Kaleigh's Corner

Sisters

2010-11-20T23:20:00.002-06:00

I know it has been a while since I have updated Kaleigh's blog and most of you know it is because I have been working on her sister's blog. We brought Courtney home about 6 or 7 weeks ago and it has taken a few weeks but they are acting more and more like sisters every day. This is one cute picture that we have gotten. We have several but most of the time only one will actually be looking at the camera!

Cuteness!!!

2010-11-20T23:18:00.001-06:00

I just had to post this picture of Kaleigh she just looks to cute.

First Haircut

2010-08-05T21:33:00.003-05:00

Yes we finally got Kaleigh her first haircut! Some may be surprised since she doesn't have a lot of hair yet, but she had a lot of long wispy pieces that maid her hair just look messy all the time. You can't really tell in these pictures but it actually made her hair look much thicker especially in the back. We thought her bangs were longer than they were but it was once again the long wispy pieces hanging in her eyes. I think it will be extremely cute as it continues to grow. It makes her look like a bigger girl instead of just my baby!

China Reunion 2010

2010-07-25T21:43:00.002-05:00

We had our first China Travel Group Reunion this weekend in Memphis and had a wonderful time. It was so great to see the girls all together. They have all grown and changed so much. They have such funny little personalities. Kaleigh responded well with all the girls. It was a busy and exhausting weekend but so worth every minute we were together. I am going to post a few pictures but won't tell who is who just to protect the privacy of our dear friends.

More Pictures

2010-07-05T22:13:00.003-05:00

July 4th in KY

2010-07-05T21:56:00.002-05:00

Brent had to work all weekend so Kaleigh and I decided to head to KY to see my family especially since it meant we would also get to see Uncle Greg and cousin Max. Kaleigh played in the sand box, the swimming pool, watered flowers, posed in front of flowers and caught her first red worm! I think it is safe to say it was a great weekend. I think it was the first time that all 6 of the grand kids were together at once. If only sister Courtney was home from China to enjoy it as well.

Random Photos

2010-06-21T22:18:00.003-05:00

Everything is going well and we are having lots of fun. I just wanted to share some recent photos. Wild hair morning, bath time fun with bubbles (one of her favorite words), eating strawberry shortcake, and some after bath play time.

Pictures

2010-05-19T22:11:00.002-05:00

I know I haven't put up any recent pictures of Kaleigh in a while. These pictures include the zoo, the discovery center here in Murfreesboro and the discovery center in Chattanooga and the Aquarium. Now that she is so mobile it is hard to get good pictures because she won't be still for very long.

No pictures this time

2010-05-13T21:56:00.003-05:00

No pictures this time but I just have to share this week with everyone. First Kaleigh just hasn't been feeling herself since last week but it was nothing that we could really put our finger on until Tuesday when she just woke up just moody and needy. I took her to daycare and just around 1pm they called and said that she had continued to cry off and on almost all day and about 30 minutes later they called to say she was finally running a temp. So off to the doctor we go. They check her for almost everything and .................nothing! No flu no strep no ear infection nothing. She did throw up in the doctor's office and had a fever of 102.6 but I don't know if she just got herself worked up and that shot the temp up and caused her to throw up but she was extremely lethargic as well. She woke up the next day feeling better but energy level was still a little low and on Thursday she was back to herself until around noon when she fell while playing with daddy on her swing set and got her arm caught in the fall. So after a phone call from my husband to come home and look at her wrist, we decided back to the doctor's office. We just knew her wrist had at least a hairline fracture but it turns out her wrist was fine. She had "nurse maids elbow". It is a slight dislocation in the elbow that frequently happens in young kids and the doctor popped in back in and I kid you not....she was laughing and using the arm within about 30 seconds! Mommy is just wanting to know if we can just put her in a bubble for a few days until I can rest and calm my nerves down! This evening she was her usual self. Kids are truely amazing.

Easter

2010-04-04T21:30:00.003-05:00

We had a really good Easter other than Kaleigh refused to act right during Church today. She just wanted to play and was very loud when she wasn't allowed to run free. Needless to say Brent and I took turns missing the service and letting her play some. She loved her Easter basket especially the chocolate and had fun finding the Easter eggs especially the ones that had chocolate in them! Enjoy the pictures.

Forever Family Day

2010-02-23T22:30:00.006-06:00

Today is a day that is filled with so many memories and so many emotions. I can remember standing in that huge room waiting...and hearing a baby crying (Carmen) and just being so happy and wanting to cry so bad but not wanting to break down either. I remember that Carmen was brought in first and then so quickly they brought in another baby and called out her name, Ye Gui Chun. I think it took a moment for it to register with me and Brent that they were calling out our daughter's name because Joy our guide had to look at us to get us moving. They just handed her to me and she came so easily. No tears, didn't seem to be in shock or scared just curious about what was going on around her. She was VERY active and busy. She moved constantly and took a bottle in about 5 minutes flat. She wasn't very interested in us at the moment but was interested in all the action taking place around us. It wasn't until we got back to the hotel room that she showed any signs of sadness at all. Her little lip stuck out and started quivering and the eyes started to tear up. I just held her tight and told her mommy and daddy loved her and would never leave her. And that was it. She showed signs of stress and over stimulation by sucking her lip but fell asleep in my arms a couple of hours after we got to the hotel and I had her belly laughing that night. She was so tiny and so very very weak.

Wow! How things have changed in a year! She is very attached to both me and her daddy. She has grown so much except that she still doesn't have a head full of hair and is still a skinny little thing (you wouldn't believe how much this child eats and still stays so skinny). She now eats great and is working on the spoon and fork. She is finally walking and that has been a very recent thing. Her ankles are still very weak so she still has some balance issues but that is getting better everyday. She says mom, more, dada (sometimes). I think there are several other words that she is saying but I think only I recognize them. Trust me when I say that she makes her needs and wants known. She understands almost everything that we say to her and is a very determined little girl. If I had to use one word to describe her today it would have to be mischevious. Yes, as wonderful and sweet as she is, she is so very mischevious right now. The poor dogs are catching the worst of it.

