Gotcha Day Reunion

On Saturday our AAI Group 120 had our 1 year Gotcha Day Reunion at Hawk Island Park in Lansing. The weather was gorgeous and so were the girls! Six of our families were able to make it to the park to celebrate. There was a great sprinkler park and playground close by so we had plenty of activities to keep these active girls happy. It was just wonderful to see everyone again. The girls have all changed so much since the last time we were together in October, the girls all seem so comfortable and happy with their families. It is amazing to see the difference that a year has made in the lives of these little girls. We tried to get some pictures of the girls together, quite a challenge! This will be one of my last entries on Baby Jelly Beans. We have come full circle, and I feel like this is a good note to end on. We will keep this site up for a while because I know many of you are in the waiting process and we have given the web address out to the groups that we have spoken to. This is the story of our adoption, from beginning to end. Our life with Myah is just beginning and I am so glad that you all still have an interest in our lives, that is why we are moving to a new site which will give me more options and happens to be free! I will also be posting little things on there more frequently due to the fact that I am not limited on the amount of memory that I can use. This has been a great tool in our adoption and I highly recommend getting a site if you haven't already. It is priceless! Come check us out at http://myahsdays.blogspot.com see you there!

Gotcha Day 1st Anniversary

The Day We Took You Home
Through months and months of waiting
Your father and I just knew
That our choice would not be simple
For us to choose our daughter, the baby that was you.
When we saw your photo
It was immediately clear
That baby was our daughter
The one that we’d hold dear
More months and months we waited
Until we did arrive
In the land that was your country then
Where we knew that you had thrived.
We took you in our arms
And gazed into your eyes
What could you have been thinking
As we marveled at your size?
We packed your things and said goodbye
To the family you had known
As the people who had cared for you
With whom ‘til then you’d grown
We boarded that great big jet
And headed to the land
Where you’d meet all your forever family
Just as we had planned.
Years from not you’ll ask us
To tell you about that day
When you became our daughter in a very special way
And what we plan to tell you
From our hearts will come
That from all the babies in the world
We just knew you were the one.

Twenty Four Months Old

Our little doll is two! I just can't believe that a year has already passed since the first time we all saw her face. We had our final post placement report with AAI this week. We are done now with having to report back to China. I worked all weekend trying to gather pictures and prepare paperwork. It is a relief to have all of the paperwork behind us, we are in our 3rd year of filling out reports! Whew!!!! One of the rewards to doing this though is seeing the improvements that Myah has made. She came to us as such a quiet little baby, not trusting anyone. Now I sit down at night after she has gone to bed and can't believe how quiet the house is when she is asleep! She is talking sooo much now. As our social worker stated, she is "speaking too many words to count" Ironically she is trying to count too! She has the cutest little voice, the best giggle and a new screaching scream if we take something away from her. She is also a daredevil. She has no fear. We are also seeing the emergence of the terrible twos. I always said that everyone warns you about the two's but no one tells you about the three's!! Her little world is pretty simple, she is still not a huge fan of many toys. She is becoming a book lover. She loves loves loves Ralph's World in the car and loves to sing along. Mickey Mouse Playhouse is her favorite show, she enjoys dancing along with the characters. We bought her a kitchen for her birthday and she is a mean cook, she can whip up a pan of delicious Goldfish crackers and throw in a side of plastic muffins served with a cup of pretend tea. Myah also has a favorite song, don't laugh now, it is "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", the original version. Mommy loves music and we listen to a variety of genres in the car. Everytime that song is on she says "more please mommy", we drive down the road clapping (she is clapping, my hands are always placed at 10 and 2, with complete focus on what is going on in front of me...... ok that was just to appease my Police Lt. hubby) and singing a whim a whap a whim a whap..... we are quite the pair she and I! I also have to mention her love for being outside. This is a huge milestone for her as last year she didn't like grass or sand. Now she rolls down our hills and has been caught throwing sand at Dayton's ball games. She does have a naughty side that she is trying to explore. I have heard "no way" on more than a few occasions when I am asking her to stop something or to come to me. She is a normal two year old and we are so thankful for that. Our prayers have been answered. Everyone loves Myah, a day doesn't go by when we aren't stopped by complete strangers who comment on how beautiful she is. I feel eyes looking at us everywhere we go. She is an attention getter that is for sure. I just dress her, the rest is just her naturally. I am not trying to brag at all, I myself am amazed at her beauty, there are some days where Mark and I will just stop and say "look at how beautiful she is" We are so grateful to God for saving her for us, placing her in our lives to heal our broken hearts, bring life into our family and to allow us to share the joy she brings with others. She brings smiles to faces that I wouldn't expect to see them on. She has a way of reaching out to people that need a little extra sunshine in their day. I love that about her, my family has told me before that I bring sunshine into a room, I am flattered by that, I am not so sure I feel that way about myself, but I do love to put people at ease and I try to see the humor in everything. I can name several people who I feel do a much better job of that, but the fact that my children possess that quality makes me very proud. When Mark and I embarked on this journey, we could have never imagined how our lives would change for the better. We are just two simple people who took a leap of faith to bring another child into our family. We got so much more than we expected or deserve that is for sure. The friendships that we have made, the places we have gone, the sights that we have seen, have all been bonuses. We completed our family by adopting Myah, that is all we ever wanted. We give God all the glory for the many blessings that he has given us! We are so thankful for the opportunity to reach out to others who are thinking about adoption, AAI has been so wonderful to us and we will always support them any way we can. We were asked to put our story on their website a few months ago. I pray that somehow our story will give encouragement and hope to others who are searching for their "answer" like we were. We are proof that dreams really do come true, God does answer prayers!

