My little messy girl

I haven't posted in a while, but I was inspired to post something as I have been reading my friend's blog daily.  As I write this, dear friends of ours are flying back from China with their new 3 year old precious little girl…and I am so happy for them!  (not happy that they are having to fly for a million hours, because that's a pain…but it will all be over soon!)

Anna has turned into a little tornado of mess…a precious mess…but really a mess.  When we go anywhere, she somehow finds the mud and water puddles and will not stop until she jumps in them.  I have given up fighting her and just bring towels with me.  We are always the last to leave practice (for the boys' various sporting activities), so everyone always walks past my little muddy girl.  People now know me as the mom with the little girl in the mud.  

Yes…she puts her head in the muddy water

Anna also likes to find her own snacks these days.  She will reach her little hands up and pull anything she can off the table or the edge of the kitchen counter.  And if the kitchen cabinets aren't closed she will pry them open and find something she can dump out.  The boys often forget and leave their cups too close to the edge of the table…Anna will pour them out on the floor, then sit in the milk/water/juice and pat it with her little hands.

She also found a (non-toxic) blue marker left on the ground and decided to taste it... 

And here's a non-messy picture! 

Anna and her "guys"

I have been meaning for some time to post about Anna's interactions with her brothers.  I have to say that leading up to the trip to China to get Anna I was concerned about how it would impact them.  It is a big adjustment, after all, for the arrival of a new child in a family - and knowing that sweet Anna would need a lot of therapy and medical attention made me a little worried about how the boys would respond.  As I look back over the past year, I am so thankful for what an amazing job they have done with their baby sister.  The one I was most worried about (since he was losing his "baby status" in the family) was Will - and I can't keep Will away from Anna!  I am constantly having to tell Will that Anna needs some space, let's not hug Anna so much right now, etc...as Will is constantly hugging and interacting with her.  A month or two after Anna came home, Will started to make up his own birth story to match Anna's...so he would tell us something like this:  "When I was a baby girl in China, and my name was Josh Hamilton, and I lived in an orphanage, you came and got me and took me to Dallas and named me Will!"  The older boys thought that was absolutely hilarious and love to tell that story over and over again - and we've finally convinced Will that he was never a Chinese baby girl with a major league baseball player's name - that God brought children to our home in different ways!  A few weeks ago Will's class worked on a project in Sunday school.  They were talking about how God provides for them, and the teachers had the kids tell them what they would ask God to provide them.  Here's Will's list: "house, clothes, tent, water, food, baby sister, and a Bible".  Now, that is a very nice list - he even threw in the Bible - but a couple of items are noticeably absent.  I guess David, Nate, Alex and I won't take it too personally.
Alex and Nate have been so kind with their sister as well.  Alex has such a tender heart and will tell me frequently that he thinks we should adopt another baby since there are so many orphans (sigh - what a kind heart - but no plans for that at this time!)  Nate gets Anna out of her crib almost every morning, and he loves to carry her around and laugh with her.  Certainly my boys have their moments, and they aren't always joyful to attend Anna's doctor or therapy visits and wait - but I am grateful that they have adjusted so well.  I hear some version of this phrase frequently in our home from all 3 of the boys (with no prompting from me or David), "I am so glad Anna is a part of our family!"  Me too, boys...me too!

At the airport - 5/23/12

Nate admitted (about 2 months ago) that he had tears in his eyes when he first saw Anna

5/24/12

So much attention!

New pictures taken 2 weeks ago - thanks to our friend Jessica!  

This is one of my favorites - it's as if Anna is saying "I'm surrounded by boys!"

Happy Mother's Day...one year later!

Gotcha Day - 1 year anniversary


So thankful for all of Anna's progress - here's a video with some highlights of the past year!

More firsts...including first steps!

