Farewell to the blog

It has been almost a month since our last posting and what that tells me is this: Life is busy! Allison is wonderful - growing by the minute, learning new things (cruising the coffee table) and giving herself to us more and more. She has become quite the Momma's girl but she absolutely loves when her Daddy comes home from work. Steve walks into the room and Allison stops what she's doing, gives him a huge smile, screeches and starts clapping (Steve is not used to anyone being so happy to see him).

The biggest thing to happen in the last month was her 1 year birthday on 3/6/09. Grandma and Grandpa Rueschhoff visited from Nebraska to attend the festivities - which included balloons, party hats and vanilla cupcakes. Follow this link for pictures.

This weekend, we had our first "photo shoot" with Allison, and she was all smiles. Here is a sample of some of the photos.

We thought that the milestone of her first birthday would be a good time to close down the blog (that, and we just can't seem to find time to update it). We appreciate all of the nice comments and well wishes we have received as a result of sharing this. Thank you for reading!

Love,

Steve, Darcie and Allison

Happy Valentine's Day!

The week leading up to Valentine's Day was typical from Allison's perspective. She's still taking two naps a day, going to bed around 8:30 pm and filling the other hours with play and reading books. Her current favorites are Brown Bear Brown Bear, Good Night Gorilla, Go Dogs Go, Chicka Chicka ABC, Mr Brown Can Moo, and Moo Baa La La La. She was previously very into Dinosaur's Binkit but has vehemently cast it aside (literally - I heard Steve start to read it to her last night and then start laughing when the book was torn from his hands and dropped over the side of the chair). Hhhmmm, my daughter is opinionated. I'm opinionated. Steve's opinionated. Uh Oh.

We were visited by my long-time friend Julia Werner and her daughter Ainsley (age 2) who brought us two bags full of gently used clothing as well as a great toy her kids no longer use (that miraculously does not require batteries). I was not on my game with the camera so unfortunately I have no photographic proof of their visit. We'll be sure to snap some shots next time. Allison was a typical 11 month old in that whatever toy Ainsley picked up, she immediately wanted (despite having no interest in that toy EVER).

We received some terrible news Thursday morning that Art Baumert, the father of Steve's very close friend, Chris Baumert, had passed away the night before. Steve had known Art practically his entire life so he caught a flight to Nebraska Thursday evening to attend the services and return on Saturday evening. I am glad that Steve could attend and I wish I could have too. We have many wonderful memories of Art and Sharon and always looked forward to seeing them when we were in Dodge. He will be greatly missed. This was my first solo flight taking care of Allison without Steve coming home in the evening and it all went smoothly. I was happy to do it.

On Valentine's Day we were visited by The Herron's - Tim, Margaret, Jack, Kate and Matthew (link to photographic evidence below)! Allison enthusiastically watched the kids play and loved all of the attention, but did not stray from my lap for long. After everyone left, the look on her face said, "Hey where'd all the kids go?" Not to worry, there were more kids in the wings for Sunday as Jim, Bridget, Matthew and Maggie Baumstark paid a visit (sorry, again, no photographic evidence). We all enjoyed our visits and I'm thankful to everyone for their willingness to come to us.

Here is a link to a few pictures from Valentine's Day.

Playdates and Parks!

Another week has zoomed by and Allison is finally filling out some of her clothes. She is right around 17 lbs and just over 28 inches.

We had 3 sets of playdates last week. Susan and Abby Potts came by Tuesday as well as Monica and Evan Navagamuwa and Cathy Elstad on Wednesday. Then Saturday afternoon Kathy, Mike, Charlie and Marguerite Downing visited. Allison thoroughly enjoyed meeting everyone and especially liked watching Evan (who is only 4 weeks old).

