September 2008

It is hard to believe that we have been home with Sydnie for 2 months! When we think back to the first few days after “Gotcha Day”…what a transformation! Sydnie has adjusted so well during this time and is such a happy little girl!

Sydnie’s communication has simply amazed us. She started mimicking us at the end of our China trip and now she has an English vocabulary of well over 50 words and she is putting together 3 to 4 word sentences. Of course our favorite is when she says “I love you” (sounds more like I “ove” you)! She counts to ten on her own and is starting to learn the alphabet! She still sings in Chinese and it is so adorable!

Sydnie had a check-up at the International Adoption Clinic at All Children’s Hospital shortly after we came home. She had to get caught up on some of her immunizations but besides that she is right on target for her language, fine motor skills, gross motor skills and general development. She has her first visit with the ENT in a few weeks where we will learn more about her right ear and find out if she has an ear canal. Her hearing appears fine in both ears so we are hopeful that she will only need some reconstructive surgery.

Sydnie loves loves loves animals! Bindi the Jungle Girl is her favorite show and she asks for it all the time! She also loves watching her Barney Circus Video (over and over and over again). She loves to dance to music (she always wants mama and baba to join her and for those who have witnessed my dancing know that it is not a pretty sight!). She loves going to the park and also loves looking for lizards with her Daddy! She loves swimming, playing hide-n-seek, books and pushing her baby doll in the stroller.

Mommy returned to work in mid August…which was not as tough as anticipated. I’m sure it helped that Daddy and Sydnie checked in several times during the day and I knew that Sydnie was at home with Daddy and not in the care of strangers.

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit from Minnesota a few weeks ago (Grandma was having “Sydnie withdrawals” since we returned from China !). Sydnie calls them “G-ma” and “G-papa”…very cute! Sydnie loved having them here! She especially loved “bath-time” with Grandma because unlike mommy, Grandma let her splash water outside of the tub :)

With this being our last post, I wanted to say “thank you” to those who have played a special part in our “Journey to Sydnie”.

Sydnie’s birth mother
We cannot imagine how hard it must have been to make the decision to give-up the daughter you carried for 9 months. We know that you wanted Sydnie to have the best possible life…and we promise that we will do everything in our power to provide that to her.

Sydnie’s foster parents
Sydnie was with her foster family for over 2 years. They loved her very much and took such good care of her during that time. It breaks our hearts to know how tough it must have been for them on the morning of July 14, 2008 when they said goodbye to “Yuan Yuan”. We will make sure that Sydnie knows about her foster family as she is growing up!

My mom (aka Sydnie’s G-ma)
From the very beginning, my mom has been one of our biggest supporters. She fell in love with Sydnie the instant she saw her picture and could not wait to meet her newest grandchild! She joined us in China and has built a beautiful relationship with Sydnie! Love you mom!

Our family and friends
We have so many other family and friends that supported us along the way…you know who you are! From the “have you heard anything” conversations during the long wait…to the words of love and encouragement left in our guestbook while we were in China …to the wonderful welcomes you have given to Sydnie…it has meant the world to us!

Our adoption agency
We made the decision to use Holt International Children’s Services to represent us in our adoption journey and this was a decision we have not regretted! Holt took good care of us from the time we filled out the application in July of 2006 until we returned home with Sydnie in July of 2008. They have a great team and the work that they do for the orphans in China is truly incredible!

Joe & Jen from myadoptionwebsite
During the long wait for Sydnie I discovered myadoptionwebsite.com. Joe & Jen created myadoptionwebsite.com after adopting their daughter from China in 2004 so that others could share their own China adoption story with family and friends. We were extremely grateful to be able to share our journey with all of our family and friends!

We feel blessed beyond words that Sydnie was chosen to be our daughter and we were chosen to be her parents. She is the perfect little girl for our family and we are truly grateful for this precious gift! God does work miracles…and ours is Sydnie!

With all our Love,

Lon’ee & Caren

 

I am oh so cool!


Hangin' with my bunny friends!


I love the pool!