First Road Trip and the Mountains

On Saturday Allison made her first official road trip to North Carolina. The trip from Jacksonville to our house outside of Asheville normally takes about 6 1/2 to 7 hours. I was quite concerned this one might take 12! I couldn't believe it, but with me sitting back there with her, she fussed for a total of about 5 minutes. She did great. She took a couple of naps and then I gave her a couple of toys that played music. She is crazy about music! You ought to see her dance. It is hysterical. She rocks back and forth the moment a song comes on. Even if there is a song way, way in the background, her little ears pick it up and she starts to dance. So Ted found this great toy at Target that plays classical music and it kept her entertained for a long time. We were very proud of her. We were also worried about changing her environment and how she was going to sleep. We have made the guest room into her room in the mtns and during this trip we have started to switch it over to a very girly room and we are going to paint it light pink tomorrow. We took her pack and play and after some hesitation the first night, she is sleeping better than she did back home. She took a 2 hour nap today and she slept through the night two nights ago. We are having a great time. Today we went into Asheville and we ate at the Mellow Mushroom. Tomorrow we are going to the Grove Park Inn to look at the gingerbread display they do every year. We went I think last year just Ted and I and it is incredible. We are taking all of the kids this time. Well, it is just us for Thanksgiving, which means I am in charge of the whole meal this year, including the turkey. Thankfully, I only have Ted and the kids to embarrass myself in front of! It has been a great trip and we got some great pics of Allison out on the back porch. When you see her standing by the railing it makes you realize how tiny she is! One thing that she is doing that is driving me absolutely crazy, though, is that she has learned how to grab our attention by gagging herself. She does it deliberately and looks at us. I believe she is very smart and has learned survival techniques of how to get attention in the past. Well, we had one child who did that also before (I think Kevin when he was about 11 months) and let's just say the car started to reek after awhile so Allison is going to have to learn to cut out this technique very quickly!! Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

So Many Changes - Yet How Things Stay the Same

What an addition this little one has been in our lives. I remember sitting in China and just crying because I was so worried (what wasn't I worried about?) that the boys wouldn't love her or they wouldn't care. What if they just ignored her and they didn't feel like she was a part of the family? Well, I have never seen 3 brothers react with such love and concern about a little girl before in my life. They come home and immediately they drop down on the floor and play with her and talk to her. Even Matthew! Allison has been such a blessing for Matthew. It has opened him up in ways that none of us could. He breaks out in grins and just thinks Allison is hysterical. He tickles her and watches out for her. Joshua our 10 year old is so funny. There was one time I was sitting there watching her while she was standing up holding on to the table. I was watching like HGTV at the same time and just keeping a grip on her. Well, that wasn't enough for Joshua! He thought I should be taking better care of her! He told me that he would watch Allison so I could watch my show. I laughed and told him that I was perfectly capable of watching Allison but he wouldn't accept no for an answer! So he felt like he could watch out better for her. I loved it. Kevin loves to read books to Allison and actually will feed her her meals with a baby spoon. He does the whole helicopter thing and it is so cute. Things are so much more than I could ever imagine. I think also because she interacts with them so much, that that is why they feel so attached to her. She smiles and laughs at them and the boys just eat it up. The one difference that we have seen in Allison since we have been home since the 29th of October is that she doesn't suck her thumb except at nighttime now. I really think it is because she feels secure and happy. Before in China she would constantly have her thumb in her mouth. Since we have been home, about a week and a half later I just started to realize during the day she never sucks her thumb. She smiles all of the time and can definitely voice her demands when she wants to. She is strong willed, sweet, busy, very aware and alert of all of her surroundings. We call her the rock star because whenever she goes to a big gathering like church she dances during the music, she flirts and grins at everyone and she is very vocal! Finally, because I believe she has gotten so comfortable with home, she is sleeping much better. She likes to go to sleep in her pack-n-play in her own room and goes to bed around 8:00 and gets up once or twice a night. She also takes 1-2 naps a day. She knows when it is time to take a nap and she just snuggles right in and sucks her thumb and falls asleep in my arms. You can't ask for more than that. I love the cuddling!!