Baby Maia!

Baby Maia was born on October 14 @ 5:06 pm. She weighed 7 lb 3 oz and was 20.5 in long.

Initially, I was in shock that 'a real baby' was here. As soon as the nurse placed her on my abdomen, my first words were "wow, it's a real baby!"

Meili was sooooo excited that her baby sister was finally here! She declared that this was "a happy day" because she finally was a big sister. She has been looking forward to holding and feeding Maia for months.

I'm glad to say that the 40 week pregnancy was worth the outcome - baby Maia!

Girls' bedroom

I can *officially* say that construction on the girls' bedroom is complete. Painting, window trim, baseboards, a new fan, and carpet installation are done - all for less than $500!

How did I do it?

Paint and carpet were the most expensive. I believe in a good paint. Nothing cheap because you'll just be repainting in a year. That came from Lowe's. I kept to a white (except for the striped wall) because it's cheaper and the girls' toys/stuff will add any needed color to the room. The carpet is from Home Depot. It can only be bought online. I chose to go with carpet tiles in a neutral tan. This way if there's an accident or stain, I can replace just that 1 tile without having to worry about the entire flooring. And with a 4 year old and baby, there will be plenty of stains in the future.

3/4 of the window trim is from the original baseboard - just needed some sanding and new paint. The top piece is a modern, decorative molding piece from Lowe's. It was cut in 1/2; the other 1/2 will be used for the playroom's window.

The furniture was recycled from Meili's old room. I do plan on painting the dresser green to match the green stripe. But not until I'm on maternity leave. Same with the artwork. Meili has got a few nice pieces of artwork from China that I want to place on the walls. Again, I'll do that when I'm on maternity leave. I'm also on the lookout for 2 giant Ms to paint and place on the wall by the girls' beds. Just haven't found exactly what I want yet.

I wish that I could take credit for any work performed in the girls' bedroom. Sadly @ 32-24 weeks pregnant, the only thing I could do was sit in a chair and watch my family put the room together. I will say that they were an excellent team, probably stemming from my superior leadership - lol! I'm extremely lucky to have a supportive family who will do just about anything for my girls and me.
 

Meili was quite surprised to come home to a completed room. Her first words to describe it were "it's beautiful!" Her happiness makes all the hard work worth it.

Vietnam & Possiblities

If you keep up on international adoption, you know that Vietnam reopened for international adoption this week. The agency that I used to adopt Meili, Dillon International, is one of 2 agencies selected to perform international adoptions. I highly recommend them. But this post isn't about them.

Currently, Vietnam is open to single women and single women with 2+ children. Hence, I would qualify without getting any special permission or whatever from the government (unlike China). Adopting another child has been on my mind a lot in the recent months. Particularly as this pregnancy as progressed. This baby will be 1/2 Vietnamese. Meili is full Chinese. A sibling of similar heritage would be ideal. I'm not saying that I'm going to jump in and send in an application. But it is something that is simmering in the back of my old young brain. I do want to keep up with what's going on and let the more adventurous families go ahead of me. 

Maybe in a year to 18 months...

First Thursday

The family and I went to First Thursday last night. First Thursday is an event in town where vendors, food trucks, and local musicians get together and have a family friendly evening. It is a lot of fun just really hot in the summer. Including last night.

We had lots of fun. My mom bought all the girls (Meili + 2 cousins) balloon creations.

 

 

Piper picked out a pink and green flower. Meili had to be exactly like her cousin but chose different colors - black and dark green. Paige got a red monkey.

Even the boyfriend came along. (Really I just needed him to push the stroller since I'm now almost 34 weeks. Between the heat and stroller there's no way that Meili and I could have attended First Thursday)

Baby Registry

My coworkers have been very diligent in requesting that I make a baby registry. In all honesty, I didn't really want to do it. It takes time and really isn't fun. But I brought along my favorite helper who did most of the scanning for me.

Meili was VERY excited to scan the merchandise and pick out baby items. She didn't understand why we weren't bringing everything home with us. I tried to explain what a baby registry was but it just went over her head. Regardless she had fun scanning all of the items and I didn't have to mess with it. Win - win for us both!

Growing by 4 paws

Our family grew by 4 paws last week. We got a friend for Speedracer since he is now an inside cat.

Introducing..... Rylee!

Rylee is a female cat that Meili and I rescued from the city's animal shelter. She is still fairly young, probably around 12-14 months. She loves to be held and petted. She likes people and will follow us around just like Speed does. Rylee is not as demanding for attention as Speed. Which is good but this may change as she watches his behavior and the attention that he gets.

So we're back to having 4 animals - 2 dogs + 2 cats.

First day {Pre-K4}

Today was Meili's first day of pre-k4 @ Cedar Crest. Ms. Libby is her teacher.

I asked her about her first day when I picked her up from afterschool care.

Me: How was your first day of pre-k in Ms. Libby's class?
Meili: Good.
Me: Did you do anything fun today?
Meili: No.
Me: What did you learn?
Meili: Nothing.
Me: So you did nothing for 8 hours today?
Meili: Right.

Her teacher emailed all of the parents and provided us with a synopsis of their activities. I actually already know what she did/learned for the first day.

During dinner, our conversation continues...
Meili: Mommy, I did learn something today.
Me: You did!
Meili: Yeah, I learned how to snap my fingers.

Which she showed me repeatedly with great confidence. I guess that's one developmental milestone that we can cross off our list.

Big Sister

Even though my family and close friends knew that Mary Baby was on its way, the greater community did not. And by greater community I mostly mean facebook.

Most just assumed that it was another adoption. Lol, I wish but not right now. (Maybe in a few years when Meili is in school and Mary Baby is, well, not a baby)... Now everybody knows that Meili will be a big sister in about 9 weeks!

90s Delight

I've been very silent since the end of June. That's because I bought a house. I dubbed it the '90s delight'. Because of the brass fixtures, berber carpet, and just overall 90s feel. Over 1200 sq feet of 90s. 1200 sq feet that needed a lot of help.

Renovations! My underpaid team and I have been working every day since closing at the end of June. After almost 6 weeks, Meili and I finally moved in last weekend. We have a living room, 2 bathrooms, and my bedroom mostly done.

Enough to finally move in.

All while being in my last trimester.

At least we have finally settled into our new city and it's home sweet home for the next few years.

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