BurlesonBlog

Testing palm pre video camera

2010-02-28T15:00:00.000-05:00

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

2010-02-11T11:29:00.001-05:00

Okay hint for all you bloggers out there. Make sure your mail to blogger secret word is hard to guess. Someone spoofed my email and was able to mail spam posts to this blog. I changed to a complex word and I hope that has corrected this problem. And to the spammer. I hope you die in a fire.

test

2010-02-11T11:27:00.001-05:00

testing

Done!

2009-07-28T13:08:00.001-04:00

We now have another data line in the house!

2009-05-10T13:55:00.001-04:00

The bike is a huge success. Bai Hua loves the bike and has come very close to saying so. Yesterday she was either sitting on it or riding it for about 4 hours!

Long time no post..

2009-04-19T12:24:00.005-04:00

Hey gang...

Yes, we are still alive and well. I have been posting to facebook mostly these days. Add us as a friend!

The kids are doing well. Kennedy is growing up so fast. She is quite the big girl these days. Bai Hua is also growing up so fast. She is officially a teen in just a few short weeks. Can you believe it has almost been 1 year since she came to us? It seems like years... just kidding!

Our big projects lately have been to get Bai Hua an adaptive bike. We just got a grant from Clara Abbott Foundation to pay for the bike. We are thrilled as this will make huge diference in her strength and coordination this summer. Other than that we are just busy enjoying the weather and each other. We are also looking for Gymnastics classes for Kennedy in the Delaware area.

Talk to you soon!
Tracy

Kennedy

2009-02-18T14:15:00.001-05:00

So this morning I got to work and found a folded piece of paper in my
coat pocket. Written on the paper is the following:

"I love you so much Ba Ba. Love Boo"

Man its great to be a dad!

Things are good...

2009-01-25T13:43:00.002-05:00

Bai Hua will be starting Piano lessons soon with Ms. Aina. She is doing a solo at our CNY celebration as well.

She had her Botox treatment and her legs are much looser which makes stretching much easier. However, I think her walking skills in her braces have gotten worse. Now, walking in regular shoes, she is doing well but crouches even more than before. So, botox is probably not the answer. At this point, I think just getting exercise and proper stretching will be the best course of action.

We STILL have not gotten her wheelchair! We had a fitting in early December and it still has not been approved by insurance. I can't help but to say, "THIS IS RIDICULOUS!!!" That is an incredible amount of time to wait for a completely necesary piece of equipment.

Happy New Year to everyone!!!!
Xin Nian Hao!
Gong xi fa cai!
Tracy

Christmas...

2008-12-31T07:57:00.005-05:00

Christmas Morning...

Aina will be very happy to see this gift!

Flute Performance...

2008-12-12T08:47:00.001-05:00

She had her first performance last night. We have video of course and will upload it here as soon as we have the time! She was spectacular! :-) I am not biased or anything. :-)
Tracy

15 pounds and...

2008-12-10T21:15:00.001-05:00

a bit more than an inch. That is how much Bai Hua has grown in the last 6 months!

China...

2008-12-08T10:14:00.002-05:00

Bai Hua decided to call all of the phone numbers in her journal she brought home from China. She had some rather interesting conversations. One teacher almost hung up on her and then got hysterical when she figured out who she was talking to. She cried and screamed... she was so happy to hear from Bai Hua. One teacher never figured out who she was talking to and she hung up on her. Bai Hua took it in stride and went on to the next number. I think she talked to about 6 people that night.

It is so funny... she kept asking me how to say things in Chinese! She has forgotten quite a bit of her Chinese. She can hold a decent conversation though. Just every once in a while she forgets her words.

That is all! Sorry for the random updates today. I just don't seem to have enough time to keep up with the blog. So, you are getting a bunch of posts in one day!
Tracy

School...

2008-12-08T10:06:00.003-05:00

Bai Hua still LOVES school and her teachers. Her teachers also adore her. She is very lucky in that respect. She works VERY hard and has always gotten A's on her spelling tests. Well, except that one that she got a C on. I don't think that will happen again though.

She says that she likes Math best but got a C on her first test. She needs a lot of practice with her math. I just think she has not had the repetition that she needs to do well. Santa is bringing a Fly Fusion pen computer to help her with this and her writing. I can't seem to find anyone that has one, so we are in the dark about how well it works. It is a leapfrog product so it should be ok.

At our parent teacher conference, her teacher showed me a book that she is writing about OHIO. I got all watery eyed. It was precious. It wasn't perfect but that is what made it so special. She is doing very well. I am a very proud mama!
Tracy

Let the Botox begin!

2008-12-08T09:58:00.003-05:00

I wish that I could say that the botox was for me but it is for Miss Bai Hua. She will get her first treatment on 1/14/09. The hope is that the botox will paralyze her hamstrings (her tightest muscles) enough that she will stand more straight and be able to work on strengthening her quads. Keep us in your thoughts and send some positive vibes our way that this works! If it does, then she can get the injections regularly. It also bodes well that she might be a good candidate for additional surgeries after she stops growing.

Talk to you soon!
Tracy

Santa Photo!

2008-12-06T22:06:00.003-05:00

Santa

2008-12-06T10:30:00.001-05:00

We went to see Santa last night. He was a "real santa". A "real santa" has a "real" beard. Bai Hua had threatened to pull on his beard if she suspected it was fake. She was really excited to see him though. We also got to pet reighndeer. That was a very big deal!

Now, I am feeling very guilty for encouraging her to believe in santa. The child is 12 and by this age ALL american kids get that there is no santa. I am afraid though that if she knew the truth, she would ruin it for Kennedy. She is great with Kennedy but there are those annoying little sister moments where I could see her delivering the crushing information to her at the worst possible moment. My thoughts so far have been to allow her to have this experience as most American kids would. I plan on explaining next year why we let her believe. I hope that she isn't resentful. She is generally not the personality type to be resentful, but she is a tween! :-)

Today we have 2 Christmas parties to go to. A busy day for daddy since I am working all day. I think he can handle it though. :-)

I will post the santa picture as soon as I can get home and scan it! It is VERY nice. It really shows how much of a young lady that Bai Hua is becoming. She is no longer a little girl!
Talk to you soon!Tracy

Waterpark Adventure

2008-11-16T10:41:00.003-05:00

Bai Hua and I went to an all day party at Fort Rapids water park. She had a wonderful time and it was great to see her interact with her peers from school. I wish I could say I have photos but I don't. She did great and her friends are very caring.

