Merry Christmas!

It's almost a very Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year!

Today is Sunday, the night before Christmas eve, the night before Christmas. Since tomorrow may be busy, and Tuesday definitely will, I'm posting my Christmas post now. (That and the fact that I'm bored.) So, anyway, sometime after Christmas day, I'll probably have a some pictures or videos up here. Also possibly some updates on Christmas gifts and situations. We're not going anywhere this year, at least not really. We never do. So, if you go anywhere this Christmas, think of me at home. Four of us kids, parents, grandparents, and...didn't I tell you? I got my gift (a guitar) like three months ago. My parents wrapped up the "empty box." Supposedly. FYI, I picked it up and it was kinda heavy, so I think there's something in there. If there isn't, though, thinking of me opening an empty box with those plastic, crunchy "peanuts" should bring a smile to your face. Heh*Heh*Heh 8-)

p.s. I know this isn't that cheery, but I'm not in much of a Christmas mood this year. Funny, though, because I thought having the baby would brighten up the year. My mom and Grandma thought so too, but they're kinda ready for Christmas to be over. Oh! I almost forgot. If you're in our adoption group, we sent out cards to everyone. Hope you enjoy them (and you got them.) The pictures were here first birthday/early christmas type or photos. Pretty good for ten bucks, huh?

Guess I'll be writing to you all after Christmas. Hope your Christmas (or whatever Holiday you celebrate) is full of fun and family and friends and love and...just whatever you want. Whatever makes YOU happy is what I wish for you to have. And if this is your 1st Christmas with your new kids (adopted or biological), hope they bring smiles and joy to your face. Even through all the Christmas stress, and how you can't wait for it to be over. Just try to make it their best. Kenzie's never had a Christmas (well, she was a few week's old, so she didn't really have a good one), and I guess my mission this Christmas is to give her a good one. Because, even if she doesn't know it, this is the happiest time of her life. And not just Christmas. She's got toys and a great family and everything. What more, I ask you, could a 1 yr. old want?

A Day of Play at Chick-Fil-A

"Important" Announcement!

OK, so I was just reading through the blog and everything, and I noticed it said "Adopting FROM China." But, see, we've already adopted, so we're not "adopting." Anyway, I, myself, have come up with a more sensible title. Now, since I can't change the actual web address, I'll just change the title. So, I just wanted to say that from now on, this blog will be called "Day To Day Life With Kenzie." 'Bye.

Beginning Steps--December 10, 2007

This video of her walking was taken on December 10, so she is much steadier now. She's also walking more. Sorry about all my videos being short, but soon I hope to have one of her that's several minutes long.

Laughing off the Wall

This is a short video of Kenzie laughing and having a blast during a soccer game.

WALKING!!!!!!!!!!!

Kenzie is now walking across the room--without falling! She has walked our whole living room, by herself, which is about 20 or 25 feet. Lots of walking for her! She walks with her arms out in the air, for balance, but she looks sort of like Frankenstein. Maybe we can call her Kenzie-stein. By Christmas, she will be super-steady, and hopefully walking even further. WE went to the park yesterday, and played. I held her left hand, and we walked around the park. She also did the teeter-totter, slide, monkey bars (with our help), and the swing. Her favorite. (I would have pictures, but my dad deleted them off his camera on accident. Oops!) Anyway, she just woke up from her nap. She is really smart, and learning new things daily. Now, she can...

-Wave "Hi," "Bye," most of the time when people tell that to her. They're two totally different waves. Sometimes, she even says it!
-Say "Elmo."
-Dance. She dances whenever she hears music.
-Watches TV
-Brushes her hair
-Holds someone's cell phone or our home phone, and brings it up to her ear, and start blabbering.
-Whenever she sneezes, we say, "Bless the baby!" She loves it. After we say it the first time, she does fake sneezes or coughs, just so she can hear it again.
-She loves soft things! We'll get a pillow or blanket, and go, "Awe, baby. Awe, baby." And she'll rub it against her cheek.
-She plays "boom" on my grandma's bed. We say "boom" and she falls back on all the pillows.
-She's fascinated with skin. She pokes on people's and her own all the time.
-She's a quick learner, and very smart. You have to watch out. One time, I climbed on the fireplace to get a DVD from the top shelf, and as soon as I got down, she climbed on a bench and got up there herself. Wow!
-She behaves very well, and doesn't cry too much. We were really shocked when we took her to see Santa at the mall. Mom warned them that she might cry, but she did extremely well. As for her first birthday, and Christmas photos.

Well, that's pretty much it for now. I'll update you on her walking. Once she's super good at it, I'll try uploading a video. I'll try to get more pics on here when I can.

The Birthday: Part 2

The Birthday Party Post

Hey! I had so many pictures that I have to post two slideshows. The next one's coming up! Kenzie had a blast eating cake 'n ice cream, opening gifts, and showing off her new skill: walking. She can't walk very far by herself, but she can walk up to five or six feet worth of steps on her own. She just needs a little balance. She also enjoys dancing to music. Doesn't matter if she's sitting or standing, she loves to wiggle to the beat. This is what she got for her birthday:
-Zebra bouncing toy (not sure what it's called)
-Elmo birthday present box that opens and comes with a plastic little Elmo & cake to play with
-Two packages of blocks that look like Fisher Price PopOnz, but they're not. But they are Fisher Price.
-Elmo singing Christmas elf
-ABC Alphabet Carry 'n Go book

And that's it, it was a small party. But, Christmas is on the way, and she'll get more then. The cake was delicious, and she had fun. She loved the hats, balloons, and we video'd a lot, too. Hope you enjoy the pics!!!!!

