Home for one month and Thanksgiving

It's hard to believe we've been home with Kora for just over a month.  It's actually seemed like she has been with us for longer since she is adjusting so well to being a part of our family.  I'm amazed how well and how fast she has attached to Jesse and I.  She only wanted to be with one of us and didn't want anything to do with strangers, which is a good sign for seeing that she is attaching to us.  She didn't even want them to touch her while Jesse or I held her.  We're very thankful that she is doing so well with us.       

Kora likes to crawl on Jason and Megan if they are lying on the floor.  She now has 4 teeth and appears to be working on getting some more to come in.  Just before Thanksgiving, she began enjoying taking a bath and loves to splash in the water.  Now, we just have to work on her tolerating lotion.

We traveled back to North Dakota for the first time to visit our families over the Thanksgiving weekend.  Overall, it went pretty well. She rode in the car seat up to 2 1/2 hours at one time without too much complaining.  Kora slept well at night also, except for the last night. She even allowed the Grandmas and Grandpas and aunts to hold her for short period of time without getting upset.   

We took advantage of the nice weather the weekend before Thanksgiving to get a few outdoor pictures.  Jason and Megan wanted to show what they like doing outside.

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First labs and Doctor's appointment

Kora had her first medical tests and appointments last week.  First, she had to go have blood drawn for her labs.  The worst part wasn't the poke with the needle, but holding her still and keeping her right arm pinned down.  But she recovered pretty quickly afterwards.  All her labs were normal, so that's good.  The doctor's appointment was tougher for her.  Kora was okay with the doctor and nurse at first, but by the end she was over her limit of tolerating strangers touching her and trying to do things with her.  She also had to have 5 vaccinations and a hearing test.  She didn't make it through the hearing exam so we'll have to try that again another day.  Kora is okay with strangers as long as they keep their distance.

Kora is getting more teeth, so he has been more irritable at times.  But she still sleeps pretty well.  She's getting better with tolerating baths.  She is okay with her body, arms, and legs getting wet for a little bit, but she absolutely hates her head wet. 

She continues to crawl all over the place and pulls herself up to kneeling against furniture.  She'll stand for short periods if you stand her up against furniture or hold her hands.

Home for 10 days

The first few days we were home, Kora woke up every 1-3 hours at night so still not much sleep for me.  She also got another cold which made sleeping hard for her with her stuffed up nose.  But now she is sleeping through the night and goes to sleep with minimal fussing. 

After spending every waking second with me for nearly 2 days on the airplanes, she started preferring me over Jesse. She wouldn't even want to be with Jesse if I was in the same room for the first few days. That has gotten better now too.  If she hasn't seen Jesse for a few hours, she will go to him on her own with me still in the room.

Smiles and giggles are coming all the time now.  She isn't as sensitive with her hands and face as before.  She only gets mad with touching her face when we are trying to wipe it clean.  She will grab our hands to play games like pull up into sitting or pull up into standing. 
 
We have her on all American formula and rice cereal now and are working on thinning it down.  At the orphanage, they mix the bottle so it is at least twice the concentration as US formula and they put rice cereal in the bottle to make it very thick.  They also don't start solid foods until after a year old.  Since we've been home, she has done very well with solids.  She gets pretty excited when you put her in the high chair.  So far she has eaten squash, peas, green beans, oatmeal, peaches, and applesauce. 

Below are some pictures we've taken since being home.  Jesse especially likes the first one.  He loves to encourage her to stick out her tongue.  But as you'll see on the bottom picture, she doesn't need much encouragement.  Big Brother and Sister also wanted to get in on the pictures.