1st Steps

I just wanted to let everyone know some very exciting news from the Heutmaker home. Hope took her first steps last night! She let go of Mom and walked about 4 steps to Dad. We're not really trying to push her into walking, but she's getting stronger everyday. She didn't take any steps on her own today, but we know she can and she'll do it again when she's ready.

Just a short report tonight. Thought you'd like to know.

Since Friday

On Friday, Hope and I spent our first full day running around together since we've been home. We took care of some errends in Woodbury, had lunch together, and then went for an oil change in Hudson.
Hope enjoying her first Pei Wei meal -


Before going home, we met Daddy after work in Hudson at the new "castle" park. Thanks for the tip Lexi! We had a great time and Hope loved it. Most of the time when we're trying for pictures Hope is pretty reflective and not very quick to smile. We have to use all our best tricks for some of the photos we get. Well, on this afternoon, Hope's smile was glowing. We will for sure have to return to this park! Check her out with her Daddy! (YES Andy, here's Ron)

Saturday afternoon we went to the start and the end of the annual Holmgren/Miller Independence Day bash. What a fun party. We were unable to stay for the duration because we had plans with other friends for dinner, but we were able to stop at the beginning, and again for the fireworks on our way home. Here is Hope chillin' in her ride for the night (we may have to check into one of these - she looks so tired in these pictures, but really, Hope thought this car was the hot ticket.) Also, here we are watching Hope's first fireworks. She wasn't phased by the loud sounds at all - and even clapped and chattered with the bright beautiful lights a couple of times. In spite of her closed eyes, I love the pic of all of us looking up. We thought maybe the fireworks this week would be a bit scary for Hope, but we may have to re-think our plans for the 4th.

So, as I said, we didn't stay for the whole party. We left and met our friends Andy, Betsy, Maria, Elizabeth, and Anna for dinner. Anna came home from China with Hope so they already share a special bond. We had so much fun with their family when we traveled and we were very excited to see them again. Here are some shots of all the girls. Thank you so much for the yummy burgers guys. We can't wait to see you again soon!

Also - here is area a couple shots of Hope's cute patriotic outfit from Aunt Tami and Uncle Brian. Thanks for keeping our daughter in such high fashion...though her daddy isn't too crazy about the tummy showing. ;)






Here is how Hope spent her morning getting ready for church. I know she read and enjoyed every one of those books. She didn't just pull them off the shelf for fun. Not our daughter. She wouldn't do that. :) "OK - so I'm busted. But, I'm still cute. How 'bout readin' me a story, Mom?"





Once she was dressed...here is how sweet she looked this morning. This is the dress that Hope wore in China on her adoption day, June 5. We all wore red, white, and blue that day. I thought I'd better get her in this dress again one more time before she outgrows it. "Why Mom? Why more pictures this morning?" "Because you're just so darn cute, Hope".

The final excitement of the weekend was that Hope was introduced to more of her family. She got to meet Great Grandma Heutmaker and cousins Jen, Greg & Alexa! Let me just say that Hope adores meeting other children so she was pretty excited to see Alexa come along and I think they could have strolled around the yard forever. Hope also thought that Alexa and her Daddy were pretty funny when they were wrestling. I think I cought a small glimpse of our future there.

We had a great weekend! Have a great week everyone.

C-Ya

HEY! WE HAVE OVER 10,000 HITS!

(Disclaimer...
I'm not sure what the layout of this post is going to look like. Hope is probably going to be awake in a half hour for a bottle and then I just have to go to bed. So if it is messy and there are photos everywhere...sorry. I'll look at it tomorrow during nap time.)