On Friday, Allison had her appointment at Highland Park Hospital for her lab work (routine blood tests and vaccination titers) and renal ultrasound. Her pediatrician wants to rule out any melamine exposure. She started screaming as soon as I put her on the table for the blood draw, but I did apply numbing cream to both arms to help make it less painful. The technician found a vein in the first arm but sadly it slipped away from her so we had to draw from her other arm. Thankfully that one was successful. The renal ultrasound was not painful at all, but you wouldn't know it by Allison's reaction. She screamed throughout it and we were both soaked in sweat (and ultrasound gel) by the time it was over. We will know the results in a week or two but we don't expect to find anything wrong.

Here are some pictures from the week.

--Darcie

You know the old saying ...

If you want your kid to eat a meatball, just toss it in Hoisin sauce. Ok, maybe that's not an old saying. But I think it may become one in the Rueschhoff house. Meatballs were previously barely tolerated until the hoisin lightbulb illuminated.

Allison is great - there's just no other way to put it. We're having a wonderful time in our role as parents and enjoying every minute.

Here are a few recent pictures.

Just your basic 10 month old

For anyone who has had a 10 month old, we're pretty much your basic household ... two naps a day, experimenting with foods, playing with toys, dropping things on the floor a million times and looking at one's own reflection. Sounds eerily similar to my 18 month retirement.

Allison loves people of all ages, especially children. We're taking visitors, but with the napping schedule and bedtime schedule, there are just a few short windows of opportunity (and I would at least like to have regular clothes on and my teeth brushed). Feel free to call for an appointment.
: )

Here are some recent pictures.

All our best!
Darcie, Steve & Allison

Allison is doing great!

I'm not sure if anyone is still reading this blog, but just in case we'll post what has been happening since Tuesday.

Steve went back to work on Thursday and sensing her mother could not handle another 3 a.m. wake-up, Allison cut the old gal some slack. She slept from 9:30 pm until 4:30 am (and pushed the volume of the Huggies diaper to the limit). Allison has been taking 2 naps a day and usually has to be awakened. But she always wakes up happy, and we're all thankful that she likes her crib and will actually sleep in it.

Friday at 10 a.m. was Allison's "official" 1o month check up/doctor's visit and was Darcie's first solo flight leaving the house with a baby (for the record, she arrived 5 minutes early for the appointment AND managed to brush her teeth before she left). Allison is pretty much over her flu, so this was just the standard work-up. It has been determined that Darcie no longer needs to walk on the treadmill for exercise as preparing and dressing a baby to leave the house, then keeping her content at the doctor's office is its own form of exercise (and wrangling her into her pink snow suit takes it up a notch). Another form of exercise is changing a crib sheet - producing sweat and an upper body workout. As far as the doctor is concerned, we need to have some blood tests to see if we must to repeat any vaccines, as well as a renal ultrasound to ensure there was no melamine exposure (just to be safe - we don't think there was any exposure). Also, Allison weighs in at 15 lbs 8 oz and is 28 inches long. That's the 50th percentile for height and under the 5th percentile for weight. Allison is starting to eat a lot more and is taking 4-5 bottles a day, so we should be improving on the weight number by her 1 year visit.

Here are some "never before-seen" pictures and video for your viewing pleasure.

We're still working it out

"They" say that for every hour in time change, it takes a day to get back to normal. China being 14 hours different than Illinois, we have at least another week before we can attempt a more predictable sleep schedule. The other families in our adoption group are going through the same ordeal - which means we're all up, from Connecticut to California, from about 2 a.m. to 5 a.m.! We slept until 10:30 this morning - something I haven't done since college. Funny how quickly the day goes when you're in pajamas until 1 pm.

Yesterday we took our first trip to one of Darcie's favorite spots - the mall. It was mainly an opportunity to get out of the house and test drive the stroller, which can't be done outside right now. It was also an opportunity to take Allison somewhere she wouldn't be stuck with a needle (although Steve would rather be stuck with needles than go to the mall). Steve rode in the back seat with Allison to keep her company. Upon being put into the car seat, she stared ahead blankly as if to say, "I didn't ask for ANY of this." All in all we deemed the outing a success as it took only 2 attempts to seat her in the stroller and she lasted 45 minutes before fussing ensued (Cheerios were invoked for the final 5 minutes). It was also a success because Darcie found a really cute red/brown velour hoodie for Allison on sale for $5.98 at Baby Gap (can you tell who is writing this entry?).

