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.

Red Thread Sessions

We were so blessed to be connected to the non profit organization The Red Thread Sessions- read more here: http://www.redthreadsessions.com.   Red Thread Sessions was started in 2011 by two custom photographers in Texas and Maryland, both whom added to their families through adoption. Feeling the need in their communities to celebrate the beauty of adoption through photography, Red Thread Sessions was born. Soon after, many other photographers throughout the U.S. felt moved to donate their time as well. Red Thread sessions not only captures family portraits of new families, it also capture the precious, happy, confusing, exciting, exhausting, traumatic, life-changing time that is so often brief and fleeting in the life of an adoptive family.

 

"The Ancient Chinese Proverb is a commonly-used saying within the adoption community. It symbolizes the bond that all adoptive children have with their adoptive parents, even before they meet. An invisible “red thread” connects them to the people they are destined to meet. Although this Proverb truly relates to all people, it has a particularly strong connection to adoptive families and seemed like the perfect name for this organization."

 

In January we connected with Sarah from Sincerely, Sarah Photography http://sincerelysarahphotography.com We met in person and spent hours chatting about adoption while sharing stories over coffee.  At the time we were anxiously awaiting Travel Approval so it was nice to relax for a few, while longing for my sweet baby.  Fast forward four months later here we are!  Due our crazy illnesses we rescheduled our Red Thread session a few times!  Thankfully Sarah was so understanding!  We finally captured our family of three this May.  The photos are truly beautiful and we will cherish them always!

 

Thanks to Sarah & the Red Thread Session!

 

NAM Device

So we have some exciting news, Dr. Hobar and the Craniofacial Team decided to design and make a NAM Nasoalveolar Molding for Lottie to help prepare her nose and lip ready for surgery. This is not a typical practice for older children, so we are very pleased that Dr. Hobar thinks outside the box and is willing to work extra hard to create this device for Lottie and work with our insurance to prove the medical necessity.  We cannot believe how everything has fallen into place, we are so blessed to have this opportunity to work with such a talented, God driven, and loving team of doctors. Yesterday we were molded for Lottie's NAM, we will be fitted with this device next week.  Read an excerpt from a journal article about the NAM device, we encourage CL/CP parents to research this option for their children and please feel free to contact us with any questions!

"Presurgical infant orthopedics has been employed since the 1950s as an adjunctive neonatal therapy for the correction of cleft lip and palate. Nasoalveolar molding represents a paradigm shift from the traditional methods of presurgical infant orthopedics. One of the problems that the traditional approach failed to address was the deformity of the nasal cartilages in unilateral, as well as bilateral, clefts of the lip and palate and the deficiency of columella tissue in infants with bilateral clefts.

The Nasoalveolar Molding (NAM) technique utilizes wire and acrylic nasal stents attached to an intraoral denture. This appliance is used to mold the nasal cartilages, premaxilla, and alveolar ridges into normal form and position during the neonatal period. In effect, this presurgical management of the cleft infant is intended to reduce severity of the oronasal deformity prior to surgery.

This technique takes advantage of the malleability of immature nasal cartilage and its ability to maintain a permanent correction of its form. In addition, we demonstrate the ability to nonsurgically elongate the columella in bilateral cleft lip and palate through the application of tissue expansion principles. This is performed by gradual elongation of the nasal stents and the application of forces that are applied to the lip and nose. Utilization of the NAM technique has eliminated surgical scars associated with traditional columella reconstruction, has reduced the number and cost of revision surgical procedures, and has become the standard of care in this Cleft Palate Center." Grayson, B.H., & Maull, D., 2005, Nasoalveolar Molding for Infants Born with Clefts of the Lip, Alveolus, and Palate:Semin Plast Surg. Cleft Lip Repair: Trends and Techniques, November; 19(4): 294–301. doi:  10.1055/s-2005-925902

LEAP Foundation

Meet Dr. Hobar he is an amazing man and we are lucky to call him our Doctor. We searched and research for the best of the best craniofacial surgeons in the US and amazed to find him in our very backyard, Dallas, TX.  We wanted to tell you about his Non-profit organization LEAP, Life Enhancement Association for People.