What we've been up to

Hello everyone - We've been busy! Here is the post I started last night, but after uploading the video it was a bit late. So enjoy our recent highlights -

On Thursday, our good friends Lisa, Kaitlyn, & AJ stopped over with gifts for Hope. Here is the outfit...this shot is for you guys. Thank you so much. It fits great! We thought Hope could model for you. She's practicing her runway walk in this pic. Not sure about the open mouth, but hey, maybe that's part of her "signature" moves. :) P.S. - She loves the ball popper too. She's still figuring it all out. So far, she likes to try to stand up with it, which in turn causes the whole thing to topple over. If she successfully gets up though, then she likes to reach down into the tube for the balls. She's not much into chasing them all over the living room. I guess for now, that is a job for Mom and Dad.

Friday afternoon was great! Hope's Great Aunt Karla, Great Uncle Jim, and cousin Bobby stopped by to meet her. They were on their way to the metro area for a baseball tournament and were able to visit on the way by. Ella (the pooch) was TOTALLY spoiled by Bobby and they all thought Hope was pretty sweet. As it turned out, the ball games for the evening were rained out, so some of the family was able to meet for dinner. We had a great time and Hope has loved meeting more of her new forever family. Everyone is so special. So here are a few pictures of Hope's 1st time coloring at the restaurant. You can see the progression: (1) YEAH! COOL! CRAYONS! - (2) I can do it MOM! - (3) Hmmm...How about a quick taste while nobody's watching.



Saturday was a pretty low key day, just us. The three of us did a little running around but that is about it.

Sunday started with church. Hope met a few more members of Gethsemane. She is doing so great with everyone. She clings to me (which is a good sign - we want that right now attachment-wise), but she will smile and wave. We're very proud.

After church, Hope got to meet one of our best friends (Keri, that's you) and some of her family. We heard from a little birdie that she was in town, so we stopped by for a quick moment before lunch. Hope also discovered the sand box there and we were near meltdown when it was time to leave. We all survived though, and it was great to see Keri. Our visits are few and far between and we miss her. Sorry I don't have photos here. I think Keri's mom has a couple I'll have to track down.



After our nap then, more of our dearest friends were in town. Tricia, Brad, and Lauren stopped over to meet Hope and the girls spent some time splashing around in the pool. Why does everyone have to live so far away? Can't everyone just move back to Baldwin so we could see each other more often? I know, I'm a bit selfish, but think about it...PLEASE? :) Here are the bathing beauties. Please disregard the lady in the white shirt. She had to keep the beauty on the right from sliding under water.

Sunday night we were spoiled with dinner from Uncle Brian and Aunt Tami. AND, guess what! The brought dessert, too. MMMMMMMMM! Hope had her first taste of ice cream. Check her out! (P.S. - never mind Ella getting a bit scolded in the end. It is tough for her to stay away when there's food around.)



Here is Ella who is looking cool and refreshed after getting in the way of the ice cream hose down.

And here is the diva on her cell phone while driving - post ice cream and all clean. We had a great evening. Thanks guys!


It is hard to believe that we met our daughter 3 weeks ago today. We just love her so much. I hope you're all enjoying the photos and video. We are amazed every day by the things that Hope is accomplishing and by her resiliancy. She is been through so much, not just over these past few weeks, but during her entire first year. She is incredible and we are so blessed to have her home. Her smile and laughter brighten our days and we are just so thankful for her light in our lives.

Thank You

I don't know if I dare post without new pictures, but here goes...

I was able to spend some time last night and this morning going through the posts from Ron while we were in China and was able to catch up reading all of the comments and e-mails I missed. I just have to thank everyone so much for all of the encouragement and prayers you have given us. We have so many incredible people in our lives and all three of us are so blessed by you all. Thank you!!!! I am completely in awe.

I can't believe that we've been home for a week and 2 days already. Hope is doing so great. We have moments of frustration, but that is part of normal parenthood, right? (Though I'm sure our parents had a totally frustration-free time of raising their children, right, Mark?) ;)

Hope has taken some great big giant steps toward building her comfort and security with her Dad. Ron is SO patient and gentle about nudging Hope's curiosity and as I type now, they are snuggling and she is sort of in and out of napping. It is beautiful.