By and large all is going well. Allison is certainly feeling better, eating more and inching out of her shell more and more all the time.

Red Couch Photos

It is a tradition among families who adopt from China to stay at the White Swan hotel on Shamian Island, Guangzhou and take a picture of the girls in the adoption group on one of the hotel's red couches wearing their new Chinese traditional dresses. You have only a few seconds to drop your daughter on the couch, back away and snap the picture before crying, crawling and general mayhem ensues. As you can see, all look a bit stunned and confused. It must have been the 30 or more people yelling brand new names and flashing bright lights in their faces.

Here are some pics and video with the famous red couch:

On the Mend

First things first ... we have received so many kind sentiments, congratulations and well wishes that we want to say how appreciative we are and thank you all for keeping us in your thoughts. We feel so very fortunate to have so many wonderful friends and such supportive family. Although, we've yet to have any takers on changing poopie diapers for us. So, if you REALLY want us to feel loved, just follow your nose on over to 1021 Forest. There's at least one opportunity per day to show how much you care.

Our 3rd and final trip to the doctor's office this morning (at least until a week from now when the regular check up occurs) ended only in a finger prick. This still produced ear-bending screams, but Darcie was quick with a lollipop in Allison's mouth to distract her. Eyes clamped shut, tears starting to flow, horror-movie scream, insert lollipop, one more scream and then "Hey, what's that sweet delicious taste??" Worse than a shot in the leg was taking it away from her to put on her snow suit.

The doctor rechecked Allison's white cell count and it is in the normal range, so there was no need to continue with the antibiotics. Her prior blood test came back positive for Flu A, and we are still waiting for the RSV test and the chest x-ray results. The reduction in symptoms may very well have been coincidental to the antibiotic, not because of it. But the net result is the same - Allison is showing signs of improvement. Frankly I think our doctor was being extra cautious not knowing what we could have brought over from China. For all she knew, we were butchering live ducks and chickens just hours before boarding the plane.

Allison is on China time and we think she is experiencing jet-lag. What gives us this impression? She is bright eyed and bushy tailed around 3 a.m. which would be 5 p.m. in China. We're starting work TODAY on changing this.

So many things that are normal to us are completely foreign to Allison and the other children from China. Our yahoo adoption group have mentioned their babies hate the car seat, pets and high chairs. Allison is tolerating the car seat (minor fussing) but we've only had her in it for 5-10 minutes at a time. She tolerates the high chair, but again we've only subjected her to it for 5-10 minutes and we remove her before any crying begins. We're trying to ease her into all of these new things as much as possible. The one thing she loved in China, taking a bath, has produced some anxiety here. In spite of having a little baby-sized inflatable tub that fits into the bathtub for her, she cries after a few minutes and tries to squirm out of it. We might try the kitchen sink tonight to see if that makes a difference. We don't want bath time to become a struggle both for physical safety and emotional security.

Steve taught Allison how to kiss her bunny rabbit (you know, the open mouth baby kiss, not an actual pucker). Upon saying, "Kiss the bunny," she'll lean over and put her mouth on the bunny's face. Last night, when she was kissing her musical caterpillar, Darcie said, "Can you give mommy a kiss?" and Allison leaned over and planted one right on Darcie's face. The absolute best feeling ever. Not only does she accept love from us, she's giving it back and showing signs of understanding (if not verbally, at least with physical direction).

Darcie's mom went back to her home in Indiana this morning. We were all very sad to see her go (while we know that Becky is also sad, we have a feeling she's looking forward to resuming her life as she knows it). Her moral support, suggestions/ideas and general help will be missed.

