One more surgery down...

Thankfully surgery was a go this AM...I kept worrying that Anna would get sick at the last minute and that we would have to reschedule again!  With other kids sick now, David stayed home to take care of that crew while I headed to the hospital with Anna.  I am so grateful that my friend Laura agreed to go with me (at 4:30 AM!) to the hospital - it is certainly nice to have someone around to get an emergency Starbucks and/or Diet Dr. Pepper.  We thought it was pretty amusing that Anna's little hospital gown had panda bears and bamboo on it - did they save that just for her? 

Surgery lasted about 2 hours, and Anna's doctor said he felt good about her repair...although he kept mentioning that "she had a very wide cleft" - ha!  He also injected a steroid into her scar to help with the scar repair on her lip.  Her post-op nurse said that Anna was "quite a fighter", which certainly has to be the case for any poor baby who has survived an orphanage.  I think this also means that she was quite loud until they gave her the full dose of morphine!  So now we are in a room and hope to leave by tomorrow, depending upon several factors.  The next 2 weeks will be the critical healing time - hopefully all will heal nicely with no complications - and we will face life with no thumb-sucking or bottles...ugh!  Thanks for all the prayers and encouragement!

thanks for coming, Ms. Laura!

Pitiful little post-op baby

Just a few more hours...

If Anna can just stay well for the next 10 hours, she will have her surgery in the AM.  Thanks for the prayers!

Last few hours of thumb sucking before the torture begins  (arm restraints post-op for the next 2 weeks)

On the move...and getting ready for surgery!

Thankfully it seems like Anna is finally getting over her sickness - just in time for surgery!  The last time surgery was scheduled it had to be canceled due to illness, so hopefully we will make it this time.  Poor thing has been sick a bunch, but she finally is back to her happy self these past couple of days.  As I read about others who have gone before me with their children having palate repairs, it is a bit intimidating to think about the details...but I just keep telling myself that this is the next major hurdle, and then hopefully she won't have to have another surgery for a couple of years.  The biggest bummer for Anna, I think, is that she won't be able to have her bottle or suck her thumb for 2 weeks.  Super big bummer.  Since she has been sick so much, I have just been giving her the bottle and not really working hard to transition to the cup.  Today, however, when I spoke to the nurse about the surgery, she suggested I ease up on the bottle over the weekend to make the transition a little better after surgery.
Now I have been a little crazy over the past few months and have bought about 5000 different kinds of sippy cups, in hopes that Anna will like maybe one of them.  None of them have totally caught her eye, but today I tried one of Will's old cups without the valve in it - and she actually took it!  Woo hoo!  So, I guess I will leave behind all the cute flowery/girly cups I bought and use the cool Texas Rangers baseball cups.  I also have found it interesting that some of Anna's favorite toys are the plastic lids from the baby food containers.  Some people, who are crafty and cool, probably think up all kinds of great things to do with their empty baby food containers - while I, on the other hand, like to use them as toys.  Much easier.

It is fun to watch Anna really take off in the mobility department.  She is crawling everywhere now, and particularly enjoys crawling in and out of her room and playing with her toys.  So now I can blame the mess on Anna...

On the move...

Loves those musical toys

Check out this tall kneeling!

Thanks for your prayers as we approach surgery day on Monday!

Why won't my children wear hats?

I have found that Anna is just like all the other Goza children, in that she refuses to wear hats as a baby.  It really got to me the other day, because it was really cold here (a rare thing) and she had this really cute hat that matched her outfit!  I kept trying to distract her and get her to keep it on her head, but I finally had to give up and put a tiny bow in her hair so we could leave the house.  

Anna's hair is in much better shape than when I first met her 7 months ago, but it is still in a very awkward "mullet" phase.  When I first met her I think she let me put hats on her because she was so weak and didn't really have the strength to fight back, but that has all changed now!

Quick - take a picture

Angry baby!

Whew - so much better!  Don't even think about trying that again, Mom.

Anna's first Christmas home

Somehow I am now on about 20,000 adoption e-mail lists, etc.  Generally I don't succumb to buying stuff, but I fell prey to one this past month: an ornament for Anna!  Over this past month it has sometimes overwhelmed me...that one year ago Anna was in an orphanage and we had no idea who she was...but now she is such an important and fun part of our family!  

After our church's final Christmas program this year, our music minister had the super-fun idea to have snow "made" and brought in for the kids - because snow in south Louisiana is a rare occurrence.   The snow was placed on our church's front lawn and was very exciting for all!

It was about 70 degrees outside, hence the sleeveless dress!

Alex was most certainly about to whack his brother

Alex's new look for his class Christmas party - love a kid with missing teeth and a mustache!

We got to have fun with family at our home and then took a quick trip to Texas to visit family over Christmas.

So thankful Papaw was available to do the Gingerbread house with the boys...I am really troubled with anything remotely crafty.

Thanks to Papaw and Grandmother, Alex is now the proud owner of a Red Ryder BB gun - and no, thankfully he did not shoot his eye out.

Bean bags for Christmas - what were we thinking?  They take up the entire living room - ha!

Bowling with Grandpa Skip

Anna loved hanging out with Mia at Christmas!

Thanks for the hamburgers, Cici!

More fun with family and surgery update

WARNING: Excessive number of family pictures ahead, so proceed with caution.

We were so thankful to get to visit with so many different family members over this past week on our whirlwind driving adventure through Oklahoma and Texas.  We drove up to Oklahoma for a couple of days, then headed to Dallas for a brief visit and then over to Greenville before heading home.  Anna got to meet more relatives and got plenty of attention!

Anna loves her cousin Taylor

Giving Aunt Kathy a "hug"

It really is a shame no one pays attention to that poor baby...

Showing off her new standing skill (yes, her knees are locked, but we're working on that)

Grandmother and Papaw with the grandkids

Aunt Kelly and Uncle Tony are hilarious!

Watching football - you can tell who the true Cowboys fan is...

Papaw and his girls

Here's Anna giving David a kiss - Whenever you tell Anna "kiss!" she leans her head forward...as in, "you may kiss my forehead now."

And what visit to Oklahoma would be complete without a chicken fried steak?!?

Anna gets to meet her great-grandmother and LaVera for the first time

Fun with Grandpa Skip

The boys jumped at the opportunity to open Christmas presents early at Aunt Laura's suggestion

Anna models her new sunglasses from Aunt Laura and Uncle Bill

Hanging out in Greenville

Fun with the girls!

Cousins

Back at home, Anna really enjoys her new silver cup from Grammy

Finally, for the surgery update: Anna was supposed to have her palate repair done today, but unfortunately she came down with a fever last night.  My poor mom had taken off work for the week to be able to help out while we were at the hospital, and I found out that the surgery was cancelled when Mom was about an hour away from here.  But we are so thankful to have her here for a visit, and I think Anna is secretly pleased she is not having surgery now!

She looks kinda Asian...

Often when I am out with Anna now, I get questions or comments about her from sweet people.  I certainly understand that it is a little confusing to see me with 3 fair-haired little boys and then a Chinese  baby, and I don't mind the questions or comments at all - people are often just curious or eager to talk about my experiences!  I really thought it was funny, though, when a kind older gentleman (with a thick "country" accent) sitting next to me tried to start a conversation the other day.  I was waiting in the store to get my phone repaired, and I could tell he kept looking at me and then at Anna.  Finally he said, "She looks kinda Asian!"  I smiled and told him that she's from China - thanks!  He then proceeded to talk about how cute she was, etc.  I was sharing that story with David's parents, and David's father commented, "Well, you sure can't get anything past us Louisiana boys!"

Little Asian baby in her cool new hat

Here are the obligatory Halloween pictures  - can you tell which kid did not enjoy the church's Fall Fest as much as the others?  Anna got back at me for dressing her in that uncomfortable Cinderella dress and had a big accident about 10 minutes into the Fall Fest - so she got to change back into her comfy clothes!

Blue power ranger ninja

Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers climbing the rock wall

Ninja Nate

And in honor of the big LSU game tomorrow, Anna is showing her support for the Tigers!  I am also proud to report that at her doctor's visit yesterday she weighed in at 20 1/2 pounds - which puts her ON the growth chart - woo hoo!