Day 359

Eliza will be one year old on June 16th. She has been with us 9 weeks and 4 days. It's incredible to watch her grow, learn and change. We reminisced recently about our trip to China. It often seems ages ago. Day-to-day life has a way of distracting us.

We have a pretty smooth routine during the day: Get up, bottle, play, sleep, bottle, play, eat solids, play, more solids, bottle...and then it's bed time. Bed time is less smooth these days then when we got home. As Eliza's awareness of us increases, so does her need to be with us. She struggles with the separation that happens at night time. It is taking about 30-45 minutes for her to calm down and go to sleep. All in all, it's not that bad. Last night she actually went to sleep on her own after I went in two times to help her relax (and she slept through the night without us).

She has been particularly happy despite teething. We are sure having a great time playing!

This is a birthday candle we purchased in Chongqing for our friends. It is a lotus flower that opens after it is lit. It plays happy birthday too (forever!!! We left the party 45 minutes after cake time and the candle was still going).

Spoon! Glorious Spoon!

We had a picnic at the park this evening, and Eliza ate her dinner from a spoon. Yippee!!!

Time Flies!

Things are going well these days! Eliza seems to have kicked her ear infection habit. She wakes up once or twice during the night, but is quick to soothe and returns to peaceful resting. She's beautiful all the time, but there is something very very sweet about a sleeping baby. We don't mind the few minutes of holding her during the night...so we can enjoy her serene little face.

She is eating better every day, and beginning to manage a few finger foods. She is showing great interest in table food and I think she will progress quickly. We have been able to feed her with a spoon a couple of times. Hopefully she will decide to take a spoon more frequently...it might make for less time devoted to clean up after she eats.


Her therapy is going well. She makes gains every week. She is using both hands to grasp and hold toys. She is reaching for objects on her left with her right hand (crossing midline). She hates being forced to support herself on both arms, but is getting stronger and better at it. We aren't spending too much time with putting weight through her legs yet. We are hoping she progresses with crawling first.

We enjoy our sweet girl. We're getting ready to welcome grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins for her first birthday and baptism the weekend of June 16th. We can't wait for the family to meet her. She will enjoy it...she's very social and really responds well to new people, new environments, and new situations.