Quick Update on Dashlyn!

The following is what I posted yesterday on Dashlyn's blog! Way overdue, but I finally put together a quick update on our girl!

It's so easy to make a post a day when you're bored in a foreign country and there's lots of time to kill!

I have lots to "report" but not enough time to write a decent post! So, here's a quick update:

Ther first few days Dashlyn slept. A lot. Not interested in eating. Finally we remembered we had some Pediasure out of a sippy cup and she loved it (very warmed up though). She got less sleepy as the week went on and by Fri I decided she was gonna eat (they said she ate great in the orphanage) and we tried oatmeal for breakfast. A hit! I think it helped that I had a booster seat for her and she, Jack, and I were all sitting at the table like it was serious eating time! Lunch and dinner went the same way and now (almost a week later) she eats like there is no tomorrow. She cries when we say "enough" which we have to do because she doesn't stop. I hope this a one of those stages, and when she realizes, yes, there will be another meal, she will stop the endless desire for food.

Her first bath was a disaster. After that, they got better. She smells so much better than she did at any time we visited her. She must have only had sponge baths; I'm sure she'd never sat in water before. She wants to be held all the time. I think it's like the food & when she realizes we aren't going anywhere she'll be okay not sitting on my lap or being carried everywhere. I'm humoring her as much as possible - she's been here 2 weeks tonight!

She has no clue what to do with toys. She doesn't stack anything, or look at books, or "play". She throws. We're saying "nyet" and trying to show her what to do with toys, but this will take some time. Also, she has no concept of "no" or "nyet" or "shtoy" or "stop". She laughs and smiles when we interact, she rides in a cart at Wal-Mart or the grocery store like a pro, she waves bye and blows kisses when grandma and grandpa leave after a visit! She cuddles. She accepts kisses and hair bows and getting her picture taken a hundred times per day.

She is AWESOME!! We are very thankful to have her, and still getting used to the fact that she is HERE!!

Check this out!!

I heard about a wonderful opportunity to promote shutterfly!  You’ve heard of them, right?  You upload your photos to them and can get prints, enlargements, or almost unlimited special gifts featuring your own photos!  I found them a couple of years ago and have since made several cute photo books from their photo gifts section.  I’ve made one for each year of Jack’s life, and made a really cool one after we went on vacation last summer.  You can get soft covers or hard but I love the hard cover ones – they look so professional.  My dad always borrows them to show to his friends ;).  I plan to make one that shows what all we went through adopting Dashlyn.  It’ll be all girly and pink (because I love pink ya know!).  

You can make all kinds of personalized gifts.  Calendars, Holiday cards, and address labels are only the beginning.  This year I’ve been looking over the amazing collection of Christmas cards and found a few I want to send out.  Since we have a new kid at home this year (hee hee) it’ll be fun to have her included on a card that I can personalize by adding our photos and whatever message I want to.

The awesomest part??  Shutterfly is giving 50 free Christmas cards away to anyone who will blog about their fabulous and fun site. So, thank you Shutterfly for offering this opportunity to share about your company while also giving such a great gift!