Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Cecelia's surgery and pre-Christmas happiness











We received word today that Cecelia will have her next surgery on the 30th of December..this one will build a soft palate for her...the surgeon did tell us that this will be a "real" surgery...since the hard palate surgery this summer was scary enough, I am chosing not to think too much about that statement. This works perfectly for us as I have the week before off and the week after off. Our prayer for Cecelia is that she learns to use this palate very quickly and her ability to communicate with people outside our family improves. She is as smart as a whip and knows the words for everything, but since she can't physically make certain sounds - g,c,k,s,b,d,p (anything that requires a complete gumline or anything gutteral or anything that requires a build-up of pressure), she substitutes an "m" for these. It makes a lot of sense once you know what she is trying to say...but is difficult for someone not used to her speech.
In the meantime, we are finishing up the last week and a half of school this year, and enjoying the season. Cecelia is SO excited about our Christmas tree...last year she had only been home for 11 days on Christmas and I am sure she has no memory of it(neither do we). Our neighbors have a pretty lighted tree in their yard and she is so entertained by it also...oh the wonder and glories of childhood!...a true gift from God! There is nothing better on Earth than to watch a little child unfolding, growing, and understanding...

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Brilliant!



Excuse my bragging and gushing, but I just have to! Cecelia has the most incredible fine motor skills for a two year old..it is just amazing that a baby who was in a crib/walker for the first 22 months of her life can do the things she does...Cecelia's first love at the moment is puzzles...she can do a 48 piece puzzle in no time flat...her second love is drawing...this is a picture she drew for me this morning...of course it is a lady bug...lady bugs are important in Cecelia's life..her favorite doll is even a lady bug...and lady bugs stand for luck in Chinese adoption!

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Halloween





























Cecelia's sneak preview of her Halloween costume was a bit ago, but here are some pics of the "real" night! This past week here in Central New York has been so COLD... but Halloween day was like a gift...temperatures in the 60's that stayed that way for the evening... Cecelia was curious and excited about her first Halloween...and I do have to say she was also adorable! I also need to add that one should NOT jump to conclusions about who our choice for President is...let's just say that there were several people here, carving pumpkins that night, who are of voting age...the carving came out incredible, regardless of your personal preference for the White House position!

Lantern Festival











Two weeks ago we went to a lantern festival with our local FCC group. The kids decorated lanterns and then had a parade. It was a great time!

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Oklahoma, where the winds come sweepin' down the plains... and the greatest of friends live!
















Two weekends ago Cecelia and I were fortunate enough to have some frequent flyer miles and were able to go to Oklahoma to see some dear friends of ours... Betty and Paul. Betty and I met the second day of our freshman year of college...of all places in the cafeteria line and have been friends since. I won't say how old we are....but Betty IS 7 days older than me...and we met 34 years ago! We even joke with our husbands and tell them that we have know each other longer than we have known them! The weekend was wonderful, albeit much too short! Cecelia had her first chance to meet "Aunt Betty and Uncle Paul"...and it was love at first sight! The pictures tell the rest of the story...

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Moon Cake Festival
















Several weekends ago we went to a beautiful State Park in Fair Haven, New York, for a mini moon festival with other families from our local FCC( Families with Children from
China) group. It was a beautiful, warm fall day and we had so much fun! Cecelia and some friends even took a dip in Lake Ontario...well, Cecelia's was more like a fall into Lake Ontario...but she loved it! We had a potluck dinner and mooncakes for dessert that the kids had baked the previous Friday night. Yum!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Fall


A couple of weekends ago we went apple picking, pumpkin picking, and to a farm to see calves. It was a beautiful fall day here in Central New York. The kids had fun, and so did the adults!

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Saturday, August 9, 2008

"Dance Class"

Speaking of ballerinas...Kaitlyn has danced since she was 7 years old and she is desperate for
Cecelia to start ballet...these are a few pictures from their latest dance "class"...

More Summer Fun

Cecelia has recently discovered the joys of having a 19 year old sister home from college for the summer; nail polishing sessions, make-up, girl talk, and a ballerina room! Kaitlyn(the big sister) goes to William Smith College which is the woman's part of Hobart. Cecelia received a college tee-shirt as a gift and is modeling it here!

