Joylin the growing monster!

She is getting Big! Which she will hold her hands high in the air when you sing that to her! SHe loves music and the remote. We just found our TV remote in a drawer which we never knew we had.
At her Drs. Check up on 2/4 - she gained 4 lbs! She is a whopping 20 lb butter ball now. She gained 2 inches and is already taking lots of steps. She swaggers a bit but prefers to walk than crawl.
Her hair is filling in as well as her eyelashes. She had 4 teeth when we were in China and now she has 8 teeth with more on the way. She is curious and into everything (see tornado pic below). She is bonding well with Dad and me. I am, of course, the favorite:)
We are still in awe and thank God for all he has blessed us with in this little angel.

Schedule - ANYONE?

I am not an extremely organized person, but with our family and obligations- it would be nice to have a schedule. Miss Joylin thinks otherwise. She likes to keep us guessing. You know- go with the flow- be flexible. I would like to know if I can get to the store at a certain time or not. So when you tell someone to come over for a visit and then she spends the entire 2 hours sleeping - what do you do?
Here she is with the boys:













This is my "no!no! NO!" Hockey picture. Don't even hold that mini- stick!

Getting settled

We have been home now for less than a week. It feels so good to be home. Poor Joylin has a cold still and we believe is teething too. There still isn't much of a pattern to her schedule. She is pretty active at around 4 am if anyone would like to visit then. Of course, I want to run her around to everyone and show her off, but I know that is not the best timing for her right now.
We are slowly realizing all the baby proofing and she isn't even walking yet. She sure wants to. She likes the boys to take her around holding her hands. She is communicating so much more too. Not talking per say - fun babble, but you know when she is done eating (which is good for her to realize that you can quit- she didn't have much of an off button when eating), she tells you when she doesn't like her face washed and being put in the crib. Yep, she is good at expressing her opinions now. This is a good sign, meaning she is more comfortable with us. We are working towards a stronger trust with her.
We did get our first hugs- (we think that is what they were) from her. We picked her up and she kind of pats your back in excitement and a huge smile. We just melt with her.
We have a drs. appt on Friday. We are hoping she has gained weight since we were in China. Her last recorded weight was 16 lbs. at 16 months!
I'll post pictures later tonight.

Homecoming- Yeah!

We arrived in the US on Dec 3rd. It was a loooonnnnggggg plane ride. Joylin and I caught a cold before leaving and the airplane made it worse but we made it! Her routine we thought we had agreed on is completely off. Way too many changes for a youngster! We are so glad to be on our own beds, where everyone speaks English, and the comfort our town.

Mom & Joylin in the airport- two tired puppies!

Daddy trying to keep Joylin entertained at the airport.

My sister, niece, Aunt, Uncle, Gman and My Mother met us at the airport.

Our welcome home crew!

Here we come down the exit ramp. Kurt and I couldn't decide who would carry her to everyone so we decided to "walk her"- which we found out is something she really enjoys, too.

Here Gman is meeting his new little sister.

My Beautiful niece & sister with Joylin.

My aunt and uncle with Joylin.

The boys learn she likes to "walk."






And what we do without Gma!