Month Five

 

Here we are five months later and still all smiles!  Life is great and Lottie continues to grow and blossom each day.  She loves her new school and we are so happy we found such a loving, supportive place to help her learn and grow.  She is making new friends and learning all sorts of news things like sleeping on a cot with the other kids, feeding herself, and participating in finger plays and circle time!  We are so lucky to have found Karebear Childcare we feel so confident Lottie is in the best of hands and its pretty evident they love her so very much.  I mean what's not to love right?!

 

Lottie has recovered from her surgery with flying colors, she is simply amazing.  We are so pleased with her scar and the reconstructive work to her nose and lip.  We always thought she was breathtakingly beautiful but seeing her new smile she just glows.  She is one beautiful little girl!  The surgery has drastically helped with feeding and now Lottie loves to eat solids foods!  She is eating so much we can barely keep up with her!  A few weeks ago we tried some Penne alla Vodka- she LOVED it we knew she was a Castagno and there will be more Italian food in her future!  Its so fun to watch her learn about food and enjoy eating- for the first four months she was home she essentially survived by milk- 3-4 bottles a day.  Now she is an eating machine and we are already seeing drastic changes in her tiny frame.  Lottie is a petite little girl and most likely will be her entire life but it was one exciting moment to see the scale climb over the 20lb mark and watch some of her 9-12 month clothing look too short and tight!  

 

The next month we have some big plans!  Lottie will celebrate her 2nd birthday, our first Referral-Versary,  celebrating her first Chinese holiday Moon Festival, her first walk down the aisle as Anne & Nate's flower girl, hosting her first party and celebrating 6 months in our arms!  We will have tons of photos and stories to share!

 

 

Re-Adoption in the Lone-Star State

Today was the FINAL step of our adoption!  Whew, feels so good to say that, if you are in TX  at 10:00 am you might have  heard our joyous celebration!  "Texas Administrative Code allows for a Texas court to authenticate the adoption papers of a child adopted from abroad. The adoptive parents can then submit a court order for the Texas Bureau of Vital Statistics to issue a “Certificate of Foreign Birth” for their child."  Although our international adoption was finalized back in March, we decided to adopt Lottie in the Lone-Star State in order to make her life a little easier when it comes to legal documents.  Now she has a Texas birth certificate in place of her Chinese birth certificate-no need for extra adoption paperwork, or lugging around the several documents and translations that prove her adoption. The resulting document looks similar to a Texas birth certificate but will not indicate Texas as the place of birth. Many families feel that obtaining a Texas certificate of foreign birth will be helpful for local purposes (school and sports enrollments, etc.)  With her TX birth certificate, there are no questions, requests for more information, or hassles.  "It appears that the key to this process is locating a judge who is willing to find “that all of the prerequisites of the law have been fully complied with by petitioners and that said order of adoption was and is legally valid and of full force and effect under the laws of the United States of America and of the State of Texas." Today we met with our lawyer & Judge Andrews at the Georgetown Municipal Court, and Lottie shining in her burnt orange and white we finalized this very last step!  Tonight we plan on celebrating with some ice cream! 

Updates are coming!

How is tomorrow the last day of July?  We have so much to update!  Lottie is

amazing as usual!  Promising tons of posts pictures and post surgery updates!!!! See we already put her to work on the blog!

Much LOVE, Scott, Winn & Lottie Lee

 We are adding posts with correct dates- going back into May! Sorry just trying to keep everything in order!  We will add all new posts in a post so they are easier to find!

1st haircut

Lottie needed a little haircut, so we decided to take her to Crewcuts and Pigtails. Truly, she only needed a slight trim. Since being in the orphanage, Lottie's beautiful locks were cut short  to prevent lice and make it easier to wash the babies.  So Lottie's hair is just starting to grow, but she need to cut back her growing mullet.  Here are some photos from her very first day at the salon.  She was very brave, at one point she looked like she was about to loose it then took a deep breath and gained her composure-she is one strong little girl.  So we were happy there were no tears but sadly no smiles either   Hey there's always next time!

Month Four

Four months of love, kisses, and laughter. Its amazing to see how far Miss Lottie has come, and we are preparing for another momentous milestone, the repair of her cleft lip. Oh how we LOVE this little girl.  She is become all toddler, no more baby in this house- well maybe still a little baby especially during cuddles and bottle time.

