Friday Happenings

It's been very strange around here with 2 less kids (and quieter). Logan and Jennifer are up north with my parents visiting cousins and grandparents, aunts and uncles. So, until next weekend, it's just Scott, Meigan, Rocky and me. Meigan and I were at the mall today looking for some bargains. She got some new jammies.
Before going home, I stopped by Praise FM radio station. They were just awesome helping us raise money for travel expenses and getting the word out about our rummage sale last July. I hadn't had an opportunity to come by since we had Meigan and today we really had nowhere to go. We met Arnie the DJ outside the studio and he asked if I could come on the radio at 3:30 today with Meigan. I rush up the road to Wal-Mart to buy a few snacks since I knew that would keep her occupied.
Meigan had her first radio debut uttering "hi" several times into the big microphone which fasinated her. Of course, I didn't have my camera but they did take a couple pictures and hopefully they will post them on their site and I can stick them on the blog. We'll be popping in for more radio visits from time to time. They are such wonderful people.
Meigan really misses her sissy and Lolo (Logan). She calls for them all the time.
When they talk to her on the phone, she can't understand where they are. She keeps looking in the phone. Her new thing to do to me now if she doesn't like what I'm saying is sticking her fingers in her ears so she can't hear me. Jennifer doesn't do it to me so she must have picked it up on her own! Probably thinking I liked it better before my tubes! Hard not to laugh when she does it!

Merry Christmas 2006

| View Show | Create Your Own<

Merry Christmas, Bubby

Dear Matt,
It's still so hard to believe you won't be with us for Christmas. In 32 years, we have never had a Christmas without you. What I wouldn't give to have you waiting secretly for me to come out of a room and shock me with those horendous speedos you were wearing last year! Or, running up to my van with Mike's Michael Meyers mask on!
You are missed more than we can even put into words. Somehow we've muddled through the holidays, but it's just not the same. My Christmas wish for you is that you are at peace and surrounded by God's infinite love as you spend your first Christmas in Heaven. I feel your presence all the time, little bro'. Logan and Jennifer are so lucky they had you for an uncle and we will always tell Meigan about her guardian angel.
We love you always and forever:)

Steff, Scott, Logan, Jennifer, Meigan, Mom and Dad

The "Baby Whisperer" visit and New dresses!

Shopped till she dropped!









Tues. afternoon we had our first visit from Carol, who is an infant/toddler developmental specialist. Scott calls her the baby whisperer and after her first visit, the title fits! She is awesome! So full of information about Meigan's patrticular behaviors, speech delays, etc. She gave us so much insite about things Meigan has probably had to deal with in China. One thing I am so guilty of is comparing her to other 2 yr. olds, or what my 2 were doing at her age. She basically said I have to stop that. There is such a difference in a child who has had a loving, nurturing environment from day 1 as opposed to a child who has their basic needs met but little else due to the number of other children that are in orphanages there, too. I know this, I do. Must not compare! Even with her being fostered, we have no idea if she was bounced around or what her foster was like. I can tell you though her fine motor skills are better than Logan and Jennifer's were at 2. Carol was very encouraged by Meigan's personality and her attempt at speech. She said her speech is at the jabber stage right now, but when it comes look out! She is basically starting speech from scratch because due to her hearing loss before tubes and then exposed to a whole new language she will need time to digest it all and experiment with new sounds. Her maturity level will also catch up with time and comprehension of language. It really is amazing to see just how far she has come in 3 months. I can't wait to see what the future holds for her. I know it would have been bleak in China.

Mele Kolikimaka! (Merry Christmas in Hawaiian! )

The kids are dressed in their Hawaiian clothes that they got from Gaga and Pop-Pop on their recent trip to Hawaii.

Santa Visits Jennifer's Class

Hey, Sissy, Who is this guy anyway?





This morning Jennifer's pre-k class had a visit from Santa so I was able to get a few pics. Meigan sat right down with the kids on the floor and watched. She got to sit on Santa's lap Sat. when Logan's school had a holiday fest. Surprisingly, she wasn't scared and went right up to him. I have no pics of Logan or Jenn at 2 years with Santa because they were so afraid.

Out Cold at 8 p.m..