The Birthday: Part 1

Sorry about that

Sorry about that. Leaving you hanging there, I mean. Well, this is going to be almost as quick. OK, so she got home yesterday around one or so. That's just over 24 hours home. She is doing very well, crawling around, playing, and taking a few steps here 'n there. She's also eating and drinking a lot better. She's still having a few diarrhea diapers here and there, but overall she's good. Tomorrow is her birthday party, so we'll have photos from that soon.

p.s. It's an Elmo party!!!

home at last!

Kenzie is home, and doing good. More later.

Updates On The Upside

Just received another call from my mom. By now, my dad is there, too, and he will be on his way home in a few minutes. Here is her report:
-the baby drank 3 oz. formula
-she's a little grumpy/cranky (wouldn't you be?)
-they've got an IV in her arm; this is giving her water
-no diarrhea so far. Hallelujah!!!
-my parents are just about ready to put her to bed
-they did some blood work
-they don't have the blood work back yet, so they're still unsure of how long she'll have to stay there.
-she's doing pretty well

We'll just have to wait for the blood work to get back, and for her to get a little better, and then she should be on her way.

Waiting

There are many kinds of waiting. Waiting for Christmas, waiting for an awful movie to be over, a horrendous opera performance, your favorite TV show to start, to get your Chinese child home, and then there's waiting in the ER. Waiting to get your baby home, and waiting in the ER are perhaps the most bothering of the kind. Well, that is what my mother is experiencing right now, as I post this. She has been in there, waiting, for about an hour. The doctors' office was supposed to call and say that Kenzie needed to be admitted quickly on doctors' orders. Apparently, and quite dismally, there was no phone call. So, there's my mom, with an almost-one-year-old on her lap, sitting in a rather uncomfortable and hard plastic chair, in the ER waiting room. Children are probably crying around her, including her own, and calling of patients' names that is NOT Kenzie are probably only some of the sounds she hears. Anyway, there's no telling when she'll be able to get into a room.

HOLD IT!!!!

Just got a call from mom, she was just admitted into a room. Finally. This will be ending by current post. I will keep everyone up to date, and will let them know what happens.

Kenzie and my mom have just left the house to go to the hospital. My Grandma will be watching us here, at home, until sometime tomorrow, probably in the evening or afternoon. The time of now is 5:20, so, what's that? About two hours from her doctor appointment? Yes. Now, I personally wasn't there, because my aunt was watching us. But according to my mom & grandma, this is how it went:

Dr. Moshan (DM, she's Indian, I believe. And she usually says that everything is 5th's Disease.): It's probably Rotovirus. Just get her to drink fluids.
Mom & Grandma (MG): She won't take fluids!
DM: Get her to take the fluids. Then she'll be better.
MG: But she won't take them.
DM: Get her to try.
MG: We did, but she won't. We can't MAKE her take them.
DM: Well, it's either that, or to put her in hospital.
G (just my grandma): Well, I think that would be best.
DM: I agree.
G: It's not good for a little baby to have that much diarrhea, and not be able to take fluids.
DM: I agree.
(Why didn't she say that to begin with???!!!!)

So, anyway, that's what we did. In the hospital, she will have IVs put into her to help get some fluids into her. I'm not sure what else. Hopefully, she'll be better soon. And in time for her birthday! We're praying for her, and encourage you to do the same.

Sick on her birthday???

We (the family) have almost got through all of our viruses. In case you didn't know, Kenzie wasn't the only one to get sick. My mom, grandma, sister, brother, and me also got it. We are pretty much all over it, thankfully. Except Kenzie. Today makes about three days of diarrhea, having over a dozen diapers daily. Just this morning, she had five diapers. She is also not consuming any liquids into her body. She's smart, and she probably knows what's going on. My guess is because she knows it'll go straight through her. Earlier this morning, when she was still drinking fluids, she drank a bottle, and within a minute it came out the other end. If you get my drift. (She's in desperate need of another diaper just now!!!) She seemed to be getting better yesterday and Tuesday evening, eating and drinking. But now she won't. We've tried everything. She won't take formula, sippy cup, gatorade, juice, water, food. And if you know Kenzie, she's not the kind of baby who doesn't just "not eat." She lives to eat. By the way, she's having a lot of ''stuff'' in her diaper for someone who's not eating. But, the thing is, she doesn't act sick. She's watching Elmo's World (her fave!), and playing around w/ us. She has a 3:10 pm doctor appointment, and they said they may send us to the emergency room. In fact, they were debating whether to give us an appointment or send us straight there. No matter what the inconvenience is, we want to make sure that she doesn't get de-hydrated. I had this problem when I was a baby, and it was a lot of work. We're just really hoping she gets better soon, because, if you don't know, her birthday is this Tuesday (Dec. 4), and her party's Sunday. As long as she gets better. How bad would it to be sick on your 1st birthday? Anyway, we're just ready for all of this sickness to pass. So far, we thought we were pretty lucky. We heard a ton of stories about the kids coming home and getting sick and having problems. Nobody's perfect. But she's still our angel.

Hey!

My new slideshow is a mix between her when my mom put her hair into a ponytail, and the day she received her certificate of American citizenship. It's from a few days ago, and there are a few photos of each. Since the link to our other site in my last post is not actually a link, you can go to the side and click on the link under "Our other family site." It should work. How is Kenzie doing? Pretty well. She is a little sick, and my mom has been changing over a dozen liquid (poopy) diapers a day. However, today we took her to the doctor, and he told us to put her on Pedialite and Lactose formula. She should be better any day now.

Guess what, everyone?

My little sister now has her very own blog!!! She decided since I enjoy it, she may like it, too. So she created one! Here's the link:

http://www.thensidescoop.blogspot.com/

1st time in the balls!!!

Thanksgiving Thursday