We celebrated our first Forever Family day this morning with breakfast before I went to work and Kaleigh went to daycare. Daddy had to work late tonight so that was the only time that we could all be together. She got 4 braclets that we bought in China and she loved them. She took them off and put them back on several times.

Birthday!!!

2010-02-22T21:41:00.002-06:00

Yes my baby is two!!!! Exciting but so sad. She is still so tiny in my eyes and it is so hard to believe that she as of tomorrow she has been with us for a year.

Birthday Party!!!!

2010-02-22T21:35:00.006-06:00

As you can see Kaleigh had a big day on Sunday. We had a party for her on Sunday, the day before the actual big day. She had lots of fun and as you can see finally passed out as we were finishing dinner.

Chinese New Year Celebration

2010-02-07T21:36:00.002-06:00

I remember our first CNY celebration. We were just DTC and we met another family that we were friends with and went to the local FCC CNY Celebration. I remember thinking how wonderful it would be to take Kaleigh to this after we brought her home and it was as wonderful as I thought it would be. The FCC of Middle TN does a wonderful job and had wonderful entertainment and Kaleigh is getting so much more mobile now and was all over the place. That means we didn't get a lot of good pictures of her because most are blurry because she was moving so fast. Anyway enjoy the pictures.

Snow day!

2010-01-30T10:40:00.002-06:00

Today Kaleigh got first real experience in the snow and she loved it!! In fact she wanted to go back out as soon as we came in but I was afraid to keep her out for more than about 10 or 15 minutes since it was so cold and the snow had a layer of ice on top of it.

Cute pic of the day

2010-01-28T21:01:00.003-06:00

Well today Kaleigh had to go with me to work for a couple of hours while daddy had his eyes checked and she found her sunglasses!!! Check out Hollywood!!!

We have a walker!!!!!!

2010-01-17T19:57:00.004-06:00

Kaleigh is finally walking! Several months ago she took about 4 steps and since then not really anything until the last couple months she has been taking about 4 steps at a time very consistantly but very unstable. This weekend she has really started moving. She is walking from room to room, acroos the length of the bonus room, stopping and starting again, carrying things with her, and going around things. We could not be more excited. She is probably walking about 10 to 15 feet at a time. It is still slightly unstable at times but she has started going slower and regaining her balance easier. She has also started walking very well holding to one hand. I know some of you are thinking, she is almost 2 and she should have been walking a long time ago, but considering how extremely weak she was when we came home I am not surprised. Anyway I just wanted to share the great news!!

Christmas Day!!!!!

2009-12-25T23:22:00.002-06:00

It was so exciting to get up this morning and watch Kaleigh play with her new kitchen that Santa brought her. She loved it!!! As I looked at all the presents for our little one I remember someone telling me that my house would look like the department stores had thrown up here.... I guess they know me well. Anyway enjoy the pictures of Kaleigh playing and opening her presents.

Christmas Eve

2009-12-25T23:15:00.003-06:00

Well, we finally got to start our family Christmas Traditions. Christmas Eve consisted of us going to Church and them coming home and after bath time getting to hear Daddy read Twas the Night Before Christmas. It was wonderful. She did so good at church (probably because she was tired) and sat in her daddy's lap for story time very calmly. This past week everyone kept telling me how excited they were for us to finally be celebrating the holiday as a family and they were right it was so special! It is hard to imagine that a year ago we were so depressed because we knew who she was and we knew that she wasn't having Christmas so I guess we made up for it this year.

FCC Christmas Party

2009-12-25T22:59:00.002-06:00

Several of you have been asking to see pictures from this night and as you will see most of them are of Kaleigh crawling from one place to another. She was really excited to have so much room to roam!

Lazy night at home

2009-12-16T20:19:00.002-06:00

The past couple of weeks Kaleigh has started winding down by laying in my lap covered by a Titans blanket. Brent feel in love with her sweet smile again tonight and had to take some pictures. Its moments like this that make you forget the long wait and all the hoops you jumped thru in order to bring them home. As you can see we obviously love our little one very much.

One year ago.......

2009-12-11T22:34:00.002-06:00

It is so hard to believe that it was just a year ago that we were anxiously waiting to find out about our little Kaleigh. Our social worker was off that afternoon that referrals came out so we didn't get the information until Dec 12th. I remember crying all the way home from a meeting while driving in the snow because everyone around me got "the call" that day. However, after a sleepless night of wondering what if.....the next day December 12th we not only found out about Kaleigh but we saw her face for the very first time. She looked so sweet but so very serious. I remember telling Brent that I couldn't wait to make her smile. For those of you who know her, you know she is a very happy little girl and nothing like the serious baby in those photos. It is strange to think about it now and how much our lives have changed in this past year. Christmas last year was hard because we knew who she was and it hurt to celebrate without her and this year we are so excited because she is finally with us. I hope she knows one day how much she has brought to our lives and how very happy she has made us. Every time someone tells me what special people we are or how lucky she is that we adopted her I smile and say thank you, but the truth is we feel honored to have been blessed with such a wonderful gift as our daughter and we feel lucky to have her.

ICE!

2009-12-06T09:49:00.002-06:00

On Saturday we took Kaleigh to see ICE! at Opryland. They have an ice display every year and this year it is a Charlie Brown Christmas. It was so great. I don't know how much Kaleigh enjoyed it since she could barely see from the stroller, thick bubble coat, and the 10 pd quilt that was covering her. She did have fun at lunch and pulling things off the shelf in the gift shop. We didn't take any pictures there since it was like walking thru a freezer. We did buy the ones they took but you can barely see Kaleigh in them. We then took her to a Nashville Predators game Saturday night and she always enjoys it for about the first period and about half of the second and then she is tired. So I guess you could say it was a day of cold since we also woke up that morning to a very light dusting of snow.

What have the Callahans been up to?

2009-12-04T20:50:00.004-06:00

For the answer check out this link to learn more about Kaleigh's sister!!!! http://ourjourneytocourtney.blogspot.com/

Enjoy!

First Thanksgiving

2009-11-27T20:29:00.002-06:00

Reading the paper with Daddy trying to find the best Black Friday sales!

Well this was our first Thanksgiving with Kaleigh and it was wonderful. It is hard to imagine that a year ago we still didn't know who she was. Two weeks later we saw her pictures for the first time. I can truely say that we had so much to be thankful for this year. The most important thing is God making our family a true family. I will admit that being a mom is not always easy and Kaleigh hasn't caught up as fast as we had hoped but I wouldn't change a thing. She is a wonderful, happy, determined little girl who has brought us so much happiness. Only another mom could understand how exciting it is to walk into a room and see her face light up just because she has seem me. I will say that cooking dinner would not have been easy without Brent this year. He really spent a lot of time keeping Kaleigh occupied so that I could cook. He gave her, her first tootsie roll pop. It was peppermint and she loved it and got it everywhere. Anyway enjoy the pictures! Can't wait to celebrate Christmas with our little one this year!!

First boo boo

2009-11-27T20:25:00.003-06:00

My curious active little one decided to try to catch the water as it was going down the drain after her bath and stuck her thumb under the drain stop and got it caught. She ended up with a cut across the top of ther thumb and it peeled back a small thin layer of skin. She only cried for a minute but it bleed enough that it required her first bandaid. She spent the next 30 minutes trying to get the bandaid off she we took it off as soon as the bleeding was over.

More pictures from Halloween

2009-10-31T20:56:00.002-05:00

Halloween

2009-10-31T20:51:00.002-05:00

This was Kaleigh's first Halloween and to be honest as you can tell by the pictures she didn't like being in a costume or being in the stroller. We didn't get a lot of pictures but these span over about 3 days. Some are of her carving a pumpkin with daddy, the cow costume is from daycare and the ladybug was from tonight. Trust me she had more fun than it looks like. She only wanted to crawl around the neighbors driveway and garage and once all of the kids arrived it was just to dangerous for her and then she was mad because she was in the stroller.

More Gatlinburg/ Aquarium

2009-10-27T22:36:00.003-05:00

More pictures. The green hat, we had to buy to keep Kaleigh from shoplifting! She saw it and grabbed it and nothing else would do. The ledge she is sitting on was in the cabin and she loved crawling on it. I however did not love for her to crawl on it which meant that the stairs were completely off limit unless mommy or daddy was right there.

Gatlinburg

2009-10-27T22:26:00.002-05:00

Well, we took Kaleigh to the beach and now we have taken her to the mountains! She had a great time, especially with breakfast and dinner. The child that would not take anything other than her bottle in China knows how to eat now. Enjoy the pictures. It was rainy and overcast most of the time so the pictures are not as great as they could have been with some sunshine!

Misc Pictures

2009-10-18T21:30:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to add some new photos of our little bit. She is getting so big yet she is still so tiny. There is a picture here of her and her daddy on their way to her first Preds game. She seemed to enjoy all the noise. We also ended up sitting next to a lady who has a daughter from the province next to Kaleigh's. Some times it really is a small world.

Play date

2009-09-27T21:25:00.002-05:00

On Saturday my friend Jan finally got to meet Kaleigh. Everytime we have tried to plan something before something has come up with one of us. Jan has a beautiful daughter who is about 5 months younger than Kaleigh and it is so cute to look at the pictures and see how dark Kaleigh is and how pale Adyson is. They did well together, they didn't fight over toys and shared on occassions but the cutest part was when Kaleigh got thirsty Adyson had to have something to drink as well. If one took a drink so did the other.

Busch Gardens

2009-09-20T22:48:00.003-05:00

Busch Gardens was not our "official" last day in Florida but since we were driving back on Friday night we spent the day just laying around and napping so that we could spend the night driving. Busch Gardens was still a little to "old" for Kaleigh and it was very HOT and HUMID that day but we still had a good time. There were a couple of rides that Kaleigh could do so we did them and then just walked around and ate lunch before heading back to her grandparents. I have also included a cute pic of Kaleigh kissing herself in the mirror of the hotel!!

Beach Fun

2009-09-20T22:37:00.002-05:00

Well all I can say is thank goodness Kaleigh loves the beach like her mommy!!!! We arrived at our hotel in Clearwater late afternoon/ early evening on Monday and after having a light dinner we took Kaleigh out to the beach and let her play in the sand and stick her feet in the ocean. She loved it. The next day we spent a about 3 or 4 hours at the beach and yes we had her covered in sunscreen and under the beach unbrella. She had lots of fun playing in the sand, she didn't want to play in the ocean after a certain daddy let a wave splash her in the face. That evening we went out to dinner and Kaleigh had a great time drinking her juice and watching the birds that kept hanging around to see what she was going to drop next. Our last day at the beach was wonderful, best weather we had the entire time in Florida. We spent almost 5 hours at the beach and Kaleigh decided she didn't want to play with her sand toys but wanted to sit in one of our beach chairs. She did renew her love of the ocean. We played in a tidal pool for almost an hour and then we got her floating toy and got her out in the ocean and let her "ride" the waves and she LOVED it. The day ended far to early but we did go back out and take a few pictures on the beach that night and then we walked on the pier and enjoyed some ice cream.

