Shopping Girl!

Here are a few new pictures of Allison. She loves going to the grocery store and riding in the shopping cart!








She has also recently figured out how to roll onto her tummy. I put her in a seated position against these pillows and a few minutes later found her like this! It won't be long before she's on the move.

Mommy Brain Failure

On Thursday, Allison and I traveled to Houston for her appointment at the Texas Children's Health Center for International Adoption. We got to our hotel about 6:30 p.m. and Allison was starving. As soon as we got to our room, I opened up some baby food and gave her a chicken and vegetables dish followed by blueberries and applesauce. As she was nearing the completion of her meal I suddenly remembered that the hotel clerk had told us to be sure to put our parking permit on our car dashboard so our car wouldn't be towed from the lot. I had been so focused on getting Allison something to eat that I had forgotten about this so I quickly put her in the stroller and wheeled her down to the parking lot to take care of the matter. On the way down, a number of people commented on Allison saying, "Oh my gosh! Look at that baby's face." I, of course, beamed presuming they were commenting on her cuteness. I smiled back and waved and encouraged Allison to wave and say hi. It was only when we got to the car that I actually took a good look at her and realized that she had this awful smattering of orange colored chicken and vegetables coated with blueberries and applesauce all over her face. In my haste, I had forgotten to wipe her face off. Well, this just struck me as hysterically funny and I began laughing like crazy in the parking lot as my puzzled child looked on. Seriously, I was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down my face. Allison looked at me as if to say, "Okay Mom, you've totally lost it."

On Friday we went to Allison's doctor's appointment. I can't say enough good things about the Texas Children's Health Center for International Adoption. They were WONDERFUL! We loved Dr. Montgomery! She was so good to Allison and so thorough in her evaluation. I would highly recommend this clinic to anyone with an internationally adopted child.

Tough Medicine

I have discovered that my daughter HATES going to the doctor. Even entering a room that has the appearance of being a doctor's office causes her to start panicking. For example, when I take her into the ladies room and change her on one of those Koala Bear changing tables she freaks out and starts crying. (Too much like an examining table.) On Monday, I took her for her first pediatric appointment and she screamed bloody murder for most of it. You probably could have heard her a block away. Actually, I pretty much agreed with her assessment of this doctor. Neither one of us liked her too much.

This afternoon, I took her for an ultrasound of the lump under her chin. The folks in the radiology department were really wonderful with her but she wasn't having any of it. We had to tip her head back so they could get the ultrasound device under her chin and she cried the whole time. Unfortunately, the radiologist couldn't assess the blood flow because the crying interferred with the test. It was Allison's nap time and since they didn't have any appointments after her, I suggested that I try to walk the halls with the stroller like I had done in China and see if I could get her to fall asleep. Then it would be easier to get a good reading. HA! My daughter is way too smart for that. She immediately sensed that there was a plot going on and fought sleep with every ounce of her being. I tried walking her in the stroller, giving her a bottle, rocking her - you name it. No dice! I even tried boring her to sleep in a dark room. At one point she looked at me as if to say, "Sheesh Mom! What do you think I am, an idiot?" We finally gave up. The radiologist suggested that we come back in a couple of weeks and possibly consider some sedation. So much for an $86 co-pay. Of course, the minute I put her in her car seat, she promptly crashed!

We'll see how she does at her appointment at Texas Children's Health Center for International Adoption on Friday.