3 months ago....

....a little girl came into our lives and changed us forever!

Just the other day, I was laying with Quinn as she fell asleep. She looked at me and said, "Quinn Lian is happy". Just to hear those words from her nearly took my breath away.

Her language is exploding now and we are starting to have a new line of communication with her. I think some of her frustrations came from us not understanding what she needed or wanted. Her tantrums have gotten much better! She has started to tell us things about her friends and Ayis in the orphanage. We feel like we are getting little bits and pieces of things that she may forget as she gets older. One of the things we learned is that her Ayi slept right next to her crib in the orphanage. Quinn also says that she and others cried every night. This helps shed some light on her current sleeping patterns. Although it seems to be getting better, Quinn still wakes up crying most nights. She is quickly comforted, which is a blessing, but I hate that she is not getting continuous sleep. Some of this continuous waking may be due to her very itchy skin condition. She has been diagnosed with eczema PLUS some type of other "mysterious" condition. The doctor thinks her itchy condition comes from years of having scabies in the orphanage. I hate that she probably has itched most of her life!!! Nothing much worse than constant ITCHING!

As far as Quinn's heart condition goes, the doctor says she had a great repair done in China for her VSD. We were so relieved to get through our first cardiologist appt. We will monitor her heart every 6 months as she grows, but overall, we are happy with her results.

By the way, I might mention that she is a HUGE Mama's girl. If she could velcro herself to me, I think she would! We have laughed about her "Mama" songs. Every word to all the songs she sings will be MAMA. (insert songs like Twinkle, Twinkle....Old McDonald and then put MAMA for all the words). I find her just staring at me at times and when I'll look at her, she just lights up with a smile. Of course, she adores and loves her Daddy and siblings. She just happens to be quite the Mama fan!

THANKSGIVING

We decided to head up to Kansas City for Thanksgiving. We were a little unsure how Quinn would do in a different setting with so many people around. When we told her she would be seeing Gia again, she was quick to say NO Gia. We are pretty sure that she thought she was headed back to China. When we arrived in Kansas City, she ran straight into the arms of her grandparents! The reunion with Gia went great! Quinn was so excited to see Gia and Aunt Kerri again. I love that these cousins have such a special bond. She had a GREAT time with all of her cousins and fit right in to our crazy gang.

I must add a BIG Happy Birthday to my other baby girl, Ava. I can't believe she is 6 years old! I am so proud of the way Ava has "tried" to share the spotlight with Quinn. After being the baby of the family for nearly 6 years, she has done her best to let Quinn take the reigns. We are definitely making a lot of progress with the new title of Big Sister.

I am looking forward to the Christmas season! It's been fun introducing Quinn to our family traditions and holidays. This is without a doubt, my favorite time of year!!!