Pool Playing

2009-09-20T22:31:00.002-05:00

We spent the past week in Florida visiting Brent's parents, going to Clearwater beach and Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay. Here are a few pictures of Kaleigh playing in the pool at her grandparents subdivision. The best part of the pool is that one area was beach style so it had a gradual decline going into the water and Kaleigh could crawl in and out at will. Unfortunately it rained a lot while we were there so she didn't get to play in the pool as much as we wanted.

First Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-07T21:19:00.002-05:00

Well, here in the Callahan household it was a low key weekend. Kaleigh has been feeling bad since Thursday so I stayed home with her all weekend except for running some errands on Saturday and then the 3 of us going to the grocery store on Sunday. You can tell that she didn't feel good in the pictures but she definitely had fun with the finger paint that her daddy brought home for her on Sunday.

The Chair

2009-08-23T20:34:00.002-05:00

Anyone who has spent much time with Kaleigh knows that she loves to climb into chairs. She fell in love with a Pottery Barn chair that belongs to Mike and Susan. Brent and I have been planning to get her one and today I finally did. SHE LOVES IT!!!!! She had to wait until about 30 minutes before bedtime to get to play with it because her wonderful Godmother Susan embroidered her name on it for her. It looks perfect. I would have loved to have gone with pink of course but Brent said "NO MORE PINK" so I went with the green instead and with her name in pink on it, it turned out perfect. Thank you Susan. The only problem with the chair is that another little girl in the house loves it too.

Check it out!!!!

2009-08-07T21:41:00.002-05:00

Our good friends and Kaleigh's Godparents Mike and Susan are waiting to bring home their son Cameron from China. The wait has turned out to be much longer than they thought it would be and it has been hard since they have known who Cameron is the entire time. The good part of the wait (if there can be a good part) is that it has allowed them the opportunity to do so many wonderful things for Cameron's orphanage. They are doing one last fundraiser (since hopefully they will be traveling soon) and hopefully some of you will feel it in your heart to donate to the cause. Check out their blog, applejuice wishes and cheerios dreams listed on the left side of this blog under links for the information on the fundraiser.

Latest Accomplishments

2009-07-27T21:07:00.002-05:00

Friday night I was sitting on the couch in our bonus room enjoying a quite night at home with Brent and Kaleigh. Kaleigh loves to stand and pat on the couch and look at me and giggle so imagine my surprise when she turns around, throws her hands in the air and takes off walking!!!! Granted it was only about 3 steps and not the most stable, but she wasn't lunging or being supported by anything. Of course, I screamed, Brent missed it and neither of us had a camera handy. She took an occassional step throughout the weekend and I am trying not to rush the whole walking thing. On Saturday she woke up in such a happy mood and about an hour and a half later she was the most unhappy child in the world. It was a few hours later before I discovered a very sharp "eye" tooth just about to come thru her gums. That explains the very unhappy baby. Despite the fact that she was feeling bad she spent the evening at a cookout at her Godparent's house to help them celebrate the Heavenly Birthday of their son Kyan. On Sunday we had her first professional portraits made and they turned out so pretty. It helps that the subject of the photos is so beautiful!!! Then this evening after having a rough morning with gums still hurting Kaleigh and I come home to spend an evening alone (daddy was at work) and while having dinner the child who has REFUSED to clap her hands......starts clapping her hands together!!!! She really is my child, you can't "make" either of us do anything you have to wait and let us just do it when we are ready!!! Of course daddy missed the first steps and the first time she claps her hands together. He got the first poopy diaper so I guess she feels like mommy needs some first of her own.

Trip to KY

2009-07-23T21:12:00.003-05:00

We spent the weekend in KY last weekend and Kaleigh finally got to meet the last of the cousins and her other Uncle on my (Sandy) sided of the family. She had a lot of fun playing at her Uncle Jon's house and on our way to see mom and dad we took her to see her Uncle Greg for the first time and his son Max who is only 3 1/2 months older than her. They are as different as night and day when you look at them but they were like two peas in a pod when they were playing together. Yes, Kaleigh climbed to the top of this play area by her self and came down the slide a few times and then she decided to lead Max on an adventure and decided to head for the maze at the top of the play area. Thanks for climbing up and sending them down the slide Greg!

Change to the blog

2009-07-13T11:48:00.002-05:00

Well, Kaleigh has been home for over 4 months now. A name change to the blog only seems fitting. Sandy and I have been talking about making the change, but have held off for various reasons. This may or may not be the final name of the blog, but it's a start. Till next time...

Fun day with daddy

2009-07-11T21:16:00.002-05:00

Yes, Brent spends Thursdays with Kaleigh and as you can see by these pictures they had some fun this week. Brent decided to turn Kaleigh's swing set into a water slide. I think Kaleigh really enjoyed it!!

4th of July

2009-07-07T20:32:00.002-05:00

We had a wonderful 4th of July. For the 2nd year in a row, my brother Jon and his family came to visit. We missed you Tanner. I think this may be turning into an annual 4th celebration. This year was so much more exciting because we have a new US citizen in our family and having that for our daughter, Kaleigh gave us so many more reasons to celebrate. We let the kids play together, we had a cookout at our neighbor's house with lots of kids and great friends and family, then we shopped and then ended the night with fireworks. Kaleigh and Sydney wore matching outfits made by Teresa's mom for the occassion. Check out the link to Teresa's blog on the side of mine if you are interested in any of her merchandise.

More Pics!!

2009-06-24T21:32:00.002-05:00

Baptism

2009-06-24T21:13:00.004-05:00

We had Kaleigh baptized on Father's day. We shared the day with our church family, her Godparents, Mike and Susan, and her grandparent's Callahan. It was a very special day for us.

First Father's Day

2009-06-24T21:10:00.002-05:00

We spent the weekend celebrating Brent's first Father's day. It started with his parents coming to visit and then the building of Kaleigh's 1st swing set and then ended with her baptism on Sunday.

Zoo Time!