Myah's 2nd Birthday

Our precious little Myah is now two years old! When we became Myah’s parents last June 6th we had just missed her first birthday by five days. Our intention was to have a party for her when we arrived home to introduce her to our family and friends and to celebrate her belated birthday. When we received Myah we knew right away that this little girl was going to need some extra special time with us before she was ready to be thrust into the limelight. That was fine with us, we had studied up on all of the attachment books and had received many tips and learned about how important it was to keep others away until she was ready. I can honestly say I still am not sure she does really well in a group of people. She can interact with many people during the day and seem just fine, but at night she is very restless and wakes us up many times in the night crying. She has a difficult time with being overstimulated. So when it came time to plan a coming home party, we decided that for her sake it was best to wait. So you can imagine how excited I was to finally have a party here in her honor…. a year later. It was very hard to narrow down our guest list but due to her personality we felt it was best to only invite our closest neighbors, friends and immediate family, people who she is most used to seeing. She did very well, considering about 50 people invaded her territory. We decided to do a bonfire, cookout setting for the evening. We were so grateful for the outpouring of love that our guests showered Myah with. She knew the day was all about her from the moment she woke up. We had celebrated Daddy’s birthday the day before so she was already in the party mood. We woke her up by singing to her, she rubbed her eyes and then sat right up smiling. She said “I two” while holding up 5 fingers. We gave her our gifts before Dayton left for school. We bought her a little stove/sink from Pottery Barn and she just loves it! We also gave her a pretend Dr. kit, some books, a puzzle and a silk outfit that we had bought for her while we were in China. We also bought her a pillow with her initials on it. When we were in Florida she slept with a pillow and just squealed when she saw it! Something so simple. She has enjoyed playing with many of the gifts that she received, it is nice to have some new things in the house. She loved having everyone sing to her, she tried to blow out her candles but we ended up having to help her finish the job. We had such a nice evening, the weather was hot, reminded me of China! My thoughts all week kept turning to Myah’s birthmother. I kept wondering about the circumstances leading up to her birth. The setting, was she in a hospital? Her home? Was she ashamed, scared, or torn with the decision of wanting to keep her little girl. I just can’t let my heart go there. I keep thinking about the night Dayton was born. The celebration of the first grandchild, great-grandchild, nephew, and son. A whole waiting room at the University of Michigan filled with family members just waiting to hear the first wails come from my room (not from me, but the baby ha ha!). Not knowing if we had a son or daughter. Either way in our world it didn’t matter. A Bailey or a Dayton. We were just praying for a healthy child. I remember the flood of family, camera flashes, everyone dying to get their hands on him, our little boy. I keep thinking, if Myah had been a boy, we would never have met her. A thought I just can’t even let my mind or heart imagine. Her birth family would be proud of her, would not have to hide her, or worst yet, have to abandon her. Sons are so important in China. I know that Myah is our special gift from God, just as Dayton was. On June 1st, we celebrated her life, in every way, for surviving against all odds, and for sharing her life with us. We find it appropriate that June 1st in China is National Children’s Day. While we were in China we asked our guide to tell us more about this holiday due to the fact that it is also Myah’s special day. She told us that there is no school that day and that employers give gifts to the children of their employees. Parents usually give the child a gift of money as a token of their love. We want to thank everyone for the love that you have shown towards Myah and our family this past year

