Slow Day ...

It was a slow picture day for Ellie-belly and the Lathams. She didn't do much other than sleep and eat and, as Kevin says, "How many pictures can you take of a sleeping baby?" So, here's a few, just so you all get your daily "fix". We only have a few that are really worth looking at today as they were blurry too.

Tomorrow, I'm going to try to walk around and get pictures of the orphanage and some video of it as well.

We did have to take a photo of our entire family to include to send to the judge so we got that today. There is a DIET in my future as soon as I come home -- right after my visit to the Cracker Barrel! :-)

We took some clothes for her today. The outfit she is wearing is a newborn size. It was too big. *sigh*

Josh is beginning to "tire" of her and doesn't hardly want to hold her at all. As we were getting ready to leave, he did hold her for about 30 seconds. I sense there might be some jealousy cropping up. I think it might be something that only time and some extra hugs will handle.

My Future's So Bright, I Gotta' Wear Shades

When we arrived today, one of the mom's that is here visiting her son gave Ellie a gift -- the above baby sunshades. What a funny sight she was and we all laughed. Funny thing is, she apparently liked them. The sun is bright and she'll close her eyes if we walk in the sun. We looked and she had her eyes open behind the shades.


Josh thought she was funny looking too, with her big glasses and pacifier. Sharon, those glasses remind me of the ones you used to wear! ;-) (sorry, couldn't resist!!)

Then Josh, ever the clown, tried them on for some poses.

Ellie's belly was feeling much better today. They've reduced the formula a bit and at the end of the day, she ate like her normal champion self. I've been noticing that her cheeks are getting big. Allison, I think you might have a run for your money on the baby with the biggest chipmunk cheeks pretty soon. :-)

This is her smiling for the camera and starting her "pageant" wave.

Then, we were told we could come back and watch her get her massage. Apparently, for the next 30 days, she will get baby massage. Now, I'll be real honest, I was a bit jealous - a massage every day for 30 days. What woman wouldn't want that. I wish you could have heard this baby moaning and squeaking as the was getting her massage. :-) It was SO FUNNY. We videoed a bit of it so the grandparents will be able to see when we get home. Of COURSE, if anyone else wants to see when we get home, we COULD host a viewing (ha ha!).

Isn't this precious?
First the feet and legs.
I LOVE this picture!!
Lift the "tooshie" -- building some ab muscles.
Over for the back side.

Shoulder rubs
This is the one I call the "AHHHHH" pose. She has her hands out to the side and looks to be so relaxed.

Working on her leg muscles to help her stand.

Helping her work on sitting up.
And, after it was all over, a nice warm bottle. Note the slits, she was just near toast at this point.

I swear I left her sighing in her crib. :-)

So, we had a great visit today. I saw several more babies that will be going home before Ellie does. They were all doing well. The caregivers really love the babies here.

"It's probably her new formula"

This morning we received a call from Aliya, our interpreter, who told us that Ludmilla, our coordinator, had talked with the orphanage director about our concerns about Ellie from Sunday. Tatiana indicated that they had indeed changed Ellie's formula to the kind we brought and that because of it, she didn't need to take as much. She was at 90 ml (about 3 oz) every three hours. We were told that with this formula, initially, she won't need as much. I'm wondering exactly what she was on before.

Based on some reading that indicates a good rule of thumb is 2.5 ounces per baby's weight, E. would need about 16 ounces a day. So, she probably was getting about 24 ounces a day, but likely not full strength formula. Based on her age, though, this was about right.

I was told not to worry that she would be fine. I hope when we visit tomorrow we will find that her upset tummy is soothing and she is adjusting better to her new formula.

The Princess doesn't seem to feel well

I can't put my finger on it, but I don't think "The Princess" felt well today. She had her eyes open a large part of the time we were with her, but she was fussy, had the hiccups, burped (yes, she can!!), didn't want a pacifier and didn't seem to want to eat.

Today we didn't have our interpreter or coordinator with us. We had the routine down so when we got there, I went to her room. The caregiver made a motion for me to wait a bit. When she came out with her, she was awake and she had the hiccups.

We went out to the covered shelter area and visited with her a while and took some photos. She did a good job of looking at us and seemed fascinated with Kevin. She wouldn't take her eyes of him when he held her. She wasn't quite so into Josh or I today, for some reason. During one period she was quite fussy and then let out a burp leading me to believe that maybe her tummy isn't feeling so well. Ironically, I awoke with an upset stomach. I took some Pepto this morning and it's better but still doesn't feel just "right". We've thought about what I might have eaten, but I haven't eaten anything different from Kevin or Josh. It's much better, but at one point this morning, I was concerned about getting to go to visit.

We did notice that she had exceptional head strength today holding her head up and looking around by herself. She was griping our fingers so hard at one point that the tips of her fingers were white. She also has seemed to have some difficulty getting her left eye (right if you are facing her) open as wide as the other. Not sure about that. It might be normal, but we'll want to check on it for sure.

And so, while in all these photos she seems "fine" and "happy", there were so many more that she didn't, including the one where, after she ate just a bit she spit it all back out. I tried to get her to eat (and she is a champion eater), and she just wouldn't. I finally gave up and took it to the caregiver to tell her she wouldn't eat. The caregiver only speaks Russian, I think, but she took her and was talking to her calling her, get this, "Princess". :-) Her bottle wasn't as hot as normal, and I'm not sure, if with our recent formula purchase if she has a different kind or more or something. I just got the feeling she didn't feel well.

