Finally...Our Gotcha Day Video!

Please ignore the last 2 minutes of the video where John was video taping the wall!

Sunshine and Fun!

We just got home from sunny Florida!  It was a fun & exhausting trip.  Keeping up with Maya on the beach and by the pool had us all running in circles.  She absolutely loved the ocean…just like her sister and brother.  The condo we rented was in Hollywood right on the ocean.  I attached some photos of the view off our balcony plus some of the kids enjoying their vacation.  William wanted to throw his football nonstop.  I was ready for John’s arm to fall off from passing it to him so much.  Madeline took Maya swimming a lot and got her comfortable in the water.  We had some huge waves a couple of the days so the kids were able to body surf and use the boogie boards!  They had a riot.  We also managed to collect some great seashells to put in a glass jar at our cottage.  Will became the pro at finding the unique shells.  I think the only bad thing that happened on our vacation was when Maya fell in the pool.  She was playing with Will pushing him off the side.  She put a little too much effort into it one time and bam; she went in!  Luckily we were sitting right in front of her.  I jumped in and John then pulled her out.  She coughed up some water and cried a little bit in my arms, and then amazingly, she wanted to go back in the pool.  This time she wore her life jacket!  I swear my heart stopped beating when I saw her fall in!  On another note, we went to Key Largo one day to hang out.  Not a whole lot going on there so we went on to the next island, Islamorada.  We ended up finding some family owned “Sea World” type establishment.  It was hotter than blazes but we still had fun seeing huge sea turtles, colored fish, nurse sharks, alligators, sea lions, parrots and a fun dolphin show.  Maya loved the talking parrots.  As much fun as we all had, it was nice to get home.  I think we all missed our beds.  Maya missed her toys.  And of course we all missed Lola who spent the week being spoiled by grandma and papa. 

I want to update you all on Maya’s cleft palate too.  She did pop a small hole in the back of her mouth.  Her surgeon expected that because of her age and how large her cleft palate was.  He said she probably did it with her tongue.  Other then that, she healed up great.  She missed her crackers and chips, but we got through it.  Dr. Shaheen is going to repair the small hole in a couple months.  It won’t be as long or complex of a surgery as the first time, but she’ll have the same recovery…liquids and soft diet.  UGH!  We had her speech evaluated and she’ll be going to speech sessions 2 days/week for about 30 minutes per session.  The speech pathologist doesn’t foresee any problems with Maya’s speech because of her ability to repeat everything we say and how far she has already come with her language and speech skills. 

We’re looking forward to some warm weather arriving in Michigan and opening up our cottage.  Seeing how Maya was around the ocean and pool, I think I’m going to keep a life jacket on her permanently while we’re up there.  Happy spring everyone!  

  The great view from our condo balcony!

Maya was always SO proud of herself after jumping to her baba.

Cutie pie!

Maya's signature "wrinkle-nose" smile :)

Maya's new favorite food: Chocolate cake.

The great dolphin show in Islamorada!!