Anna has been making some great progress over the past few weeks, and she has achieved some fun milestones.  Here are some highlights:

A toothbrush finally made it into her mouth!  Unfortunately she stole Nate's toothbrush, but he was kind enough to let her have it.  And it has music with it, which makes it extra cool.

She is starting to put things in her mouth, which is a big step for her.  She has been very reluctant to explore this way, so thankfully she is making progress in this area (she is chewing on a baby-safe necklace, I might add)

While she is still reluctant to eat any food besides baby food, her SLP has been able to sneak in a fruit roll-up!  She and the boys will certainly appreciate all the same junk food together.  Good thing we're working on using a toothbrush.

She is standing independently for long periods of time now.  As noted in this picture, she has developed a strong affinity for glasses.  Thankfully mr. potato head glasses have been found and are her comfort toy - she carries them everywhere!  And don't even think about picking her up if you have glasses on...she will snatch them off your face!

She made it down the aisle as a little flower girl at my brothers wedding, escorted by her 3 brothers and cousin, without screaming!  

And the big news - she took her first steps tonight!  My PT goal was for her to take independent steps by her 2nd birthday, so we met the goal with a month to spare.

Easter and wedding pictures

Recently Anna and the boys were in their cousin's wedding in Oklahoma, so it was a pretty exciting weekend!  Anna was an honorary flower girl, Will was a ring bearer, and Nate and Alex carried some cool signs down the aisle before the bride walked in.  The ceremony and reception were lovely, and everyone did a great job.  Anna is still not completely in the mode of all this picture taking - she is not really content unless she is at home - hence I was thankful for any picture that didn't have her screaming.  

Anna and Taylor - what a pretty bride!  And I love that Papaw is in the background taking pictures too

Anna and Lily - awesome flower girls

The boys with their signs (and crazy ring bearer in the background)

Everyone is smiling...except that poor little tired baby!

So typical...after a long day, gotta take the shoes off 

And a few Easter pictures...once again, getting Anna to smile for the camera is pretty much impossible...sort of like getting Will to quit making faces for a few minutes.

The boys!

Close...not too bad...

And this is way more typical of the Goza children (Will acting like a ninja, Alex talking, Anna crying, and Nate trying to be responsible but having a hard time keeping everyone on task)

Happy Chinese New Year

When we filled out the one million forms (I am prone to exaggeration, but this is actually pretty close to accurate) to start the adoption process from China, one of the letters we had to write was about why we wanted to adopt from China.  In this letter, we had to promise the Chinese government that we would teach Anna about her culture and to appreciate her Chinese heritage.  So many other families who have adopted do such a great job with this aspect - I, however, am not quite as industrious.  But in order to keep my promise, celebrating Chinese New Year on a small scale seems like a great place to start!

Anna wore her traditional Chinese dress that I bought for in Guangzhou, and we went out to eat at our favorite Chinese restaurant by our house after the evening service.  I had prepared red envelopes filled with money for each of the boys, thinking that Anna wouldn't really care if she didn't get a present this year.  The boys were given instructions, though, that they had to eat their food without complaining, and then they would receive their gift.  Unfortunately, that did not exactly happen, so Anna came home with 3 red envelopes of money.  While it was a painful lesson to learn, the boys laughed hysterically when they handed Anna her money and she promptly threw it beside her on the floor.  This action was repeated about 15 times, so despite a tough loss for the boys, the evening ended well.

Anna in her favorite place - in her room with her music toy.

Eggrolls for all!

Thanks for coming, Ms. Laura, and hanging out with all these crazy kids!

So tough to try new food!

At least Anna didn't scream the entire time...

Anna's first tea and a fun new dress

Okay, so Anna didn't actually drink any tea or have a scone or cucumber sandwich, but she did attend her first ladies tea at our church this past Saturday!  One of her favorite friends, Becky, was there; Anna happily sat with her and enjoyed the music and festivities.  And what a surprise - no screaming!  Yes, the sweet baby is starting to come back again.  

