Grateful for Gracie

Gracie is such a cutie! You can see her two bottom teeth and she has two more teeth coming in up top. Slobber everywhere! The Skiles in Taiwan did tell us that Grace was the "slobber queen" and she is living up to that name while going through this teething business.
I have been trying to do more with her hair. We don't get out much so I usually just leave it down. When we do get out of the house I try and put it in pigtails or in bows like the ones in these pictures. I am not a lace and frilly kind of mama but I do love playing with her hair! Now if only I could figure out a way to keep her still while I play...

She loves to mimic us. One of Grace's favorite things is to stick out her tongue at us (it's mainly a mother-daughter thing right now). It is the one trick that we can usually get her to do while strangers are around.

Grace is eating fairly well. She gets in her moods but is starting to branch out and eat regular food. She can't get enough of Panera's broccoli cheddar soup. I just need to figure out foods to incorporate into our meals that she can eat. Last month when we took her to the doctor she was just about 14 lbs. Hopefully when we take her this month she will have gained some more but I keep reminding myself that she will probably be tiny.

Miscellaneous: Grace loves prune baby food and hates pea BF. She is learning to enjoy baths but dislikes getting her hair washed. I finally went shopping last weekend and bought her some jeans (she has no butt; she still can't wear any of her dresses because the bloomers that come with the dresses fall right off of her). She is wearing size 6-9 months in jeans/stiff pants. Grace loves music of all kinds and will stop whatever she is doing to listen. Grace usually sleeps from 7:45 pm to 9:00 am (thank you, Lord) and has been doing that pretty much since we brought her home. She has finally figured out how to walk forward in her walker and now zooms everywhere. Watch out world, here she comes!! Crazy to think that in a month or two this little gal might be walking around the house.

I love this picture that Seth took last week. We were just relaxing at home and Grace and I were having fun playing together. I love to sit her down on my lap/chest and cuddle with her. She loves to stick her fingers in my mouth and sometimes I bite gently on her fingers which makes her giggle. Maybe she'll end up being a dental hygenist because she loves inspecting my teeth. She got to belly-laughing when I started holding her over Zoe (the dog). Grace loves Zoe and gets excited just from hearing Zoe come into the room. Zoe is very tolerant of baby Grace and, if anything, wants to constantly bathe Grace in her wet kisses and licking. I am so thankful that they both enjoy each other's company.




Here is Grace with her daddy. She's got him eating out of her hands, literally. Ha!

Sorry for not keeping this blog updated. As we are finding out, parenting even a good-natured baby can often be tiring. When we do have spare time, Seth and I sometimes find ourselves wiped out and vegging in front of the TV instead of being creative or updating this. Grace is a joy, though, and we are so thankful for her in our lives. It's hard to believe that in 2 weeks she will be a year old. Crazy, huh?! So many reasons to be grateful...


Love to you all,
Seth, Laura and Gracie

Grace at home

These pictures are from a couple of months ago. We have some much more recent ones we'll be posting soon. Hopefully these give you some idea of how much fun it is to have Grace in our family. She is an incredible little girl, pretty mellow most of the time but ready to smile or giggle at any moment. The best thing in the world is getting her laughing hard! She has always been very alert and curious about the world around her.

She has recently picked up several cute habits, like copying us when we shake our heads or nod or stick out our tongues. She likes to tilt her head to the side when she looks at you. And she recently got her first tooth!

Thank you for all the prayers about her appetite. They have been heard. Since we got back from Montana, Grace has been a very steady eater, regularly downing whole bottles (which was rare before). She has put on some weight. She will probably always be petite, but she has definitely filled out a bit. In the last few weeks, she has finally started to really enjoy eating baby food, too. She has always been a good sleeper, and still makes it all the way through the night.

She's just doing great, and we're loving every day with her. It was hard for me to start leaving her everyday when I went back to work the last few weeks. I got spoiled this summer, having all day with her!

First time grandparents!!

My mom

My dad

Gracie's Aunt Roxy (my sister, Roxanne)

My grandma.

Four generations of beautiful women!

My dad's aunt, our Aunt Marg

The first few days after we got home from our Taiwan trip, various members of my family came up from Arkansas to see the newest addition. Grace is the first grandbaby on my side of the family so it was fun for Seth and I to see my parents getting used to being grandparents!

We just got back from a relaxing trip to Montana to introduce Grace to the rest of Seth's family. (Thanks, Lincoln! We couldn't have done it without you. We owe you big time!) We spent 2 wonderful weeks in Kalispell, hanging out with family and friends. Gracie got lots of loving from the Wolfshorndl clan and Seth and I soaked up our time in Glacier (hopefully enough to last us for another year away from the Park). We will be posting some pictures of that side of the family soon.

We are so blessed! We have been able to introduce Grace to the majority of our family members now. There are a few that haven't seen her but hopefully we can catch some of them in the next several weeks. (We'll try to get down to Arkansas soon, Tina!) This last month has been a whirlwind of activity: a week and half in Taiwan and California; 2 weeks home adjusting; then, another airplane adventure and 2 weeks in Montana. Whew! I wouldn't have changed a thing but it is nice to be back home with just the three of us and Zoe.

Talk to you later, Laura

The newest Wolfshorndl

When we first got back to the US with Grace, we spent a couple of days in California with a bunch of our Wolfshorndl family before coming home to Missouri. They had a big party for us and even surprised us with a bunch of new presents for Grace. We had a great time... Grace does a great job even with new people. We're so glad they all got to see her, because the soonest we will get back out there will be a year or two.











I'll try to put up some pictures of Grace at home up very soon.

-Seth

Home at Last

Hey, just a quick note to let you all know that we made it home last night without any delays. Grace did great on the trip (thanks for your prayers). Towards the end last night she let us know she had had quite enough of this traveling business, but other than that, she was pretty calm.