Lottie is a full time walker, she loves this new mode of transportation!  She is even beginning to master this skill, and loosing the cute toddle-insert sad face. She continues to love life and is our social butterfly.  Lottie is beginning to watch Sesame Street, favor certain toys-she loves stuffed animals, interact with her puppies-especially Benton.  Lottie loves music and is learning some hip dance moves.  She wiggles and shakes and even twists her little legs to get low, its priceless.  When she hears music no matter when or where, she will shake her little head and move her shoulders, like she cannot fight the feeling to move to the beat. Oh how we love to watch her dance, we hope she never looses this love to dance whenever she hears music.

This month Lottie experienced some firsts- first trip to the beach, trip to St. Louis, and first time on a plane since April.  We are some proud parents, Lottie loves to travel and is so adaptable to anything new.  She travels like a professional-well she kind of is!  She will sleep anywhere as long as she has a fully stocked crib (stocked with animals of course).  She loves meeting new people and is always full of smiles.  Lottie LOVED the beach, she loves water and happily sat in her little pool playing with her sand toys.  She saw her first fireworks and this girl was amazed not a bit scared, she just looked into the sky in wonder.  Her curiosity, fearlessness, and love of everything truly amazes me.  Everyday she teaches us to love others, smile often, and take in the little things in life.  Our girl is nothing short of amazing.  One day she is going to change the world, she already has changed my entire world.   

Month Three

So how has three months flown by? How are we getting into routine & heading back to work? It's crazy busy but every moment has been crazy wonderful. We feel like the time has flown but honestly we don' t remember life without Lottie.

She continues to amaze us daily with her sweet disposition & love of life. Lottie loves to play with her toys, read books, go for walks, & she loves to swim!  Lottie continues to be an easy baby, who can go with the flow & be entertained by the simplest things! Lottie loves people & is a social butterfly, she has this amazing spirit & will charm those who meet her.  We feel it's safe to say she steals hearts & those who meet her are forever touched by her sweetness.

Lottie met a huge milestone this month, she began walking! Since China she was taking a few steps with assistance but never on her own.  We were beginning to get nervous, contacting PT friends & that evening she stood up & walked straight across the living room.  Needless to say we were so shocked & laughed as if she knew we were beginning to get worried & was like "Hey, Mom & Dad I got this".  Lottie has been a walker ever since! We are so excited to witness her first steps & watching her sweet unbalanced toddle is the best!!! Especially when she walks to her book nook she bounces back & fourth from wall to wall.

Lottie began taking classes at  The Little Gym, a gym class designed for toddlers with a variety if developmentally appropriate motor activites.  Lottie enjoys the music, playtime & interacting with other little ones! We were so excited when we attended our second class & met Alyssa & her Mama.  Alyssa was also born in China & 2 months younger than Lottie!  Both Mamas fought back tears knowing how special our bond of friendhip would be.  We have many play dates in our future!!! What an amazing blessing, God sure places others in our lives with perfect timing! 

Lottie also started going to a babysitters house while Mama works 2-3 days a week.  We shouldn't be amazed because she always takes transitions with ease.   It was harder on Mama than her!  She loves her babysitter, Maria & her 3 daughters.  It is such a relief not to have to worry about her, as I know how loved she is.  Lottie has taken to this new life change beautifully & we are enjoying the new normal.  It's a little crazy getting out the door, certainly I miss her dearly, but the time we have together seems more special.  We love bath time & playtime after dinner.

We are enjoying every moment & love watching Lottie grow & learn new things. She continues to sign & follows simple directions.  She can dance & clap on command.  Lottie also loves to give sugar ( kisses) & high fives! She is a pure joy & everyday we are still in awe God chose us to be her parents. 

Puppy LOVE

 

Lottie LOVES her puppies Crawford & Benton, and they have adjusted well to her arrival.  We introduced them only 2 days after Lottie arrived home, we thought she would be scared since she never met a dog face to face but to our surprise she smiled and reached for them.  She loves to pet their fur and screeches in excitement when they are near.  We were especially worried about Benton our miniature schnauzer but he just feel head over paws in love with miss Lottie.  Crawford our older terrier mix is still a little skeptical of her, but slowly they are getting to know each other.  Both dogs rush to Lottie's room when she cries and are always close by her side.  We look forward to watching them grow up together.