Becky really is the "baby whisperer"

In a few weeks Anna is going to be an honorary flower girl at her cousin Taylor's wedding, and her dress arrived yesterday.  It was pretty exciting to try on her fun new dress! Well, maybe not as much fun for Anna as it was for me, but anyway...someday she'll appreciate dressing up much more.  And it really cracks me up at how excited the boys are about Anna wearing her frilly dress - all 3 of them were very expressive (oh Anna - you look so pretty! so beautiful! etc etc)  Looking forward to a scream free wedding (I really hope so, Taylor!)

Freedom!

Well, it was a joyous morning last Tuesday when I was finally able to take the arm immobilizers off and give Anna her bottle again.  I had thought about how great it would be if I cut back on her bottle, since she hadn't had it for the 2 weeks after her surgery, but I gave in pretty quickly.  Anna is still pretty attached to her bottle, so I am happy to give in at this point.  She has lost about 2 pounds since her surgery, but I anticipate she will gain those back quickly.  Poor Anna has had a rough couple of weeks, which was anticipated.  She certainly is happier to have those terrible things off her arms, but I will say that she is not as overjoyed with life as I had hoped.  I think she is still adjusting to all the changes in her mouth, and I also think she got used to me holding her ALL the time.  I am thankful, however, that she has found such comfort in my holding her after this past surgery.  While I think she took comfort with us after her first surgery, we had only known each other for a few weeks - but now I can tell a huge difference in how she responds to me, David, and the boys.

In other news, I attempted put her sweet little hair into 2 tiny ponytails tonight.  Some friends inspired me to try it, and I think it actually helps take away from the mullet look that she has been sporting.  I am thankful that her hair is growing out, but it has been growing out into a pretty serious mullet.  I have had a few people ask me if I have had it cut like that - and the answer is definitely NO!  So, despite Anna's protests, she ended up with 2 uneven ponytails.  I anticipate some serious hair battles ahead of me...

Not too bad for my first attempt with a squirming baby

It is clear from all the tears that Anna did not appreciate my hairdressing attempt

When Will walked into Anna's room, he was very impressed with her new ponytails and said (with a lot of 4 year old expression), "Oh, Anna, you look SO pretty!  You are BEAUTIFUL!"  He then promptly attempted to add another ponytail without success.

Oh, Mom, I can't believe you are letting Will fix my hair!

My sweet little Alex helped me with dinner tonight, and in an effort to be kind, I let the boys have hamburgers with bell peppers on the side instead of the stuffed bell peppers that David and I had.  Alex participated happily in cooking, and he was very proud of his results.  

Hooray for Alex!

And one last thought - it has been pretty amazing to me to think that I saw Anna's picture for the 1st time a little over a year ago.  I got the call on January 18th last year, and I'll never forget waiting for her pictures and information to pull up on my computer, sitting there with David.  It is pretty nostalgic, and I'm so grateful to have this precious little girl in our family.

Four more days...

I have been counting the hours until our post-op visit today, fully expecting to be free of the dreaded arm immobilizers and back to the bottle!  However, I was hit with the sad reality that my poor crying baby would have to continue with the torture devices for 4 more days.   Here's a summary of our doctor visit:

Setting:  Anna and I have been sitting in the exam room for about an hour.  Anna has cried (on and off) before we left for the appointment, outside the hospital, throughout the hospital, in the waiting room, and in the exam room (where we had waited for about an hour at that point).  I had finally given up trying to entertain/comfort/distract and was sitting there holding my poor crying child with my head in my hand.  Surgeon, resident, and nurse walk in.

Surgeon:  Hello!  How are you?  Oh, look - she's crying for us and making it easy to look in her mouth.  Oh, good, healing nicely!

Me: So I can take these things off her arms?  (in a joyous voice)

Surgeon: Oh no no no - how long has it been?  Not 2 weeks yet, right?

Me:  Almost - surgery was last Monday - 10 days ago!