Today was a busy day for us. Jennifer had started complaining about her ear hurting yesterday and like a good mom I said I'm sure it's fine and that was that. This morning she woke up with "yuck" draining from it so I knew we were probably in for another dr. visit. Yesterday was dr. for Meigan and dentist for Logan and Jenn. Our favorite pediatrician, Dr. Osborne, left to move to Mississippi because the cost of living is cheaper and closer to family, (boy, can I sympathize!)So we had yet to try the new Dr. that replaced him. So we're at the dr.'s for almost 2 hrs. for the nurse to see Jennifer for 2 min. Where's the dr? I wasn't impressed. So looks like we will be on the hunt once again for a new pediatrician.
This afternoon, the people from Early Steps came to do Meigan's developmental assessment. I was apprehensive about scheduling in the afternoon because Meigan can tend to get cranky close to nap time, but otherwise it wouldn't be till after Christmas. Three very nice ladies observed and played with Meigan, that was actually part of the test. Some things she cooperated with, some not. At one point, she was done and got on her little riding car and wanted nothing more to do with them. A lot of the test had to do with asking me questions about her anyway. So, she did qualify for early intervention in speech and cognitive, Which involves language. She scored above in motor skills and they said for her only being here 2 1/2 months, she is doing quite well and adapting nicely. In a few weeks, a child developmental specialist will visit us and do things with Meigan to help her with her delays. I believe it will be on a weekly basis. So, by the time they left, it was too late for a nap and I knew by the way she was acting, we were in for a very whiney evening! Eight o'clock couldn't come fast enough!
On a good note though, Meigan had her post-op with the ENT yesterday, and we redid the hearing test in the sound proof room and she passed! Her hearing has definitely improved and he will see her again in 6 months.

Oh Christmas Tree!

Hanging my first Christmas ornament!


Tonight I decided to muster up some Christmas spirit and put our tree up. Jennifer has been bugging me about it since before Thanksgiving and I've just been in a bah humbug kinda mood about this Christmas. This probably being Meigan's first ever Christmas, I knew the lights and ornaments would facinate her. It didn't take long before she was right in there with hanging ornaments! I pretty much let her and Jenn have at it, (which you can guess where most of the ornaments were placed!) Logan missed out, but for good reason, he went with a neighbor friend to see the movie "The Nativity". He can't wait for me to see it.
We also spent all day at the beach today so the girls and I are pretty tired and a little pink. I did think of all of my northern friends and family while down there, you know, that I wish you could be here, too!
On another note, my parents arrived safely in Honolulu,HA an hr. ago. They will be there for 2 weeks. Lucky ducks!

Bear Sightings! and Rocky

Back From Ky. and Tn. !

Jennifer, Meigan, Tiffany (cousin) and Grandma (Scott's mom)
Not so sure I like being this bundled up! (Meigan and Gaga)
Jennifer loved the snow!
Logan and Cody (cousin) Two peas in a pod!
Trinity, Jennifer, Meigan and Brittany (twin cousins)

We had a great Thanksgiving holiday visiting with lots of family!
We left Fri. Nov. 17th right from the hospital after Meigan's tubes were put in. She did great, but really didn't sleep like we thought she would on our way up to Ky.. Go figure! The next day we visited my cousin, Scott,in Ohio, who had a big screen tv so we could watch the Ohio Michigan game. Awesome game! OSU kicked butt!
Sunday my grandma had a big get together at her house in KY. with lots of aunts,
uncles and cousins. About 40 people all together. Meigan was a bit overwhelmed at first but enjoyed playing with her new cousins. That night it was more visiting when we drove over to Ohio to see Scott's family. Meigan makes the 7th grandchild for Scott's parents.
Monday, my parents, grandma, Jenn, Meigan and I drove down to Gatlinburg to my parents Mtn. Chalet. It is beautiful and so peaceful. Tues. my mom's cousin, Brenda, and her son and his family drove down to spend Thansgiving with us for a few days. The girls had a great time playing with their twin cousins, Brittany and Trinity. That morning also, Scott, Logan and Rocky made it in after driving all night! We spent the evening on a double date with Rodney and Theresa enjoying the shops and snuggle weather in downtown Gatlinburg.
We had a huge feast for Thanksgiving! Stuffed ourselves silly! Thank you Brenda and Theresa for the delicious food!
Fri., Scott's parents, sister and brother and their kids drove down to spend time with us for a couple of days. We had fun shopping and visiting. The kids had a blast with their cousins.
Rocky loved Tn. too! He would run around my parent's deck like a greyhound track!
He loved running down the hill in back and rolling in leaves. He's still up there with my parents until tues. when they come back. Last I heard, he was digging in a big dirt pile.
We drove 17 hrs. yesterday to get home. It should take 14 hrs.,but with three kids... We got home about 10 last night and literally crashed in bed.
Now it's back to reality... school, dr. visits, bills. Can't wait till we can go back!

Princess Diaries

Look out, there's a new princess in town!
Ready for the ball!

Today was Meigan's post op visit with Dr. Stelnicki. He said her palate looked wonderful and now she can eat whatever she wants! She is scheduled for her lip revision on Jan. 18th. He is going to totally reconstruct her top lip. I tease that she's going to have Angelina Jolie lips! Her nose will be repaired as she gets closer to 3. So, after the tubes Fri., we'll catch a break for a little while and just enjoy the holidays (and put the blender in the cupboard!)
We leave for Ky. and Tn. on Fri. but hopefully will be able to post pics on the laptop.