Thursday, July 17, 2008

summertime fun

What could be a better than a blowup pool, sunshine, and a summer day!

p.s. i am being forced to put in a "1980, neon-style bathing suit" disclaimer...sorry, it is a hand-me-down from cecelia's 19 year old sister....

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Palate Surgery

Finally we are caught up for now. On June 25th , we traveled to Boston to Shriner's hospital for Cecelia to have the first of her palate operations...this one was to close her hard palate...once the Dr began the operation he realized that during Cecelia's lip closure surgery in China the surgeon there had broken the front part of her maxillary bone(upper jaw) in order to close her lip more easily...that was not too big of an issue unto itself, but the break was never set properly...so this new surgery was more complicated than originally thought...in the end it was successful! She is healing well. The first week was no picnic...but little by little it is better. Last night Cecelia slept through the night for the first time since the surgery!

The first picture is pretty graphic...but it was soon better! Shriner's is an incredible place for children! We are very pleased!

Her next surgery is scheduled for November. That one will close her soft palate.

Disney's bad baby hair vacation contest

As anyone who knows me well knows..I am a huge Disney fan...so...I came across a contest in which you simply submit a "bad-hair day" picture of your baby and win a trip to for 4 to the "Happiest place on Earth"... one morning, I realized that Cecelia was not only having a "bad-hair day" but that she also had on "piglet" pajamas!..what could give us a better chance of winning the contest(we didn't, but that's ok)...enjoy the pictures of our try!

Memorial Day

In May we went to Vermont and had a great time. We also found out that we are going to be grandparents for the first time! Baby Belanger is due to Ryan and Gillian in January of 2009!
We also went to Cecelia's grandparent's house where she and her dad fished. Gramma also introduced Cecelia to sidewalk chalk!

The Zoo

After we were home from Germany we took a trip to the zoo. Cecelia doesn't seem as interested in the animals as she does in RUNNING from attraction to attraction...but it was fun

Germany

Finally a post from the worst blogger ever! I have to admit that this school year put me over the top...I LOVE teaching, don't get me wrong...but with a new baby in the house, and several grade levels to prepare for, there was just no time for anything else...with that said, I will try to catch up
on what we have been doing since Easter...WOW ...where did the time go?

In April, Collin, Cecelia and I went to Germany to see incredible family friends..actually they ARE family to us! The kids were great on the plane and we arrived with no problems. Enjoy the pictures!

Monday, March 31, 2008

Quilting

just a little funny story today...I have a few hobbies that I really love, namely: sewing, quilting, and knitting. Cecelia is sometimes patient with me while I sew but not always...so not much gets done anymore, except what I can sneak in at night after she is asleep and after my lesson plans are done...but the other day, she was really patient with my quilting and was playing along side of me. I had to leave the room for a minute and when I came back, a little "quilting helper" had added to my stitches! I hope you can see the handy work!

Friday, March 28, 2008

It has been a long time since we last posted..it is amazing how time flies now that Cecelia is home with us...before her adoption, time was at a crawl...

So many new things in the past month! Cecelia has learned to climb up on a stool and "help" with everything. She loves to do the dishes and I love it as it keeps her busy while I am cooking/cleaning the kitchen. She is just not a toy kid...yeah!!!! Cecelia has also learned to cut with scissors. She had practiced at this for at least a month. She would clip and I would help her to open the scissors until...VOILA...one day she could do it. She was SO proud....now to make sure nothing is cut that isn't supposed to be! And last, but certainly not least, Cecelia's grandest accomplishment came after three months of frustration and practice, practice, practice on her part. Because of Cecelia's cleft palate she is not supposed to be able to suck- she actually chews her bottle nipple to get the milk. She is very GOOD at that I must say. All of the children in our little school bring juice boxes to school and this was just something that she wanted to have very badly( so badly in fact that she would take the empties from the trash if I wasn't looking and sit in a quiet spot trying to use that straw! ewwwwwww!) One day last week, low and behold, some how, some way as she was working at it, the juice FINALLY came up that straw...she was actually sucking it...the picture of her smile and her pride at that accomplishment will not soon fade from my mommy memory! We even went right to the store to get her some of her "own" juice boxes... where there is a will, there is a way...and this baby girl has a will..that is for sure..what a survivor!

