Memorial Weekend

Well, Friday we went and applied for Meighan's Social Security Number. We should have the card in 3-4 weeks. We then went to Westroads to see if we could find a dress for her baptism. The store I wanted to check is now closed. We had lunch with Tony, Tim and Bryan and then went to see if the same store at Oakview was still open. They are but they don't have little kids' clothes. So I'm ordering her dress online direct from China.

Saturday evening we walked down to our neighbor's place. He was having a "going away party" for some neighbors who had been in the neighborhood for many years. The people that bought their place were also there. Meighan played in the playhouse, the little slide and they hung the baby swing up and she enjoyed that, too.

We found out this weekend that Meighan likes potato salad, hot dogs, and even ice cream (cold!). While I was at "Wicked" last night she sat in Tony's lap and actually ate ice cream! DARN! She LIKES it! Less for us! She also likes Cheetos, potato chips, chocolate chip cookies, brownies although we need to limit that kind of stuff! We are also getting more "daddy" sometimes instead of "da da". She can also point to "mama".

"Wicked" was a really good show! I didn't know the show at all and had only heard part of one song, "Popular", previously. I think my favorite song was "For Good" that summed up the show very well. The singers were awesome, the music was great, the set and costumes were fantastic! I'm glad I got to see the show. And, yes, I took binoculars and was glad I had them. Since I didn't know the show, it was good to be able to see their faces and lips so I could understand the words and story better. They worked well because there were several songs that were just solos, duets, or trios. When the whole cast was on stage it worked better just to watch the whole stage, as far away as it was.

Certificate of Citizenship

Today was fairly eventful.

This morning we spoke at the NCHS International Information Sharing Meeting. We basically told about our adoption journey (thus far) to the couples that were there to learn about international adoption. In the afternoon they were going to have the Domestic Information Sharing Meeting. We had been to both meetings -- the domestic when we first got started thinking about adoption and the international back in November of '07 when we started thinking about international adoption. Meighan roamed the room and made some friends.

On the way home I stopped downtown and got my ticket for "Wicked"! Can't wait to see it though I think I'll need binoculars where I'm sitting!

This afternoon when the mail came, Meighan's Certificate of Citizenship arrived from the Department of Homeland Security! Yeah! It has the picture that was taken as her visa picture while we were in Guangzhou. Now we can get her SSN in one step instead of two and also get her American passport, I think!

Meighan also received another package in the mail! It was a pink rain slicker! It's really cute and she'll be able to wear it for a long time!

Our First Mother's Day

We celebrated our first Mother's Day yesterday. It was Meighan's first Mother's Day WITH a mother! We went to church in Murdock and she did very well. She actually does quite well in church as long as we bring snacks and her little ducky. Shoes and socks eventually come off everywhere (especially in the car!).

After church we all went over to Quarry Oaks Golf Course where they had a WONDERFUL brunch! Everyone is amazed at how good of an eater Meighan is! She had coffee cake, scrambled eggs, part of a biscuit, hash browns. We tried pineapple and cantelope but it all came out. When I ate my pineapple I realized it was a little tart. Oh well. She liked it once. She'll like it again!

After lunch we went back to my parents and she was asleep by the time we got there. She slept a good hour and a half! Then we gave her a bottle and went to Tony's family's get-together. They had more food, of course, and I just couldn't eat anymore and be comfortable. Meighan ate a Graduates later on when she was actually hungry. We got home in time to get settled for Sunday TV (Desperate Housewives).

Her follow-up with the ENT doctor went well. The fluid is still behind her eardrums so she will probably end up with tubes very soon -- a common thing these days with all kids, not just cleft lip/palate kids.

My mom, Lindsay and Tyler came up on Friday to watch Meighan while I got my tomatoes and beans planted in the garden. I had gotten the garden tilled the night before and was all ready with everything when they got there. They got her so worn out that after I gave her her lunch, she fell asleep in the high chair! She slept a little while that afternoon. It was kinda nice being able to change a diaper on a sleeping child for once!

On Saturday we went to two different graduation parties in Murdock and Weeping Water. That was a different schedule for her, too. Weekends are really hard when we change schedules and activities around.

Our one-month follow-up report is due by May 17 so we will be talking to our caseworker soon. We stopped by there a while back so he could meet her.