Below is photos of my girls dressed up for halloween...

Exciting Times...

2008-11-09T11:14:00.004-05:00

We took the girls to see Obama on Sunday 11/2. We were very close. Here is a picture from the event. EDIT: I forgot to add that we got to see the entire family! The girls were really interested in his daughters.

We were so glad that we went after he was elected on Tuesday. I have to say that I have never been in such a polite and friendly crowd in my entire life. Everyone was courteous and concerned for others... a trait I wish all Americans shared.

Bai Hua is still trying to figure out this whole election/President thing. She watched one of the debates with me. I am still not real sure how much she actually gets. The thought process is so very immature that it may take years to REALLY sink in.

Talk to you soon!
Tracy

2008-11-06T15:55:00.001-05:00

Testing a post from my treo

Finally!

2008-11-06T15:38:00.001-05:00

My Girl...

2008-10-07T19:23:00.000-04:00

Update...

2008-10-04T08:16:00.002-04:00

So much happens in a day that I don't remember to post here. We had our follow up visit at Children's for the hospital stay. Her Dr. broke some news to us which we definitely needed to hear. She seems to think that Bai Hua will be in a wheelchair for High School and College years because of possible changes in her body. At the moment, Bai Hua wants to WALK and we will support that completely. The Physical Therapist thinks that we should continue with our current plans and see where it leads us. There is no way to know what the outcome will be for her unless we give it a shot. We just have no way of knowing what her PT was in China and so we don't know what is possible.

She has broken her braces twice now. She has not worn them for about 2 weeks and it is showing in a big way. She is crouching way more than she was. We got a new prescription for braces that are all one piece. This will eliminate the possibility that she can even break them. She has her appointment with the orthotist on Tuesday to see if they can make the current braces stationary or if they have to make new ones. She really doesn't like the braces at all. I can't say that I blame her because she walks much slower. If she wants to walk though, this is the way we have to go. :-( Her Dr. is talking Botox again but wants to see how the braces work first. We have another appointment in early November to discuss this.

SCHOOL - I met with the school and she is doing quite well and is reading at about a 2nd grade level already. She is picking it up VERY fast. In math, she is at around a 4th grade level as well. So, all in all, she is doing very well.

I am also told that she is one of the most popular kids at school! She is incredible in that arena. When I explained Halloween to her and that she would get to go door to door and get candy.... she asked if I would be giving out candy and announced that she wanted to do that instead. She is definitely a giver rather than a receiver.

Favorite thing to do... when asked, she will tell you shopping! She is obsessive about her money now and that she will get to go shopping with Nai Nai to buy Christmas presents. She is very excited about Christmas. It is quite fun to live life through her eyes.

Talk to you soon!
Tracy

The tooth fairy came!

2008-09-28T22:15:00.002-04:00

She left $2 and took the note and treat Kennedy left with her tooth. She was so happy that she had to wake me up at 7am to tell me.

"Tonight I no sleepy... I just watch"

2008-09-27T15:26:00.002-04:00

That is a direct quote from Bai Hua when we told her that the tooth fairy would be visiting Kennedy tonight. She says the same thing about Santa. She told Daddy that Santa was not real and that she was going to sleep on the couch to see him. They finally agreed that Santa didn't come to China but definitely comes here and that she has to be asleep for the Tooth Fairy or Santa to come. Argh... we want Kennedy to believe at least one more year! This ought to be fun.

She was just threatening to take a picture of the tooth fairy tonight. Kennedy then tells her that if she scares off the tooth fairy that she will be angry! Totally cracking me up!
Tracy

New Glasses!

2008-09-19T16:55:00.002-04:00

Doesn't she look stunning? She has some rather mixed feelings about her new glasses.

She is 12...

2008-09-13T08:54:00.002-04:00

Bai Hua is doing great in school and is learning to play the flute. She is starting to give us a bit of an attitude that is more like a 12 year old. For me, I get kind of cracked up by her little huffs. Chris takes it a bit more seriously. I am not all that concerned that they are out of the norm. Mostly, she is just testing the waters. She responds with an appropriate response when I place the responsibility back on her. To some degree, I think she is just bored and needs something to complain about. :-)

As far as her gait is concerned. We have made some strides there. We have our hospital visit follow up on the 26th with Dr. Bately. We have been going to PT sessions twice per week and things are going well. She is wearing her braces full time at school. We are working her into using her arm crutches rather than the walker so much. She has figured out ways that she doesn't have to walk using her walker. She rolls down hills and sits on the back of it. So, we are working on using the crutches instead. Eventually, we want her to walk unassisted.

Frustration is the feeling that I have when I am dealing with the issue of helping her with her gait. I tend to want to have a plan of action that has small obtainable goals that we reach for. In other words, I like to have a plan where each action builds to complete the end goal. Obviously, we are talking about the human body and we can't always predict the outcome of our efforts. BUT in the situation of her rehabilitation, I have not yet got a sense that any of the doctors we have seen have taken an interest in a comprehensive plan. This leads me to working on getting PT more integrated into home. I am working right now on a plan to acquire equipment to turn our basement into a PT gym of sorts where we can go to work out our legs and body. In many cases the equipment is the same equipment that Children's has and a few pieces of equipment are standard items that are used in work outs. I am in the process of gathering the initial cost and info to acquire this equipment. With some luck, we hope to start acquiring equipment in the next 6 months. Send your thoughts and prayers our way as this will be a very expensive endeavor.
Talk to you soon!
Tracy

PT

2008-09-03T13:51:00.003-04:00

We had a good PT session yesterday. Our new therapist is really great. Bai Hua is doing quite well in her braces and her new shoes. It looks like we are going to do some trials with her crutches starting Friday. The Physical Therapist seems to think that she will walk unassisted eventually.