Dr. Visits

Not a fun day for Meigan or myself today. This morning we went to the ear, nose, and throat specialist, Dr. Donaldson. He looked in her ears and tryed to clean them, but really to no avail. We then had to go to another room. I had to lay Meigan on the table and practically lay across her as the nurse held her head still and the dr. looked through a microscope thing to better see inside her ears. During which, Meigan was screaming bloody murder! He got very little out saying material was so inbedded it would be impossible to clean with her awake. Then we went down the hall for her hearing test. Took her a few minutes to calm down before we could even attempt it. Meigan and I went into a little soundproof room where she sat on my lap. Speakers and stuffed toys were on each side of us. The audiologist would say things or send sounds to try to get her to look which way the sound was coming from. She pretty much failed that test. She can hear loud sounds but nothing low or normal speaking tones. Could definately be the reason for her speech deficiancy.
She couldn't even hear chinese correctly so makes sense why she has no language other than her baby garble.
Because of the mess in her ears and with the hearing, Dr. Donaldson wants the tubes put in her ears asap. She needs antibiotics to clear up her sinus infection first and her tube surgery will be Fri. ,Nov. 17 in Ft. Myers. We will have to be there pretty early. That was the day my parents, Jennifer, Meigan and I were planning to head north. We probably still will. Procedure lasts about 15-20 min. Went through the same thing with Jennifer and she was fine.
Our next dr. visit this afternoon was to the dentist. She fell asleep on the way there and stayed asleep until she woke up on the papoose board and was wrapped up like a cacoon! Time to scream again! This time she was having two composite fillings on her front teeth. Nothing painful, but scary for her. She walked out with a purple plastic dolphin and a smile so I guess I didn't traumatise her too much! Long day anyway, to say the least.

Welcome Home Meigan Party!

"Going down the big slide by myself!"
Too beautiful to eat!
"Opening my presents!"
"I got a new baby doll!"
"Enjoying a little bit of my cake!"


Some of my dearest friends had a "Welcome Home Meigan Party" for Meigan today. It was the perfect day. Beautiful weather for a party at the park. Everyone enjoyed themselves and the kids all had a great time playing together. Meigan enjoyed getting presents and playing on the playground with Gaga, (my mom). The cake was almost too beautiful to eat! We stayed till the sun went down. Thank you, dear friends, for such a wonderful celebration!
Meigan is still on soft foods at least till the 14th of Nov. when she sees Dr. Stelnicki. The blender has become my best friend. I feel like a mad scientist concocting all kinds of weird things, but Meigan eats any of it. I never made baby food for Logan or Jennifer, but it's really been kinda fun throwing whatever I can in the blender and liquifying it! She is still quite the little piglet!
Wed. we see the ENT to check her ears and hearing. We know there are some hearing issues, but to what extent hopefully we will find out soon. Usually easily corrected with tubes.

Happy Halloween!

Sagwa,the Chinese Cat, Meigan, the Chinese Dragon, Grim Reaper

Check out the handmade hat we bought in China!
Not sure if I should be afraid of this scary guy sitting next to me!


The kids had a great time trick-or-treating. Logan went around the neighborhood with some friends and one of their moms. I guess he was the grim reaper. He enjoyed scaring Rocky in his costume. Makes me feel safer knowing if Jason, Freddy Krueger or Michael Myers shows up at our door, Rocky would just run away!
Mom and I took the girls to a few houses in our neighborhood and then we went to my parents old neigborhood down by Naples High School to visit the neighbors. They all enjoyed meeting Meigan.
Since Meigan is unable to eat candy right now, we would hide it from her view and luckily, she was clueless about what was going on!
Anyway, the kids got way too much candy as usual, but that's the fun of it. I remember Matt and I dumping our bags when we got home to see who got what or had more.
Logan went through his tonight to pick out gum and hard candy for the soldiers who are fighting in Iraq. His class is sending care packages and he remembered a request for those items. He has such a big heart:)

Lookin' cool in my shades and "no-no's"!

Home from Hollywood!

Valerie, 19 mon., Madeline, 3 1/2, Jennifer and Meigan. Valerie is as big as Meigan! They all had fun together!
Oops! Lost my sock!
Feeling better the second day!
Mommy pulling the wagon on the PICU floor!


