1st Trip to Church

We started out Week 2 home by taking Rachel Lian to Church for the first time. She had a great time. She thought it was funny to see Ye Ye playing the piano but she really lost it when Daddy started playing the drums. She went to children's church with Olivia and stayed for the finger painting and coloring. After that she wanted to go back to the main sanctuary to be with Ma Ma and Ba Ba. After church we picked up a large bucket a KFC and headed home, she loved the mashed potatoes.

On Monday we took her to the UAB clinic. Dr. Chambers is great. She is the first doctor that Rachel Lian allowed to examine her without melting down. Dr. Chambers has 2 adopted children and the other clinic members have adopted internationally as well. She ordered hearing and eye tests and we spoke at length with the family therapist who has also adopted multiple times. We also had an abdominal ultrasound to look at her hernia and drew blood for lots of labs. We return to the clinic in 3 weeks to get the results and put together an overall plan for her development.

We learn a little more each day of her personality. She is very happy and loves to run and play outside. She is wide open all day and because of her eye issues she falls a lot. She always has a scrape or bruise from running and falling over something in the yard. The pediatricians both think her eye issues are correctable and we will find out when we go for her first appointment on this Thursday the 13th.

She continues to pick up a few words in English each day. This week's highlights were:

Wal-Mart

Book

Kitty

NO

We have noticed that she understands a great deal more in English than she expresses. She listens to our conversations and she understands if her mom asks her to do something. The other day, Joy called for Olivia to go upstairs and get her glasses from the desk. We turned around a minute later to see Rachel standing there handing the glasses to her mom with a big smile on her face. We were shocked. We better be careful what we say around her because she is catching on quick.

She also does not like to be without her shoes. As soon as she gets up in the morning she puts her shoes on. She fusses at each of us if we go outside without shoes. It is so funny. Olivia is just the opposite, you have to threaten her to keep them on.