Gotcha Day Anniversary

This day reminds me of so many things!  I think back to the day that we saw the following video.
This is the one and only video we have of Naeleigh as a baby.  This was taken in her orphanage and we are not sure how old she was when this was taken.  We received this video when we were matched with her.  She looks like she is having fun.  The Chinese characters at the beginning are her Chinese name, Luo Ke Fen.

This was our first sight of Naeleigh when we were opening her medical file.  Look at that face!!!

Fast-forwarding 17 months into the future, here we are in China at The Great Wall!  We were talking the other day and said, "would we ever have thought when we started dating in high school that we would be married and go to China to adopt a baby????"  It's amazing what God can do because I am not a good traveler, especially not insanely long flights and hotel stays in a foreign country.  But we had a wonderful time while we were there.  

The very best day, was the day we met our precious daughter.

She was late getting to the registry center.  But her orphanage director brought her in, fast asleep.  We couldn't have her yet because they hadn't "called our names" so we watched as she was taken behind a curtain.  We took pictures of another family's Gotcha Day experience while we waited.  Then we heard, "Peavy!" and my stomach dropped.  It's not like meeting your infant child for the first time whom you have carried and always had with you.  I remember reading to Brett while I was pregnant and talking to him.  The whole time we waited to travel to China, I constantly prayed her Naeleigh's protection and health but I knew there was nothing I could do to physically help her.  It was heart-wrenching at times, I will be honest.  Not knowing who was taking care of her or IF she was being taken care of at all...but God had her in His hands.  

 So they brought her out to us!  Her orphanage director was such a sweet woman.  She told us that Naeleigh had been asleep while they were in the car.  So, when it was time to hand her over,

Naeleigh just stared at us.  And then she cried...

And cried...

And cried...

Bubbles, cookies, suckers...nothing helped.

Until I started singing to her...it was like magic.  She had no idea what I was saying but she liked it.

"Jesus loves me this I know,

for the Bible tells me so,

little ones to Him belong,

they are weak, but He is strong."

After her first bath...

She is seriously wondering what in the world is happening to her.

Now, one year later, she is doing so well.  I am so proud of my "beautiful girl" (Naeleigh means "beautiful girl in Chinese).  She is such a strong and independent little girl but never wants to be away from her family.  We are so blessed to be her parents.  God was feeling especially creative when He formed her little personality.  She is a trip!  She has such a good sense of humor.  We love her sweet little voice (except when she is screaming at us).  :)  Naeleigh had her 3 year old wellness visit with her doctor yesterday.  She was 31 inches and 19 pounds when we adopted her.  Naeleigh is now 35 inches tall and 25 pounds!!!  It's amazing what good nutrition and lots of sugars and hugs will do!  

We recently celebrated her 3rd birthday.   We had her grandparents over for dinner and cupcakes on her birthday and then celebrated with a big party the following weekend.  She loved her party! Naeleigh kept walking around saying, "My cake!"

We celebrated her Gotcha Day with a trip to Hilton Head Island.  We visited a children's museum called The Sandbox  and went to the beach!  A fun-filled and exhausting day!!

Happy Gotcha Day, Our Precious Naeleigh!  

Two Weeks

We have been home two weeks tomorrow.  We had a rocky start...Naeleigh started running a fever two days after we were home.  We took her to the doctor and found out she had pneumonia in her right lung.  That has cleared up now.  We have been doing lab work this week...getting her checked out and making sure everything is okay.  So far, so good.

Miss Naeleigh loves to sing and loves to listen to music.  She will be ready for children's choir when the time comes!  This video is her singing part of Frozen's "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?"  I love her sweet little voice.  She is such a blessing to us.

Brett and Naeleigh are getting along great.  There are times when she is a finicky female and wants nothing to do with him but he's learning her signals for "Leave me alone!"

We are loving our new baby girl and getting used to our new "normal!"

Tuesday and Wednesday

We had Naeleigh's consulate appointment on Tuesday morning.  It was a busy morning!  So, she fell asleep on the bus ride back to the hotel.  She stayed asleep for awhile!

My Mema bought this outfit for her...I couldn't get a picture of her standing up and smiling...she's a stinker sometimes...anyway, we got lots of compliments on the outfit!  She looked adorable.

Tuesday night, we went on a river cruise to see the city of Guangzhou at night.  It was beautiful!

Naeleigh was exhausted after all the excitement on Tuesday.

She slept really hard last night and woke up in a great mood today.

Wednesday was pretty uneventful...which was a welcomed change.  We have been going and going for several days now.  Today, all we had to do was pick up her US visa and PACK!!!!

This is Naeleigh this morning playing with a bracelet we got her.

Here are the silks we bought her.  My favorite is the blue!  You should see it in person!  It's beautiful.

And this is our Chinese princess taking her afternoon nap.  

We ate dinner at the hotel tonight and packed some more.  We are getting ready to go to bed.  We are leaving the hotel at 6:15 am.  We have 3 flights tomorrow.  Please pray for safe travels, no delays, and a happy baby.  We are getting in at 10:40 pm Thursday.  Looking forward to being home!  I miss my Brett so much!!

Safari!!!

We had such a great day.  Little Miss Priss woke up in quite a mood this morning.  She was not a happy camper.  In her sleep last night, we heard her saying, "Mama, MMMMama, Mama...."  It was a precious sound!!

Michael did something today and I said, "Oh, Daddy!"  Naeleigh copied me in her almost Southern accent, "Oh, Daddy!"

After we arrived at the Safari park, she cheered up.  Michael took most of the pictures today.  Naeleigh was all smiles!!!!

This picture of the baby elephant is for you, Moma!  Adorable!!!

There was no way I was coming to China and not riding an elephant.  Not many people in our group did it but I could not resist!  

Naeleigh is playing peek-a-boo with Michael in the stroller.  We had to rent a stroller from the hotel.  We have been using the baby carrier and holding her.  But today was such a long day and it was so hot and humid.  Naeleigh took a nice nap in her stroller.  She did not know what to make of it at first but she quickly adjusted.  Mommy still ended up holding her a lot. 

This was taken at the White Tiger show this afternoon.  Naeleigh loved it.  She clapped and jumped the whole show.  She copied the crowd when they cheered.  We were so glad she had a good time.  

This is Michael playing tug of war with a white tiger.  They chose two girls from the crowd to try it first.  When they couldn't do it, several people (including me) pointed to Michael to try as the third person.  So, Michael and two other Chinese girls beat the tiger!  It was hilarious to watch.  He won a mini plush white tiger key chain, which Naeleigh gladly accepted.

These are more pictures of her beautiful smile.

Daddy is getting some sugars from his baby girl.

This sign cracked us up.  There were more mistranslated signs but this was my favorite.

This Safari was so amazing.  There were tons of animals.  More animals than any zoo we've ever seen.  The Orangutans were hanging right above our heads.  The zoo keeper was holding hands and kissing one of them.  

They have a lot of Koalas too.  I love Koalas but I never get to see them awake because they sleep so much.  Michael took lots of pictures for me.

We have Naeleigh's appointment at the Consulate tomorrow and our oath ceremony.  We are going on a River Cruise tomorrow night and then preparing to fly home on Thursday.  Can't wait to be in the USA!