Alexis Marie has been in the states with us for 8 months and has adapted remarkably well since the first day she was home. She has enriched our lives in so many ways and I don’t think either of us could have imagined how deep you could love one person so much. Her smile and laughter lights up a room and she just melts your heart when you see her.
We have had a busy 8 months since Alexis arrived in Detroit as a U.S. citizen. Here is a brief recap of her life in the U.S.A.:
April – Alexis was welcomed by her Grandma Barb, Karen and Sandy and Grandpa Chuck at the airport. The weather was colder than usual so the outfit she wore on gotcha day came in very handy. That weekend was Easter so we went to church and spent the afternoon with our family. Unfortunately with the time change Alexis fell asleep at 3:00 in the afternoon and didn’t wake up until the next morning. However, we did manage to capture a photo of all the bunny rabbits she got from her grandparents. From that day on Alexis has been sleeping through the night in her crib! Yes this is a dream come true
May – Big party month for Alexis and Mom. It was my first mother’s day and the family went to our club for brunch where Alexis was the focus of attention and impressed all of her grandparents and great-grandmothers of how well she behaved. We had a family picture taken to capture the moment and I hope Alexis realizes someday how blessed she is to have 5 grandmothers who love her so much. That afternoon we celebrated Alexis’ first birthday with a small group of family and friends. The theme was Hello Kitty to honor the orphanage she came from which takes all of their referrals on the Hello Kitty chair. She managed to go face first into her cupcake and enjoyed every bite of it as well as the rest of the family watching on the side lines. At the end of the month Alexis was baptized in the same church her grandparents were. She was one of three babies being baptized and was such an angel throughout the ceremony. What topped the month off was we received all of her paper work - SSN, U.S. birth certificate and U.S. Passport – which makes her U.S. citizenship official!
June – Alexis got to meet all of her cousins, Aunt and Uncles this month and had a great time playing with them in the pool and on the new swing set her Uncle Steve built for her with help from her Uncle Bob, Uncle Scott and yes daddy helped too! His first father’s day was spent hanging out with his girls. The summer also included a visit to the beach in Caseville at her grandparents place. Alexis definitely likes playing in the sand and water. We also took Alexis to her first Tigers baseball game along with Grandma Barb and Cousin Kristen. I think we have a little Detroit sports fan on our hands, says daddy hopefully!.
July – Our first Fourth of July and we were decked out in Red/White/Blue and went to our first parade with our friends. Alexis has several neighborhood girlfriends that she hung out with and has even established e-mail communications with one of them. It has been so wonderful to see how well our family and friends have taken to Alexis and how she is such a major part of our everyday life.
August – We took our first road trip to visit our new friends we met in China and our daughters came from the same orphanage. Alexis and Clementine had a great time hanging out together and had fun with her big brother Harker as well. We had an amazing visit and spent time swimming, playing at the park, and just spending quality time with our friends. Alexis also had a chance to meet her great-great aunt Dorothy who lives in Cincinnati. It is incredible to see how much joy a child brings to an elder.
September – Alexis seems to be talking more and more, not full sentences quite yet but she repeats a lot of words you say to her. Some of the fun skills she has learned include feeding her baby, saying her prayers with her prayer bunny, eating with a fork while making just a little mess, and even trying potty training. Her favorite hobby would still be books, which she loves to get off of the shelves, sit in your lap and look through the pages. She seems to be engrossed while looking and turning the pages.
October – Our first Halloween with Alexis. We did all of the traditions and spent the day at the pumpkin patch with friends and attended her first Halloween party. For Halloween Alexis dressed as a bumble bee and went buzzing around the neighborhood with her Dad and Grandma Barb while Mom stayed at home passing out candy with her other grandma’s and grandpa. It was a real family fare and Alexis did quite well her first time out. However, Mom and Dad didn’t let her have any candy! She did share it with her cousins though. Grandma Barb took us to the Detroit Zoo and Alexis seemed to really enjoy all of the animals, especially the seals and polar bears.
November – Thanksgiving Day… Just having Alexis in our lives was thanks enough. Mom and Dad kept tradition and went to the football game while Grandma Karen spent time with her grand-daughter. We all joined up at our house afterwards for a small and intimate dinner with the grandma’s and great-grandma’s. Even though the Lions lost Alexis did show her team spirit for them.
Thanks for spending time with us and sharing in the journey of our daughter Alexis Marie. Words cannot express the joy she has brought to us, our family and our friends. We cherish every day with her and she is always surprising us with what she learns new each day, her laugh and the sweetness in her asleep in her crib. What is priceless is coming home when she runs into your arms because she is so excited to see you. That is the only thing that matters and gives you a whole new meaning on life.
For those of you taking this journey – Cherish each and every moment and while the wait seems long it is so worth the wait. Simple put it is Priceless.
You woke me up for this! Really mom the bunny ears are too much.
Welcome home greeting from our Friends – Thanks Madigan, Jameson, Charlie, Mr. Jim and Ms. Heather
Our little angel – Baptism day
My first Fourth of July
Celebrating my First Birthday with my family and friends
Come on Dad – Can we get going… I have a lot of places to go and people to see
