She's here....

Jadyn's WheeleyBug came today. She "test drove" one of these ride-on's at our local children's boutique and just loved it. It was just so expensive, we left without one.

Once home I did some research on-line and found they have received lots of awards for gross motor skill development. That pretty much sold me on it her, Miss Mouse. Thanks to e*Bay for the great deal too.

Jadyn is behind on her gross motor skills. She has no idea how to climb stairs, jump, run, ect. She is starting physical therapy next week for this.

It's very common for a child who has lived in an orphanage to come home behind in some sort of motor skill. We are confident she will catch up quickly, as she has already come a long way in her walking since she has been home.

I know, she's missing her pants and socks, Miss Mouse came during her nap and there was no time to get dressed once she saw her!

2 MONTHS AGO....

We received our beautiful little girl.

She has gone through so many changes in the last 60 days


She has had open heart surgery


She has gained 4 pounds and grown 1" taller


She has learned lots of English words
and...
She finally likes our dog (sorry no pictures of that yet!)

We could not be more pleased with the progress Jadyn has made transitioning into our family. She is a happy, smart, loving, healthy little girl

My friend gave her a shirt that says "I was worth the wait" we couldn't agree more!

Not again!

My Mom keeps standing me in front of plants or flowers and tries to get me to smile, someday she will realize it does not work. This plant kept tickling my neck..

and my hair



I couldn't stand it any longer

and finally I broke free!


and started smiling

she'll catch on sooner or later!

I hope!

Lunch time or Nap time

This is what happens when we have a late lunch/nap. Someone is on a great schedule and Mommy needs to stick to it!


Here is Daddy reminding her she has already had dinner and a snack, this girl loves to eat!
Tomorrow my girlfriend is throwing Jadyn a welcome home shower, so stay tuned for more pictures..

The picture I promised you.

2 weeks ago today our beautiful little girl had open heart surgery. We are so thrilled at how well she has done.

She tore off her chest strip yesterday, I guess in celebration. After the horror of seeing it in her hand, then noticing how good her incision looks, I calmed down. It is healed and looks awesome......thank goodness.

I'm 2 1/2 now

We celebrated by setting up a little photo shoot in our living room, she was pretty cooperative at times.

Here are some of the shots we got. We need to figure out some better lighting for next time.





Then she had had enough of her paparazzi parents

We did get one great pose, we are using it for our adoption announcement, so no peeking just yet. I will post it after they go out in the mail.
We also took Jadyn out for a Chinese dinner, she loved it!

1 week post surgery

It has been 1 week today since our little angel had open heart surgery, the Glenn procedure to be exact. She has excelled more than her Dad and I could have ever imagined.
The only sign that she had surgery is the bandage strip on her chest. She is so playful and full of energy. She also sleeps about 4 hours less a day. She is on a half a baby aspirin per day until fully healed, they want to keep her blood thin.
Ames took her for a walk 2 nights ago up a incline and she did great. She came back full of energy and not at all out of breath.

We are overjoyed with the progress Jadyn has made, this little girl has been through so much the last month.

Enjoy the pictures, someone likes to pose!

On the mend

Jadyn continues to do awesome, she is full of energy, is happy and loves to play.






This is pretty much how she spends her day, taking care of her babies.

Were Home!

Jadyn was released today (Sunday) around 2:00 pm. The Cardiologist had to talk me into taking her home. I just couldn't believe she was ready, it's only been 3 days. She assured me she was just fine and would never let her go home if she wasn't.

Jadyn was so excited when we pulled into our driveway, she has been up playing since. I gave her a bath as soon as we got home, it had been since last Wednesday. Plus she was covered in heart monitor tape goo.

I cant stress enough how happy we feel that this step is behind her and how wonderful she handled it all. Our little girl has been through a lot in the last 30 days. The day of her surgery, September 3, was our 1 month adoption anniversary. Boy has she changed in a months time. She mostly speaks mandarin to us but knows several English words, we have no problem knowing what she wants.

Again, I want to thank everyone who has left comments and e-mails for us, it means alot.....Thank YOU!

Happy Girl

having fun playing with daddy

Another great day of recuperating, Jadyn got her chest tubes out this morning.
We were moved out of the PICU to a regular room too.
She is on regular Tylenol for pain, no more morphine.

Jadyn has done so well it just amazes us, she is 2 days post-op and eating and playing like it's been 2 weeks. The nurses are trying to get her up and walking but she has no interest, I'm sure she is weak feeling.

They brought a wagon to her room tonight, she has really enjoyed going for walks in the hallways.
We have been told Sunday (tomorrow) she may get to go home, if not, Monday for sure!

Having a sick child really makes me appreciate the skills of these wonderful doctors and nurses. They have healed our daughters heart.
We have also seen families not as fortunate as us with the health of their child. A little boy passed away yesterday in the room next to Jadyn's. I just cant get the family out of my mind, my heart breaks for them. I just cant imagine the pain that family is living with now.

good-bye until tomorrow

Jadyn's day

I wanted to get a small update posted while Jadyn is sleeping. She has had a good day. Everything has been removed except, her IV and 2 chest tubes to drain fluid.

She got her foot caught around one of the chest tubes today and pulled about 4" out of her little chest. The poor thing was in terrible pain, her nurse happened to be out of the room at the time, 2 other nurses came right in and gave her some pain medicine which quickly calmed her down.
Thank goodness, no harm was done, after a chest x-ray determined that the tube was still collecting fluid, all was good again. They put some oxygen back on her after her ordeal.

She ate like a champ, played with some new books and doll she received as a gift and took a few cat naps.

I was able to hold her all afternoon, she was very happy to lay on my lap. She just looks so beautiful and healthy, I didn't realize just how "blue" her skin was, she is a beautiful olive color now, with gorgeous pink lips!

Pretty in PINK

Jadyn continues to do wonderful, the doctors are so impressed with her recovery, she is on room air now and her oxygen level is in the high 80's. Her lips and nails are beautiful pink!

Her surgery and post-op has gone so much smoother than I expected, she has been such a good girl. I was afraid she would try and pull some lines out or be very upset. She is really just taking it all in stride. Ames & I are so proud of her and SO happy she has done so well.

They took out the pace maker wires this morning and an arterial line in her thigh. They were placed during surgery for precautionary reasons. She does not have a pace maker, the wires were placed to correct her beat if needed. Her cardiologist just left and said she could go home Monday, possibly even Sunday if she continues down this road. She should be moved out of PICU tonight or tomorrow. Our room will be larger and more private. She has a hard time sleeping with us and her nurse in her room full time.

Our home for a day or so more. (it's a tiny room)

She's Done!!

It's 11:15 a.m. Thursday morning. Jadyn's heart surgeon just left us after giving us word that the surgery went well and exactly as expected. Oxygen levels are in the mid to high 80s, and it wasn't necessary to infuse any blood during the surgery. We'll be able to see her in ICU in another 45 minutes or so. We are SO relieved!!!

Our angel before surgery. She was so scared and the fingers help, poor girl.

I'm feeling the stress

Tomorrow is the day, we have to be in Spokane by 10:00 am. I dread the thought of Jadyn going back to the hospital, her scared little face breaks my heart. We will all be so glad when she is home and well.



Here are some of her happy faces



"get me off this wet grass" face



and....that big brown dog is way to close face


and my favorite, adorable face!