The Road to Recovery

Maya has been unbelievable with her recovery.  She slept well the first couple nights.  The only time I had to get up with her each night was to give her more pain medication.  She isn’t enjoying her liquid diet, but we’re trying our best.  She likes cream of chicken soup, chicken broth and yogurt.  She’s never been a milkshake, ice cream, smoothie or popsicle girl, so she’s been snubbing those things.  I’ve tried every smoothie concoction in the world, but she refuses to drink any of it.  She loves to help me put all the ingredients in the blender, but that’s about it.  We go back to Dr. Shaheen this Tuesday for him to look over her mouth.  I’m beyond stressed that she’s popped a hole in her palate.  Dr. Shaheen told us it happens a lot and there’s nothing we can do about it.  He would just have to go back in and repair it.  I can’t even imagine going through this surgery process again.  Keep your fingers crossed everyone she hasn’t used her tongue to pop through her palate!  I’ve looked at her mouth quite a few times but it’s hard to see anything because she still can’t open her mouth up that wide.  Last Thursday, Ryan & Patrick (Will’s buddies) came over and ended up having a Nerf gun battle in our house.  Guess who was in the middle of it all?!  Yes, my little post-op baby ran around trying to shoot the boys.  Thankfully the boys knew to be careful around Maya.  She had a ball!  It’s amazing to me how quickly children can recover from a surgery.  The first couple days after Maya’s surgery I must have read “Good Night Moon” 1000 times.  I thought I was going to lose my mind.  I will do whatever it takes to keep Maya happy, but I have to say, I was happy when she ran off on her own and I could read my own book!  On Friday I left the house for the first time since Monday.  Grandma & Papa Rose watched Maya so I could run some errands.  I ran through Costco like a kid in a candy shop.  I was so excited to get out and shop in peace.  Usually I’m keeping an eagle eye on Maya because she’s either trying to climb out of the shopping cart or put everything under the sun into the cart.  John booked a trip for us to go to Florida over spring break.  We’re all excited.  I can’t wait to see Maya on the beach for the first time.  We found a beautiful condo to rent right on the ocean.  We have a private pool and beach for our use.  Whoo Hoo!  We’re going to plan a day trip to Key Largo one day while we’re down there.  What a great trip for Maya after all of this surgery craziness!  My sister, Nan, had surgery on her hernia on Saturday.  She’s still in a lot of pain but recuperating well at home.  My brother-in-law, Murray, and I have joked that we should get a “tri-fecta” discount at Beaumont for my father-in-law, Maya and Nan’s surgeries! 

Maya's Big Surgery Day! 2/28/11

Maya woke up the morning of her surgery at 5:15 AM rearing to go!  You would think we had a trip planned to Disney!  She was smiling, laughing, dancing.  It made my heart break more because I knew what was in store for her.  We got to Beaumont by 6:15 AM and waited for about 15 minutes until they called us back.  Madeline missed school in the morning so she could be with her little sister.  I’m so happy Madeline was there because Maya loves her so much.  Madeline laid with her in the bed up until they took her to the OR.  About 20 minutes before Maya went into the OR they gave her a little “kiddy cocktail” to loosen her up.  At first she was laughing then about 10 minutes into it, she started looking like she was a hippie child from the 60’s!  Life was groovy!  We were all cracking up watching her.  When they took her back to the OR, she went to the nurse Anesthetist, Tamara, with no problem.  Then as they walked away, Maya looked at me and started calling out, “Mama!”  Yes, it was the hardest thing I’ve had to do since becoming Maya’s mom, but she needed this surgery.  I bit my tongue so I wouldn’t cry.  I kept saying to myself, “Pull it together Kris, you need to be strong for Maya!”  The wait began…Luckily for us there’s a Starbucks inside of Beaumont, so I was able to have a Chai Latte and chill out for a while.  The ENT came out of the OR about 20 minutes after Maya was whisked away and told us when he put the tubes in her ears, tons of fluid came out.  I’m thinking Maya will now think we’re all yelling since she’ll be able to hear us better!  Her surgery to repair the palate took about 2½ hours.  Dr. Shaheen came out and told us he was able to repair the entire palate and it was quite frankly, huge and her mouth was a bit of a mess.  He also told us that there is no way her palate would have been repaired correctly in China, it would have been too big of a job for them.  Can I say again how thankful we are that a skilled U.S. surgeon repaired her palate?!  Once they took John and I into recovery, I honestly will say it took my breath away when I saw Maya.  Her mouth was full of blood and she was not a happy camper.  I held her as she thrashed and cried.  When they gave her another dose of Tylenol 3 that seemed to take the edge off of things.  She HATED the IV in her foot so the one nurse looked at her said, “Maya – do you want me to take that out?!”  Maya looked at her and nodded yes!   She finally relaxed and fell asleep in my arms.  We had the BEST nurses in recovery.  They were all so sweet and just loved Maya.  Every nurse in that area actually came back to see her.  The nurse Anesthetist came back to check on her and we chatted for a bit.  She has 2 daughters adopted from China.  Her youngest, who is 21 months old, is from Maya’s province (yea for the Spicy Girls)!  The BIG news we got in recovery is that Dr. Shaheen put her down as an outpatient and we had orders to take her home.  I was surprised but honestly, much happier that she would be able to recover in her house.  Dr. Shaheen came back to check on Maya and told us the reason he wanted her to go home was because she would rest much better and it was better for all of us sleep wise.  He could not have been more right!  When I took Maya to our bed she just collapsed into the pillows and crashed out.  I had beach towels everywhere because her mouth and nose were leaking blood so much.  She looked so pathetic but I know she felt better in her own house.  John and I lied with her and tried to keep her as comfortable as we could.  She didn’t want to drink anything but we managed to get some liquids into her.  Thank goodness for Tylenol 3.  The minute that stuff starts wearing out, you can tell.  It was a long day and my nerves were frazzled, but we got through it.  I can’t say enough to all my awesome friends for texting me nonstop throughout the procedure and afterward to check up on Maya and send us their prayers.  And a big thank you to my sister, Nan, for picking Madeline up at the hospital to take her back to school.  My sweet mom, God love her, came to our house at 5:30 AM so we could take off for the hospital and she got Will off to school.  Then she came right to the hospital to sit with us during the operation.  I was happy she got to come back in the recovery and see her little Maya.  Grandma Rose came to our house after to bring Maya a “get well” gift.  That perked her up for a bit.  And my friend Vicki, who is in China right now adopting her little Molly Kate…Maya’s friend from the orphanage.  In the midst of her crazy adventure, she took the time to let everyone know about Maya’s surgery and ask for prayers in her blog!  THANK YOU EVERYONE!  I can’t say enough about how lucky our Maya is to have all of you in her life!  

