Happy Halloween!!!!

Mike and I LOVE Halloween! I enjoy being at home, handing out candy and seeing all the kids- which is what I am doing now as I update. Autumn went to two houses, dressed as a bumble bee. That is about all she could take. Hopefully, will have those pictures up soon.
The last few weeks with Autumn has been AMAZING! She is such a sweet little girl. She goes everywhere with us, and seems quite at home whether we are at Church, Target, a restaurant, just wherever- she is happy to be there.
We have had our checkups with our Pediatrician, Dr. Chu- everything checked out well. He did a slew of labs, repeated some vaccines, and thought overall she looked good. He referred us to the NC early intervention program, and we met our caseworker last week. She was very nice, and Autumn qualified for their services, since she has a cleft lip and palate, and has some mild developmental delays. She recommended that we begin some speech therapy and occupational therapy also. So that will start soon. We also registered for daycare last week. I am so thankful that she will start at First Baptist Asheville. We looked at several, and I really was pleased with the compassion that they showed to Autumn. She also got to meet her classmates, and play a while on the playground with them. She had a ball, and cried when we left- I was sad/happy about that. We also had dinner last night at the neighbor's= she did great! She just takes it all in. Such a good girl- here are some new pics. We have about a 1000- hard to decide which ones to post! :)
We took Autumn to the Biltmore Estate- Antler Hill Village- she has a pull behind for the bike - she fell asleep during the ride! I think she likes it.

Autumn and me - her first time going to Church.

Autumn received her first "Steeler's" attire from her grandparents in the mail. CUTE!

Autumn and me at her first visit with Dr. Chu.

Autumn's first time on a swing - she LOVES it!

Autumn in her Halloween outfit! LOVE the skirt!

Still in her Halloween outfit- gotta find another reason to wear the skirt! She is so cute in it!

Probably the cutest pic I have- All my girls watching Daddy on the front porch!

Finally Home

We have now been home a week with Autumn. We have been quite busy, which is why I have not updated our blog. Mike and I have had a hard time adjusting to the time change from China, as well as jet lag. The jet lag was the worst. I am sure Autumn felt it too. We had over 24 hours of total travel time between the actual flights and airport layovers. Autumn did OK, considering she is so young and not used to any type of travel. She has done well at her new home. We were worried about how she'd handle the dogs. Her first sight, her little eyes were so big. No tears though. She lets them smell her and even accepts a lick or two. Initially, their barking scared her and she whimpered a bit, but is even doing a little better with that. She has explored all of the upstairs. Just a few days after arriving home, she really started to crawl good, and then, she stood up by herself. Wednesday, she really started walking. She is quite unsteady and falls down a lot, but at least she is trying. She is doing great with eating. We are trying a variety of things, and likes it all except for potatoes and Lima beans. With the weather being so nice today and yesterday, she has spent time on the porch and seems to enjoy being outside. She is not saying anything yet, but does a lot of laughing, smiling squealing with delight. She seems to be a very happy child, and I am so thankful for that. We had our first home vist yesterday with our social worker, and I think that went well. Autumn is our daughter, but we'd like to re-adopt her now that we are home. This will give her an American birth certificate, which down the road will help her tremendously. This weekend, she is playing host to Mike's family and has really put on a great show for them. Anyway, here are some updated pics. Enjoy - will try to add more later.

SLEEPING IN HER CRIB

A TRUE AMERICAN

PLAYING IN HER WALKER