October Update Mary Joyce has been home for 5 and a half weeks now, and has been a part of our family a little longer than that.  It is hard to remember what life was like before her arrival.  She is such a joy, and it is amazing to watch her grow and learn each day. She has grown quite a bit since she got home.  At her pediatrician’s visit in early October, Mary Joyce weighed just shy of 16 pounds.  Recently, we have weighed her at approximately 19 pounds (fully clothed with a bathroom scale, so take the accuracy for what it's worth).  She is outgrowing clothes left and right.  She is a good eater, and is definitely a good southern girl—grits are one of her favorite foods.  She was eating some solid foods when we were in China, and now she eats them regularly and with more variety.  She eats fruits, veggies, grits, oatmeal, and even some small pieces of chicken, among other things. Mary Joyce is also learning new things every day.  She became a much more accomplished crawler after arriving at home, and now is quite quick.  Her pulling up has also progressed to cruising.  That has really happened within the last week or so, and now she really prefers cruising to crawling if she can figure out a way from point A to point B.  We really expect her to be walking by Christmas.  (As of now, we’re trying to determine the best location for the Christmas tree.) She is also verbalizing more and more, and we are hearing new sounds daily.  The only recognizable thing she says with regularity is “Uh-oh!”  (This is especially nice as she is dropping her toys over the back of the church pew during the worship service.)  It is very cute, though. Several people have asked how Mary Joyce is doing with our pets.  She loves the cats.  Every time one of them is nearby, she squeals and goes crawling after it.  Chloe is the only one who lets Mary Joyce get close; she is a very patient kitty.  As for the dogs, they love Mary Joyce.  She is not afraid of them, but she does seem a little uncertain, probably because Max and Oscar are so big. October has been a busy month for us.  The first was Mary Joyce’s first Sunday at church, and that evening we did a presentation for our congregation about our adoption trip to China.  The next day was her first visit to the pediatrician, where she charmed everyone in the place (until it was time for shots—that was no fun…).  The following weekend we went to Atlanta where on Friday, Mary Joyce met her Aunt Lynda, Uncle Wade, and her cousins, Carl and Erica, for the first time.  The following Saturday we met our travel mates, Marsha, Jeremy, and Aidyn, along with Aidyn’s big brother, Spencer, for lunch.  Then we spoke at a seminar for in-process adoptive families with our adoption agency, again sharing about our adoption experience.  It was a busy weekend, but a good one.  Mary Joyce made the trip very well, too.  Then on Monday of the following week, Mary Joyce’s Grandamama and Granddaddy came down for a short visit.  That was her first chance to meet them, and everything went very smoothly with introductions. Since then, the activity has continued.  We celebrated Mama’s (Dusty’s) birthday on the 16th.  Then, on the 22nd, our church family gave us a shower.  The decorations were adorable; the theme was Raggedy Ann and Andy.  We received some wonderful, very useful gifts.  We appreciate everyone who had a part in that special day.  We have also met Mrs. Kim and Lia and Mrs. Jen and Madi for lunch at the mall several times.  Lia and Madi are both 2 years old, but Mary Joyce thinks she is just as big as they are. Yesterday (Halloween) was an interesting day.  We finally had the trees cut down in our front yard.  (Two trees were struck by lightning awhile back.)  The workmen arrived right after Mary Joyce went down for her morning nap.  Let’s just say that it wasn’t quiet.  Mary Joyce slept through the whole thing!  They weren’t kidding when they marked “deep sleeper” on Mary Joyce’s referral paperwork.  As for Halloween, we decided just to spend a quiet evening at home.  Mary Joyce can’t eat candy yet, anyway.  So, no costume pictures this year…  We do have one in her Baby’s First Halloween bib, though. It has been a pretty amazing month, and we just can’t wait to see what the next ones hold for our family…   Church Presentation Night     First Picture with all 3 Cousins   Mary Joyce and Aidyn     Out to Eat with Grandmama and Granddaddy     See my rattle?     Hmmm...I wonder what Mary Joyce and Lia are planning?   All Smiles     But I really NEED to go in the kitchen...   Is this what is meant by getting into a good book?     What's a Mary Joyce post without a shoe picture?     Mary Joyce and Mama   Shower Decorations     Look how well I can stand!     Family of Three   Meeting Max     A Kitty!!!     Cruisin'   Scary Face???           This page hosted by