We have a ton of pictures to show you and much to tell you, but right now we are in rest/recovery mode. Will post more when we can....

-Seth

The adventure continues...

Thank you all for your prayers! Just as I started to make this post the mailman came to the Home and delivered Gracie's final papers, which we were waiting on! Thank you, God! We were trying not to worry about it, trying to give it to God... and he provided what we needed, as He has on this whole journey to our daughter.

Here are some pictures we took while we were in our church clothes Sunday.

Laura's Aunt Mary arrived Sunday night from the Phillipines, where she is a missionary. Gracie has been having a blast getting to know her.

Yesterday, Ted took Laura, Aunt Mary, me, and some others on an excursion to a beautiful part of Taiwan...Tarako Park. It is this huge national park, full of rivers, rock, jungles, and even a swinging bridge for us to walk across. Laura was able to go thanks to a wheelchair. She can walk on her foot now, as long it's not for great distances. (Thanks for the prayers for that, too!) Anyway, it was great to get out and see an awesome part of Taiwan. Alot of it reminded me of Glacier Park, where I grew up... my dad would have loved it there!

I should have time to post one more time before we leave Taiwan (9 AM Missouri time Thursday). Please keep praying that Grace would have an easy transition on the trip home! Thanks for all the comments! We love hearing from you guys!

-Seth

Our family together!

We made it to Taiwan all in one piece! Some of the trip was pretty tough for Laura with her foot, but we made it. And now we get to spend all our time with our wonderful daughter! These first two pictures are from when we first saw her at the Taipei airport.

Grace is just as sweet and happy as they told us! She is very content (most of the time). She loves to look at everything, especially while I walk around with her. We're busy learning the ropes of being parents. The best part is playing with her and getting her to giggle like crazy!

These last two are from our first little family walk (roll?) down to the lake near the orphanage.

I will post some more pictures when I get a chance. Please keep praying for Laura's foot, and that Grace's final court papers will arrive soon (we need them for her to able to leave the country).

Can't wait to show her to you all in person!

-Seth

Here we go...

Just a quick update before we hit the road...

We got Laura into see an orthopedic doctor today. Turns out she probably won't be on crutches 4-6 weeks. He said she can start walking on it again, as soon as the pain and swelling go down (maybe a week). This is great news! God has worked out all the final details and we are ready to go!

Please keep praying for us:
-That Laura will continue to heal quickly and not be too uncomfortable on the trip
-For our safety on the trip
-That Grace will be able to easily adjust to all the changes she is about to experience
-That we can be an encouragement to the people at Home of God's Love while we're there

Keep checking this blog! We'll continue to post from Taiwan, as soon as we get a chance.

-Seth

Get ready, Gracie...here we come!!

God is good. Time to celebrate (and pack)!!!

Seth checked his email at work on Thursday and found an email from Ted saying that we could now buy our airplane tickets. He put the email in with some gifts we had received from his fellow teachers and let me open it. He is such a sweetie.

Seth knew I was kinda depressed because I thought we would know something by that time and also because of something that had happened earlier in the week. Tuesday night, I missed a step or two and fell going out to get the mail. Next thing I know I was on the driveway with a painful foot and ankle. Just to be safe Seth and I went and got Xrays of that foot the next afternoon--turns out I had a minor fracture at the top of the foot. The doctor at Urgent Care said I should stay off that foot (and off of work) for 4-6 weeks. The crutches they gave me should make the Taiwan trip very interesting, to say the least! Especially since I have no coordination whatsoever normally.

Seth has been a caring and capable nurse these last several days. He says that taking care of me has been good practice for the baby. (I have been purposely testing his patience to make sure it is an accurate test. Ha) I am so thankful that Seth is out of school now. He is going to have to watch over his two girls this summer!

OK, back to the trip: Seth and I were able to buy our Taiwan tickets today, with the generous help of some of our friends. We leave on WEDNESDAY (Yippee!!), May 30th from Kansas City. We get to Taipei (nonstop flight from San Francisco) early morning June 1st. So we will be travelling towards our Gracie on our 8th wedding anniversary. I love how all these details are coming together.

We get back to San Francisco on June 7th, to spend a few days with our friends and relatives in California. And we fly back to Kansas City on Saturday, June 9th. Going to be a crazy, exhausting, joyful and very memorable next couple of weeks for us. I finally am able to let loose with a few shouts of joy. Too bad I can't break loose with a few jigs of the dance of joy that I usually celebrate with, might have to modify it and add the crutches in for variety. I am going to have to come up with something to express all this happiness!

Gotta go. More planning and rejoicing to do...

Laura

Trying to be patient...

but these pictures make that hard!

Here's the letter from Bev:

Dear Seth and Laura,
Grace was not wanting to hold still when I was
taking her picture! She was in a rocking chair and kept kicking to make it
rock. She has been chewing on her pacifier a lot lately so maybe she is
cutting teeth. She got her hair trimmed Sunday so it isn't in her eyes. On
the couch L-R: Jya-Ying, Wen-Ping, Kyler, Ava, Jya-Syin, Ian, Grace, Zane,
Hannah, Elisha and Yu-Fan. Sitting beside Ian makes Grace look really
small! She is eating a little better I think. She drank 720cc today
and that is about normal for her. She is so cute and sweet and fun to play
with!
God bless,
The Home

Any day we may get the call that lets us know that we can buy tickets. Laura is becoming harder and harder to restrain... if I'd let her she'd be flying over there tomorrow! We know that God's timing is perfect, as He has shown us through this whole process. But it's hard because it is SO close... Ah well, it will happen soon. And then we'll finally be with our BEAUTIFUL daughter.

-Seth