The other part of my morning has been a little tearful. We were given some CD's with pictures of Hope from her orphanage and from the Grace & Hope for Children (organization that sponsored Hope's foster care). I just finally had a few moments to look through the photos and they are so priceless. We can see a bit of Yulin (city of her orphanage and foster care), her foster parents and grandparents, and a small glimpse of what she looked like before we met. There aren't many early pictures, but a few. It is so clear that she was loved cared for very well. Another blessing! OH WOW - it was emotional to see her through those photos. I think I may have to put them away for another day.

After lunch we're headed out to pick up our computer. Remember our technical difficulties in China? YUP - new hard drive needed and nothing retrievable. Which leads me to a request...Our laptop had our up-to-date address book on it. So, I'm sorry to be a pain, but when you have time could you please e-mail us (br.heut@gmail.com or at our home address) with current contact information (address, phone, and e-mail address). We'll update our computer address book in the office and then print a hard copy. AH, the lessons we've learned.

Thanks everyone. Have a great day!

Beth

Photos

Good evening everyone. I'm not going to take a lot of time tonight. I just wanted to share a couple of cute shots from the past couple of days.

Some of you are wondering about how the relationship is going with Ella. TRUE LOVE! ;)

Another true love = WATERMELON!

And, we've decided that we need to self feed, so here is our morning oatmeal today.


(We had a quick bath after breakfast.)

Also - here are a couple more of her just being cute this afternoon. I love the pose on the first one and YEAH I just love that little skirt on her. For the next shot...nope, still not sure why we're riding backward again, but who cares! Check out that smile.



Night everyone. Hope fell asleep early this evening in the stroller so I'm sure she'll be up again soon. Gotta run, but loving it. :)

OUCH!

I wasn't going to post so late 'cuz we all need to get to bed but HOLY COW!...what an afternoon/evening we've had. So, we were supposed to have Hope's Dr. appt. at 4:20 and we got in pretty quickly. Guess what time we left. OK - I'll just tell you...almost 8:00. Our little girl sat in her diaper wrapped in a blanket at the clinic for almost 4 hours. She was such a trooper. I can't believe how brave she is. With everything she has been through in these past two weeks since we've known her, she is doing so well. We got in and Hope was weighed and measured right away so off came all the clothes. She is currently 17 lbs./13 oz. and 29 in. Compared with her medical appt. in China, she's lost a bit of weight and gotten taller. Hmm. Then, we were ushered to another room where we talked with a nurse (not our Dr.'s regular nurse) who didn't know us or anything about our adoption. It was a bit frustrating trying to communicate with her and answer her questions. Then, YEA...our Dr. came in a visited with us. We really like him and it is wonderful that he also has an a daughter from China and he's been back to China several times to set up clinics in orphanages. His experience is invaluable and we are so comfortable with our little girl in his care. Basically he said she's doing great. His exact words were, "She's perfect." Well, OF COURSE! ;) We talked a bit about some possible food allergies and some skin sensitivities and we'll work on that for this month before our next appointment. Finally came the part we'd been dreading. Blood work and a trip to the lab were next on the agenda. I think holding my little girl down while she was SCREAMING in terror and the tech was trying to find a good vein is about the most traumatic experience I may have ever had. We had four adults holding Hope and had one tech try for a vein in each arm before deciding that she needed to get another person to come and have a look. That person successfully found a vein and leeched out 2 big vials of blood. They were hoping for three, but Hope's vein gave up the flow, so I am now praying that they don't put her through that again because they didn't get enough. OOOOOOHHHHHHHH that was so hard for this new mommy. When it was over I was able to scoop her up and wrap her in her blanket right away. She calmed down, but I just felt terrible. It didn't help that we had walked over to the lab, then the tech struggled with figuring out what supplies she'd need and finally ushered us back over the the area where our first appt. took place and in the mean time, Hope fell asleep. So, she woke up to all of us hovering over her while she laid on the cold table covered with that wonderful comfortable paper. Poor thing. After the whole blood draw experience, we went back over to the lab because we were supposed to get some more supplies to collect a couple of samples. Again, the tech was a little confused about what was needed. She made a couple of phone calls and guess what...we had to walk back over to our favorite unit (again the original appt. location) to meet with a different nurse for some instructions and then hold our baby girl down again for a Tb test. I can't believe what she went through. She was so, so brave today. The last time, when we were waiting for the final test, we were in the room alone again for something like a 1/2 hour and I finally took Hope out into the hall looking for anyone to come get it done so we could get out of there. Our Dr. saw us and couldn't believe we were still there. So, I guess all you need to do is get a Dr.'s attention, because the nurse reappeared in a matter of minutes and we finished up. We quickly ran to Target for some supplies and we are now home with our strong little angel asleep in her crib. I cried as I rocked her tonight. I just didn't want to put her down. She is strong and beautiful and amazing and brave and incredible and ....

