Merry Christmas!!

Just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!! Things are going great here. Sloan is such a blessing and I am so thankful she is here. Mimi said the other day "what a blessing Sloan is to us and I hope we will be a blessing to her someday" we sure pray it's true! Sloan is crawling alot and picking up speed everyday, as well as pulling up to stand without much difficulty. She also likes to mimick sounds and is able to point to Mommy's nose. Her sleep is improving everyday and she LOVES pattycake especially Mimi's version. She also gained almost a pound in 2 weeks and is now on the US growth chart!



Sorry for the "Charlie Brown" Christmas Tree but I opted not to put up a big one for fear it would be too much stimulation and then disappear at the new year!



Sloan loves this creepy Santa...she points to it and smiles whenever we go buy him!

One week and a day...

What a difference a week makes!! Those first few days were rough let me tell you, then followed by MD visits on Tuesday and Thursday...brutal. The chest x-ray might have been the worst..what a terrible contraption. Our nights are much better, sweet Sloan goes to sleep much easier and last night slept through with only a diaper change. She feels more comfortable each day and her personality is a riot. I continue to use the Ergo as much a possible daily and we play a lot too. Mimi(we decided Nana didn't fit) and Papaw are still here and I think I might start charging rent...except they are earning their keep! Here are a few more photos!


Sloan with Mimi and Papaw..meeting Sadie close up.



Aunt Barb made this sock monkey years ago..Sloan thinks it is a hoot!



Standing tall!



This changing pad has been very handy...especially the few times Sloan forgot that she is no longer in split pants and let it go when open to air. Ha! Thx Aunt Mary!

We're home!!!!

After about 30 hours of travel we made it back to the USA!! Sloan was a trooper through it all. We were lucky to have an extra empty seat in both of our return flights, which was a lifesaver. Dad and I were both exhausted and are starting to feel like human beings again. ****Special thanks to Aunt Mary and Uncle Dwight who helped Mom deliver us from the airport!!**** We still have our days and nights mixed up but that is getting better each day. Thanks for all of the prayers! Here is a picture of our welcome home banner from Shari and Frannie, as well as a photo of Sloan in her stroller, strolling around the house because it is too cold outside per Nana!

Red couch photo at The White Swan

It is tradition that when in Guangzhou you have your child's picture taken on one of the red couches at The White Swan Hotel. My group is not staying at this particular hotel but it is legendary and we wouldn't miss the opportunity. So, we bought Sloan a pretty Chinese dress and here she is...Beautiful!!!

Lunch with Wai Gong (aka Grandpa)...

We took a cab to Shamian Island again today to have a good lunch at Lucy's and do a little more shopping. Sloan wanted to share her rice cake with Grandpa...but not really share, just pretend share. :-) Sloan has been doing great, her personality keeps evolving. She is doing great with going from belly to sitting and is pulling up. She is very strong in her upper body but legs and trunk are a bit like jello. She is not crawling the conventional way but she seems to "Moon" crawl..like Michael Jackson. She is really good at mimicking...she claps, waves and copies sounds. She is really smart! I'm not just saying that...:-) We have one full day tomorrow then Friday we are off on a 24 hour travel extravaganza. Please pray for us!!