Another thing that I think helps her is to get moving early in the morning before she goes to school. We are going to look into some equipment and try to make this happen in the future. Of course, it requires lots of effort and money so it will take some time to make it happen. I noticed that she was much more talkative and was able to name more of her site words after PT than before PT. I think we are all this way but I think she could really benefit from getting that blood pumping first thing.

Nothing else new here!
Take care,
Tracy

Not Much to Talk About...

2008-08-31T22:38:00.002-04:00

Things are well. We finally got our "Hatchbacks" so Bai Hua is wearing her braces at school now. The Hatchbacks are special shoes that open up in the back so she can slide her foot in easily. They are really great. Nice and wide and easy to put on. She is also able to stand in them and walk some unassisted. She could not do this when she first left the hospital. She has definitely regained most of her strength. I don't think her stamina is as good but she is also getting more comfortable.

Her teacher is pretty awesome. She is learning a few Chinese words. Also, we are sending a Chinese dictionary so that she can relate her English words back to Chinese. We are going to hang this on her walker so that she has it at all times. This will also help her peers to communicate with her.

Our neighbor girl sits in the seat across from her and a boy from Taiwan sits beside her. She seems to be very comfortable with school and all of her teachers love her. She is so easy going. She gets so excited though about her homework. She learned all of the continents and bodies of water... next up, the states!

All is well here... I hope that everyone is enjoying this last bit of summer.
Tracy

So far, so good...

2008-08-22T09:26:00.002-04:00

The girls got on the bus this morning for the first time. I forgot to take pictures... bad mommy. They were so happy and good. I am not sure how things will pan out as far as the longevity of riding the bus. They are making Bai Hua sit in the front seat. I have to call transportation to see if we they can let her sit with her peers. If not, the bus might not be the answer for them.

I got a note from Bai Hua's teacher yesterday saying that she is doing great and that she participated in the regular gym class. She said that she did ALL of the activities. And when I asked her what her favorite part of the day was... "gym" was her answer. Recess was the answer the day before. I have to get this girl into some sort of sport soon!
Talk to you soon!
Tracy

I forgot one...

2008-08-21T20:48:00.001-04:00

I love this picture of the girls showing off their Chinese backpacks!

First Day of School...

2008-08-21T20:38:00.006-04:00

Both of my girls love their new school! Below are pictures of their morning.

We start School next week!

2008-08-16T14:21:00.002-04:00

Bai Hua is officially going into 5th grade. She and Kennedy will be riding the bus together which I think is great. Bai Hua said that she wants to buy lunch and Kennedy wants to take her lunch. We have an open house on Monday where we will get to meet the staff at the School. We already know the school principal, asst principal, the school psychologist and pupil services representative. We hope to meet the teachers and make our rounds to the entire building. Hopefully, we will also meet some of the other kids in their classes. It is going to be a crazy week for sure. I am glad I won't be working. I will post some pictures from the first day of school later next week.
Tracy

Gotcha Day!

2008-08-10T09:32:00.002-04:00

Today marks 5 years since we met Kennedy. What a precious baby she was! My angel is still very precious and sweet. Our life changed on this day 5 years ago and I am so happy that it did! I love you Kennedy Mei Ling Burleson!!! I am so happy that you are my daughter!!

This says it all!

2008-08-09T21:46:00.002-04:00

2008-08-03T19:13:00.000-04:00

My Girl is Back!

2008-08-03T19:04:00.003-04:00

Life is GREAT! Bai Hua is back to her normal self but only with many more English words! She and Kennedy have been playing like they did when we first met Bai Hua. We also cracked out the Wii and Bai Hua has been kicking our butts at Bowling.

I just got to the last three weeks of postal mail. Thank you Sandy Oliver for the card and the gift card for Bai Hua! She will love surfing itunes!

It is back to work for me tomorrow. I have to go get the girls in the bath now...
Talk to you soon!
Tracy

We are HOME!

2008-08-01T12:35:00.002-04:00

It has been a really long and exhausting day already. We got the Neuro-Psych test results today and they were as we suspected. She has several areas that she scored as impaired and several areas that she is normal. The good thing is that now we know how to help her for school. It is all good stuff.

My saddest moment of the day is when she cried because she was leaving the hospital. She really had a great time with all of the therapists. To their credit, they make the experience an incredible one for the children. She and I got to do lots of activities that we wouldn't have done otherwise as well. Still, it is tough to see her cry because she is going home. My head tells me that there are so many things that is causing this... no more translator, no more games all day, no bed to herself and no room service! I guess I would like stay there too if I had her bed! Anyway, it is all good. We are home now and can get back to real life.

Talk to you when I can!
Tracy

Things are going well...

2008-07-26T11:54:00.002-04:00

We are still at Children's Hospital. Bai Hua's tentative release date is August 6th. We have been told though that she will probably be released earlier than this. We have hopes that this will happen some point mid week this week. She is doing great and got braces yesterday. Her braces make her stand up tall so we really like them. They will take a bunch of getting used to though. If we get out next week, it is going to be crazy! We will have a bunch of imediate follow up appointments and such. We are also trying to get in for Physical Therapy at children's and this is not looking so good. I called Easter Seals last week as they have the same equipment that Children's has. They also have a huge wait list. This is not looking good for my work life. This is all very frustrating. I really do not want her to loose the progress that she has made in the Rehab center. I could write for hours about this experience but I have to go...
Tracy

It has been a very long week...

2008-07-19T13:26:00.005-04:00

Bai Hua fell early Monday morning on the stairs. She had a really bad fall and started to seize. I called the ambulance imediately and we went to children's. She has contusions inside of her brain and she is still at children's recovering. At one point we were concerned that she had had a seizure and that is what caused the fall but it appears that her fall caused the seizure.

She is in the Rehabilitation center at Children's Hospital. So far she is doing well. We had to put her back on the IV yesterday because she was not eating or drinking and was throwing up. Today, there has been no throwing up and she is eating a drinking. Today is only a half day of Rehab so she gets to rest. Tomorrow she has no rehab. Monday she goes back to a full day. The light in all of this is that she will qualify for many different evaluations through children's and they will help me to work with the school on an IEP and other issues to make sure she has everything she needs. She is also in Physical Therapy with them (FINALLY). Kind of sad that you have to fall down the stairs to get physical thereapy in a reasonable amount of time. I will try to post here on what the results of our stay is. I should have some time this week to do this.

Wish us luck when the therapy starts full time (monday)! If you would like to send her a message, please go to http://www.nationwidechildrens.org/gd/applications/controller.cfm?&page=246 and use room number 3631. Her name with Children's is just Bai Hua Burleson. Upload a picture of yourself so that she can see your face. I know that she would LOVE this!

We will probably be there all week. There has been some talk that we might be there for 2 more weeks. It really depends on her recovery. We will know more on Tuesday.
Tracy

One more thing...

2008-07-12T18:03:00.002-04:00

Bai Hua recently informed us that she wants to play the piano. This was unsolicited and was a bit of a welcome shock to us. We are hoping that Santa will pring a piano. In the meantime, she has agreed to learn the flute. She will be "fitted" for a flute next Thursday and will begin classes in August with Nicole Charles. Right now, she and I working on learning the recorder and she is doing quite well. She wants to play music so very badly. I cannot wait until she begins lessons!
Tracy

A couple of photos from my phone...

2008-07-12T14:39:00.004-04:00

Bai Hua with curls!

Face painting at the Zoo!

Feeling Comfortable...

2008-07-12T12:40:00.003-04:00

Everyone in the family is starting get comfortable and "gel". We are learning more and more about what Bai Hua does and does not like. She is much more willing to share this than in the past.

We have had a couple of crying episodes that have errupted over using our new arm crutches. I have managed to comfort her and everything has been fine. She really does not want to use them but is giving it a go. They do help her tremendously. We found them at Columbus Medical on 5th ave. They have lots of stuff for kids. They are the perfect size and they are blue.

Bai Hua has such a sweet and trusting spirit. She is very caring of everyone around her. Kennedy has even figured out that if she cries Bai Hua will play a game with her to make her happy! We have been working on that one with Kennedy...

School starts in the next month. I am thinking these days that we will be putting her in 5th grade. She is picking up reading very quickly. She is doing very well with phonics too. Lately she is telling us the words for things in Chinese which a great as well. I just love hanging out with her.

Last night, I reminded her that it was a good time to make calls to China if she wanted to talk to any teacher, aiyi or jiejie. She didn't want to call anyone so I am taking this as a good sign.

Life is so good. We are really enjoying life with our family of 4. There has not been a moment where we have questioned our decision to adopt Bai Hua. We are in month 3 now since we were united. We will probably see more stress after school starts with her being away from us more and having more to do in general. It will take lots of effort to keep the communications flowing smoothly. Kennedy will also be starting a new school.

Talk to you soon!
Tracy

PT...

2008-07-04T10:35:00.003-04:00

We got fit for a walker and arm crutches. We also are now on the list for "Gait therapy". We could get in next week or months from now. We have 2 exercises that we are to do each morning and each night.

Things are good. We have been doing so shoe adjustments. I can tell this is going to be a challenge each time we need new shoes.

Take care everyone and have a happy and SAFE 4th of July!
Tracy

Success!

2008-07-01T13:29:00.000-04:00

We have a physical therapy evaluation tomorrow morning at 9am!

Hooked on Phonics

2008-06-28T11:59:00.002-04:00

Ok, so I spent the $100 on the Hooked on Phonics program. It looks like what I have been looking for. Our ONLY problem has been enunciating the letters and knowing each of the letter sounds. This program focuses on this and hammers it into the brain using a bit of music. She read two of the books after just 15 minutes of instruction from the audio CD. I was impressed. I highly recommend this program and might even try it with Kennedy (although I am not sure she will benefit as much as Bai Hua). Anyway, I just had to share...
Tracy

Life is good!

2008-06-26T21:56:00.002-04:00

Can I just say that Bai Hua is so awesome! You know, you prepare yourself for the worst and then you get a diamond. Honestly, this is how we feel. She is a great kid.

We had our CP Clinic visit this week... It looks like the scars on her feet are not from club feet. The doctor says that most likely they were lengthening her tendons so that she could walk. At this point we are doing nothing besides trying to get into physical therapy. So far no luck! We just changed our request to be first available and that we would drive anywhere to get her started... Still no call from Children's. This is very frustrating as they are the ones that will hook her up with some sort of support item (walker, crutches, etc...). She definitely needs to get something before school starts. We have another appointment on August 8th with the same doctor.

Anyway, life is good. We got a new pair of tennis shoes today. The last pair lasted more than a month before a hole appeared on the toe. We are making progress!
Talk to you soon!
Tracy

Swimming...

2008-06-20T10:53:00.001-04:00

Birthday Photo...

2008-06-20T10:40:00.000-04:00

Not so final post...

2008-06-20T10:24:00.002-04:00

Ok, I have had a few requests to continue our bog posts if only monthly. So, I will "try" to update the blog when I can. I stopped blogging because I needed to spend more quality time with my family and such. I was going back to work a couple days a week and felt like I needed this time. Also, the number of views we were getting on our blog kind of freaked me out a bit. Anyway, here goes...

Bai Hua has her Cerebral Palsy clinic visit next week. We are hoping to start Botox injections to help with her gait. We will see many specialists at the clinic and will probably know a tiny bit more after this visit.

I am thrilled to report that Kennedy and Bai Hua are getting along VERY well. They are still sleeping together each night. The novelty of the the bike has warn off. Now, she has decided we should watch at least one movie a day! It is really cute. If we are not watching a movie, we should surely be swimming. In between all of this, we do manage to get in some schooling time. She is doing very well. She is with Nai Nai while I am at work on Monday and Tuesdays and Nai Nai is LOVING having the girls. She begs for them to come over each day.

Bai Hua is 12!!! See her party pictures in the next post!
Take care and I will post when I can...
Tracy

Final Post...

2008-05-29T09:45:00.001-04:00

This will be my final post to this blog. Thank you to everyone who has followed our journey so far.

Rosetta Stone

2008-05-28T07:39:00.002-04:00

We picked this up and will begin using it as soon as we have a spare moment. I am hoping that this will speed up the language learning. She started using some phonics things that were suggested online and is doing great. She is very quick and seems to retain what she is learning. We are going to start setting up a schedule each day so that she can use a variety of resources to learn and exercise her body. It will be my version of summer school. :-)

Today Ellise will go to Wen's graduation from 1st grade. She will then spend the rest of the day hanging out at Wen's school. I will pick her up at around 3:30 so that doesn't leave much in the way of learning time today. Looks like I am going to have to pop those learning DVDs into the van DVD player today. Kennedy will be thrilled I am sure. LOL While Kennedy and I are out, we will be picking up some additional supplies. I found that if she can write small, she does much better than tracing and making really large letters. This type of writing seems age appropriate anyway so we are going to go with it.
Talk to you soon!
Tracy

Dentist Appointment...

2008-05-27T16:10:00.001-04:00

This went quite well and we only have 2 cavities! I am impressed. She was very nervous but she was great through the whole thing.

Burleson Picnic on Sunday

2008-05-27T09:51:00.002-04:00

Ellise and her new bike!

2008-05-25T11:31:00.001-04:00

Educational Ideas

2008-05-23T11:09:00.002-04:00

If anyone has suggestions on a comprehensive program to teach a child learning English for the first time, I would love to hear from you. I bought a few little phonics programs but they don't offer enough practice. We also have log ins for some ESL stuff but it doesn't provide the ground work that seems to be needed (letter sounds and such). The programs I have really don't teach much of this either. Right now we are working on writing and tracing. She is very slow with writing but she is super meticulous! She always makes sure that her work is great. I figure her fine motor skills will come with lots of practice. I guess that means lots of paper this summer!

Again, please contact me with any experience or ideas!
Tracy

Ruth Burleson

2008-05-23T10:46:00.000-04:00

Ruth L. Burleson
BURLESON Ruth L. Burleson, age 90, passed away peacefully Wednesday, May 22, 2008, in Westerville. Friends may visit Friday 5-8 p.m. at The SHAW-DAVIS FUNERAL HOME BEECHWOLD-CLINTONVILLE CHAPEL, 4341 N. High, (1 block S. of Henderson). Funeral service will be held Saturday 10:30 a.m. with visiting hours from 9:30 a.m. until time of service at 10:30 a.m. Interment Union Cemetery. Online condolences at www.shaw-davis.com. Sign the online guestbook at www.dispatch.com/obituaries

On a more postive note...

2008-05-22T11:52:00.005-04:00

Bai Hua was riding Kennedy's bike this morning. We need to go shopping for a bike that is a better size for her but I think she really enjoyed it. We are very pleased that she was able to ride the bike.

Grandma B.

2008-05-22T08:01:00.002-04:00

She passed way last night just after midnight. Chris is really having a tough time with it. Grandma was such a wonderful lady. We all loved her very much. Life will not be the same without her.

What is really ironic and sad is my grandmother passed away shortly after bringing Kennedy home from China and now we bring home Ellise and Chris' grandmother passes. I don't think we will travel to China for anymore children. :-)

To all of the Burleson's, our heart is with you. Grandma was a rock that we could always count on. We will all miss her dearly!

Hair Cut

2008-05-21T14:29:00.002-04:00

Today, we went for a hair cut and a proper lunch at Panda House. She was not too thrilled about the haircut but we only did a trim so that it evened up her hair. She was very happy about her Chinese lunch though. She is also finally starting to catch up on her sleep so she is much more verbal. We went to the park and she went head first down the slide and climbed everything that was dangerous. She scared me a few times. She was successful with all her ventures today.

I have to get some things done now. We are still not completely unpacked and the house is a disaster.

School Appointment...

2008-05-20T19:54:00.002-04:00

This went amazingly well. We had a team of about 8 people talking with us and deciding on a plan. She had two translators (Chinese ESL teacher and a Thai mother who speaks Mandarin) and they determined that she is extremely smart and that we need some help feeding her. They were actually quite cute. They told us where to eat and what to feed her. She told them about (yucky) Chipotle and how she misses her rice from home. They laughed at us so hard for feeding her Chipotle. The cool thing is one of the ladies told Bai Hua that she wanted to adopt a child from China. Bai Hua told her that she should do it and that all she had to do was fill out some papers and then pick out a child. Bai Hua kept insisting that the mother should adopt after that. The mother told her she might adopt 10 kids and Bai Hua said, "No, that would be too noisy".

We were given logins for a couple of online systems that will help her to learn to read over the summer. They also suggested getting a Math workbook to start on as well. All in all we are very pleased!

Grandma is still hanging in there. We should know more tomorrow...

Tuesday...

2008-05-20T08:59:00.001-04:00

Today we have an appointment at Bai Hua's school for evaluation. We also have to get her some new shoes. She has already worn the bottom off of one of the shoes. Her next shoes will have a thicker bottom so that they last more than 2 weeks. :-)

Monday...

2008-05-20T08:52:00.003-04:00

We were planning a little social gathering yesterday when we got a call that Grandma B was in the hospital. She is not doing too well and is on life support. We did get to see her briefly but she was resting and we were not allowed to touch or speak to her. Needless to say we are very sad about this. We will keep you up to date on the news. We do hope that we do not loose her.

On a more positive note, Bai Hua got to meet all of the Burleson's yesterday. She and Dana played cards and then we went out to eat. Dana and Leah taught her how to eat crab legs. She was in heaven. She and Kennedy were asleep before we got home. They were cute this morning playing in Bai Hua's room until we got up.

Bai Hua also got to meet Matilda yesterday. It was touch and go but now she likes her. She and Kennedy even gave Matilda a kiss. I think fast friends are being made.
Talk to you soon!

Sister Attack!

2008-05-19T09:14:00.002-04:00

Kiss Attack!

2008-05-19T09:13:00.002-04:00

Three Princesses

2008-05-19T09:11:00.001-04:00

Happy!

2008-05-18T11:06:00.002-04:00

We are thrilled to be home. Bai Hua is very happy with her room and clothes. The best thing is that Kennedy slept with her last night! That means mom and dad have the bed back. Let's hope that it lasts.

Bai Hua was so sweet. She made her bed first thing and put all of her stuffed animals back on it afterward. That was so sweet since she has not offered to help make a bed in China. Either she understands that there are maids that do that in China or she REALLY loves her room. I am thinking it is a bit of both. She does really love her room. She has spent all of her time so far going through all of Kennedy's toys and such. She is doing the same thing to our home that she did to the luggage! She is cracking me up!

We are off to Costco, Chipotle (let's hope that she likes it... for her sake) and to get her ears pierced. She actually asked about that this morning and so we are going today.

Talk to you soon! Take care!

Packing for home!

2008-05-16T08:05:00.001-04:00

We are packing up tonight and catch the bus at 5:30am. We arrive in the US via UA 334 at 8:12pm tomorrow. We will be traveling for approximately 23 hours. Bai Hua finally asked our guide a question today... "How many airplanes will we take?" Good girl... We will take 3 total. 2 of them very short and then the really long one from Hong Kong to Chicago.

We will see you all very soon!!!!

Tracy

We are definitely ready to come home!

2008-05-15T07:14:00.001-04:00

One more day and then we get to take that LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG flight home. Tomorrow is the day we actually take the oath and then our tasks here are complete. Our oath is not until 4pm so we will spend a relaxing day packing, swimming and shopping. We might post some pictures a bit later.

Talk to you soon!

Tracy

9:30am

2008-05-14T21:32:00.001-04:00

And everyone is still sleeping but me. I just got up myself. I guess we are a bit tired from of our excursion out last night with the family we met. Darn, I guess we will have to have breakfast at Starbucks since we missed breakfast at the hotel. Darn, Darn, Darn! :-)

Gotta get the family up... talk to you soon!

Tracy

Movie Night!

2008-05-14T10:38:00.001-04:00

We had a great night. We met a wonderful family here that is adopting a 10 year old girl. We are trying to get the girls to talk to each other but have not had much luck. Ellise is in love with the pool here. She will stay in it until her lips are blue and I have to force her to get out. Grandma's pool is going to be a big hit when we get home

Last pic of the day. Here is the girls watching a movie before bed.

Waterfall

2008-05-14T10:35:00.001-04:00

This is the waterfall at the White Swan. The girls thought it was soooo neat.

Quick Update

2008-05-14T01:50:00.001-04:00

We are having a fine time here! We love the island and the fact that no one stares at us much. The girls are playing well together. Tomorrow we go to the consulate and take the oath! I will try to take more pictures tonight and post them when we get back to the room. Until then here is one that I thought was cute.

We are well...

2008-05-12T17:54:00.001-04:00

Yes, it appears that the earthquake slightly effected Chongqing where we just left. I am told though that it was not very bad in that area. We will have Bai Hua call her caregivers later today to check on them. Thank you everyone for your emails!

Tracy

Guangzhou full day 1

2008-05-12T08:19:00.001-04:00

Well, we have no photos because Chris can't seem to remember what he did with our cord. So, a post will have to do. Today, I filled out the endless paperwork for the consulate appointment, visa photos and then we did the clinic appointment with Bai Hua. Of course, we had to have one extra set of photos for Bai Hua because of her age and she had to have 3 vaccinations. So we ended up spending lots of time at the clinic. They made us stay 30 minutes after the shots to be sure that she had no reaction to the vaccine. During the exam, it was quite lively. Every doctor in the clinic came to examine Bai Hua. There was lots of discussion and the determination was that she had club feet and CP from what I was told by our guide. The club feet issue seems pretty accurate with all of the scars and the way that her feet are shaped. It will be good to have a real diagnosis at home.

Nothing more exciting happened today besides the unsolicited hugs and kisses I got from Miss Bai Hua today. She is doing quite well.

Talk to you soon!

Tracy

We're in Heaven...

2008-05-11T07:03:00.001-04:00

We are so happy to be in Guangzhou where the living is easy. Chongqing was pretty incredible but the area we stayed in was not so handicap friendly. We definitely got a system down by the time we left but it is nice to have great air conditioning and an extra room for the girls to play in. We still won't have a great breakfast staying at the Victory but that is ok. We will be visiting Starbucks each morning.

Ok, I have to go get the girls in the bath. Bai Hua is very quiet today. It is so hard to know what is going on with her. We will have Jason ask her a few questions tomorrow when we see him. I know she is bored out of her mind but she will have to get used to being bored at times. I am sure at the orphanage she ALWAYS had something to do or someone to play with. Things are so different now. I feel for her and how she is processing all of this.

BTW, we brought a pair of shoes for her to wear and they would not stay on her feet when she first tried them. The velcro kept coming undone because of the shape of her feet. After a daily massage, her feet are quite a bit more normal in appearance and she is now able to wear these shoes without them coming undone. So, just that little bit has helped already.

Talk to you soon!

Tracy

Orphanage Visit

2008-05-10T04:41:00.000-04:00

It went quite well today. Bai Hua was very excited to show us around and also show us off. We took the books to the English class and she also passed out chocolates to the children. They were very happy to get the treat. All of the kids call Bai Hua Jie Jie. We were told again that she was the "rockstar" of the orphanage. She gave speeches and sang for everyone on holidays and when visitors came.

Chris got to hold a couple of the children. One followed him around calling him Ba Ba. It was sad and sweet. I one the other hand played with a blind toddler by doing the same stomp that he did. He was quite familiar with his surroundings. It was incredible to watch him navigate.

Bai Hua took tons of photos with her camera. I will post some later. We were not allowed to photograph children but Bai Hua was free to take any photos she wanted. They did allow us to take photos of the kids getting their books in the English class.

Gotta go get some dinner...Talk to you soon!

Tracy

Today!

2008-05-09T23:09:00.001-04:00

We haven't gone to the orphanage yet. We go at 1pm this afternoon. Yesterday we just bought books for the English program. Bai hua will get to give them. Huang Mama will not be there today as it is a Saturday. Bai Hua will call her tonight though. She says that she wants to go to visit the orphanage today. I do not think it will be that big of a deal but you never know. I think she is really going to miss Marie when we leave Chongqing. Marie is someone that she knows.

We will have Marie explain that this is the last time she will visit the orphanage and that we will leave for Guangzhou tomorrow morning and then go to the US next week.

