I am actually posting two months in a row...can you believe it? We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. For the third year in a row we went to Branson, Mo and spent two days at Silver Dollar City. This year we had Thanksgiving Dinner at IHOP, Kaycee had Mac & Cheese and Emilee had pancakes! We had great weather at Silver Dollar City, we actually got warm and shed all of our layers. Emilee & Kaycee got to visit with Santa - Emilee wants a dog and a scooter that makes sparks, and Kaycee wants a barbie and a princess. We had a wonderful time - and the girls were real troopers for our long days.

Putting the Christmas tree up was a real experience for Kaycee, she just could not understand why we would put a tree in our house, let alone but lights & decorations on it. So, many things that we take for granted! Trying to explain the whole gifting process has been a challenge. she got it when it was her birthday and they were all for her, but why would you give other people gifts? And who is this man in the red suit who will leave me gifts? What is up with the stocking? Why would you let a stranger into our house? And the questions just keep on coming.

Kaycee's preschool class was going to have a Holiday program, but due to excessively cold weather they had to cancel. They had been preparing for the program for months - I can't tell you how many times I have heard " Frosty the Snowman". They have their holiday party on Dec 18th, so the kids will sing then.

We will be flying to Texas for the holiday, and then Brian will drive down later in the week. I am sure that the closer we get to the actual Christmas day, the more questions that she will have. We will drive to Iowa for New Years to celebrate with Brian's mom. It should be a very exciting holiday.

Everyone have a safe and happy holiday season!

So much has happen since I last updated this blog! labor day weekend we went to Texas for Granny's 65th birthday! We all had a ball, and Kaycee got to meet her Great Aunt Becky. Kaycee loves the swimming pool and spends most of her time in the pool when we are in Texas. The end of September we went back to Texas because Emilee was in the World Show for minature horses. Emilee got World Grand Champion showing a gelding and Reserve Champion showing a mare. We are all so proid of her! Emilee also got Reserve high point for her age group, and won a savings bond. Kaycee did great at the show, except that she did not like all the yelling that we did for Emilee, she could not understand why we would yell when Emilee came into the arena. Kaycee is not liking the cooler weather, she prefers the warm weather - she thinks it is cold now - look out January!

October was a very busy month, on the 15th, Kaycee turned 5 years old. She was so excited, and it was so fun to see everything through her eyes! She enjoyed every moment of everything. She thought that birthdays were just all about bringing cupcakes to school - until that evening when she opened her presents. Now she gets what birthdays are all about. Kaycee took cupcakes to school, and then decided that she did not want to eat any, but she made sure that all her friends got a cupcake, as well as a flower tatoo. We stopped and got a special balloon on the way home from school - and she told EVERYONE in Hy-Vee that she was 5 years old today. That evening Aunt Julie and cousin Jamie came for pizza & cake, and Jean and her daughter Jackie also came. After the cake, Kaycee opened presents! She was amazed that all of them were for her, and that she got to keep the presents. After everyone went home I asked her if she had a good birthday, she gave me a big and told me that she loved me - ok, if that doesn't melt your heart nothing will.

Also in October Kaycee got to experience attending her first birthday party at Pump-it-up because her cousin Jamie had her birthday party there. Jamie 's birthday is October 19th. Kaycee loved the party, and thinks that is where her party will be next year - hum, we will have to talk about that later.

Another event in October was Halloween. Kaycee dressed up as Dora the Explorer. Kaycee was a little nervous about the trick or treating, but after the first two houses, and she saw all the other kids - she knew what it was about and loved it! Kaycee was just getting over the flu, so she just stayed on our culdesac, and spent the rest of the evening helping me hand out candy.

Right after Halloween was Emilee's eight birthday. Emilee had fer slumber party, which was tramatic for Kaycee, she could not figure out why Emilee would not let her play with her and her friends. I think that Kaycee thinks that birthdays are any everyday event.

Kaycee has experienced many new things over the past several months, sometimes it is a little overwhelming, and she needs to vent. For the most part I think that we made it through pretty good. There were some up and down days at school. Her speech continues to amaze us, and the things that she is learning is awesome. We start kindergarten round-up in March, oh my, she is growing up way to fast!!! Developmentally I think that she is ready for school, socially I think that she has some more maturing to do, but she has time to work on that.

One of these videos is Kaycee signing the alphabet in sign language. She does not have all of the alphabet down, but she is trying. Her pre-school class at Dinosaur Den is not only learning Spanish but also Sign Language. Take note of the outfit she has on, we had to hide it because she wanted to wear it everywhere. The other video is Kaycee & Emilee having fun on the slip n slide in the backyard. Oh, to be young!

I can hardly believe that it has been two months since I made an entry. Time has flown, along with the summer. We spent a lot of time at the pool this summer, both girls are like little fish in the water. Kaycee started the summer by not even wanting to put her body in the water, then she gradually worked up to putting her face in the water, now she jumps into the deep end, and does flips in the water, she is trying so hard to swim like her sister - it will come! We went to Texas for the
4th of July - Kaycee loved the fireworks! We also ventured north to the Omaha Zoo, and we all enjoyed the animals and the awesome weather. Emilee showed a horse in Oklahoma this summer, so we rode tripped to Stilwater for a weekend. We went out on Aunt Julie and Uncle Tony's boat and got to go tubing and swimming in the lake. We got a slip 'n slide, so during the week the girls would spend the evenings on the slip n slide. Emilee went back to school last Thursday, and Kaycee is in Pre-school at Dinosaur Den. Emilee goes to Dino Den before and after school, so it works out great. It is amazing how much Kaycee has grown this summer, things are really clicking now. Kaycee can count to 100 (with a little help), recognizes all of the numbers up to 10, recognizes must of the letters of the alphabet, can identify all of the colors and shapes. Kaycee is learning Spanish and sign langage at Dinosaur Den. She does not seem to be too far off developmentally. Though I must say she is definitely testing us to determine what her boundaries are! Kaycee has not gained any more weight, so I think that her body finally understands that there will always be enough food. Her favorite things to eat are scrambled eggs, watermelon, apples, yogurt, noodles, rice, chicken, hot dogs and beef sticks. Kaycee LOVES to sing, and unless she is sleeping, she is probably singing - I have heard her singing in her sleep. She no longer sings from her Chinese CD's, she would rather listen to her sister's music - Hannah Montana, Jonas Brothers, Taylor Swift - and of course Emilee hates that. Kaycee had a three month follow-up appointment with the cardiologist, and she is doing great and does not have to go back for a year! The doctor thinks that she is doing great, but will be able to tell more in a year after she grows some more. Kaycee has grown an inch since we were at the doctor the end of May. We looking forward to the fall season - Kaycee & Emilee both have birthdays, Halloween, Thanksgiving & Christmas! Can you say - over stimulation! This will be a very exciting time for all of us.

It is hard to believe that it has been over a month since I last posted pictures. I am so sorry! So much has happened! First Kaycee got a clean bill of health from both her surgeon & cardiologist. We went to appointment at both offices, and after several x-rays & ultrasounds, then concluded that the surgery was a success, and she is completely repaired with no restrictions on her life. We go back to the Cardilogist the end of August for another x-ray & unltrasound. They want to make sure that everything looks good. Then assuming everything looks good, she will have another appointment next May, and that will be it. This has been such an amazing experience. Kaycee can not ride her bike or scooter until the end of June, which will be when the bone is completely heeled - she really misses her scooter. Kaycee has gained 7lbs since we got home on March 12th, and her feet have gone from a size 7 to a size 10 - I am so glad that I saved Emilee's old shoes!! The doctors also gave her the ok to go to daycare. On Friday May 21st, Emilee had her last day of 1st grade, which is the picture of Emilee & Kaycee walking together. Everyday while I was on my leave from work, Kaycee & I would take Emilee to school, and then pick her up at the end of the day. We went to Texas Memorial Day weekend for a relaxing weekend. We played in the pool most of the weekend. Kaycee & Emilee both love the water. We made trip to theranch while we were in Texas, Kaycee does not seem to be as taken to horses as Emilee is, Kaycee complained of the heat and smell, and wanted to know when we were leaving. Then on Tuesday, both Emilee & Kaycee went to school at Dinosaur Den, and I went back to work. Dinosaur Den is where Emilee went for her before & after school care while I was working, and they have a special summer program for school age kids. Kaycee is in the Pre-K class. The first week was pretty rough for Kaycee, each day got progressively worse, until on Friday she was crying before we even left the house. So that was a rough week for all of us, even Emilee who could here Kaycee crying in her class room. But something magical happened that next Monday - she was excited to get to school! There were a few tears in the morning, and by Wednesday there were no tears at all! Now Kaycee loves school and knows that I will "always come back" to get her. She is the social butterfly in the class, loves circle time, and enjoys having so many new friends. Kaycee talks ALL the time, so she has a tough time keeping quiet during circle time, we are working on that. The best part is that she is sooo excited to see us everyday when I pick her up. since Kaycee weighs 40lbs now, we graduated to a booster seat in the car -she having a seat like Emilee's. We have been going to the pool a lot this summer, both girls enjoy it - but they are so exhausted by then end of the weekend. In May, Kaycee got her first hair cut - she was nervious at first, but then really enjoyed it. We are trying to get all of her hair the same length, she wants long hair like Emilee, so they can both out a ponytail in the back of their heads. Emilee has lost both of her front teeth, so Kaycee is convinced that she has 4 loose tooth - eeks, I hope not!

Kaycee's surgery is over and we are home! The surgery took place on Monday May 4th, she was in ICU until Wednesday evening, and then we came home Friday afternoon! The surgery went as planned with no complications. Mommy stayed at the hospital all week, which was exhausting, and Daddy visited as much as he could after work, which made for long days for Daddy. Emilee stayed at home with Granny & Pappy, which was exciting for her, but by the end of the week she was missing her family - I guess she really does like us! When the surgeons did the surgery they found several other issues in her heart, but nothing that could not be repaired, and they would have happened for the compensation that her heart has doing for the 11.5mm hole in her heart! She is completely repaired and has no restrictions on activity or food - or anything! The doctors told me that once all of the tubes were out of her that she would start acting normal almost immeditately - they were right! With in 15 minutes she was trying to run down the hallway for her chest x-ray - while mommy was running after her afraid that she would fall on the title floor and tear open her chest. Right now she is only taking ibuphron for the pain, and lasix so that fluid does not build up on her chest. She has no restrictions right now during her recovery, doctor said that the more activity that she has the better - so when we got home Friday she was chasing the ice cream truck down our street so that she could buy some icre cream. Amazing that 4 days earlier this girl had open heart surgery! Emilee, Pappy and cousins AJ & Jamie came to visit her in the hospital on Thursday - she loved it! The hospital has little cars that the kids can ride, so Kaycee made herself right at home.

As you can tell from the above video, Kaycee is quite the dancer! She loves to listen to her CD's with Chinese children's song on it. Kaycee will blast the music and sing as loud as she can - at that point the rest of us are either rolling on the floor laughing or heading to the basement for some peace and quite. I am pretty sure that they thought the kids yoga & dance while in the orphanage.

Kaycee went for her Pre-Op hospital visit today. We have to be at the hospital at 8am on Monday May 4th. We met the surgeon, and he was very nice and calmed some of out fears of the surgery. All of the nurses were wonderful - which is what you would expect from a Children's Hospital. We spent 3hrs at the hospital - vital signs, meeting with the doctor's, blood draw and chest x-ray. Kaycee was a real trooper so we stopped at McDonald's for some artery clogging food! The blood draw was not so bad this time. I explained to the nurses about what happened last time, with her triple jointed elbow, so they but some numbing cream on her arm and hand. Kaycee screamed when she saw the needles, but once they were in her, she stopped crying and watched! She has very slow flowing blood, so it took a LONG time to get the 3 bottles of blood. Kaycee will be in ICU until Tuesday afternoon, then transferred to a regular room, probably to go home on Thursday. This surgery will repair the hole in her heart and she will have no restricts for the rest of her life. My parents (and Shasta) are coming on Sunday so that they can watch Emilee, and take her to and from school - thanks Granny & Pappy! We will all be glad when this is over.

Kaycee will start pre-school the end of the month. She is very excited because mom is just not entertaining enough. I try and do something special everyday, but I just can't compete against a room full of kids. I understand.

This is a short video from Easter morning when Emilee & Kaycee were looking for the eggs the Easter bunny left. They also received a few "gifts" that were hidden, which is the ball that you will see in Emilee hand.

Kaycee continues to change on a daily basis. Her eating has slowed down some, but she continues to like most foods. The only thing that she seems to not like on a constant basis is canned fruit, she prefers fresh fruit - but who wouldn't! We have gone to story time at the library, and she seems to enjoy the interaction with other kids. Mom has become a real bore at home! The first month everything was new and interesting, but now that she is use to things, mom is boring! She loves to play outside, and took right off on a big wheel and a 3-wheeled scooter. She gets frustrated when Emilee goes so much faster than her because Emilee is on a bicycle, so I am sure that it won't be long before Kaycee is on a bike. Kaycee enjoyed the Easter holiday. We had an egg hunt at Aunt Julie's when Granny & Pappy came to visit, and the Easter bunny left some eggs at our house on Easter morning - Kaycee was confused on why there were eggs scattered all over the house - she kept saying that the house was "messy". Kaycee was not too excited about the candy, except for the Reeses Peanut Butter eggs - darn, those are mom's favorite! We took our first trip to Deanna Rose park this spring - Kaycee loved it! Kaycee loved feeding the goats a bottle of milk, but would get mad when they would not sit on her lap.

We visited the cardiologist last week to have them exam her heart, and then validated all of the information that the Chinese doctors gave us. Kaycee has VSD (Ventricular Septum Defect), and the hole is about 11cm, which is a moderate size. She is not in any immediate danger, but it does need to be repaired. Doctors will put a patch over the hole, and then the muscle will grow over the hole, and she will lead a normal life with no restrictions. So, on Monday May 4th Kaycee will undergo open heart surgery at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. The procedure is very common and easy for the doctors to do, but that does not help parents that are sitting in the waiting room knowing that their child is having a bypass surgery. She will probably be in the hospital for 3-4 days - isn't that amazing! Then home for rest - any ideas on how to keep a 4yr old resting?

Kaycee has been very busy this past week exploring everything & eating everything in our house! I feel like I am a short order cook & laundry lady! Who would have ever thought that one adding one more person to our house would add so much laundry! Kaycee continues to add more English words to her vocabulary - she can count to 10 and sing the alphabet song in English. Brian's birthday was the 29th, so now she is constantly singing "Happy Birthday to you", but that is the only words that come out. This past Sunday we went swimming and she loved it! No fear in that girls body! She was a little nervous at first, and cried when splashed in the face. But after her cousins got in the water, things were much better, and she was splashing everyone and jumping into the water. We had her visit to the doctor at the International Adoption Clinic at Children's Mercy in Kansas City. The appointment went very well and he saw no visible issues with Kaycee. The nurse drew 4 vials of blood so they can make sure she has had all of her immunization shots and also test her for various other things. Kaycee is triple jointed in her arm and they could not get a vein to draw blood out of, she kept turning her arm around - sounds gross, but it did not look gross. It took two nurses to hold her down, but they ended up getting the blood out of her hand. I think that the entire hospital heard her screaming. But after a vanilla shake and a quick nap she was up running around the house. We have an appointment next with a pediatric cardiologist at Children Mercy to have him examine her for VSD, which is a small hole in heart. We have known about the hole since we got the referral and had several doctors examine her medical information that China gave us.

We got snow this weekend, and this was Kaycee's first snow experience. Emilee initiated Kaycee to the snow very quickly, and Kaycee loved it, but she hated being cold. Kaycee continues to be very girlie, as you can tell from the picture with her and all the barattes. Kaycee also enjoyed her first fingerpainting experience - she hates to get her fingers dirty, so she used a sponge to 'fingerpaint'.

Everyday we are amazed at the progess that Kaycee makes. Kaycee is such a delightful person to be around. She is very caring, thoughtful & funny!

We have been home almost one week! Our trip home ended up lasting about 30hrs, from hotel room to our front door in Olathe, KS. We made all of the connecting flights in China, but then had a delay in Newark. Continental kept delaying the flight and then after Brian raised his voice they told us that a part fell off the brakes of the plane and they were not sure how long the delay would be. We finally made it to Kansas City at 130am and my wonderful sister was at the airport to greet us! By the time that we got home and got to bed it was 300am! We slept in Friday morning, and then finally woke the girls up in the early afternoon. Both of the girls did great on the flight home, they both slept most of the way. Kaycee cried a little on the plane, but I think that it was more that she was so tired and could not get comfortable.

Kaycee has adapted far better than either Brian or I would have anticipated. The language has not really been an issue, we just seem to figure out what the other is saying. She is starting to say some words in English, but not on a consistent basis. She seems to be a very smart girl, so I don't think that it will be long at all before she is speaking English. It is like chasing a 2 year old around our house because everything is new to her, and she wants to get into everything! She is a very girlie girl - which of course I love because Emilee is very much the opposite. Sleep has not been to much of a problem, she has a problem getting to sleep, but then she is ok for the night. Almost off of her congestion is gone, but Brian & I are on antibiotics for sinus infections. Kaycee is eating us out of house & home, and as of right now there is not much that she does not like. Her favorite foods are still corn & watermelon, but she loves yogurt, green beans, chips, french fries and pepperoni - weird stuff huh? Emilee & Kaycee are getting along wonderful - they are attached at the hip. Emilee is really going to miss Kaycee when she goes back to school on Tuesday. We have been going to the park everyday. Today was the first day that Kaycee decided that hugs were ok, so I got my first hug today! Kaycee usually has several melt downs during the day, and is still grieving, but this too could be much worse. I think that I was prepared for the worst and happy with everything so far, not that things couldn't change.

All the bags being packed right now and we are ready to go... Our Consulate appointment went off without a hitch. There were about 30 other parents there that did the oath with us. We did not have to be at the appointment until 330pm today, so this morning we did some shopping and then went to the park. As you can see from the pictures, everyone had fun at the park. Kaycee was able to get a little nap before we left at 245. We had our final supper at Lucy's, which is a restaurant here the we visited about everyday. Both girls are sleeping right now, so Brian is packing the suitcases now. We have to have the luggage ready to go at 645am, and then we are leaving for the airport at 700am, and should arrive in Kansas at 1130pm - only 18 hours of flying - no big deal!

The weather was warm again today and no rain! We met all of our group at 1030am this morning for group photo's. Can you saw...crazy! Try getting 11 babies to stay put on a couch with no tears and stay that way while 11 cameras are shooting pictures - it was wild as you can tell from the picture. Both Kaycee & Emilee looked so pretty in their dresses, and they both enjoyed getting dressed up in the traditional Chinese clothes. Afterwards we went back to the hotel for lunch & nap. Kaycee slept great last night, and then took a 2.5 hour nap. Kaycee still has her cough, but it does not seem to be getting worse. After Kaycee woke up we walk around the island for awhile, and then had supper at an Italian restaurnat - it was an awesome meal! We did some shopping after dinner and then back to the hotel for baths. Kaycee loves the bath now, and we have to pull her out. Kaycee loves soap, so when we showed her how to use soap in the bathtub, she was all about taking a bath. Our group heads back to the USA tomorrow, we have to stay until Thursday because Guangzhou Providence requires an extra day to complete the paperwork. Tomorrow we go to the US Consulate for paperwork and our group oath, and then we are out of here!!!!!