This is my second attempt at posting. Somehow I lost my previous one after uploading pics. Sorry, but this will be shorter.
We made it back home after visiting for an hour with a friend I met from a Yahoo group. Her oldest daughter, Madeline, 3 1/2, and Meigan are from the same orphanage in Kunming. We have been wanting to meet for some time. They live right across Alligator Alley in Davie, Fl. The girls had fun playing together and hope to see them again soon.
Meigan is doing well. She slept most of the way home. When we got home, she headed straight for her highchair! I panicked about what to feed her, but tomato soup suited her fine. I have to feed her myself, but she did'nt seem to mind as long as the food comes! (She suckered her night nurse into giving her jello at 1am this morning, I was told!)
She's doing ok with the no-nos, velcro armsplints to prevent her from putting her fingers in her mouth. She wears them to bed.
She goes back for her post-op visit in 2weeks. If all is well with the palate, we move on to phase 2(lip and nose revision) in Dec.
Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers! I know that's what got us through!

Update on Meigan

I talked to Stephanie this evening and she said that Meigan is doing well. Dr. Stelnicki saw her today and all indications are that she should be able to go home tomorrow. Meigan is eating soft things now such as vanilla pudding, chicken soup and apple sauce. Steff says that Meigan still has an appetite, which is good. Steff thought that Meigan might have to just drink liquids this week, but as long as the food is very thin, she can have that instead.

Stephanie got to pull Meigan and Jennifer down the hall in a wagon at the hospital this evening. I guess the girls loved it. Steff sent a picture of Meigan on her cellphone and she was smiling, so that was reassuring that Meigan is doing alright after the surgery. Guess she's just a tough little girl.

Hopefully, Stephanie will be home tomorrow night, so she can give you an update.

Update from Joyce (Stephanie's Mom)

Surgery Over

Meigan had her surgery this morning on her palate. She made it through the surgery alright, but after she woke up, she had a croupy cough that sounded a lot like Logan had and some difficulty breathing. So they gave Meigan a breathing treatment and she did fine after that. Meigan must have had some irritation from the mouth surgery that affected her throat.

Meigan is in PICU today and probably tomorrow. Stephanie fed her a little apple juice thru a medicine dropper this evening and they want her to continue to get her to take liquids by mouth even though she has an IV.

Will write more information tomorrow when I hear from Stephanie on how Meigan is doing.

Meigan's Upcoming Surgery

Tomorrow afternoon, Scott, Jennifer, Meigan and I will head over to Hollywood, Fl. where the children's hospital is located. Logan will be staying with some friends while we are away, so he's happy about that. Originally, we planned on taking 2 vehicles so Scott could come home with the kids on Sunday evening and I would stay at the hospital until Meigan was discharged and drive home myself, but the more I thought about it, I wasn't so sure I wanted to be by myself considering the fact the first day, Meigan will be in ICU.
We also are staying at a place that's like the Ronald Mcdonald House on the hospital grounds so we are thankful for that. I have to have Meigan at the hospital at 5:45 Sunday morning and her surgery will be later that morning. Scott and I will take turns being with her before she goes in.
Part of me thinks this is too much, too soon. We've barely had her a month.I do not look forward to seeing her in so much pain. I also have seen more hospital than I care to in the last 2 1/2 months. We knew going into this that she would have to undergo surgery(ies). I guess between losing Matt this summer and Logan being so sick, it's a bit overwhelming. I know this is what Meigan needs though, and time is of the essence if we want her to be able to have understandable speech. American babies with cleft palates usually have surgery around 12-18 months so their speech would likely be normal. Meigan is almost 27 months. Her chances for normal speech are still good, but the sooner the better because she can get speech therapy when she is well.
Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers this week. Hopefully she will be ready to be discharged on Tues. . My parents are in Tn., but I will have my mom post updates on the blogsite.

Trip to the Beach

Logan trying to catch fish with a bucket!
Eat your heart out Baywatch Babes!
Playing in the sand with my sissy!
Great-Grandma and Meigan scooping sand!

This evening was so beautiful outside, we decided to go down to the beach since my grandma is down visiting and we hadn't taken Meigan yet. At first, she didn't want me to let her down in the sand so we sat down on a towel so she could feel it with her hands and feet. Didn't take long after watching Logan and Jennifer that this soft stuff is kinda fun but she didn't like getting sandy. Then she got braver and we walked down to the water but wouldn't let it come near her feet. It was so funny watching her try to run from it! After about an hour, Logan, Jennifer, Gaga and Meigan were all in the water swimming around! Can you believe she didn't want to get out, but the sun was going down, and she was getting cold, so we packed up and called it a day. Looking forward to more fun times at the beach!

Jennifer's Belated Birthday Party

Happy 5th Birthday, Jenn-Jenn! We love you!
Like my new wheels?
Girlfriends forever!
This cake's not too bad, Sissy!!


Even though Jennifer's actual birthday was a month ago, (the day we left for China), we felt she got cheated by not having the Bratz birthday party she had been talking about for months. Celebrating her birthday in Chicago with our adoption group friends just didn't cut it for her. Today was her day and everyone had a great time, including Meigan who really hammed it up for everyone! For all we know this may have been the only party she has been a part of. She loves cake, no doubt there!