Surgeon:  No, don't take them off till Tuesday.  Be very careful - we must let this heal.  She is older than most kids that we do this surgery on...it will take a little longer for her to heal than a younger baby.

Me: What about the bottle? (I had packed a bottle in Anna's diaper bag in anticipation of giving her one in the exam room in a joyous reunion of baby and bottle)

Surgeon:  Oh no - no bottle!  Wait till Tuesday - we must be careful!

Me: Wait, no bottle?  She won't drink anything!  (sort of in a fake/ha ha exasperated voice)  She won't stop crying!

Surgeon: Well, she's not dehydrated (noting the tears flowing freely as she continues to scream).  And besides - you can do it - you just have one baby - I have 4 children, including triplets!

Me:  Wait a minute - I have 3 other children at home...this isn't easy, buddy.  You can tell me all this stuff I have to do and then go home to your non-screaming children (I didn't actually say all that stuff at the end, I just thought it.  I did tell him we have 4 children too, though).

Surgeon:  Well, I need my wife to call you.  She wants to adopt a cleft palate baby from China.  

Me: Ha!  Yes - you should do it - it's just a lot of work!

Surgeon:  Okay.  Are you massaging her scar on her lip? 

Me: Wait, am I supposed to be doing that now?  I thought I wasn't supposed to go near her mouth?

Surgeon:  Yes - keep it up!  I mean, she's already crying, right?

Me:  Right, okay, I'll do it.  Wait, my husband wants me to ask about her teeth - what's the plan for her poor teeth?

Surgeon:  Oh that's right - your husband is the one who worries about the teeth.  The baby teeth will fall out, she'll get her grown up teeth, then she'll get braces, just like all her friends.  No big deal.

Me: So in the interim, I mean, her poor crazy teeth are pitiful...my husband is just worried about her being made fun of...

Surgeon, turns to nurse: Have you ever heard of our cleft kids getting made fun of for their teeth?  (as in, they have a lot more to be worried about than their teeth, for crying out loud)

Nurse: No, not really...

Me: Okay, sounds good.  See you in 3 weeks.

Anna:  scream, scream, scream

As much screaming is going on, however, I am very grateful that Anna has done so well.  The surgery is behind us, she looks great, and I know she is going to take off even more once we get rid of these arm immobilizers!  Thanks for all the prayers and encouragement!

A brief respite from crying to make faces at the phone camera

Before we left home

Outside the hospital

Waiting to see the surgeon

poor little pitiful...

Recovery is slow but going well thus far!  In my reading and talking with friends who have gone through this surgery with their kids, it is pretty universal that it is just miserable - no way around it!   Poor thing is crying so much that she was hoarse by this weekend, and David called her our little Chinese torture device.  She developed a fever this weekend and I had to take her in to get checked out, but all was fine.  I am counting the days until her follow up appointment on Friday - where hopefully she will be able to stop wearing these stinkin' arm immobilizers (and have her beloved bottle back).  Eating and drinking has been an issue, as Anna has refused any and every cup that we offer her...and it is a struggle to get her to eat much.  I have finally figured out the best way to get her to eat - I put her in the bumbo seat in front of the TV with a Baby Einstein DVD on (terrible, I know, but desperate times call for desperate measures) and try to shovel baby food and use a medicine syringe to get some formula in her.  She still flails her arms around to push me away, but it is a little less than when I have her sitting in the high chair in the kitchen.  However, Anna is a trooper and is overall doing well.  She is crawling around and playing in her room even with her immobilizers in place.  

One thing that has been a new development is that Anna now enjoys looking at herself in the mirror.  A good tool for me to use in the doctor's office (as we spend a lot of time in waiting rooms these days) is my camera on my phone where she can see herself.  It is pretty amusing to see her goofy faces!

I've seen lots of this expression this past week...

Goofy face #1

Goofy face #2

And...this is what Anna thinks of all those doctor visits