One month and counting...

It has been just over a month now since we first gazed into those amazing eyes of our dear little Marin. After all we have been though since that first encounter in Guangzhou, it feels more like a year. With the false start of our hospital stay, we are only now really getting into a regular routine. It feels good and it is a nice time of year to just take it easy and see to the new needs of both our girls.
All the little baby developmental things are coming along nicely. Marin has taken her first steps and is gaining more and more confidence with her legs. She is now eating solid food and her she finds new favorites on her tray every day. She is learning to use a sippy cup, which gives her great pride. Her words are still somewhat limited to "Mah mah", and the occasional "Dah dah", with lots of grunts and giggles thrown in.

So what's it like, living with Marin? Mostly its a lot of fun. She cracks us up constantly. She is a very good-natured, easy to please, little soul and we thought we would fill you in on some of her funny little quirks. She is very affectionate and likes to cuddle. She is also very expressive and claps her little hands when she is particularly pleased. She also likes to groove to the music. Whether you are singing I've Been Working on the Railroad or Paparazzi, she likes to sway her little body to the music.
She does not like to go to sleep alone, and we are often held captive, crib-side, until she nods off. If we are stretched at nap time and choose to drop her and run, this is the result 7 times out of 10: First of all she will take a very deep breath (and you wonder if she will start breathing again), then she will cry and cry. Her wales are so pitiful, you would have thought you just stole her brand new puppy. Often times the drama is too much and she wins out and we get her up. At that point, two things happen. First, she immediately stops crying and you soon realize it was all one big charade. And then, to rub it in your face, as you carry her down the hall toward the kitchen, she gives an audible little grunt and shrug, as if to say, "huh, I won." Her best naps happen in the car, parked in the garage. Often after taking big sister to school, she will conk out in her car seat and stay asleep for an hour or more.
Generally Marin enjoys car rides, unless the sun is in her eyes (then you hear all about it). When the ride is over, and I go to unbuckle her, she looks up at me and opens her mouth as wide as she possible can. I return the greeting and we laugh about it.
Lena, Marin and Daddy got out into the canyon for some snow-time this week. Marin got her first sleigh ride with her big sister and seemed to tolerate for a while. This quickly changed, when Lena decided to get out and walk and Marin was left to role around in the sled like a piece of cargo. Then, snow-time was over.

It's Nice to be home... Again.

First of all, let us wish you all a Happy New Year and welcome in the year of the rabbit. We know to most of you the lunar new year is not much more than a 5 o'clock news mention, but after witnessing all the prep, excitement, and good cheer it generates in Asia, it has become an important new tradition for us to embrace.

If you wondered if we were done blogging, lost internet access, or were just lazy, the answer is... none of the above. We intended to stay in touch more frequently; however, little Marin was hit with an unexpected complication of immigration... new infectious bugs, namely RSV. She was a little trooper getting over her initial Guangzhou cold but relapsed with a vengeance on Super Bowl Sunday and wound up with a new and different virus (the newsworthy kind). After an unexpected ambulance ride and a few mildly harrowing days and some long nights at Primary Children's Medical Center (with great care by the way), we are now all home and everyone is sleeping in their respective beds. Amazingly, Marin can now sleep through the night (almost) now that her oxygenation is normal. Who would have thought?

Her big sis, Lena, is getting used to her new role as team captain. It is an effort, getting used to this new family member, and she has been a real go-getter. It has been fun to watch her tackle her new role (not the baby) as helper, and she is slowly starting to figure out what her capabilities are and what she can and can't do to help. For example, she can pick up Marin, but she sure as hell can't go anywhere with her.

We have a bit of good news. We met with Marin's surgeon today and were very relieved to find that he is happy (and dare we say impressed) with the cleft lip/palate repair she underwent in Guangzhou last July. This means far fewer surgeries for her in the long run and she is off the hook for major surgery for the next few years. What a relief for us since we were preparing for yearly surgery for the next several years. She will probably have outpatient procedures for tympanostomy tubes and a little tissue resection on her upper lip this year but it shouldn't be anything that requires an extended hospital stay. And as she bounces back from her illness, she is proving herself to be a good eater, open to new and different solid foods. This is great for us, given our limited experience with bottle feeding (what a royal pain).

We were so fortunate to have great visit with Val's folks. YeYe and Grandma Pat had some quality time with their newest grandchild. Marin warmed right up to her new grandparents and Helena was also very happy to have them here. She shows such love and affection for her extended family. It is very heart warming to witness.

For now, we plan on settling into a regular routine. This should be a nice change for a while.

WE MADE IT!

Just a quick note to let you all know we are safe and sound at home. And a big thank you for all of your encouraging words over the last two weeks.

After a near flight miss in HK, a sleepless night in SF and an hour delay into SLC, our transit clock stopped at 31 hours (give or take an hour). The eleven hour HK to SF flight was by far the most painful. Catering to the whims of little Marin, we basically sat in a virtual sensory isolation chamber for 11 hours, with a bad meal thrown at us couple times. We joked that we would take 11 hours of labor in a delivery room, over this ordeal any day (even if Justin was birthing the baby).
As you can see from the pics, the rewards for enduring were very sweet. It was such a welcome site to see our family and friends, waiting to meet us with open arms. Marin certainly felt the love and she took all the attention in stride, with big smiles for everyone. And holding our Helena felt especially precious . We are now recovering from some brutal jet-lag, which we hope to pass in the coming days. We will be back to give a full report on our progress, but for tonight, we will let the pics tell our happy homecoming story. A special thanks to the Cannons and Scherers for coming out to greet us.
Its good to be home.

Homeward Bound

Marin's long, full journey from Huazhou to Holladay is nearing its end -- our eyes are peeled for the peaks of the Wasatch Mountains. Unfortunately we have several ranges to cross first, and this final leg is laden with its share of obstacles. Our yearning for full sunny days has been somewhat satisfied, with the weather fairly pleasant the last couple of days. But we still ache for home and we are resolute on maintaining our focus until we land safely in SLC. We have done the math, so to speak, and unfortunately we anticipate a new level of sleep deprivation since the best case transit scenario is a well-rested kid with red-eyed parents.

We posted a little deja vu picture from our lunch yesterday and a very similar lunch three years ago. In some ways this trip has been similar to our last, but in two ways very different. Our Marin has helped open our eyes to the amazing generosity of people living and working quietly in some of the most unexpected places of this world. Secondly, this trip has reinforced to us how difficult it is to be separated from our daughter --if only for a short time. We have both felt the pain of her absence. We can't wait to give her real, warm hugs instead of our clumsy virtual ones. Lena's little sister is going to be so excited to have her. Marin has such enthusiasm when interacting with other kiddos, even the bronze sculpture variety!

We will miss our travel companions but we are aware of everyone's longing for their respective homes, husbands, children, and lives. We are now counting down to our Pizza party in Room 1036 tonight before we all board a plane at 10PM to head for Hong Kong. Then, it is farewell, as we all go our separate ways and the three Archies board our overnight flight to San Fransisco, then Salt Lake City Saturday morning... Ahhh, that will be wonderful.