Tape

Duct Tape and Packing Tape were not created equal, at least not when it comes to diapering. I don't know why I didn't realize it before, but there really is quite a difference. Clear Packing Tape is much more rigid, which allows it to pop off of surfaces that bend underneath it (ie diapers). Duct Tape, on the other hand, seems to bond evenly and permanently to the surface it is on. Julie now goes to bed wearing a small strip of duct tape over the tabs of her diaper. I couldn't even get it off this morning! I had to tear the base of the tab in half to get her diaper off, kind of like you do with a swim diaper. Note to self: don't make the tape so long as to cover the base of the tabs! I truly hope that this is the final solution in our diaper saga. Thanks for following along!

Full Days

If I could pick one adjective to describe Julie these days, it would be "active!" Within minutes of waking up, she is operating on full steam ahead, and it lasts all day long. We are so grateful for spring!

A little magazine reading seems like a good way to start the morning.


She especially enjoyes looking at ads with pictures of kids in them.


Look at me, I'm in the tree! (And I'm wearing size 3T jeans, wow!)




Out for Chinese food with Uncle Mark and cousins.


Here's another shot of Melody's azalea, outside this time. I can't wait for the day when I can post pictures of Melody herself! For those of you in the know about the adoption process, we are only on day 11 of our wait for the LOA. We have a way to go. I'm still hoping to travel in August.

Argh!

Here I am, back again, dealing with our diaper problems. We put Julie to bed tonight wearing her taped up diaper and her snapped outfit, which has been working beautifully. I'm sure you have an idea where this is going. Apparently, she has now figured out how to undo snaps. Apparently, she has also figured out how to pull on the edge of the tape, thus allowing her to remove her diaper. That's where my "argh!" comes in. Shortly after putting Julie to bed, I heard her whimpering, which she never does. I went in and immediately noticed the diaper on the floor. Then I noticed the smell. Yes, she had pooped in her bed and it smelled B-A-D. She was not very happy about her predicament, which I hope is a good sign. Into the tub she went and into the washer went her bedding. Crib disinfection commenced. Julie is now back in bed and her diaper has a longer piece of tape around it, hopefully making it much harder to remove. Perhaps we need to wrap it all the way around to the back and overlap the edges. Sigh. Some of you may be wondering why we don't "just" discipline this behavior out of her or, better yet, potty train her. Well, we wish we could do either of those things. Unfortunately, Julie is not developmentally or cognitively able to respond to either approach at this point. The details behind it are complicated, but suffice it to say we are trying our best. Prayers are appreciated!

April Pictures

Yet again, I have fallen behind on posting pictures. This time I have a pretty good excuse: Melody's referral! Here are some shots from the first half of April.

Julie smelling the Azalea Larry brought home to celebrate Melody's referral. I really like this picture, especially when enlarged (click to see it!).


Easter family shot next to the Azalea. Last year we took our family photo outside in front of a row of beautiful spring flowers. This year it was snowing outside!


Silly family photo. Larry and I are wearing the glasses we got when we went to see the movie Meet the Robinsons.


Larry's mom made a bunny cake when she was here. Isn't he cute?


Julie loved playing ring around the rosy with our friends' children.



Three generations of Potters: Larry, Julie, Grandma.


The weather got really nasty for about a week. So much for my "welcome spring" flag! You can see the poor hyacinths poking through the snow in the background. We turned on the date stamp feature on the camera for proof of the storm's crazy timing!


A onesie I stamped as a baby shower gift for a dear friend who will be traveling to China in May to get her first daughter!


Here is Larry hard at work replacing our hot water heater. It was quite a project and took days of work on his part. The old heater was improperly installed, so Larry had to re-engineer the entire system. He is my hero!


I can't imagine that the second half of April could be nearly as exciting as the first! I guess I'll soon find out!

Diaper Difficulties - Update!

