ending already?

Can it be the end of summer already? Just a few weeks until the school year gets going again. I had to start getting my classroom ready last week so Meili came and "helped" me work. She actually did GREAT - carried random things around, played with toys, and kept an eye on the fish. When Jana came to help, Meili played with the dogs. It was fun having her there - watching what kinds of things she would get into. Monday we had a follow-up appointment with the surgeon. He said that Meili's mouth looks good - she has two more weeks of her liquid-only diet and then she can have pureed food again. After three weeks of that, she should be ready to go back to solid food. She's been really good about drinking her soup and fruit drinks without any complaining even when she sees us eating things like cantaloupe (which she really loves). Here are a few shots of Meili "hanging out" in the backyard last week.

nothing can stop her...

Meili is done with surgery and everything went really well. The surgeon did work inside her cheeks and closed the palate opening as well. The surgery took about 2 hours. Meili now has stitches in four different places in her mouth and one set in her nose. Coming out of the anesthesia was hard for her - she cried a lot - so the nurse gave her a narcotic to help her sleep. Meili slept pretty much all day yesterday. We got home from the hospital around 4:00 P.M. and could tell Meili was already feeling better because she was talking and making animal sounds. She slept really well last night (8:00 p.m. - 8:00 a.m.) waking up from about 11:30-12:30 a.m. She was just great today - pretty much back to normal. It's amazing how quickly kids can bounce back from this stuff. We are so thankful for the work of the doctors, nurses and other staff at the hospital - they were just wonderful. We praise God for successful surgery for Meili and continue to be so grateful that he placed her in our lives!

Here's a picture of Meili & Henry reading one of Meili's favorite books.

surgery tomorrow

Tomorrow morning Meili goes in for the next surgery on her mouth. Her surgeon will be dividing some skin flaps on her cheeks (a follow-up to the March surgery.) When he's done with that part, the doctor will determine if it's a good time to close the part of her palate that re-opened since her March surgery. That will make this surgery and recovery more of a big deal than if he just divides the skin flaps. The surgery is scheduled for 9:40 tomorrow morning. Pray that all goes well and for healing for Meili.

Here's a picture of our little sweetie at the beach this past weekend.

faces and noises...

Meili loves reading books - especially when they have animals in them. She likes making the animal noises - and makes cute faces at the same time.

starting a new book

"moooo"

"baaaaa"

"quack, quack"

"woof, woof"

"Hi, hi, hi..." (to Jana who was not copying the noises)
"the itsy, bitsy spider went up the water spout..."
all done and spaced out!

a good day...

I LOVE this picture!!!

Meili's surgery went well this morning. It was a short procedure but having anesthesia made it more of a big deal. Meili was cranky and miserable when she first woke up and screamed all the way home. However, as soon as we got home and I took her out of the car, she cheered right up. It was kind of funny to watch her in the house. Her legs were like noodles after the anesthesia and she couldn't walk. She took a huge nap in the morning and in the afternoon and pretty much just sat with me the rest of the time and read books. It's nice when she's so snuggly! By this afternoon she was feeling pretty good - playing and coloring and running around.

A few pictures from the past few days - it's been in the 90s and we're spending lots of time in the sandbox and the pool!

Meili doesn't like having to get out of the sandbox or pool. You can see the face she makes when she's not happy about something (above). Below you can see from her lips and face that's she's freezing cold - but still doesn't want to get out of the pool!

"Meili, show me your teeth!"

tubes...

Meili's going in for minor surgery tomorrow morning to have ear tubes put in. It's a short procedure but she does have to be anesthetized for it. She's had fluid in her ears since she came home so we're thankful that she'll finally have some relief! She'll be able to hear more clearly without the fluid in her ears - this should have a positive impact on her speech. Please pray for healing for Meili and that all goes well tomorrow. Thanks!

love those dogs!

My sweet puppies!!! They don't get nearly as much attention now that Meili's around. They moped around for a week or so after we got home with Meili but since then, they have been so good with her. They don't seem to mind when she tugs on their tails, shoves plastic hot dogs in their faces, and takes off with their food bowls. I'm so thankful for such wonderful dogs!

We filled Meili's sandbox this past weekend and (BONUS!!!) the dogs love it too! I think the damp sand keeps them cool. Here they are, relaxing in the sandbox.

Chicago RULES!!!

Another awesome weekend in Chicago.... Meili and I ended up taking a bus to Chicago Wednesday morning - apparently the train engine wasn't working. Some highlights of our trip...
1. lots of time to hang out with my mom and dad
2. taking Saturday afternoon and evening off with Henry to celebrate our anniversary: "Wicked - A Broadway Musical", a Lake Michigan shoreline boat tour, and dinner at a delicious restaurant.... It was a really fun night!!!
3. a visit to the Lincoln Park Zoo
4. lots of time for Meili to play at local parks - in sandboxes, swings, and climbing things
5. great food!
6. lots and lots of time to hang out with my mom and dad

goofing around at Grandma & Grandpa's
Meili enjoys being the center of attention. Many times this weekend she would make a funny noise, which my mom and I would copy. However, my dad wasn't always paying attention and that wasn't ok with Meili. She would start waving at my dad, pointing at him, saying hi, hi, hi until finally he would look and copy whatever thing she had done. She did this to the rest of us several times as well. She's still doing that, now that we're home. Learning how to capture even more of our attention... (not sure that's a good thing!)

playing at the park

at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago

8 years, Chicago, and little people...

Henry and I celebrated our 8th anniversary today!!! This past year has definitely been the most eventful (aside from the year we got married). Two big trips to China - one being the trip when we first met Meili and brought her home. Lots of changes in the past six months!!! Henry and I have been blessed through these eight years - especially with the addition of our precious daughter!!!

Tomorrow Meili and I will board the train to Chicago. We're going to hang out with my parents for the rest of the week. Henry will join us for the weekend. This will be Meili's first train trip. Looking forward to it!!!

And now a few photos. A friend recently gave us all his childhood Little People stuff. (You rock, Sean!!!) The house, the school and the barn - complete with people, furniture, cars and animals. Meili's having fun with all of this new stuff. We're enjoying it too - great childhood memories!!!

play hard, sleep hard...

Meili sure has a lot of energy! She loves exploring and is very inquisitive. Some of her current favorite things to do are watch birds on our feeders, go for walks in the stroller, dance, and read books. She is such a content kid and it's so fun to take her places. We are still teaching her sign language as her speech is still developing. She catches on quickly and knows at least 30 signs now. She cut one new canine tooth this past week and has three more coming soon. Here are a few pictures from the bubble area at the Children's Museum and one shot of a favorite afternoon activity of hers!

it's HOT.....

It's hot. The high yesterday was 95 and today was 94. We're spending lots of time in water to keep cool. We hung out in our little pool yesterday and played in a fountain today. Meili loves playing with sandbox toys in the pool. (They're useless in the sandbox because it doesn't have any sand yet.) She got pretty excited when I dumped Simon and Otis in the pool. They jumped right out but I could tell they felt much better.





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Meili was playing in this big chair the other day. A new thing she's been doing is trying to copy us when we smile at her - especially when we make really big, goofy smiles. If we say "SMILE, Meili!" she makes this face that must feel like a smile to her - it's so funny! Scroll down to see her smile!

"SO BIG!!!"

fun picts...

AT THE ZOO...

AT HOME...
making faces during dinner

reading a Bible story

hugs for Ernie and Bert

talking on the telephone

AT MEIJER GARDENS...

playing with the boats in the children's garden