3 Week Update

Well, I'm clearly not a professional blogger, but I'm finally getting around to an update.  It's mostly hard to do new posts as our life is pretty dull right now.  I am venturing out a little bit more with Bailey, but when I do I rarely bring the camera (again, not a die hard blogger).

But here are some highlights from the past couple of weeks:

Bailey had her first doctor's appointment.  Despite having gained 2 pounds by the time we got there (up to 26 lbs), she still met the criteria for both stunting and wasting.  Stunting means she is significantly short for her age.  Wasting means that she is significantly underweight for her height (even though she is short to begin with).  I can't tell you how many people have commented that her size seems fine, which really reminds me why SPOON's programs are right on target for what is needed in orphanages.  One thing that SPOON is working on is making sure orphans' height and weight is plotted on growth charts.  Orphans often have their height and weight measured, but it is usually recorded in a list and not on a growth chart.  So no one knows how a child compares to norms or if a child is falling off of their own curve.  As with Bailey, you can't always tell by looking.

Since we've spent so much time at home the last three weeks, we've become bird watchers.  We put up some bird feeders (some home made) in the back and we try to identify the birds.  Bailey likes to pull out the bird book when she sees birds (usually finches) and try to identify what they are.  So far she has identified some seagulls and blue herons (not really, of course)!

Up until a few days ago, Bailey was having a hard time playing.  She could sit at the table and play with play doh or color, but she never went in to  the play room and did not really know what to do with toys, other than basic things like stacking blocks or playing catch with a ball.  But the other day, when stacking blocks, she said to me "happy birthday to you" and when I looked over she had made a cake with four candles!  And her playing has gotten a little better ever since.  She even asks to play sometimes.  She also started pushing her doll in the stroller which is the first interest she's shown in the doll.  Here she is blowing out her candles:

And of course I have to talk about her language development.  I've been keeping close tabs as I always regretted I didn't do a better job of that with Bakha. I always thought I'd have time, but then her English developed so rapidly.  With Bailey, I would say that the majority of her language is still Mandarin (maybe 75%) which is amazing to me.  After more than three weeks of not hearing Mandarin it is still very solid.  But her English is coming along.  She probably has a 50-60 word vocabulary and sometimes she comes out with little "sentences" like "all done with Caillou," "I love milk" and "Bakha horses jump."  Just now as I am writing she is burying herself in a box of styrofoam peanuts and yelling out "Mama, where'd your legs go?"

Here are a few more random pictures.  She tried a bike with training wheels without a whole lot of success (despite Bakha's great jump rope teaching tool):

And this picture is for you, Nicole.  I wanted you to know that your hand-me-downs are getting another run through!

Here's a video of Bailey opening a birthday present that came in the mail from her Aunt Amy (although in her mind cousin Owen gets all the credit for the gift.  Every time she plays with it she says "Happy birthday to you.  Owen" to indicate that Owen gave it to her for her birthday).  This girl LOOOVED her birthday: