Vivian is 3!

Miss Vivian turned 3 this week!  I am so grateful we were able to have her home by her birthday.  It was so special to be able to celebrate with her. 

We kept the celebration pretty low-key.  Over the weekend we did the usual and invited the cousins over.  We did sing and have cake, and she seemed to enjoy it all.

 

 

One of the highlights of the night was my brother-in-law and nephew showing up in these shirts (which they made about 5 minutes before arriving).  They like to refer to Vivian as "the Viv" and we cracked up when we saw this

 

Me, my sisters and best friend

Opening presents (she had a lot of help from her siblings and cousins).  Try to ignore the random dress up outfits and wigs the big kids are sporting.  This is how we roll at family get togethers.

 

Singing and eating cake. Also try to ignore the cake.  Martha Stewart I am not.

 

On the actual day of her birthday, Rob and I took her out to lunch.  We continued our work of trying to fatten her up by taking her out for a hot dog and  French fries.

While we feel sad about the two birthdays we missed, we are so grateful we get to spend every birthday from here on out with her.  Of course, her birthday brings some of those lingering questions to mind:  where was she born?, what time of day was she born?, what did she look like (can you even imagine how beautiful she must have been)?, and what was she like as a baby.  What I would give to know these things.  And one day I know Vivian will want to know these things.  But, we will never know, and that is just something we all have to live with and find a way to come to peace with.

I spent a lot of her birthday thinking about her birthparents. I wonder what this day is like for them.  Do they remember the day? Do they wonder about her?  Do they miss her?  I feel like the answer to these questions has to be 'yes'.  And this makes me feel a mix of guilt and appreciation for what I have.  I have, because of their sacrifice, a fourth beautiful child.  I realize the chances are very high they have only one child and can't imagine a world where you get to have FOUR.  I have TWO BEAUTIFUL daughters.  I realize the chances are also high that I have Vivian because she was a daughter, and her mother most likely does not know the joy of having a little girl.  This is why I feel so uncomfortable when people say that Rob and I did a great thing by bringing Vivian home.  Yes, we agree that she is much better off here than in that orphanage, but it was a selfish thing.  It's not like we sacrificed and worked hard and took this risk to get nothing in return for it.  We got to bring home a beautiful, wonderful child to love and take care of.   We get to have four children.  We are so lucky and we feel that way every single day.

Vivian is doing great, by the way.  She is still not talking a whole lot, but she gets a few new words every week.  She is eating great, sleeping great and is really just such a joy.  She has become very comfortable in her new world and we go out and about all the time now and she does really well.  Hard to believe how far she has come in 3 months.  She is just awesome.

Happy birthday sweet girl.

Family weekend

We just got back from a wonderful weekend with Rob's family.  We spent the weekend at my in-laws house with Rob's brother, my sister-in-law and their three kids.  They have two boys who are the exact same age as our boys and the four of them have the best time together.  Doesn't hurt that my in-laws live on a golf course and have an xbox! Heaven for boys!!! 

My brother and sister-in-law also have a beautiful 15 month old girl named Pressley.  Kate has adored her since the day she was born.  There is a five year age difference between Kate and Pressley, so Vivian fits in great right in the middle of the two of them.  The girls played so well all weekend and I really loved getting to spend this time with little miss Pressley, who is just a doll.

Pressley (15 months), Kate (6), Vivian (almost 3)

This weekend was the first time these cousins have had a chance to spend more than a few hours with Vivian (we do not live in the same city).  I think if someone had seen them it would be hard to believe they haven't been together for years. 




Teaching Vivi how to race

Teaching her to do the "We're #1".  She copies everything everyone does and the kids thought it was hilarious that they taught her to do this. 

 

 

 

 

It was a great weekend and we can't wait to see everyone again.  Thanks Grandpa and Grandmom for hosting us all!

We are coming up on our 3 month "Gotcha" anniversary.  As we hit this milestone, I think of this:

Three months ago, there were no grandparents in Vivian's life.  Now there are four.

Three months ago, there were no cousins in Vivian's life.  Now there are ELEVEN.

Three months ago, there were no siblings in Vivian's life.  Now there are three.

And three months ago, there was no mommy or daddy.  Now there is Rob and I, and we are beyond grateful and humbled to be her parents.

People like to say that Vivian is lucky to have all of us, but the truth is (and I think all the cousins would agree) that we are all the lucky ones to have her.  She brings out a wonderful and caring side in all these kids.

In other news, someone is turning 3 in a few days!!!  Back with more on that later:)

All fixed up

I am happy to report that Vivian's heart catheterization procedure was a success and her heart is all fixed up!!  There are way too many pictures in this blog post, but I wanted to include them all as this is our documentation of this big event. 

We arrived bright and early Thursday morning and Vivian was in very good spirits!   We are so lucky to have a children's hospital in our city and they were AWESOME with Vivian.  Here she is "practicing" with her bear and getting ready for the procedure

The worst part of the day was the first few hours after the procedure.  Vivian was put on "bed rest" for the first 5 hours after the procedure and we were instructed to keep her as still as possible.  She was not too happy when she first woke up and she wasn't exactly thrilled about being hooked up to a bunch of machines, but she was a trooper and we managed to keep her occupied.

After the 5 hours were up, they allowed us to un-hook her and let her get down and walk for a few minutes.    She was so happy to be out of the bed

My parents were here helping Rob and I and we are so grateful they were here with us.  They got the big 3 kids up and off to school in the morning and then came down to help me so Rob could get some work done.




The big kids arrived after school and Vivian was really happy to see them

 

 

 

After the kids had some time visiting with Vivian, my parents and Rob took them home for homework and dinner.  Vivian and I would've been lonely, but  my sister stopped by with her girls to visit and help us pass some time, which I very much appreciated

Later that night Rob came back down and had dinner with Vivian and I.  We decided it was best if he went home and helped with the big kids, so he headed back home and Vivi and I crashed.

Vivian slept great that night.  One thing about Vivian, she is an awesome sleeper.  She has not woken Rob and I up ONCE since the day we got her.  I don't know how she slept with all the chords attached to her and all the machines beeping throughout the night, but she did (I, on the other hand, not so much).  The only thing she does better than sleep, is EAT!  Hospital food did NOT slow this girl down.




Before we could be discharged, Vivian had to have several tests run



Thankfully, everything looked great and they gave us the green light to head home.  We just had to wait for the doctor to stop by one last time.

more eating

 

 

Finally the doctor stopped in and gave one last listen to her heart and we were DONE!  We are beyond grateful to this doctor.  What he did for Vivian was life-changing. 

It is amazing that Vivian went in to the hospital on Thursday morning with a heart that wasn't working correctly and came out Friday afternoon with a heart that is just perfect.  She has absolutely NO restrictions from here on out and doesn't need any kind of medication.  A few hours after we left the hospital she was at a high school football game having a ball!  We are so thankful for the wonderful medical resources we have in this country.  This procedure changed her future.

Ever since the day we said "yes" to Vivian, we have known this little trip to the hospital would be needed.  It is such a relief to have this behind us. I feel a huge weight has lifted. We are so proud of our girl and the courage she continues to show every day.  And we are so proud of the  3 big kids for being so good while we were gone and continuing to shower their "Mei Mei" with love and support. 

And thanks again to Grammy and Pop Pop for being here for us, and for Vivian.