We are trying to catch up on mail, email, sleep, etc. so if we have been slow calling or responding to people, we apologize. Hopefully a routine will kick in sometime next week and make life in general a bit more predictable. We also hope to download some more pics from our camera and post some on the blog, so stay tuned for those.

First Pediatrician Visit

We went to the pediatrician today for Allison's first check up and because she still has a fever, runny nose, and raspy cough after 4 days of antibiotics.

The pediatrician did more tests on her than I have had done on me my entire life! Here is what she had done:

• Finger prick blood test
• Blood draw from her wrist
• A shot of antibiotic in her leg with a needle the size of a pencil lead
• Next they sent us to the hospital to get a mucus culture which consists of two swabs up her nose and a tube in her nose to extract snot
• A chest X-ray (at the hospital)

It is worth noting she screamed and cried hysterically for every procedure. For the X-ray, she had to be immobilized on a board with her arms up by her head in a foam wrapper.

So, our 3:15 Dr. appointment turned into a 3 hour ordeal. She is in bed now (probably from exhaustion). I think the pediatrician is just being cautious not knowing what bug she may have being from China.

P.S. The doctor confirmed she does not have an ear infection (also confirmed by our peaceful flight home). So, it turns out the White Swan doctors in China were quacks, and the China Clinic doctors were legit.

Not a very good introduction to U.S. medicine. We fear every trip to the doctor from here out is going to solicit screams of fear.

We're Home!

It's 4:33 pm in Deerfield, but 2:30 a.m. in China 1/15. We're home. Finally.

We were all a bit nervous for the flight home in light of Allison's ear infection and given that it was 13 hours. But Allison barely cried the entire flight, and we did not even spend that much time walking her up and down the aisle. The only time she cried was when we tried to wipe her nose (which is running constantly). It might have had something to do with the fact that we had every toy on hand, but we like to think she's just a good traveler. The upgrades came through for our return trip (courtesy again of our friend Mike) which made a world of difference on the flight.

Clearing immigration wasn't bad at all and took much less time than we thought. Once the agent stamped Allison's passport, she was a U.S. citizen. We were met at the aiport by our wonderful friend Julie who graciously drove our car (with carseat) to pick us up in -3 degree weather. She also stocked our fridge with groceries and and made a casserole for dinner for us. She was so excited to see Allison that she asked permission twice to hug her!

We then gave Allison the 5 cent tour of the house, her room and her toys. She was grinning through most of it. She then played with some new toys, pooped (twice) (hopefully that's not an indication of how she really feels about her new surroundings) and collapsed for a nap. We somehow need to get her on the Central time zone, which will be a new challenge. We have been up for nearly 24 hours straight, and we are so exhausted that we are actually geting dizzy. However, none of that seems to matter much to us now. We're home!

The Road to Hong Kong

The 14th was a whirlwind. The final step of the process was appearing at the US Consulate in Guangzhou for Allison's official swearing in. It sounds much more formal than it actually was. After being matched to our passports they had us stand, raise our right hands, and say "I do" to the oath. That "officially" made us parents in the eyes of the U.S. government, even though we had been acting the part for the last nine days. Even without the fanfare, there were still cheers and tears.

Right after we were at the Guangzhou train station to take an 1 hour and 50 minute ride to Hong Kong where we would catch our direct flight to O'hare the next morning. The train ride was not too bad, although you can smoke on trains in China, so there is no way to escape bad air, inside or out. With my cold, my voice is almost gone.

Upon arriving in the Hong Kong station and going through their customs, we were met by people in white coats wearing surgical masks. They used what looked like a grocery scanner on Allison's forehead and declared she had a fever. They ushered us over to a curtained area and wanted Darcie's and Allison's passports for recording purposes. They asked if we had any contact with birds. After several tense minutes we were allowed to leave (but not before being offered a mask to wear ourselves).

Driving from the train station to the hotel is all we really got to see of Hong Kong. However, that small taste was mind blowing. It is built next to a moutain right on the water, and there are so many flashing lights and neon signs that it is sort of a cross between Vegas and Manhattan. We drove by conservatively a dozen or so streets that had lights that put Times Square to shame.