She is funny. She thinks we should go get the Trotter family each time we do something. She is very sweet and shares everything. She actually rode in the stroller yesterday for a while. I think that she really wants to but she won't let herself. We pushed her very fast while jogging and she loved it. At the airport we will put both girls on a cart with the luggage. they will love it!

Chongqing is an incredible city. I wish that it was more handicap friendly so that we could enjoy more of it. We have done extremely well though considering. We have had a blast and are bonding very well. Kennedy LOVES having a sister. I hope that this lasts after we get home. :-) I think it will though. Bai Hua is extremely lovable. She has a way of melting everyone's heart that she meets. We are definitely in love with her.

I will post a picture of the girls a bit later. We went to the Chinese department store last night and got outfits. Oh my, we are dolled up today! We will also post some pictures of the books and the drop off. Marie says that we can't take photos in the orphanage so I am a bit bummed. I am glad that we sent Bai Hua 6 cameras!

Talk to you soon!

Tracy

Bai Hua after a day of shopping...

2008-05-08T22:37:00.001-04:00

She walked into the room and threw herself on the floor. She was exhausted!

Kennedy Pouting

2008-05-08T22:36:00.001-04:00

Pictures from Shopping..

2008-05-08T22:35:00.001-04:00

I guess Chris snapped 2 pictures while we wer out so I am posting them here. This was an extremely FUN day of shopping.

About Bai Hua's walking...

2008-05-08T19:24:00.001-04:00

Since many of you will see us soon after arriving home, I feel a need to fill you in on our precious angel's gait...

Imagine a normal person's legs are a vertical 180 degree straight line. Bai Hua's legs are always between a 100 and 140 degree angle depending on what she is doing. She propels her legs forward with a pretty severe sway from side to side with her arms flung out to each side. Her upper body is incredibly strong and has been sitting on the bed and picked up our heaviest piece of luggage (when she first arrived she went through every bag to see what was in it). She does not seem to be bothered by the stares that she gets here (it is severe). I know that it will be a heck of alot better in that way at home.

Last night, I was able to get close enough to massage her little calf on the right side and it was like a rock. As soon as I started massaging it she layed down in great relief. She was very pleased. She has three scars, one on the left ankle and two on the right foot and ankle (this one has a slight club look to it). Her little toe nails were still filthy after 2 long soaks in the bath so I was able to clip them off and get rid of most of the dirt. She has been wearing socks and sandals since we got her. We were able to let her and Kennedy pick out matching sneakers last night. If she gets something she always is very concerned if xiao mei mei doesn't get something too. Yesterday, I made a point to have her pick out a couple of things just for her. She was confused that I did not want to buy one for xiao mei mei too. I think she was happy though.

I will try to upload the one photo that I took yesterday later. It is difficult keeping Bai Hua standing up and Kennedy occupied while shopping. :-) Marie was a great help with that one.

Bai Hua is an incredilble little person. I have the utmost respect for her!

Talk to you soon! Today we are off to shop for books for the orphanage and also see the Chongqing city building (think the tianamen square of Chongqing). Tomorrow Bai Hua gets to deliver the books that Jie Jie purchased. I can't wait. I am sure she will be like a rock star.

Tracy

My girl LOVES to shop...

2008-05-08T09:12:00.001-04:00

What a doll. She was so happy to be able to pick out a few items today. She was also very surprized. She didn't quite know how to pick something it seemed. Or more likely she wasn't sure of the boundries. She was worn out after getting new shoes, shorts and a dress. She also got a new silver bracelet with bells on it. She is just thrilled.

She is doing very well still. The guide asked her if she wanted to tell us anything or if she needed anything from us and she said no. She is so easy going that it is almost disturbing. I guess she did say a very stern NO when I tried to buy a dress for her. She was not having it at all.

Kennedy on the other hand is getting a bit needy and acting like a baby. It's driving me a bit crazy but I guess I knew that it was coming. We are trying to make sure she gets enough attention but make sure that Bai Hua feels special too. It is the parental dance.... lots of fun.

BTW, Pizza Hut in China is so bizarre.

Talk to you soon!

Tracy

Hungry Hippos...

2008-05-08T05:22:00.000-04:00

Again, Bai Hua is our trusty photographer!

Is it time to go to Guangzhou yet?

2008-05-08T05:21:00.001-04:00

I am feeling ready to move on to Guangzhou. The breakfast here is horrible, lunch and dinner are impossible. If we leave the hotel, it means tons of steps. Heck, if we stay in the hotel it means lots of steps. :-) We are ready to move on but have 3 more days. We leave Sunday for Guangzhou.

Today, we are supposed to go shopping in the "old town". Something I am definitely looking forward to! Tomorrow we are heading out to get books and such to donate to the orphanage from Jie Jie Foundation. Thank you Jie Jie Foundation! They are in need of English/Chinese dictionaries for the English classes. I am sure that we will pick up some other books as well. Saturday, we get to go present the books to the class. This is very exciting as we will get to meet the children that will benefit from the books. I hope to snap a few pictures of their happy faces.

Everyone is napping here. It is so quiet. I suppose I should join them for a bit before we leave this afternoon.

Talk to you soon!

Tracy

Panda Photos...

2008-05-08T05:19:00.001-04:00

Bai Hua is our wonderful photographer!

More Pictures...

2008-05-07T08:07:00.000-04:00

Pictures...

2008-05-07T08:04:00.001-04:00

Solution!

2008-05-07T05:20:00.001-04:00

Ok, so I went out shopping with the Trotter family this morning and left Chris with the girls. I found a stroller that she can sit in if she wants. The thing is as soon as I came in with it she yelled NO. She said, xiao mei mei and pointed to kennedy. So, what we did was put kennedy in the stroller and then she pushed with our assistance. This gave her something to lean on and use to stabilize and Kennedy got to be the princess. It was perfect. Now, if we can just solve the stair problem. That is a tough one here in Chongqing. In guangzhou and the states not so bad. We went all over the zoo and she was fine and VERY happy to push xiao mei mei around.

We did hear "no" at a couple of points today but I think that it was because of a misunderstanding more than anything. She is doing good picking up English words. Our guide is actually her English teacher (for the last month or so) so she is pleased to hear her words too. She is going to do great!

