So, last week we crossed over into boring parents. Scott and I had put Elise to bed, and we had our monitor downstairs in the living room. I was minding my own business when Scott says, “Hey, watch this.” I look over at him, and he has his arms outstretched and his waving them up and down simultaneously there is static on the monitor. The static stops when Scott stops. He was pretty impressed with himself. I couldn’t stop laughing because it was so ridiculous. (I thought, “Is this what our life has become?”) I tried to catch him in the act, but this is all I got.

Monitor with interference meaning Scott's waving his arms around

Trying to catch Scott in the act (notice the position of his hands)

Today, I took Elise to Plano Presbyterian for her Newborn Screening. First, they were confused when they found out she wasn’t a newborn before they sent me to the lab. Once in the lab, I was told that I could keep Elise’s hospital bracelet since it was the first one with her name on it and all the others had my name on it. I immediately said, “No they didn’t. She was born in Vietnam.” Then I correctly answered Elise’s date of birth and and name. I did not do so well on the following questions.

“What was Elise’s birth weight?” – I don’t know.

“What time of day was she born?” – I don’t know.

The lady didn’t quite know how to handle that. She wanted to know what my pediatrician thought about it to which I said, “I don’t know. She didn’t ask.” As you can see, I was extremely helpful. Eventually, she decided to call the state and just write adoption on our paperwork. So, Elise got her foot pricked and wrapped because the bandaid wouldn’t stay on. I took a picture because she looked like she had had something major done not just a foot prick.

All bandaged up but in good spirits - naps do wonders

On Friday, January 2, we went to Abuelo’s in Allen, so Elise could meet her great-grandmother, great aunt, and great uncle. It was also Elise’s first time eating out in the US. She did pretty well. I’m sure she’ll be a handful when she’s a bit more mobile which could be really soon. The pediatrician thought she would be an early crawler. I think we may be in for trouble.

On Tuesday, December 30 my mom, dad, and three brothers came to visit. They stayed until Thursday, January 1 and celebrated the New Year with us. It was lots of fun.

Today, we went to Elise’s first doctor’s appointment. Everything went well. Elise has gained a pound since Vietnam which is good, but she’s still just wearing 3 month or 3-6 month clothing. We have referrals for an ENT, Opthamalogist, Lab work, and a Newborn Hearing Screening. I’ll have to work on scheduling those. They are just routine things that all newborns in the US would have already gotten, so we just need to catch Elise up. She got two vaccines today, and we go back in two weeks for her 6 month check up eventhough she’s seven months. I think after that we might be caught up (assuming I get all those other things scheduled). The doctor did not recommend a developmental specialist because Elise is on target for all those things which is good news. Now to just survive all the poking and prodding.

The first eight are some pictures of us celebrating Christmas with Grammy (Scott’s mom) and Aunt Casey (Scott’s sister) on Monday, December 29. (Don’t mind our appearance. We were still jet lagged.)

Then my sister-in-law, Aunt Ashley, came over Tuesday, December 30 and snapped some pictures. (We look a little better in these photos. I think we had been able to shower. )

After a few days of getting adjusted to life at home, it was time for Elise to meet our crazy dog, Shiner. Immediately, he started sniffing and licking (as he is prone to do) and Elise couldn’t have been happier about it. She really likes to pet Shiner and have him lick her hand, which we’re happy about. Shiner, on the other hand, probably isn’t too happy about no longer being an only child. Here’s video of Elise and Shiner’s first meeting:

Elise Meets Shiner from Scott McClellan on Vimeo

So, Scott went back to work today, and it’s just me and Elise at home. We are doing good; I can’t complain. Elise was considerate enough to take an hour and half nap this morning after breakfast, so I could take a shower. Then after her nap and a bottle, she was so exhausted from playing and reading for an hour and a half that she had to nap again. Elise did this, so I could eat lunch. She’s such a thoughtful girl.

Here are some pictures from our first week home:

And now, nap time’s over…