Cecelia celebrated her very first Easter! Of course we dyed eggs, had delicious food, had a visit from the Easter bunny, and loved the baskets he left! Enjoy the pictures!

We also had a very nice surprise this month. We have a very good family friend who lives in Germany named Tilly. Tilly was an exchange student from Germany who lived with my great-grandparents for a year from 1950-1951! We have been blessed to be able to go to Germany to see her and her wonderful family for the past two years but this year, with the adoption, it was not going to be possible. Well, let's just say that Tilly can't wait to meet our wonderful little girl and so she made it possible for us to go. Cecelia, Collin, and I leave on April 9th for two weeks in Sulzbach, Germany with our extended "family". Please pray that Cecelia's passport comes on angel wings...we are getting nervous! Also think of us on that plane without Dad's help...Collin says he can be an "adult" while traveling and help with Cecelia...we will see! It isn't many two year olds who can say that they have been on three continents in one year...Asia, North America, and Europe!

Enjoy the picks!

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Cecelia's birthday

Today was my birthday party and I loved it. So many people came to wish me a happy birthday! It was sooooo much fun! I am two years old! Enjoy the pictures!

Friday, February 22, 2008

Snowy Vermont February, 2008

This past Saturday our family made an unexpected trip to Vermont to see about the damage done to our cabin by a burglar. We were worried about Cecelia in the car as it is a 5 hour ride, but she was fantastic! The trip was uneventful until we got to our cabin...and the 6 feet of snow piled at the end of the driveway! We drove down to the nearest country store to get a newspaper in order to find a snowplower...called a few numbers and no luck...next we went into several other stores to see if they knew of someone...still no luck, and so resigning ourselves to the fact that we would somehow be chipping out that snow by hand, we started driving up the hill to where our house is...as life would have it, on the way up we saw a plow sitting in a neighbor's driveway and stopped to ask???...and YES, he would plow for us...well, it wasn't really plowing, more like chipping snow...and the snowplow driver got stuck! finally they were able to dig out just enough of an area for our van, with a little extra space at the end...ahhh, Vermont in the winter!

The drama doesn't end there...when we got in the house we found that our gas tank was no longer hooked up...the gas company had gone out of business!!! Since we get gas only about every three years, they sent the notice to the house in Vt., and we don't have any forward from there...soooo...another trip to a bigger town to buy a heater until we could get a new gas company...finally we were settled, albeit a little cold for a night...

We had some company in Vt this week...John's brother (who is married to my aunt - follow that?), came to stay for one night...they found themselves in the midst of all the plowing, shoveling, freezing, walk through snow to your hips to get to the front door, no gas, go to the store, buy a heater ordeal...thanks for the help guys! They are also the proud new parents of a little girl they adopted domestically in January...so Cecelia and Juleigh, two little cousins, got to meet and play for the first time!

Our oldest son, Jonathan, also came for a night...he found himself on the warm, already dugout end of the bargain...but I do need to note, got his car stuck at the end of the driveway at 2 in the morning when he arrived!

The rest of the week in Vt was uneventful, relaxing, cozy, and just plain nice. Cecelia acted as though she had always been there and was as happy as could be...

By the way, the burglar must have been as hard up as they come...he dumped a cabinet of kids' games, a few draws of cards, and stole the refrigerator!...a 20 year old, under-the-counter model that I had used for years in my classroom!

next post...Cecelia's birthday!

Monday, February 11, 2008

February, 2008 "my birthday bike"

What can you do with a new birthday bike...even when it is -20 degrees outside with the windchill????...just ask Cecelia!!!

thanks gramma!

February, 2008

What a month it has been! Cecelia has been to her pediatrician's for a check-up and now weighs 20 lbs! So exciting! She has also cut four new teeth since we returned home. Unfortunately she has also had three ear infections since we have been home...this is apparently part of the cleft issue, and should clear up once she has her surgery.

