Looking at Katie's Progress

This week, Katie had an appointment with a child development specialist. It wasn't a surprise to me when I met Katie that her physical skills were not where they needed to be. A lot of babies that are in orphanages don't have the same opportunities to develop those skills compared to typical, American babies.  The specialist tracked Katie's skills over the last month. She said that Katie is still a little behind in some areas, but based on all of the progress she has made in the last month, she has every belief that Katie will catch up soon.  She'll keep tracking progress but has no concerns. It's amazing to think that I just met Katie a little over two months ago, and she couldn't even sit up on her own. Now she's sitting, rolling over, dancing, waving, imitating facial expressions, imitating some language, singing, standing, and playing a lot with her toys. It's fun to watch her progress.

A Trip to Idaho

On the weekend of July 2nd, my cousins and aunt hosted a party for Katie in Idaho, where I grew up.  I wondered how Katie would handle being in her car seat for lots of hours, but she did really well!  She was sure glad to get out of it though.  The day of the party was a hot day, but it was at a park with lots of shade, so the heat wasn't too bad. It was good to see all of my family at the party, and the park looked really nice.

One of our family friends brought her 6 year old neighbor who was also adopted from China. She and Katie were an instant match. Katie even let Mady hold her, which is still pretty rare.  It was fun to talk to her and get to know her that afternoon.

While we were in Idaho, Katie started a new and funny behavior. She started making funny faces. Every time she makes the faces, Jennifer shouts "Scary Baby," which fits quite well.  She has already stopped making the faces quite as often. I sort of miss it because it made me laugh so much. She continues to be happy baby, and we see smiles more than anything else!

Idaho Party





Katie's New Friend, Mady



Scary Baby, Take One

Scary Baby, Take Two

Scary Baby, Take Three

Happy Baby