2009-06-10T11:15:00.003-05:00

Kaleigh took her first trip to the Zoo this past weekend. It was an afternoon trip so she got a little tired and cranky. Kaleigh got to see 75% of the Zoo before getting extremely tired and restless. It was a fun day...Next year I have a feeling we will be buying a season pass for the family..

Memorial Day Weekend Fun

2009-05-24T19:00:00.003-05:00

Today Kaleigh had her pool time fun. The weather wasn't great, but it was fun...After the fun in the pool Kaleigh was playing with her Fisher Price baby gymnastic toys and pulled herself up on it. Another first!

TN Renaissance Festival

2009-05-23T15:47:00.002-05:00

Well today we went to the TN Renaissance Festival at Castle Gwynn. This was our first family outing. Kaleigh did great! Sandy and I can tell you that we all enjoyed the Turkey Leg, Chicken on a stick, deep fried Oreos, King Kone soft serve ice cream, funnel cake and the chocolate covered frozen cheese cake on a stick!!!!!! There were several thousand people there by the time we left...

Evening at the Park

2009-05-22T20:33:00.004-05:00

Last night we went to one of the many local parks and had a blast with Kaleigh. She got to swing in her first baby swing and had a blast. We played around for while..It was great!

Kaleigh's first Day Care Craft project

2009-05-14T20:02:00.003-05:00

This is Kaleigh's first Day Care craft project from Monday.

Stepping Stone Placement

2009-05-14T19:55:00.004-05:00

On Tuesday night we placed the steppnig stone that Sandy got as a Mothers Day gift from Susan and Paula. It's a keepsake stepping stone with Kaleigh's foot prints. We placed the stone in our new flower bed.

Happy Mothers Day

2009-05-10T21:23:00.002-05:00

Here is Sandy and Kaleigh before Church this morning. Our first Mothers Day was wonderful!

Standing in Crib

2009-05-05T20:49:00.002-05:00

Brent called me this morning at work to let me know that after I left for work he started hearing a lot of noise on the monitor and decided that Kaleigh was up and just flipping around in her crib instead of crying. So being the good daddy that he is he went upstairs to get her up for the day and found her standing in her crib and smiling. We are so proud of all the strides she is making and take pride in sharing those with everyone! Enjoy the pictures.

Godparents

2009-05-03T22:12:00.003-05:00

Well, I just wanted to let everyone know that we have choosen godparents for Kaleigh and they have accepted the request. As my mom said it was an obvious choice. Mike and Susan, our neighbors and friends. They already love Kaleigh and she loves them and we know they are going to very important people in her life. They are on their own journey to bring their son home from China and hopefully CCAA will get on the ball and speed up on their end so Cameron can come home soon. So will Cameron be Kaleigh's best buddy or her future husband??? Only time will tell. I wonder if my parents and their friends tried to plan out our lives when we were young like this?? Anyway we just want to say thank you to Mike and Susan for saying yes.

Standing Tall

2009-04-26T20:02:00.003-05:00

Well, we got home from KY this afternoon and while I was outside cutting the grass Kaleigh pulled herself up to a full standing position on some of her toys. Then after dinner she did the same thing againg while next to me on the couch. We took her upstairs...what do you know. A picture really is worth a thousand words....

Weekend in KY

2009-04-26T19:41:00.004-05:00

This weekend was Kaleigh's first weekend trip to visit family. We went to see Grandma(Granny) and Grandpa(Papa) Miller. Kaleigh enjoyed herself and loved being outside the entire time, she also had her first Popsicle and she loved it. The creek in front of the house captivated Kaleigh. Especially the little water fall....Of course spending time with the family was the best part.

Climbing the Steps!!!

2009-04-22T20:18:00.002-05:00

Well, I didn't believe it until I saw it. Last night while I was closing at work I got an IM on the Blackberry from Sandy. "Little bit just climbed the steps..UH-O!". I called Sandy and apparently Kaleigh was able to climb the steps(2 steps) out of the bonus room and make it into the upstairs hallway. After struggling on Monday, Tuesday was the magic day. After weeks of every effort in her body to climb out of the bonus room, she made it! I guess this means the baby gates go up. Tonight after dinner, I couldn't wait to get Kaleigh upstairs and see for myself. Sure enough, she climbed out of the room faster then I could have imagined. I had to get the camcorder out to film this milestone. I put her back done into the bonus room and filmed the fastest baby in the southeast...Wow! She was up and out before I knew. I was so proud of her. Kaleigh is making developmental leaps everyday. It amazes me quickly she progressing with her motor skills. It is truly something to be in awe about. I think back to China almost 8 weeks ago, and how Kaleigh could barely even sit up or hold her head up. Now she is climbing steps, pulling herself up on anything she can grab, and crawls on her knees blazing trails through the house. I love this stuff!

More from Easter 2009

2009-04-13T21:33:00.002-05:00

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T20:05:00.003-05:00

Happy Easter to everyone. We really enjoyed celebrating Kaleigh's first Easter. She had a pretty dress for church and a cute one to hunt eggs in later. It was her first trip to church and she did really well. The service was a little longer than usual and she did get restless by the end since it was getting past her nap time and close to her lunch time. She did not really get into the egg hunting thing but she did enjoy the time outside watching the dogs chase bubbles and trying to catch them herself a couple of times.

Okay just to let everyone know we are ok. The tornadoes hit very close to us but other than losing power for 24 hours we did not have any issues. We did have to replace most of the contents of our fridg but we paid for that with the money that we made at our yard sale this weekend. The other bad news of the weekend is that my dad is in the hospital so anyone who is saying a prayer say one for him as well. He still hasn't met his new granddaughter so he needs to start feeling better soon.

Anyway look for pictures later!!!!

More from the Birthday!

2009-03-21T20:33:00.001-05:00

1st Birthday Party!!!