Maya didn't like her hospital bracelet- Not pretty enough!











She liked the teddy bear she got!





Being cute and cuddling with Mama!





Poor baby!

Craziness!

Hello Everyone!  Once again it seems it takes me a million years to update our blog.  All is well at our end!  My father-in-law’s surgery was a success!  YEA!  THANK YOU everyone for all your kind thoughts and prayers!  He came home today (Sunday, February 20, 2011)!  He’s unbelievable how well he has recovered.  Maya’s surgery is still set for February 28^th!  We had her pre-op appointment with her surgeon this past week.  John and I decided we literally need to move all of the crackers, chips and cereal into the laundry room during her 3-week recovery because she will have a fit if she can’t eat her favorite foods.  We figure out of sight, out of mind, right?  Somehow with our smart little Maya, I don’t see that flying.  I’m sure she’ll figure out a way to scale the washing machine and get to her snacks.  What a recovery period this will be!  Madeline and Will are on mid-winter break this week.  Yea for Maya!  She loves having her sister & brother around.  The Spring girls are coming for a visit on Tuesday.  We can’t wait to host them at our house finally!  We’ll be sure to take photos of the girls for our next blog post.  We registered Madeline at Marian High School this past week.  Wow – I still can’t believe I’ll have a child in high school in September.  I still remember taking Madeline to preschool.  I’m going to remember this with Maya…time just seems to fly!  Will and his best buddy Patrick had a project in the science fair this past Thursday!  I actually think they had more fun seeing everyone else’s projects rather than standing at their post!  What an evening!  Maya was able to meet all of the teachers and parents who have not met her yet.  She was the hit of the fair!  We were hit with a lot of snow today!  We went to Will’s flag football game this afternoon.  Came out and it was snowing like crazy!  Maya still doesn’t enjoy it so she didn’t exactly welcome the sight of it!  Maya’s vocabulary continues to grow everyday!  She’s starting to put together two words now!  We’re so proud of her.  She’s come so far in such a short period of time!  This past week she purposely dropped something, looked at me and said, “Oh Maya!”  I couldn’t help but crack up.  I probably say it to her 100 times a day so it was bound to cross into her vocabulary!  Stay tuned for more “Maya Adventures”!  Something new seems to pop up each day! 