We just love our little girl and are so thankful to God for his plan to bless our lives with her presence.

Thanks for letting me vent tonight. I promise that my next post will be much more positive.

- Sweet Dreams -

We're Doing Great

Hello everyone - Mom here with a little update on the angel herself...Miss Hope. She is running the show around here and seems to enjoy it a bit. We finally had our first good night sleep since we've been home. Hope fell asleep last night during her little lotion massage after her bath at about 8:30. I know it is tough to put PJ's on a wiggly child, but one who is sound asleep isn't so simple either. So, then she slept until about 1:00 this morning, woke, had a change and bottle, and was asleep again until Ron woke up at 5:00. I'm so happy! Now she's actually dozing again. I'm sure she has some catching up on zzzz's to do as well. I wonder how long this nap will last.

So, we're home and having a great time. We've been pretty busy with family and we even went to church on Father's Day. Proud Papa wanted to show off a bit I think. Here are a couple of photos with Daddy and his girls enjoying his first Father's Day morning. Ron is such a great Dad. He has so much patience. Hope is warming up to him more and more. You should have seen how excited she was when he got home from work yesterday afternoon. She practically ran down the stairs (with me holding her hands of course).



We had a great weekend. The reception homecoming at the airport was so fun though Hope was a little overwhelmed. She doesn't quite understand all these people who love her so much. She is so lucky. Every day we see a bit more of her personality. She is STUBBORN and likes to be in charge, but she is also a soft and gentle girl who seems to be loving life and her new discoveries everyday. Speaking of new discoveries...check out the pool from Auntie Andria and Uncle Mark. This was a hit. We only went swimming once in China and Hope loved it so I'm thinking this gift will be well used this summer.



Another new discovery...the "horsie!" Hope got this birthday gift from Grandma and Grandpa Perry. They hunted it down for her after they saw the photo of her on the horse at the Civil Affairs Office in Nanning. She loves it! She'll get the idea of riding facing forward sometime soon I think. ;)

Finally, here are a couple of other photos from last night. We were playing with Aunt Tami and Uncle Brian and Hope was showing off her shades from our good friends Chris and Cheryl. She is just too cute. She was so funny with the glasses. She didn't really want to leave them on, but she would lean into whoever was holding them until they were on her face, then she'd take them off again. It was a great game. :)



Thanks for all the phone calls and welcome home messages everyone. Ron and I are so happy to be back (we're especially thankful for our own bed). We're planning now for a couple of days with just the three of us. Hope is going to the Dr. this afternoon for her "once over" and probably a few shots so we're spending the day just playing and making sure she knows we love her so when the pokes come later she won't hate us for too long. Then tomorrow will just be us again. We are trying to really make a strong attachment with Hope so she knows Mommy and Daddy as her primary care-givers. We've done a lot of reading and have been to seminars that helped us learn about the importance of early attachment. So, if we are limiting visits or asking for a little alone time with Hope for now, please understand and be patient with us. We'll be making the rounds soon.

Have a great week everyone. Enjoy the pix. Here are a couple more of her just being cute. ;)



Love - B,R, & H