So... now I'm a bit anxious about not visiting tomorrow. It might be best, though, to not get her up and stirring about. I'll be sure to talk with Aliya tomorrow when E. and B. go over and see if she can check on her and report back.

After the orphanage, we went "sight-seeing" but I'll cover that on my other blog.

Interestingly enough, while we were there today, the U.S. Airforce servicemen and women were there bringing donations. Kevin spent a while talking to some of them. It was SO COOL to be able to talk English with them. :-) They brought a great deal of things for the orphanage. It's so cool to see another side of the military that doesn't often get portrayed back home.

We also got to me K's hubby and daughter and spend more time with K, K and I and their babies. I know that I will be forever connected with these moms that I met in an orphanage on the other side of the world and will want to continue to follow the blossoming of their children once we all get home!

Another Trip to Tokmok

Today we had another visit with Ellie. Our driver, Victor, must have thought our pick up time was 9:30 as he was late. Aliya, Elizabeth and Bill went on ahead, which we were fine with. It sprinkled on the way there and we were concerned it might rain.

We took her some formula, a couple of pacifiers and a photo book of us for her crib. She was asleep during our entire visit today. She did take to her new pacifier. When I went in to meet with Tatiana to see if we had any questions (we don't right now), she said yesterday (when we weren't allowed to visit), she went in around our visitation time, and Ellie was crying. She picked her up and took her outside to walk around and she stopped. When she put her back down, she cried again. I think that's a good sign she either likes us or likes the attention.

Apparently, the little peanut is already getting spoiled. When she comes home, I'm going to get a sling to wear her for a long time. Of course, if Josh is home, I'll have to fight for her. If Kevin is there, I suppose it will be a three way fight. We might have to resort to rock-paper-scissors to see who gets to hold her. Do you think she'll be spoiled????

Speaking of spoiled, I got an email from my friend Carla who indicates she has gotten her a BOX of clothes ranging in size from 3-18 months. I suspect you may never see the girl in the same outfit either. Since she wears the same one for several days in a row here, that will be a change for her, I suppose. She is always clean, however, and the clothing is not stained. I truly feel they take very good care of the children here.

We also got to give her her bottle today. She slurped it down quickly but this girl DOES NOT burp. Other adoptive parents who are there say that their babies don't either. I think they are getting the food so quickly, there just aren't any air bubbles. Josh, ever the good brother, even tried showing her how it was done. :-)

Speaking of other adoptive parents, it has been so nice spending time with I, K and now K (from Nashville, too). I can't post names right now as there is some sort of "thing" going on (that we all think is crazy). I can't elaborate any more than that, even on a private blog, at this time. BUT... we really are enjoying putting faces to the names of people we've emailed with for so long. I've LOVED getting to love on their babies as well.

Anyway... enough of all that, here's what you really came for -- your Ellie photo fix. Please note, if you will, that her outfit today (picked out by and belonging to the orphanage is an ELLIE-Phant!! Do we need any more confirmation that this peanut belongs in our family??).

(yes, she is peeking out at me as I rub her head!)

She almost had her eyes open here, but I guess it was too much to do.

Love the bunny ears on the elephant outfit. She looked like a little pink bear in it. When she gets frustrated from us trying to switch "holders" or from us really trying to wake us up, she arches her back, makes these funny faces and makes a grunting noise.

We were also told today that we should do everything we can to make sure Kevin is the person who returns with me. One parent will need to stay with the baby when official government appointments are held. Aliya indicated that while they would stay with the baby it would be better if Kevin could come. We also realized that our I171H is in HIS name and so in order to get her paperwork done, HE has to be the one who appears. So.... it looks like we are going to have Kevin come back. We have a few options in mind for Joshua, but nothing worked out as we have to ask around. He's not upset as we have talked to him about it. He's hoping that sometime while we are gone, he'll get to go fishing with his DeeDee. Somehow, that makes everything ok. We are not sure about Kevin's vacation yet and will have to check on that and/or sick leave to make sure he has enough time, but apparently, it is a have-to situation. I did have an offer from my friend Jennifer to travel with me and we were working on the details when this came about.

We are hoping to go back to the Metro this afternoon for dinner. We are needing our American fix. While we love our visitation time with Ellie, this is a LONG time to be in a hotel room and in a different country. We hope, when we leave, we will be back in about 8 weeks (56 days, but who's counting??). We should get Ellie the day after we arrive and she will be with us from then on. We anticipate she will go before the court system here the week of June 30. After court, it is a 30 day waiting period, followed by 1-2 weeks to get her passport, and then we will return.

So tomorrow after our visit, our drivers are taking us (along with Elizabeth and Bill) up to Barann Tower(spelling???) in the mountains. This is where we had planned to go earlier with others until we were told we couldn't. That's another story too. *sigh* There have been some challenging moments here.

Oh, and we were told that starting Monday, Ellie will have massage time every day. We are to buy her some baby oil (I'd really rather not use baby oil as it's made from petroleum, but what's the other options here??) for her daily massage. This will hopefully help her build muscle tone and work her muscles as well. NOW.. they are going to do this 8-9, she gets a bottle at 9 and then we arrive at 10. Do you think after a massage and warm bottle she's going to wake up for us? I wouldn't!! :-)

That's all for today folks. Continue to remember us in prayers. We need them daily.