At the Park

Molly, Tony and I went to a new park today. Molly had a great time exploring all of the new things to play with. Of course I was there clicking away pictures like a woman possessed. Digital photography has sure changes things!

Feeling the Love

Ever since we were in China, Molly has demanded that we hold her facing out. When I say demanded, I mean it. If you picked her up so that she faced you, she would twist, push, squirm or as a last resort, scream until she was facing outward. Everyone told me that she was just curious. She needed to see what was going on in the world. It was just her personality.

I insisted that it was more than that. My gut told me that it was an attachment thing. I worked and worked with Molly so that she would face me when I held her. During the first four months I met with little success. I wasn't overly concerned, after all she would make eye contact with me, she would run to me for protection, she would be mildly upset if I left the room. She didn't even want anyone else to hold her except for Tony and me. Those were all good signs that she was attaching.

But still I had this nagging feeling that Molly wasn't there yet. I felt that she thought of us a really good nannies, but hadn't really bought into the whole you're my parents thing. Once again, people told me I was crazy. She looked very attached to us.

A couple of weeks ago something changed. Molly started to let us hold her inward. We could carry her around and she cared more about looking at us than her surroundings. Even better, she would cuddle in on our shoulders and give us hugs. We're feeling the love, baby!

As a parent, there has been nothing better than feeling my child give me love. I literally melt with every snuggle.

This brings us to part 2 of this post...time for a pop quiz!

Question 1:
What do Molly (my sweet, adorable and loving daughter) and Worf (an alien character from the hit series Start Trek Voyager) have in common?
Answer:
They are both Klingons. Well, Worf is a Klingon, Molly is a Cling-on!

Now that we've moved into the Feeling the Love part of our relationship, I am the center of Molly's universe. It's all about the momma. I must carry her everywhere I go, and I do mean everywhere! The days of going to the bathroom alone or cooking a meal without velcro baby attached to my hip are a thing of the past.

Molly will play by herself for a few minutes, but the second I attempt leave the room I hear the sound of baby footsteps followed by the ankle grab and the pathetic please pick me up look. For a lot people this might be kind of annoying. But ya know, after two grueling years of waiting for this child, it feels like heaven to me. So cling-on baby, cling-on! (I wonder if I will ever go to the bathroom alone again?)

Question 2:
What do I (your average 43 year old stay at home mom) and Arnold Schwarzenegger (Five time Mr. Universe, actor, and Governor) have in common?


Answer:
Now that I spend so much time carrying my daughter, I am as muscular as Ah-nold! Slight exaggeration, but good-golly am I getting pumped up.

Bittersweet

I can't believe that I am even writing this, after all we have only been home with Molly for four months....but wow, watching her grow up is so bittersweet.

I get so excited for Molly whenever she does something new. She looks up at me with wide eyes and I can see how proud she is of herself. It is an exhilarating feeling knowing that your child is going out and conquering all of the new things in her world.

It also reminds me of how lightning fast her babyhood is moving. When we first got her, she wasn't walking, talking or eating solid food. She was truly still a baby. Today she is running, babbling and chatting up a storm, and eating us out of house and home. She understands what we tell her and is able to communicate most of her needs. Not really a baby anymore. Everyday she grows up a little more.

Yesterday Molly and I met our friends at the petri dish, er...playground inside the mall. Last time we were there, she was clueless about the tree house slide. She wouldn't climb the stairs, didn't even know how to find the slide, and when I finally directed her to it I had to physically position her body and slide her down.

Not this time. While my back was turned, Molly ascended the treehouse stairs, found the slide, and positioned herself for the decent. I turned around just in time to see her giddy expression and she flew down the slide and hit the floor. I broke out in a big grin as well, but when I looked over at my friend and told her that this was a first for Molly, I almost got teary-eyed.

Holy cow, if this is going to happen every time my baby learns something new, I better stock up on Kleenex. With each new milestone I'll be shedding tears of joy for her and tears of sadness that it is all moving way too fast.

Life really should come with a remote control so that you can fast forward through the hard parts and hit the slow motion button for all of the good stuff.