2009-03-21T20:02:00.002-05:00

I know Kaleigh's birthday was almost a month ago but since we didn't have her at the time we wanted to celebrate it again with us. Kim from my work made her cake and it was beautiful and tasty. Her Granny Lelia, Uncle Jon, Aunt Teresa and cousins Zach and Sydney were here to celebrate with her. This was the first visit from family and it went well. She was a little overwhelmed at times but Brent and I were good at picking up on the signs and would pick her up and hold her until she felt better. She got lots of new toys like she really needed those and ate her first ice cream which she really seemed to like. Her new favorite toy is a balloon. Anyway enjoy the pictures and to the friends back home who have commented on the blog thank you for following our journey to our beautiful daughter and hopefully someday soon you will get a chance to meet her.

Kaleigh Update

2009-03-15T20:31:00.002-05:00

Well thankfully she is for the most part sleeping thru the night. She starts getting restless between about 4 and 5 am and is usually up by at least 5:30. She will have a bottle and play for about 1 to 2 hours depending on when she gets up and then she is falling asleep while playing at that point so we usually let her finish her sleep until about 9 when she get up for some cereal. She may have a small nap from 10:30 or so until just before 12 and then she is up for her lunch and then she is usually up until at least 3 or so and will sometimes take another nap. This afternoon one depends on if she had a morning one and how long it was. She is then up until about 8:30 unless she skipped her afternoon nap and then we fight to keep her up until 8. I would like to get her to stay up until at least 9 so that she will sleep later of the morning but we will work on that over the next couple of weeks. She is eating lots now and will even take some small bites of adult food. She loved the carrots and potatoes in the homemade veg beef soup I made. She likes the chicken from chicken nuggets, maybe a bite of scrambles egg and the soft pieces of hashbrowns. We are working on a sippy cup and can get her to take small drinks from time to time but not loving it yet. We are working on fluids other than milk and formula in the sippy cup. We are doing half and half with the whole milk and the formula right now which seems to be working well (except for when someone forgot to pop it in the microwave for 15 seconds to take the chill off). She is doing much better in the car seat and even let me move to the front yesterday afternoon. She is doing great at sitting up now but hasn't figured out how to go from sitting to crawling or crawling to sitting without help yet. She is a very happy baby and loves Abbigail almost as much as Abbigail loves her. She has pulled the ears and fur and kicked and smacked Abbigail and surprisingly....Abbigail just sits and takes it. Malcolm likes her but could do without her just as well and she stares at him and on occassion will pet him but for the most part could care less about him. I think he is just too old to care now. Anyway enjoy these at home pictures.

At home pics!

2009-03-10T11:55:00.002-05:00

Okay, here are a few pictures of Kaleigh at home.

First Doctor's Appointment

2009-03-10T01:16:00.002-05:00

Well, let me start first by saying that the doctor seemed pleased with Kaleigh today. He was not all that concerned with her weight and said to let her put it on at her own rate. He gave to ok to start switching to whole milk and to start trying any foods other than the things like peanuts and popcorn. He also said to make sure that we are giving her water for thirst between meals. Brent and I had talked about that on the way to the appointment but he answered it before we could ask. We then proceeded to give three injections one in one thigh and two in the other and a tb skin test in her arm. She stoped crying as soon as I picked her up other than the sniffels. She cried more when he looked in her ears which by the way you will all be surprised to hear look great. We then proceeded to the lab to have a bunch of blood drawn, that was the hardest part of the day for her because it lasted for a couple of minutes and wasn't over in a second or two. By the time I got her home and gave her a bottle and got her changed and dosed with tylenol she was fine and ready to go for a walk with mommy and the neighbors. Unfortunately the doctor's appointment caused her to miss her afternoon nap and she fell asleep around 6:45 or so. We decided to let her sleep because she would not wake up she would just cry with her eyes closed. We were going to wake her up at 8 and feed her and keep her up a couple of hours and then back to bed (we made progress last night and wanted to continue). Lets just say that she woke up just enough to have her bottle and was a limp noodle. No possibility of keeping her awake.

She woke me up about 12:30 or so just moaning and I got up to check on her and realized that she has the expected fever from the shots and is obviously in pain by the way she is moving her little legs. So I have given her more tyenol and she us now laying in her crib crying off and on with her legs pulled up under her. So the doctor has disrupted her new sleep schedule but the crying has almost stopped so I guess the tyenol is working.

Anyway my new technique for sleeping better is when she cries during the night I don't get her up I simply stand by her crib and rub her back until she falls back to sleep. I discovered that if I get her up she thinks it is play time and rubbing her back relaxes her enough to get her back to sleep for at least a couple more hours.

Anyway I will let everyone know how we end up surviving the night!

Home

2009-03-07T00:47:00.003-06:00

Home has never felt so good and we are still exhausted. Kaleigh does not have her nights and days straight yet, we are trying something different tonight so hopefully we don't get our 3 to 4 am wake up cry. I know most of you are probably wondering why I am still up at almost 1 am if I am expecting a wake up cry in just a couple of hours but I seem to get a second wind at this time of the night right now. I think part of it is me just wanting to see how she is sleeping. Anyway it was a long trip home but made so wonderful by all of our friends here in Murfreesboro. Mike and Susan met us at the airport with a Welcome home Kaleigh sign and an American flag for her. Kaleigh did good in the car seat until about 10 minutes before we got home but we think part of that was just 30 hours of travel. Then we have an "It's a girl" sign in our front yard and lots of food in the house. Susan, Paula and Beth made sure we had a wonderful dinner (home cooked!!) stuff for sandwiches and snacks and a beautiful ladybug cake. We were so tired at that time I don't think I took it all in until several hours later and about 45 minutes of sleep. I hope everyone knows how much we appreciate everything. The first meeting between Kaleigh and the dogs went much better than expected. Both dogs seemed to like her very well and Abbigail was very gentle and even went in for the first kiss. Malcolm was a little too eager with his kisses and Kaleigh gets frustated. Today Abbigail has been getting a little more aggessive but not in a mean way, she is just trying to figure out how to play with Kaleigh and trust me today Kaleigh has done a lot of squealing and playing so the dogs are a little more unsettled than they were.