Cecelia has a little play group of girls who all came from China. We have gotten together a few times for the girls to play. Her friends include Carly, Meilyn, Lia, and Sofia. They have such a great time together. It will be so important in the future for these girls to have a peer group of friends from China. We feel it is so important that her little play group is top priority for us and especially for her!

We have also been to two Chinese New Year celebrations. Our agency hosted one and the other was hosted by the Chinese School of Syracuse. Cecelia did fairly well at the first one, which was the one hosted by the agency. We have noticed that she does get very anxious when she is around a large group off children from China. I wonder what goes through her little mind... The second New Year celebration was very different than the first. It was a show of the adults and children who go to the Chinese school. There was singing, dancing, storytelling, and instrument playing. It was wonderful! After the show, we enjoyed traditional food that is served at Chinese New Year...oranges, dumplings, fried tofu, sesame cakes, and a few more items that I do not know the names for. It was delicious! There were also games and activities for the older children. It is definately something that we will look forward to in the future. Our hope is for Cecelia to be able to take a Chinese dance class or a Mandarin language class when she is older.

Cecelia's birthday is on the 17th of this month. She will be two years old! One of the oddest things about the adoption process is that it indeed did feel as though we adopted an infant...but an infant who grew so rapidly that suddenly she is two! Cecelia has gone from a baby who could hardly sit up without falling...to a two year old who carries a chair to each room so that she can climb up and explore...and all this in just 8 weeks! It seems as though she has been with us forever!

Cecelia shares a birthday with her gramma! That is one of the red threads of our journey! The Chinese believe that a baby is born with invisible red threads connecting him/her to all the people she will meet in life. We believe that this was one of the first red threads we saw on our journey to Cecelia! Another red thread occurred when we received our acceptance letter from China. It was dated April 29th, which is the birthday of my mom's only sister, Aunt Mari, who also happens to be my godmother! Another example of a red thread occurred when we received our date for our travel meeting at the agency. John and I and our children had cared for my grandmother in our home for almost 7 years, until she passed away of Alzheimer's disease in August of 2006. And guess whose birthday our travel meeting was on!!!...my gramma's; the 16th of July! We have many more examples of this red thread which twisted and turned from our little baby, even before we knew her, right into the folds of our family! This world we live in is an amazing place!

Cecelia's favorite activities all have to do with housework! Give this girl a dustcloth and she will dust a room for an hour!...She loves to fill and empty the dishwasher, carry things to the table for supper, water the plants(she would happily water plants for hours!), and vacuum.

We are going to be traveling to our house in Vermont this week so Cecelia will experience her first long car ride. It will be interesting to see how she does on that 5 hour trip! Unfortunately the reason for our trip is because our house there was burglarized and ransacked. We received a call from the state police about it last weekend...we love to go Vermont but not for this reason!
As long as the house is ok, it is ok. Pray for good weather and a good trip for Cecelia!

Enjoy the pictures. It is difficult to get a good shot of Cecelia as she is such a moving target at the moment. As soon as she sees a camera she runs toward it! But we tried... Cecelia was blessed with two special dresses to celebrate Chinese New Year in. Our friends, the Beckers , gave her the gorgeous purple dress and Erin and Evan gave her the beautiful gold and pink one! Thank you both!

Sunday, January 20, 2008

January 20th, 2008

This is our attempt to blog our life's journey with our newest family member, Cecelia Grace Zhifan. Our family adopted Cecelia Grace on December 2, 2007, from Jiangxi Province, China. We began the process in December of 2006, picked Cecelia from our agency's Waiting Child list in April of 2007, and then waited...NOT so patiently for our travel to China. We returned home with Cecelia on December 13th, 2007 - one of the greatest days of our lives!