Girly Girls

Ok this is my most self indulgent photo shoot ever! Please forgive me for sounding like a proud momma and aunt but I think these little girls are just beautiful! My sister Melanie and I decided that the girls were in need of some updated pictures so we loaded up the car and went to one of my favorite locations to shoot. Annabelle gets the good girl of the day award! She posed so perfectly and patiently for Aunt Sessie! Little Chloe was in her own little 18 month old world so we basically just followed her around and tried to get a few good ones! Myah was also not so patient but when we put the tutu on, her inner princess emerged and she even started dancing to her own music! These beauties are God's gift to our family through adoption, three little miracles, who against all odds, found there way into our lives and our hearts.

Mother's Day

Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.”
Elizabeth Stone
This morning I woke up to the sound of our doorbell ringing, it was Mark, he had forgot to take his house key to work! This is his weekend to work and he doesn't get home till about 7:45 am. He walked in the door with a beautiful hydrangea plant, one of my favorite flowers. He said this one was special because it is Chinese. I have a huge obsession with flowers and everyone I plant has to have meaning to me. It was very thoughful of him to take that into consideration. We then tucked daddy into bed for the day and he informed me that after he sleeps we have reservations at my favorite restaurant TW and Friends. We had a great dinner, they had a wonderful Mother's Day buffet and gorgeous desserts. I wanted to take some pictures with the kids and Myah just wouldn't have it. We did get a few as you can see. I can't help but let my mind wander today, I feel so spoiled to have two wonderful children in this world who call me their mother. However, I can't help but think about Myah's birth mother today. I pray that God places comfort in her heart today. Comfort that only a mother can explain, knowing that your child is safe, fed, warm, loved and content. When I see little Myah giggling so hard that she can hardly breathe, I have to believe that she is happy here. As far as loved, there is no question there, I love her so deeply that sometimes I forget that I didn't give birth to her. I wish there was a way that I could personally thank the woman who brought her into the world. I know that it is impossible. I have taken her place, an honor that I will never take for granted. This song I chose to play on here today is called Thanks Again. Mark and I played this at our wedding reception while we danced with our parents. We heard it for the first time very early in our courtship (remember, we started dating when I was 15) and saved it for that special moment in our lives. I will never forget seeing the tears stream down the faces of our loved ones after hearing this song. At the time all of the words didn't necessarily apply but they sure do now and 14 years later, this song still makes me cry. So to all of those wonderful mommies to be, mommy's,mother-in-laws, grandma's, great grandmas, step moms, nana's, and sisters..... thanks again.

Rain Drops Keep Falling On My Head

I took advantage of the many rainy days we had here to let Myah play in the puddles. She kept saying "splashy splash"!