As many of you know Kaleigh would not eat very much for us in China and mainly just took the bottle until the last day or so. Well all I can say is that has changed now!!!! She is eating baby food like there is no tomorrow so we should see that 17 pounds go up fast. Today she spent a lot of time bonding with her daddy so mommy stayed back and let daddy do all of the feedings but one. We both love to feed her.

We had several small visits with neighbors and my work yesterday and today and she seems to do good with everyone but we are still keeping her with us to help the attachment and bonding process. She had her first visit to Target this evening and did great until about half way home when she hit her limit was decided she was tired and hungry. Yes we were trying to get her good and tired and to make sure she went to bed with a full tummy hoping she will sleep thru the night.

Anyway here are a few pictures to enjoy and hopefully you will see more later or maybe even see our little sweetie in person. The one of me squatting is her first steps in the USA. There is one of her first kiss from Abbigail and a couple others of her first couple of days here.

Almost Home!

2009-03-04T17:08:00.002-06:00

Okay, Sandy and I are at the Gate B22 at O'Hare and we are tired. This is the last leg of the trip. We started the never ending Wednesday at 4:00am in China....It's now only 5:10pm cst on Wednesday. We are reliving the same hours of the day over again. We have now flown for 14 hours total today. That equals to 5 security checkpoints of some type....It's getting old. With that being said, we would not trade this insanity for anything else. We are enjoying each and every moment with Kaleigh. We took a picture of her at the customs center. These are her first steps on US soil. Sandy wants me to let everyone know that she is tired and cranky and that my brain is a haze from the lack of sleep and I have had to re-type these sentences and words multiple times. Well this may be the last post for a while, as we get settled into home life with "little bit". To all of ours friends on the journey with us, thank you for making it a wonderful experience and we will all see each other again! A big thank you to all of the Family and Friends for your support and help! Well, I know this will be my last post, as Sandy will do updates from now..SOOOO...Till next time....Brent

You know it's the end when....

2009-03-03T05:41:00.001-06:00

Red Couch and more....

2009-03-03T05:39:00.001-06:00

More from our last night and the Red Couch!

2009-03-03T05:38:00.002-06:00

Last night in China

2009-03-03T05:22:00.002-06:00

Well, today was our last day here in China and part of me feels sad that today is Kaleigh's last day in her birth country but the rest of me (and Brent) is just excited to be heading home. We are dreading the flights since our little peanut did not do well on her first flight so everyone be sayings some prayers that she does better tomorrow.

We had our consulate appointment today and got THE brown envelope that we have to give to immigration so they can process Kaleigh as a US citizen. The swearing in ceremony was not grand but it was moving to know what it stood for. We had our last group dinner tonight.

Brent wanted me to let everyone know that we (he) did so much shopping while we were here that we not only had to break out the expandable piece of luggage but we had to buy a small extra piece. We did not buy a lot of clothes except for the traditional dresses but we did buy several things to give her for years to come and a few things for family to say thank you for standing by us. Anyway can't wait to be home tomorrow and Susan I am glad to know that Abbigail went out in the snow both dogs love playing in it. Enjoy the pictures and see you tomorrow.

The fab 25!!!

2009-03-01T23:15:00.002-06:00

So, here is a sampling of some of our purchases while in China. Count the pairs of shoes.

Pretty in Pink

2009-03-01T23:14:00.002-06:00

More and More from last night and today!

2009-03-01T23:13:00.002-06:00

More pics from last night and today!

2009-03-01T23:12:00.002-06:00

More shopping!

2009-03-01T22:54:00.003-06:00

Today was almost a free day. Our guide went to the consulate for us with all of our paperwork and we just had to check in by noon to make sure there were no problems and since we didn't hear anything it looks like we will be back in the states as scheduled. Honestly China is a facinating country and I have enjoyed my time here but we are so ready to be home. Taking care of a baby who barely knows who you are in a hotel room is not the easiest thing. As you should be able to tell by how exhausted we look. Yes I have read the comments of no makeup, lets just say it is easier to keep your face clean without the extra mess of makeup when you can't use the tap water to wash your face with. However, I don't think the water bothters the locals because Kaleigh LOVES to splash in the tub and ends up with water everywhere and she hasn't gotten sick yet. For those of you who are following because you are on the same journey please note that the Barbies the White Swan gives out are no more. They placed there last order and found out that the factory that makes them is here and they have closed. They have our names and say they will ship them to us if they end up getting them but I am not counting on it at this point. Yes, I am a little disappointed but otherwise I have exactly what I came to China for, my daughter, and by the way she even seems to like me already!!! We did take her to the Swan Room last night to play and she had a blast!!!!

Final pics from Italian dinner night!!!

2009-03-01T05:52:00.001-06:00

Even more from Italian dinner night!!!

2009-03-01T05:51:00.000-06:00

More from Italian dinner night!!

2009-03-01T05:50:00.001-06:00

Paper Work and Italian Dinner

2009-03-01T05:35:00.002-06:00

Hi everyone it is Sandy again. Today has been a good day. Our little girl is just so much fun. She had a great day with her daddy today while mommy finished up the paperwork that will allow us to bring her to the USA. Tomorrow our guide will take it to the US consulate to make sure that everything is ok and then the next day we go for our oath. Kaleigh is so much fun she is like the energizer bunny meaning she does not stop moving until she falls asleep. When she is just with Brent and I she baby talks constantly and squeals with delight all the time. We are still having issues with getting her to eat more than just formula but tonight at our Italian dinner she was eating the sauce from my lasagna. Maybe she Italian instead of Chinese. We also have done some great shopping. We have bought several traditional Chinese dresses for her in various sizes and we bought 12 pairs of squeaky shoes from Sherry's Place and even though she is not walking yet she loves shoes. Everytime we put on a new pair of shoes she will turn her foot from side to side to look at them and then she starts playing with her feet. We fall more and more in love with this baby everyday. I can't wait for everyone to meet her. Enjoy the pictures and more tomorrow. More baby and more shopping!!