We spent a brief night in the airport hotel for the Hong Kong airport. By the time we arrived at the hotel, we were exhausted, and we had pushed Allison to her limits. She was tired, hungry, wet and was sick of being dragged all over God's green earth. So, we changed her, gave her a bottle, and laid down next to her on the bed. She was face down, asleep, and she started to get this ear to ear grin on her face. The she just looked from one of us to the other, sigh and smile, and then drifted off to sleep. Of all of the incredible sights we have seen in China, this was the highlight of the trip.

Going to the Dr. in China

Allison's fever continued on the 13th, so we took her to the clinic in our hotel, the White Swan. As usual, it was another unforgettable experience in China. There was a doctor, and pharmacist (I think) and an interpreter attending. (I have yet to see any project involve less than 3 people). The doctor examined her and declared she had ear infections in both ears. This was interesting and disturbing since the official "clinic" we took her to yesterday declared both ears fine. The clinic is a mandatory part of all China adoptions and we don't know if they intentionally deceived us or were just incompetent. Either way, the outcome is the same, she has an ear infection, so we started the prescription antibiotics we brought with us.

The doctor put some drops in her nose to dry up her runny nose. She gave us a small vial of pink liquid with marker lines drawn down the side for her runny nose, drops for her ears, and vitamin C powder for her "appetite". We didn't give any of this to her. So, the bill for the doctor visit and the meds came to about 150 Yuan, or about 25 bucks.

That night, Allison's fever got up to 104.5. This was a scary moment, and none of us slept much that night. We learned later that the panic point for kids is a temp of 106, but we worried nonetheless. Tylenol got it under control. Poor Allison. We have known her for only a week and we know that she is not herself with this ear infection.

Later the next day, the antibiotics kicked in and her fever subsided without help from Tylenol. We were relieved, esp. since we will be flying home in one day.

We are both exhausted, and sick ourselves, so we just can't wait to get home.

Are Kids Ever Routine?

Allison went to bed last night easier than ever before. We thought we were in for a peaceful night. Then at 10:00 she woke up crying and spit up all over Darcie (think warm yogurt running down your neck and chest). Then at 12:00 she wanted a bottle and drank it all. At 2:00 am she was crying with a 102.4 fever. Then she slept until 5:30 am. Needless to say, we are exhausted (since we are also sick ourselves).

We are keeping up the Tylenol, and that has knocked out the fever, and she is pretty cheerful. We have some prescription antibiotics with us, so we are starting those as a precaution. Even though the technician gave her a clean bill of health, she has a runny nose, raspy cough and fever, so we hope to knock out whatever she has.

We're struggling a little with feeding her. She seems frustrated with us for what we are providing her - but her information stated that all she ate was bread, formula and congee (a rice soup). She is wanting to experiment with feeding herself at every meal which is challenging given that we don't have highchairs in our room and the highchairs in restaurants don't have trays. Also being first time parents we're completely paranoid about choking (she doesn't have teeth!). Watching her shove in those noodles and pork last night was funny, though! Funny, and sad because she was eating as if we had been starving her.

We are looking forward to being home (but not looking forward to getting home).

2 days and counting

It's 9:20 pm on 1/12. We had a big day today. We went to the clinic to have Allison checked over by "doctors." Allison had her Visa picture taken for travel back to the U.S. And the famous (or infamous) Red Couch picture was taken. Aside from all of that, a few other milestones reached were: Allison fed herself noodles and pork (we had no idea she could even do this) and Darcie was able to put Allison to sleep without any help from Steve.

The visit to the clinic was much like a trip back in time to the 1920's with doctors and attendants wearing white uniforms and masks. We all filed in and were told to go to 3 stations (ENT, height/weight/temperature, and Medical/Surgery). She weighs 15.3 lbs. The doctors poked and prodded her and she only cried a little. They checked her ears and they declared she does not have an ear infection, which is good news.

