
these pajamas after the episode in the van.
Here are a few photos from last week, our first week home:
Olivia's first trip to Chick-Fil-A.
This was Ansley's only request of where she wanted to eat when we got back.
Ansley's band: Jean on the maracas, Jenna on the tambourine, and Joe on the drums.
Ansley was the conductor.
Olivia LOVES the playset, and she is a daredevil.
Look out, Grammy! Here I come down the slide….ready or not!
May 9th marked the 8 year mark since beginning this journey. I'm so glad that we have Little Miss Olivia home safe and sound after all these years. It has been a great first week home, and we look forward to many more!
I hope everyone has a great week! Thanks for reading!
Jill
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