March Update The month of March marked 6 months at home with Mary Joyce, 6 months since she was first placed in our arms at the Civil Affairs office in Nanchang, Jiangxi, China.  Wow, how time flies! Our little girl is continuing to grow up.  She now weighs a little over 20 pounds and is almost 29 inches tall.  She is still wearing mostly 12 month sized clothes at 15 months old, but she is a little firecracker.  Mary Joyce is still a character, and a high-energy little girl.  She loves people and will flash this huge grin that will just melt your heart (or ours, at least). Mary Joyce is learning so much every day.  She is walking everywhere and trying to run.  She now will let us know if she had rather walk than to be carried somewhere, but thankfully, she is pretty good about holding our hands.  In fact, if Chet and I are both nearby and only one of us is holding her hand, she will reach up for the other one.  It is just precious when she does that.  She can also feed herself with a spoon, although she cannot load the spoon herself yet.  She does do a pretty good job of getting the spoon to her mouth, though.  The sippy cup thing is still a challenge. She’s just not that interested.  Mary Joyce does a fair job with a regular cup, but still ends up soaking wet by the end of the experience. We have had some beautiful weather this month in south Georgia, so we took Mary Joyce to the park to play one day.  She was a little hesitant at first, but got more and more brave as the time went on.  Her favorite activity was climbing up the slide.  She is still not fond of the swings, though.  We all had a good time that day. Our daughter is also becoming a book lover, which fits right in with our family.  When we go into her room, she makes a beeline for her bookshelf and will sit for quite awhile, looking at her favorite books. (She also has them all pulled out onto the floor in the process.) She especially likes Where is Baby’s Bellybutton?, which is a flap book.  When I read it to her, she knows the right time to open each flap.  Another favorite is Brown Bear, Brown Bear.  Chet and I sometimes read that one 4 or 5 times in a day. Mary Joyce’s receptive language is excellent.  She can do things when we ask her to, like bring her shoes to us.  She also can find some body parts, like her nose and her belly button. She has also become quite the lap baby, which Chet and I love.  She will come and climb into our laps or indicate that she wants to be picked up.  She may have a book or a toy with her, or she may just want to sit and rock for awhile.  We are loving the cuddle time. As for the much awaited baby update, we also learned this month (on Mary Joyce’s 6 month Gotcha Day anniversary) that Mary Joyce is going to have a little sister.  Her name will be Barbara Katherine, and we will call her Katherine.  She is due to arrive July 26. This month, we also celebrated Chet’s birthday, his first as a Daddy. Finally, we ended the month (and started the new one) with a visit from Mary Joyce’s Lao Lao and Papa from Louisiana and her Aunt Charlie from Atlanta.  We had a great time together, even if it was brief.  Spending time with family is always a blessing.   Still not sure about this swing...     But the slide is fun!   Brave Girl     Getting a Little Reading Done (So what if the book is upside-down?)     American Girl   So, that's my baby sister...     Looking Out at the World     Mary Joyce + Kleenex = Mess   Daddy's Girl     Attitude?     I climbed up in the chair all by myself!   Ladybug Girl     Getting in a plug for Mama's Dawgs! :-)     Ready for Church (And not interested in having her picture made...)   Investigating Lao Lao's Camera     Mary Joyce's Baby Sister           This page hosted by