Christmas Blessings

So much has happened in this past week;  definitely time for an update! Our little girl experienced many "firsts" this past week:  doctor's appointments, church, Target, Christmas, "rolling" over, meeting family….  Now maybe I am biased, but I really think she did incredibly well all things considering. One of the big "firsts" is Lucy is sleeping through the night. Yes, after a difficulty first week of her being on China's time zone, I think we finally have her adjusted. It took waking her up out of deep sleeps during the day, and staying up with her for 3+ hours in the middle of the night, but now she is out for a good 9-10 hours every night.  Praise God!  She also has become much more comfortable being on her stomach and has rolled over several times on her own.   Brian estimates that she will be crawling within a few weeks.  We spent a good 3 hours in the doctor's office on the first visit… and hardly a peep out of our girl.  She watched the other kids play, ate cheerios and waited patiently.  The doctor spent about 30 minutes with us; she was impressed with Lucy's alertness and curiosity.  She is not too concerned about how small Lucy is saying one of her own daughters (from China) only weighed 18 pounds at 17 months. The one heartbreaking moment was when Lucy had to get 4 different shots.  I am sure for all parents who have had this experience, you understand how hard it is to watch your child go through this.  I hadn't heard Lucy cry like this since those first few hours that she came into our lives.  She calmed down after some consoling, but was wiped out for the rest of the day. The doctor put her on antibiotics for her cold (which had worsened) and wants some other testing done (routine practice for adopted children out of China) just to check for any other potential problems.  But as far as I am concerned, out little girl seems just fine. We have had many other outings.  I took Lucy out for her first trip with just MaMa.  We went to Target!  (Alleluia, no more Wal-Mart or crowded China stores!) Initially she didn't like the cart, but once we started moving she was just perfect.  Just like in China, she loves to watch people and all the activity.  We also have gone to church several times.  She loves the organ and music!  She claps her hands together and laughs and talks. Brian and I crack up. When she gets fussy I give her some Cheerios (possibly her favorite food next to bananas) and she is content as a peach.  At Christmas Eve mass the family behind us had been blessed through adoption as well; their daughter was three.  The mom came up to me afterwards and shared that she had teared up several times during mass thinking about the joy in our lives for Lucy's arrival.  It was very touching. We went home to Indy for Christmas.  After initially taking some time to get acclimated to all her cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncle, she (again!) was just perfect.  She laughed and played and loved all the activity.  I think after this Christmas, Lucy may go down as the best dressed child….she got spoiled with so many nice clothes and toys from the family.  (Notice in one of the pictures her "skinny" jeans--thanks to my sister-in-law Jessica's family for this great Baby Gap addition.) Life is good here in the Barnes's household.  We are getting ready to celebrate our daughter's first birthday this Wednesday!  As we celebrate this, along with the birth of our Savior, I can't help but feel incredible gratitude for all we have been blessed with this Christmas season.  Merry Christmas to all!