Our family is a BIG family, by most standards, but we would have it NO other way. Cecelia is our 6th child! Our oldest son, Jonathan, is 29. He has been married to Julie for 4 years. They live in Massachusetts where he is the IT manager of the biochemical dept. of a major university. Julie is a post-doctorate researcher for the national gov't. Our second son, Ryan, is 27. He is a computer engineer and is also working as an adjunct for a local college and pursuing his doctorate. He was married in November to Gillian, who is a 2nd grade teacher. Our third son, Evan, is 25. He is an RN at a local hospital, and is pursuing a graduate degree in order to become a nurse practitioner. He was married last year to Erin, who is a voice teacher at a local school. Our first daughter, Kaitlyn, is a freshman at Hobart College and would like to be a veterinarian someday. She is a biology major. Our fourth son, Collin, is a home-schooled 5th grader. He just turned 11. Finally we arrive at Cecelia...she will two years old on February 17th. She is just a delight! What a wonderful life we have!

John and I have been married for over 30 years! When we were first married we naively thought we would have two children and live happily-ever-after. The happily-ever-after is definately true, but who were we to know that we would fall so much in love with our children and with parenting! We are so proud of each and every one of our children and our daughters-in-law! They bring us joy each day. It is for this reason that we just knew we were NOT finished in the parenting category. Many of our friends and family thought we were off our proverbial rocker when we told them of our plans to adopt a new little one. But WE knew it was part of our life's plan! So our intent for this blog is for you to enjoy a small part of our incredible life!

The first pictures are the referral pictures we received for Cecelia. Her Chinese name is Zhi Fan. We have incorporated her Chinese name into her American name as we feel it is an important part of her unique heritage. These pictures were taken two months after her surgery and and she is about one year old in them. Cecelia was born with a cleft lip and palate. Her lip was repaired in China at the Jiangxi Women and Children's hospital. Our guide showed us the hospital in Nanchang, China, where she had the procedure done. She will have her palate repaired soon. We have seen a cleft group where we live and are also researching a cleft group in Boston.


The next pictures in our blog are from Christmas. We had only been home with Cecelia for one week when these pictures were taken. Already she was showing bits of the person she really is. She was only crawling in these pictures and was just beginning to enjoy REAL food. Until we got Cecelia, she had only had formula and rice cereal. She LOVES food. As a matter of fact, she would eat all day long if we put food in front of her. She weighed 17.6 pounds at her medical check-up for immigration. By the first week home she was up to 18.4 pounds. It will be interesting to see her weight at her next check-up! She is "filling out" nicely although this girl is one tiny person!

The next set of pictures is from last night. Most of our children were here for the evening and Evan was trying out a camera. Enjoy the pictures! What a difference in Cecelia! She is now walking, running, and climbing. She has grown a shoe size and a clothes size. She now wears a perfect size 12 months. Her receptive language is unbelievable. It almost seems as though she can understand nearly everything we say to her. As we were researching Chinese adoption, most every blog raved about the incredible development of these children once they are home. It is actually UNBELIEVABLE! The human spirit is an incredible spirit! When we first received Cecelia, she had marks on her ankles where we think she may have been tied to her crib. Well, it is our profound discovery that you may tie a child physically down, but spiritually and emotionally they still soar! What a baby girl! Just take a look for yourselves!

January Update

Updated photos of Cecelia
An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place or circumstance.

The thread may stretch or tangle, but it will never break.

Ballet Class

Ballet Class
How many years do you think it will take for my leg to reach that bar?

The Cutest Ladybug in the World

The Cutest Ladybug in the World
Cecelia is going to be a ladybug for Halloween and she just loves her costume. She will wear it on every occasion she can. This was one day in our little homeschool. I love this picture so much. And of course I love the little ladybug in it the most!

Apple picking, pumpkins, and calves...fall fun

Apple picking, pumpkins, and calves...fall fun
Collin, Cecelia and her little friend Sofia spent a day picking apples, pumpkins and visiting calves...Fall fun!

feeding a calf

Cecelia enjoyed picking this pumpkin until her fingers touched the dirt!...catch the LOOK!

dance class

dance class
ballet sure works up your thirst!

Two Little Ballerinas

Two Little Ballerinas
Cecelia and her friend Meilyn

A Day at the Zoo

A Day at the Zoo
Cecelia and some friends met at the zoo last week for a really fun day. Here are a few pictures. I must confess that I forgot to bring my camera so these pictures are courtesy of Jonni, mommy to Cecelia's friend Sofia!