The sisters love each other so much!





 



Maya and Grandma Pat





Will and Patrick, the science "nerds" :)



Guang Hey Fat Choy!!!

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!!! It is the year of the rabbit! In the year of the rabbit the main goal of Chinese people is to create a safe, peaceful lifestyle so they can calmly deal with any future problem that may arise. Today Maya finally put on her silk dress!!! She looks ADORABLE. We are going to a Chinese restaurant for dinner and are hoping she will wear the dress to dinner. Maya clearly knows what "Guang Hey Fat Choy" (Happy new year) means. She smiles everytime we say it, and was singing the words to a Chinese New Year song. On the other hand, we have been trying to get Maya to enjoy the snow. She really does not like the cold, wind, or snow at all. The only time she smiled is when William pushed Madeline into a snow mound. After coming inside, Madeline asked Maya if she liked the snow and she looked right at her and shook her head and said "NO!" Haha! Here are some cute pictures from this week...

Maya and her cousin Abbey

Madeline and Will holding Maya in a lego box...

10 inches of snow!

Acting like the ham she is :)

See what we mean by really not liking the snow?

At least Will and his best friend Patrick love being outside!

The Chinese warrior pose!

Crazy February!

I sincerely apologize for not updating our blog sooner.  My days with the kids seem to fly by so quickly.  I hardly have time to think most days!  But, I wouldn’t trade it for a million years.  Maya continues to be a little live wire.  She’s the ultimate Energizer Bunny!  John and I took Maya to her surgeon, Dr. Shaheen, on January 20^th.  He suspects they started to repair her cleft palate in China but it was too large & complex.  Honestly, I'm glad they didn't fix it because I'd rather it was fixed the right way by a skilled surgeon here since her cleft palate is so large.  He went through a lot of Maya's prognosis with us.  She will probably be in store for 5-6 more surgeries until she's 21.  An entire team works with our surgeon so every year, we will meet with them and they will decide the next step for her.  Dr. Shaheen said by the time she's 21, she'll probably be done with everything unless some problems emerge.  Her surgery is set for Monday, February 28^th.  Keep our little one in your prayers!  On another note, my father-in-law suffered a heart attack last Saturday while he was walking our dog back to our house!  By God’s grace, John got him to the hospital quickly.  He will need open heart surgery, which as of right now is slated for February 16^th.  So, the month of February should be a bit crazy for our family (what’s new?).  We were hit with a huge snowstorm last night, which meant no school for the kids today!  Whoo Hoo!  We bundled Maya up and took her out in the snow.  I don’t think she quite knows what to make of all this cold, white stuff.  Madeline and I were like cheerleaders trying to get her to crack a smile while we pulled her on a sled down our driveway.  We were able to get a few photos, but she doesn’t look too happy!  Oh well…I know next year she’ll be running around out there freezing her butt off.  Will and his buddy Patrick decided to both be “Kings of the Hill” on the snow mound that is in the middle of our court.  John, Madeline, Maya and I watched them from inside as they tagged team each other keeping the other boys off the top of the hill.  It was pretty funny!  You could tell they were all laughing and having a blast.  Ahhh…to be young again and enjoy rolling around in the freezing snow with a runny nose!  We got Maya’s blood work back.  Everything was a normal other than she’s a bit anemic.  So, she has to take a multi-vitamin with iron every day!  She actually loves them and would eat half the bottle if I let her!  Her eating is getting better and Madeline finally got her to eat grapes.  She still wants to snack 24/7, so John thought he’d curtail her snacking habits by putting a rubber band on the pantry doors.  It took one tug by Maya and that band snapped!  I think I’m just going to have to hide all the snacks right after her surgery since she has to be on a soft diet for 3 weeks following the surgery.  How much fun will that be?!  The kid who lives for crackers and chips?!  Do you think I can liquefy them in a blender?!!!  Take care everyone and stay tuned for further updates!  Sorry I’m not quicker!