If Loving Baby Clothes is Wrong, I Don't Want to Be Right!

Is it wrong to be so excited about baby clothes that I will devote an entire blog post to them? Just got back from the Carter's outlet with the new fall collection in the trunk of my car. Yep, the entire collection. Okay, that may be an exaggeration but dang if they don't have some cute stuff for fall! And I got them all for 50-70% off. (That means is that I can go back for more tomorrow!)

I don't know exactly when it happened, but I have officially made the transition to motherhood. You know, where you could care less about what you have on, but get a rush every time you open your daughter's closet. There is just something about clothes for little girls. Oh my!

I typically like any color for Molly...as long as it is pink. I 've got to say that I may have gone a little overboard with pink outfits for the summer. There was one day that I did dress Molly in red from head to toe. It made me so crazy that I had to change her clothes by noon. They say that the first step in recovery is to admit that you have a problem. So, Hi. I'm Teri and I'm a pinkaholic.


You'll all be glad to know that for the fall, I have broken out of my shell and have expanded the color palette. The brown, tan, peach, and blue that I purchased are proof that recovery from pinkaholism is possible.

I will admit however, that I did fall off the wagon toward the end of my shopping spree. The cravings started and I ran around the store grabbing all of the pink outfits that I could find. I know it was wrong, but oh did it feel good. I climb back on the wagon tomorrow.

You've Got the Cutest Little Baby Face

I know that I am her mom so I am biased, but good golly if she doesn't take my breath away!

Thank You Josh and LIly

Our adoption was two solid years of Murphy's Law. Whatever could go wrong, did. From obtaining documents during the paper chase, to getting our home study completed, to waiting for China to match us with Molly, to governments that couldn't agree on travel dates; every step seemed to fraught with problems.

The one bright spot in all of this was Chinese Children Adoption International. We love them! They were there for us every step of the way. No question was too stupid and no concern was too insignificant. They provided the best costumer service on the planet. Everything that they had control over, both in the US and in China, ran so smoothly. I honestly don't know if I could have survived with any other agency. They are truly first class.

At the helm of the CCAI ship are Josh and Lily Zhong. They started CCAI in the basement of their house over 10 years ago. Since that time they have help over 7,000 children find their families her in the United States. They are amazing people with a passion that shows in everything that they do.

Molly was lucky enough to meet Josh and Lily today. A CCAI reunion was held in our city this year. We spent the day at the zoo with hundreds of other families that have used CCAI. What an incredible day it was. There were so many happy families thanks to this great organization. We will be forever grateful to CCAI for the role they played in bringing Molly into our family. Kudos to you CCAI, you rock!

Born to Ride

It's never to early to start brain washing your child. Today was the first round of the "You will love to ride a bike" mind control plan that I have ingeniously constructed to mold my daughter into a rider.

I have a love affair with the bicycle. Before I met Tony I often joked that I was going to marry my bike. Ultimately I decided that Tony was actually better than my bike, so I married him instead. He is very good to me. So good in fact that he bought me more bikes, better bikes, the bikes of my dreams.

My passion for cycling runs deep. I have commuted to work on my bike, raced my bike, rode my bike with friends, rode my bike with strangers and rode my bike alone. I have hit wildlife with my bike (on accident), momentarily dozed off while riding my bike and got pulled over by the highway patrol while on my bike.

Now that I have a daughter, I am intent on turning her into a rider. I need a new riding buddy and can't wait to get her on two wheels. Today I took her to my favorite bike store, ran by my favorite cycling buddy. We taught Molly the finer points of proper bicycle fit and discussed the advantages and disadvantages of titanium, carbon fiber and steel. We even tried to get her to say Serotta Ottrott with Dura Ace.

I know that I have to let my child discover her own passions. She may decide to be a soccer player, or a pianist, or a cheerleader (gasp) . I honestly don't care what she what she decides to pursue (as long as she rides a bike too...just kidding...sort of!).

Bed Head

The great thing about being a kid is that you have no clue about things like bed head or a bad hair days.

The bad thing about being a kid is that your mom can post embarrassing pictures of you on the Internet!