Here's a picture taken yesterday. Her hair is growing but it will still be a while before she gets her first American haircut!

Her Name

I realized today when I was telling someone else that I haven't explained why Meighan is the perfect name to those who weren't at the airport. We gave cards out at the airport explaining her name. We had her name and spelling picked out before we got the referral. The cards said:

Meighan Beibei Smith
Our Pearl from the Pearl River Delta
Megan (Welsh) = Pearl
Beibei = Flower's Bud (beauty)

We spelled Meighan this way to make it look more Asian. She ended up being from the Pearl River Delta so Meighan was the perfect name. Beibei was the name given her by the orphanage and fits, too. We think she's quite a beauty!

A little more explanation: The pronunciation is "May-Gan". "Mei" in Chinese is pronounced "may". "Mei Mei" in Chinese means "little sister". Hence, "Beibei" is pronounced "bay-bay".

Pictures Posted

I've posted several little slideshows along the side below the blog archive. I broke them down into smaller subjects so you can watch what you want to watch. To watch them bigger, just click on the slideshow and you can scroll through them manually (and see captions that explain some of them as well). We will (hopefully soon) put together a slideshow of just our favorite picture highlights, too.

ENJOY!

Feeling More Human

Last night was the best night yet. I got Meighan down in the crib at 11:15 and she woke up at 6:30! Yeah! We got to sleep more, too! I think she's getting more used to the nighttime routine.

The evaluation yesterday went better than I expected. The worst part for her was getting her ears cleaned out. She has a little ear infection and we have to put drops in that ear and give an oral antibiotic for that and the fluid in the other ear and go back in 2 weeks. The worst part for me was it was all morning seeing several doctors -- although it still wasn't all that bad. (Way better than going to all those doctors separately!)

She's learning new things -- quickly. On Tuesday she learned "peek!" (peek-a-boo) and yesterday in the doctor's office I gave her some Kix and she was feeding herself. Then I decided to have some myself. Then SHE started feeding ME! That's actually a good thing for her connection to us!

Today we went and met Daddy for lunch at Sortino's and then went to Grandma & Grandpa Smith's to play a little bit. She got a little nap on the way home.

I'm still trying to get unpacked completely and get the suitcases put away so I can open the door to the other bedroom. I've still got gifts and souveniers sitting out so she can't go in and just hit keys on the piano yet. She likes pushing buttons on the computer and pushing the keys on the piano and making music. Last night she "danced" with American Idol music! She's fun to watch.

Jet Lag Sucks!

Meighan had NO interest in sleeping the first night home. We took turns holding her and trying to get her to sleep at least a little! No luck! I finally got up at 6:30 but was a zombie! Tony got about 4 hours of sleep. I got none and I don't do very well without sleep.

Finally at about 10:30 am, Tony was preparing to go run errands so I could start laundry and sleep a bit. He was going to take Meighan. Meighan had laid down on our bed face down while we were talking and we realized she was asleep! She had literally CRASHED!

So Tony went and did his errands and I put Meighan in her crib. She cries every time we put her in her crib -- even if she's obviously been asleep! It didn't take long for her to go back to sleep, though. Tony came home later and got her up after two hours. He let me sleep for 4 hours.

Sunday we "slept in." I got up at 7:00 and Meighan finally woke up at 9:30 (after finally going down about 3:00!). Tony didn't get up till 10:30. We made a shopping stop to get some smaller clothes and then went down to my parents' for lunch and to get the tool truck. For lunch Meighan had ham (yummy!), scalloped potatoes (more yum!) and asparagus! She actually ate it and kept eating it! She threw peas on the floor, though! Also was not interested in mandarine oranges. Oh, well.

We stayed till my brother's family stopped by after a ballgame. When they got there they were greeted with blowing kisses and waves and they thought that was so funny! When we finally left I drove the car home and had trouble staying awake! It also felt weird to drive after not driving for 2 1/2 weeks!

We got home and then Meighan and I went to Bible Study. It technically wasn't a class this week. It was a presentation on Thailand. Meighan did very well thanks to it was time for her bottle and I had crackers and Cheerios along. We also walked along the empty back row several times.

Got her down at midnight last night so will try the same thing but earlier tonight as we have to get up early for her evaluation tomorrow.