More Pics

http://picasaweb.google.com/Roosh1988/OutingToPeopleSParkInNanning?authkey=6_vwmljKfwc#

http://picasaweb.google.com/Roosh1988/GuangzhoAndChenFamilyTemple?authkey=ww5ljoEn40s#

Counting down to Home

As I mentioned, it is getting tougher and tougher to make updates, so sorry about the wait. Allison is doing great. She is so happy and social during the day. Bedtime is a different story. She fights sleep and she is up every 2-4 hours. Her Nanny had her on a schedule of 2 bottles per night, so we need to try and wean her off of that when we get home. We also will try to get some protein in her to stick to her ribs a little better at night.

The new hotel is another scary new change for her to deal with, and we have two more to go (our Hong Kong hotel, and our house). We are trying to help her through it as best we can.

She loves to go to Darcie and play with her but she still needs Dad for comfort at night. She also HATES the crib in the White Swan hotel (as do we), so we will all be glad to stop living like Gypsies out of hotel rooms.

Darcie and I have both picked up head colds -- so that and lack of sleep means we are exhausted. We don't know if it is a virus or if it is the exhaustion combined with the pollution in the air. You would not believe the smog in every city in China! Many other families are coming down with it, too, and there are differening opinions as to what it is.

Not surprisingly, I love the food here and have rarely found something I didn't like. Darcie enjoys most of it and Becky is a good sport, and the good news is we are all losing weight.

We had a "test" flight from Nanning to Guangzhou, and that went very well. We were worried about her ears, but she did great! She barely cried. We think when she cries and pulls on her ears, that means "I'm tired". She has pulled on my ears once or twice, so I think that is what it is instead of ear infection. We are going to the Dr. tomorrow she he can check her ears for fluid. However, she has never had a temp.

When we go out during the day, we are sure to bundle her in multiple layers and coats and a blanket, and we still sometimes get scolded by the Chinese ladies on the street for not dressing her in enough clothes. It is pretty cold now for Guangzhou (it's about 50 degrees). All of the locals really make over her and our Agency gave us a card to explain in Chinese what in the world we are doing with this Chinese baby. We always get the "thumbs up" from the locals which means "the best".

We are busy every morning with paperwork and group outings, so that makes it hard to call home with the 14 hour difference. Hopefully I can provide another update or two before we leave.

Last Day in Nanning

It has been getting tougher to post updates between outings, naps, feeding, etc. I know what most of you are saying -- I told you so. We had a tough night last night as Allie woke up every hour or so and wanted a bottle or comfort. The worst was between 11:30 am and 1:30 where we gave her a bottle, put her down, 10 minutes later she woke up crying and threw up all over herself and Dad. This is what they call trial by fire. She is not sick -- no fever and generally happy, which is good.

Here are several new pics:

http://picasaweb.google.com/Roosh1988/PlayDate?authkey=XPaGMiStzAI#

http://picasaweb.google.com/Roosh1988/AStrollInNanning?authkey=98P0W9veWqI#

http://picasaweb.google.com/Roosh1988/GuanxiOuting?authkey=ST25icJZ5hE#

http://picasaweb.google.com/Roosh1988/PizzaPartyInHotel?authkey=ioQR77pgrqo#

http://picasaweb.google.com/Roosh1988/AllieSFavoriteShow?authkey=SqfmAknGDgE#

Nanning Wal Mart

Ever wonder what it is like to go to Wal Mart in China? Now you know...

http://picasaweb.google.com/Roosh1988/20090107?authkey=Y7TnsLQF1vY#

Pictures of Lin Shi Yu in Yulin City

One of the gifts we received from the orphanage was a CD of a bunch of pictures of Allison in Yulin City, China. These are great pictures and we and Allison will treasure having these forever. Here is a sample:

http://picasaweb.google.com/Roosh1988/AllisonInChina?authkey=W3ElXlFW-hs#