First of all let me apologize for the long delay in writing our final update. For some reason time has gotten away from us. We have been extremely busy catching up from when we were in China as well as getting to know Annalei and introducing her to everyone. It seems like it was only yesterday that we were in China meeting Annalei for the first time. I do not know where past two months have gone.
Let's talk about Annalei. She is now 11 months old. She has her first tooth coming in. It seems like it took forever for it to break through, but it finally has and it looks as if there are several more to soon follow. Annalei loves to look at her surroundings. Regardless of where we are, she is constantly taking in everything. She seems to be amazed with every new thing she sees. It is interesting to watch her eyes. They will dart back and forth, taking in everything, then they will stop and she will focus on something intensely as if to say - "what is that?", or "how does that work?" - all questions her eyes are asking and she soon will be. Speaking of that, she is not talking yet. She does make noises. Every so often we thing she says momma, and dada. Dalen swears she has said his name. He is probably right because she just adores him. Dalen adapted very well to Annalei being his new sister. His has already taken on the big brother protective role. We are very lucky to have two wonderful children.
Back to Annalei. She is not walking yet. We have been working hard to build strength in her legs. She stands at her play table and she loves to be in her bouncy seat. Soon she will be walking. Actually she has not figured out the art of crawling. She will get up on all fours, but seems to be stuck in reverse. She can for backwards all over the place, but has not got the frontward's part figured out. She may just decide to skip that part and just start walking instead. She is doing very well at grasping things. Everything but food. She had decided she likes big people food a whole lot better than baby food. Actually she never accepted baby food. Her diet consists of formula, any soft vegetable - green beans, carrots, etc., rice, very small pieces of chicken, cheerios, any fruit and she loves sweets. Annalei has gotten back to loving baths. We can not wait to get her into the pool this summer. I am sure she will thoroughly enjoy that experience.
Regardless, I know this is a record short update for me, but hopefully I have given you good insight into how Annalei and our family are doing now that we are home and adjusted. Once again I would like to thank everyone for following us on our journey and for all of your generous support. We have met so many great people through this experience. If you are considering an adoption and would like to talk, please feel free to contact us. We would love to help anyone interested as well as help another child find a loving home. Thanks again, The Dows.