Update

2009-02-28T05:17:00.002-06:00

Update from Sandy this time. Yesterday was a rough day Kaleigh did not feel good and we had to fly. She cried the entire 55 minute flight except for about 15 minutes. Screamed was a better word for it but after she was better. We think she did not feel good and suspected that she had a bit of a fever but our meds were already packed in the suitcase and ready to put on the plane. Today was a much better day and we really worked on her bonding with daddy. She really loves him and Brent thinks that she is still more comfortable with her mommy. She may be more comfortable with me but he really makes her laugh. We had her physical today and they said she is healthy. She is 28 inches tall and only 17.1 pounds which is slightly less than the last update we got but I think it is due to the transition because she doesn't eat as good for us as they said she did. Anyway I just wanted to update everyone the next few days are getting the last of the red tape done so that we can bring her home but in the eyes of China she is ours and we even have her passport. More later hopefully we can get more internet access but for some reason we are having problems with getting our computer to recognize cable internet. Much love, Sandy!!

GB3!!!

2009-02-28T05:13:00.004-06:00

GB2!!!

2009-02-28T05:11:00.003-06:00

Guangzhou Baby!!

2009-02-28T05:05:00.002-06:00

More from Free Days!!

2009-02-25T23:06:00.001-06:00

Free Days!!

2009-02-25T22:53:00.002-06:00

Here are photos from the last 2 days. Yesterday we went to a local park near the hotel. Today we took a sort bus ride over to park that had temples and the tallest pagoda in the area. Kaleigh had a rough day yesterday, she fought off sleep as much as possible. She started eating congee yesterday or at least a few spoonfuls. Kaleigh slept through the night last night...She struggled the night before and tossed and turned. Kaleigh has been warming up to Sandy and loves to sleep on her chest. Kaleigh enjoys playing with me but...is a little reluctant to make eye contact, but that will come in time. Okay now for some photos. Till next time!!! Brent

Post from Sandy

2009-02-24T06:54:00.002-06:00

Hi sorry about the delay in getting pictures but let me add to whatever Brent has said by adding how much we love this little girl. I will say that she doesn't stop moving unless she is asleep and she seems to be responding to us very well. Anyway it is late and we need to get the bath and bottle done for the night. Until next time enjoy the pictures of our beautiful daughter!!!

MORE MORE MORE

2009-02-24T06:51:00.001-06:00

MORE MORE

2009-02-24T06:48:00.000-06:00

Even More!!!!

2009-02-24T06:46:00.001-06:00

MORE!!

2009-02-24T06:44:00.003-06:00

Pictures of KALEIGH!!!

2009-02-24T06:38:00.002-06:00

Sorry for the late posting of her pictures, but we no longer have internet service for the old Dell. We are using our friends laptop now. Here are 2 days worth of photos. Pictures from yesterday and today...We got Kaleigh yesterday at 3:00pm and she is very well behaved. An angel to be precise. Today was paperwork day with government employees and paying all of the major fees. Hope everyone enjoys!!!! Till next time...Brent

Last of the Day Trip Photos!!!

2009-02-22T03:12:00.004-06:00

Can you guess what these are?

Day Trip Photos 4!!

2009-02-22T03:10:00.001-06:00

Trip Photos 3!!!

2009-02-22T03:08:00.003-06:00

More Trip Photos 2!!!!

2009-02-22T03:06:00.002-06:00

Trip Day Photos!!!

2009-02-22T02:47:00.003-06:00

Well, Sandy just did a post for everyone, now it's my turn. Today was busy day. We started off in T-Man Square, then walked over to the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City was a walking tour that took a while, it's an amazing sight to see with it's history. After touring the Forbidden City we took a short bus ride over to the Hutong(Water Well, now small street) district. Once we arrived we rode on the Rickshaws. At the end of the ride we stopped at the Bell Tower and were shown the proper tea making and drinking techniques. Samples were provided of everything made. So the pictures are a little bite of everything from today. I will try and place them in order. I hope everyone is enjoying the journey with us! Till next time.....Brent

P.S. I had to throw in a few fun photos...(theres a 4 star bathroom at the Forbidden City)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY GIRL!!!!

2009-02-22T02:27:00.002-06:00

Yes today is Kaleigh's birthday she is 1 and we are heartbroken that we can't be with her but we promise to make it up to her tomorrow, after she stops kicking and screaming. We have been told that the babies from our province are very "angry". Don't know what that means but hopefully the anger goes away soon. I know you have all been keeping up with us and that you have been getting Brent's witty humor instead of mine but hope you are enjoying the pictures. We are having a great time but it is definitely a different world here. You know you are in a foreign country. We did go out to dinner last night with some friends and we went to a Chinese restaurant and no one spoke English. Food was good and they managed to understand us and we them. I was very proud of myself for doing this. We have now had two official Chinese meals and while they were both closer to American Chinese than what most eat here they were wonderful. I do think we will skip out on the social scene tonight and pack since we are leaving for the airport at 5:30 am tomorrow. More from Brent later with pictures and his thoughts for the day. Love you all and to everyone leaving comments thanks for the support and we love reading the comments so keep them coming.

Last photos from Wall day....

2009-02-21T02:52:00.001-06:00

Till next time....

More Wall

2009-02-21T02:50:00.004-06:00

The camel was in the parking lot for the section of Great Wall we were at...The guy was charging for pictures, but we got in some pictures before he knew what was happening.....