LEAP is comprised of volunteer plastic surgeons, urologists, eye surgeons, anesthesiologists, orthodontists, nurses and support staff. Dedicating time, expertise and often their own resources, these volunteers endeavor to bring free surgical care to children and adults born with deformities.

LEAP is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to enhancing and enriching the lives of people around the world by providing free specialized medical services in the love of Christ.

Dedicated to the Impossible:Some cases are much too complicated to be done in developing countries. LEAP, known as the ‘medical team of last resort,’ has a special fund to bring patients back to the United States to undergo procedures in a safe and controlled setting. Learn more about the Landmark Fund.

LEAP has a special fund that allows some children with extremely complicated medical deformities to be brought to the U.S. where LEAP doctors and nurses perform the complex reconstructive procedures.

Dedicated to Christ:LEAP is a faith-based Christian organization. The mission for LEAP is to show others the love of Christ through our work, and, hopefully, open the door for others to see Christ. When we go to remote parts of the world and change a life for a person who may have no hope, it is an example of the gospel — grace intervening in an otherwise hopeless situation. When asked why we do this, we tell them “because Christ saved us from a hopeless situation, and His love is available to everyone.”

LEAP provides its services to all patients in need, regardless of religious or political affiliation. LEAP also welcomes volunteers that are not Christian. The only requirement is that the Christian principles that define LEAP are respected and followed in serving others. One of the great joys of LEAP is seeing lives changed both in our patients and their communities, and even in some of our own team members.

Operating Principles

1. LEAP is called to serve others in the love of Christ through the talents of team members.
2. LEAP is dedicated to providing specialized medical services free of charge to the patients and families.
3. LEAP partners with local hospitals and communities to provide care and surgeries to untouched regions of the world.
4. LEAP is dedicated to long-term commitments and relationships established in those countries we serve, partnering with local organizations to assure the greatest continual care for the patients.
5. LEAP is committed to bringing the most gifted and talented medical professionals to ensure the best care possible in the countries we serve.
6. LEAP is determined on training the nations we serve with the latest health care teachings and procedures.

We started LEAP with the idea of going on a single mission trip. God had planted a little seed in my heart and I took a little step forward in faith.  That was it. God did everything else.  That step began in 1991, and 20 years later, totally not as our intention or plan, LEAP is now a global organization that has worked in 17 countries and has touched the lives of over 6,000 patients.  We are blessed to continue to grow and serve others with the love of Christ.

I wanted to find a way to use my skills as a surgeon to help people who didn’t have access to reconstructive surgical care.  So many kids have to grow up with the embarrassment of a facial deformity because they live in a country with little or no surgeons who can perform this type of surgery. We wanted to provide for the people out there who are counting on us.

-Dr. P. Craig Hobar

Founder and Medical Director, LEAP Foundation

Director of International Craniofacial Development,

Medical City Children’s Hospital

Family

"Family a little word created by LOVE"

Photography by Melissa Glynn

http://www.melissaglynn.com

Our little Empress

Our Lottie is quite the Empress, the female version of Emperors the mighty & strong men who ruled of China thousands of years ago. Charlotte Lee is strong & tough while at the same time she is sweet & dainty (quite the combination).  She can be quite demanding at times but we love to see this feisty Empress emerge.  Lottie knows what she wants and she will fight her hardest to get the point across.  We saw bits & pieces while in China but now after being home for a few months her Empress status has been defined.  

I can only imagine what this amazing sweetheart will be able to do as she grows, she will  move mountains.  I can tell you she is one strong willed girl, who won't take no for an answer, yet loves deeply, & will melt your heart within moments of meeting her.  Here are a few photos from our welcome home shoot by Melissa Glynn Photography  Lottie is wearing her traditional Chinese silks, in true Empress fashion.

Photography by Melissa Glynn

http://www.melissaglynn.com