Cecelia and her friends: Helaina, Sofia, Cecelia, and Meilyn

here's looking at you

here's looking at you
one of my favorite pics of the summer

how's my flexibility?

how's my flexibility?

stretching

stretching

attitude

attitude

All set for college

All set for college

cecelia grace

cecelia grace

happiness is a blowup pool and sunshine!

happiness is a blowup pool and sunshine!

the big pool!

the big pool!

Cecelia at Ben and Jerry's in Vermont - one week after surgery!

Cecelia at Ben and Jerry's in Vermont - one week after surgery!

Cecelia and Dolly in the hospital

Cecelia and Dolly in the hospital

12 hours after surgery

12 hours after surgery

Cecelia in recovery

Cecelia in recovery

Bad hair day - take three

Bad hair day - take three

Bad hair day - take two

Bad hair day - take two

Bad hair day - take one

Bad hair day - take one

Swinging in Vermont

Swinging in Vermont

Side walk chalk is the best!

Side walk chalk is the best!

Is this how you cast out?

Is this how you cast out?

Cecelia and Dad fishing

Cecelia and Dad fishing

Cecelia and the beautiful peacock

Cecelia and the beautiful peacock

In Tilly's flower bed

In Tilly's flower bed

making American" pizza...Cecelia and Tilly

making American" pizza...Cecelia and Tilly

Heidelberg

Heidelberg
Cecelia and Collin climbed the entire mountain to get to the castle

Tilly and Cecelia

Tilly and Cecelia

Still in Mosbach

Still in Mosbach

Collin and Cecelia in Mosbach

Collin and Cecelia in Mosbach

On our way to Germany!

On our way to Germany!

here is my latest quilt in the background

here is my latest quilt in the background
"the quilting helper"

some "new "stitches from my helper

some "new "stitches from my helper

Happy Easter

Happy Easter
our beautiful baby

I love jelly beans!

I love jelly beans!

collin loves them too!

collin loves them too!

I need some more!

I need some more!

ut oh where are they?

ut oh where are they?

all gone......and I am sad

all gone......and I am sad

my brother doesn't like me to cry...

my brother doesn't like me to cry...

I love my brother

I love my brother

It's My Birthday!

It's My Birthday!

My birthday cake

My birthday cake

two candles for Cecelia and one for good luck!

two candles for Cecelia and one for good luck!

will I be this tall?

will I be this tall?

I love this toy!

I love this toy!

nothing like a bath in the sink on a cold winter's night in Vermont

nothing like a bath in the sink on a cold winter's night in Vermont

new cousins- Juleigh and Cecelia with Juleigh's daddy- Uncle Freddie

new cousins- Juleigh and Cecelia with Juleigh's daddy- Uncle Freddie

this is winter!

this is winter!

the cabin in February

the cabin in February

out the front window- check out the swingset to get an idea of how much snow there is!

out the front window- check out the swingset to get an idea of how much snow there is!

a bit of space at the end of the driveway

vermont in the winter

vermont in the winter
Mt. Killington

hmmmm..a new bike!

hmmmm..a new bike!

I am almost two!

I am almost two!

I'll share!

I'll share!

what else is there in life...gummies and Chinese New Year!

what else is there in life...gummies and Chinese New Year!

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year

I love when two year olds discover their pockets!

I love when two year olds discover their pockets!

Hadley is the next victim...oops, I mean playmate

Hadley is the next victim...oops, I mean playmate

I am so happy!

I am so happy!

Cecelia, Carly, and Meilyn

Cecelia, Carly, and Meilyn
friends!

Happy Chinese New Year!

Happy Chinese New Year!

I am too cute!

Cecelia and Riley waiting for the school kids to arrive

some of my favorite toys!

"What did you want me to write?"

my favorite blankie!

how can I look mad and adorable at the same time?

our baby with her baby

what a wonder...

Cecelia at Christmas 2

Cecelia at Christmas 2007

Cecelia at 19 months old

Cecelia at 1 year

Cecelia 1 year old