Some of you have asked how our diaper challenges are going. Well, I think we finally have it figured out! Right after I posted about this the last time, I found a one piece outfit with snaps down the legs. Thus far, Julie does not undo snaps, so she couldn't take it off to get to her diaper. Success! Then, however, she started undoing her diaper THROUGH the outfit! She couldn't get the diaper out from under the clothes, but an unfastened diaper doesn't do it's job, so the effect was the same. To top it all off, she always seemed to pee just after unfastening her diaper. That would be fine if she were doing it in the potty, but not so good in her crib. After washing her mattress pad, sheet and blankets twice a day for several days in a row, I finally heeded the advice of an experienced mommy friend and broke out the packing tape. Yes, it sounds strange, but it WORKS! Don't worry, none of the tape touches her skin or endangers her in any way. I just put the diaper on and then cover the front part (the tabs) with a strip of tape. Then I dress her in the outfit she can't get off. Finally, I can stop doing extra wash each day! Yippee!!! (Thanks for the help, Pam!)

Introducing...

Melody Joy SiWei Potter!

Yes, we have finally settled on a name for our precious peanut. We are SO excited and we simply cannot wait to go get her. I learned today that I am allowed to post pictures to my blog, just not to my agency's yahoo group. So, without further ado, here she is!

This shot makes me giggle, for some reason! What a cutie!


Look at those cheeks! And all that hair!


She is only 10 weeks old in these pictures, so she must be small, but all those layers make her look a lot bigger.

Great News!

Wow, a lot has been happening around here! First, Larry completed the Chicago Lakefront 50K Ultra-Marathon on Saturday, March 31st as a fundraiser for our next adoption. We have been truly overwhelmed by what God has done through this fundraiser. For all the details, please read my update letter here. It is truly an amazing story!

If that weren't enough, we have even more wonderful news to share! Let me back up a bit. During the last week of March, our adoption agency sent out an email stating that they had received 23 new special needs files completely out of the blue. We all thought the next batch wouldn't come until May or June. It was definitely exciting to hear, but I was determined to guard my heart this time, knowing that there were 80-100 families on the interested families list. Our agency's email stated that they would start making phone calls at the end of the following week. That helped me to stay calm too, since I figured I could at least try to contain my mental craziness to a few days. Then Larry's mom flew in to visit, which kept us pretty busy. The thought did enter my mind how perfect it would be to get a referral with her here though, since she will be traveling to China with us this time around...

Monday and Tuesday came and went. Wednesday I had a doctor's appointment at 8:40AM. When I got home, there was a message from Allison, our family coordinator at our agency, asking me to call her back. At first it totally didn't sink in why she might be calling. She didn't say in the message, and I was still operating in guard-my-heart-detached-mode. As I listened to the following message from someone else, my brain started to put it together. Why else would she be calling except with a referral? Then I started shaking. I hit "stop" on the answering machine and quickly dialed the phone. The receptionist put me through to Allison's extension and I found myself on hold, listening to phone music. I ran upstairs to tell my mother-in-law what was going on, hoping that I wouldn't end up getting Allison's voicemail. Eventually she came on the line and asked if I knew about the referral batch. Did I ever! She said our file indicated we were interested in a cleft-affected child as young as possible. Um, yes! She then said she had the file for a little girl with a cleft palate who was just 6 months old. Did I want to hear about her? Hmm, let me see...YES YES YES! Here is what we know:

Chinese Name: Jiang, Si Wei
Meaning: we believe Si Wei means "little thinker." We are working on an official translation.
English Name: still trying to come to a decision!
Birthdate: September 26, 2006
Location: Pingjiang County Children's Welfare Institute, Hunan Province, China

We have 3 pictures of her, but we aren't allowed to post them on any websites until China gives us the official stamp of approval to adopt her. If you'd like to see her, I am allowed to send pictures via personal email. Just let me know!

We hope to travel sometime between July and September, depending on how long the paperwork takes. We are definitely praying to be there by her first birthday on Sept 26th. We are thrilled beyond belief and we just can't wait to get her! God has been so very good to us. I'll let you know as soon as we hear anything else, and as soon as we settle on a name for our precious peanut! Thank you for your continued prayers as we add another member to our family!