We picked up some videos at the bookstore for her. She is watching one now while Kennedy watches a movie on dad's ipod. It was another big day. We are off to dinner in about 45 minutes with Marie. Another good meal I hope. Tomorrow we are off to the old city shopping. There we can bargain and pick up lots of gift items.

Tracy

Today we see the zoo...

2008-05-06T18:28:00.001-04:00

Leslie and I plan on a little mom's morning out to go shoe shopping and in the afternoon we are going to the zoo as families. I will post pictures this evening of our day. Right now everyone is still sleeping but me. The girls were exhausted last night. They crawled in their bed on their own and fell asleep at about 9pm.

Tracy

Ah Chongqing...

2008-05-06T02:29:00.001-04:00

Finally, our room is bareable. The portable air conditioner is doing the trick. We have to keep turning it on though... LOL

You will get a HUGE kick out of this... at breakfast, I sat at our table with the girls while Chris went to get food. I then went to get food at the buffet. When I came back they had removed my chair and replaced it with TWO different chairs (no arms on the side). We laughed so hard I thought I was going to cry! Then we were walking through the park area, this man grabbed my arm and kept patting it and talking with great enthusiasum. He was pleased to see a meaty lady I guess.

Everywhere we go, it is a freak show with my large butt and Bai Hua's odd walk. Actually, her walk is a bit worse than odd. That child is such a trooper. We really should have brought a wheelchair. She really cannot take the walking that is required. When we go to the zoo, we will only do an hour or so while the other couple explores. We have figured out that we can put her on Chris' back pretty easy. Then I put Kennedy on my shoulders or back as well. She is most comfortable on the floor and will squat when tired or when we are stopped after walking a bunch. She such a wonderful child so far, I just cannot describe with words.

Talk to you soon!

Tracy

Adoption Day!

2008-05-06T02:06:00.000-04:00

Its official! She is our daughter! We completed the final pieces of the adoption today, did some shopping and had finally had a good meal!

View outside of our room...

2008-05-06T02:03:00.001-04:00

Day one...

2008-05-05T05:36:00.000-04:00

We are getting ready to head out for dinner. Kennedy and Bai Hua are doing great. They randomly give each other a kiss on the cheek and like to tickle each other. We are really having fun being a family of 4.

The big stressor of this trip is that our air conditioning is a joke. They have brought up fans and a portable air conditioner and it is still not cool. Hopefully after a bit of time it will get better.

We officially adopt Bai Hua tomorrow. We filled out all of the paperwork today but the adoption will be final tomorrow.

As far as CP and Bai Hua goes, she definitely has some difficulty getting around. She has fell a couple of times today as well (but laughs it off). She is mentally very sharp and keeps mom in line. She makes sure that I always remember the room key. I wonder if that has to do with the fact that I locked us out of the room once and then they had to work on the door of the room to get it open.

It was a huge production. I am hoping that we will be able to help Bai Hua with her gait and stamina. She is very tired today and we really didn't walk that much. We did walk many stairs though. All in all, she is a wonderful child and will fit into our family quite well.

Talk to you soon! We are off to McDonalds. :-)

Tracy

We have her!!!!

2008-05-04T23:32:00.001-04:00

Here she is... we have to spend some time together now! Talk to you soon!

Tracy

Waiting

2008-05-04T22:14:00.001-04:00

We are waiting for Ellise. Our guide here told us she is on the way. I feel like this is Christmas Eve and I am 6 years old again. Kennedy is so excited she is practicing the Chinese flash cards that Aunt Barb gave us. It won't be long now!

Next post will be pictures of the gotcha I hope!

6:45am

2008-05-04T18:47:00.001-04:00

I am up and getting ready to meet Marie this morning. I have to fill out some paperwork for the adoption this morning. The guys and the kids are going to breakfast while we complete the paperwork in our room.

We have an extremely busy day. We will meet Bai Hua in about 3 hours! We will attempt to upload photos in the afternoon.

Tracy

PS: we cannot see any comments on the blog.

We are here!

2008-05-04T10:26:00.001-04:00

I can't post directly to the blog. So, if you leave messages, I will not get them. Please send an email if you want us to get your message before we get home. :-)

Marie is exactly as I thought she would be. She gave us a bunch more information about Bai Hua and why it took so long to get her papers. She says that Bai Hua is definitely ready to meet us and we will meet her in the morning (10am ish). We are all so excited to meet her. This is going to be great. I have been teary eyed since we arrived. I am just so happy that we can bring Bai Hua into our family. She is going to be a great addition!!!

Barb, we will probably hit the shopping areas hard here. If you could send me an email detailing what you wanted me to pick up for you... I would appreciate it! Sorry, I was a bit of a space cadet when you told me! Karen, I got your Jade Laughing Booda! I hope that it is right one.

Chris and the trotters are out at McDonalds. I just had to post. We will try to upload pictures tomorrow as well.

I just can't tell you how excited we are... It is very different from the first time but equally as intense.

Talk to you soon!

Tracy

Tomorrow...

2008-05-03T10:21:00.002-04:00

We leave Hong Kong. I have to say that I am not sad about that. It is very different then any of our other destinations. It is very metropolitan and fast paced compared to the other areas we will visit. The people watching really fun here though. Although the cost of everything is outragous! We went to TGI Fridays for dinner... $60 for just 2 meals.

We are off to Chongqing tomorrow! We will try to post once more in the am tomorrow.

Some photos of our adventure tonight...

2008-05-03T09:55:00.012-04:00

Bruce Li baby!

Hong Kong is FUN!

2008-05-03T00:10:00.005-04:00

Kennedy says that China is very beautiful after being in Hong Kong. We decided after experiencing the humidity to not go to Disney today. We instead are just hanging out with the Trotter family. She is getting along great with Grace. We just came back from a little exploring the city on foot where we found a great park.

The jet lag seems much less severe than the last time we did this. Kennedy was absolutely incredible on the flight and then slept all night last night. Here is a picture of Kennedy sleeping on the airport bench when we arrived in Hong Kong.

Talk to you soon! We will try to post again tonight and tomorrow morning. Next stop Chongqing!!! We are so excited to meet Bai Hua!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is not long now!