NEW BLOG ADDRESS !!

I was having so much trouble adding to this blog so I created a new one and that seems to be working better. It has a new look and a new address so if you would like to continue following Olivia's progress please make a note of the new address:

www.oliviapitz.blogspot.com

I have already added some pictures on two postings to test it out and everything seems to be OK. Thanks for following along on our journey!!

I've heard some people, including myself, have trouble getting to the blog page and get a message saying the "page cannot be found". If you have any trouble getting to the site, just keep trying. Depending on how your computer is set up, it sometimes takes a couple times for the address to go through.

See you on the new blog!!

Ouch!

Olivia went in for her 15 month checkup and more immunizations. We are getting her caught up to where she should be so she got three shots again. She takes it pretty well though. Just cries/screams while she gets the shots but then gets over it quickly.
She weighed in at 21 lbs, 8 oz. That's about 2 pounds more than her last checkup. She is starting to say a few more words now. When eating she can say "mooooore" and "all-done!" but her version of the all done is "ah-da" as she slams her hands down on the high chair tray. She also makes sure we pray before every meal. She won't say any words but folds her hands and laughs every time we get to "Amen".
She is also giving out kisses and hugs now which is so cute. She also understands a lot like when I tell her to get her high chair out or go get your ball, she knows what I mean.
I am having a lot of trouble getting "blogger" to upload pictures into my posts now so hopefully this post will work and I will keep on trying to get more pictures out.

Bye Buddy

This Post is Dedicated to Buddy

Grandma and Grandpa Manning's dog, Buddy, died on Thursday, October 4th. He was a stray dog that came into all of our lives about 4 years ago. Although he had some strange ways about him he turned out to be a wonderful companion, playmate for grandchildren, guard dog to announce anyone pulling into the driveway, eliminator of critters that tried to come to close to the house and an all around good boy.
He died very suddenly, unexpectedly and unexplained. We may never know what actually happened but we will all miss the way he would run down the driveway to greet us whenever we came for a visit.
Grandma and Grandpa gave him a great home and a wonderful life with them. He was lucky to end up at their home and they were just as happy to have found him. Unfortunately he was not around as long as we all expected him to be.
Anyone with pets should give them all a little extra squeeze and maybe a treat to remind them of how much we depend on their unconditional love for us and how much we appreciate them.

We will miss you Buddy!

Horses...Horses...

To be in this family means you have to love horses and Olivia is starting to now. The end of August, before school started, we went to visit some friends that bought a horse we had for a short time. "Levi" is a beautiful horse but was a handful that needed more time than we knew we would have after coming back from China. I didn't want to see anyone get hurt so we sold him to a really nice family by Fort Atkinson that said we could visit anytime we wanted. They also wanted to meet Olivia so we took a road trip one day for a visit. Olivia seems a little intimidated by him but still liked to pet his soft nose. She actually was more intrigued by the "moo-cows" they had.

Since that day though she has been more interested in horses and I found one that is more her size for now. She also rides her bigger bouncy horse but I haven't been able to get a picture because I have to hold her on that one yet so she doesn't slide or bounce off.

I hope she grows to love horses and we can someday have the real thing again but until then, the safer, cheaper, less maintenance horses will have to do...

School days are back

Now that Kyle and Jenny are back in school we have to find other ways to entertain ourselves, especially when Mom needs to get some things done around the house. Olivia loves to play with Misty and this picture was so cute, like they are having a deep conversation on what trouble they can get into next. Misty taunts Olivia to get her to chase after her. It's good exercise and helps improve her walking and balance. Misty loves the extra attention too.

Olivia has three new teeth. A total of four on the bottom and three on top, as far as I can tell. We have really settled into a nice routine now and Olivia is thriving. We will need to go in for her 15 month immunizations and check up soon and will get an updated weight on her. Some days she sure feels heavier than others! She is still eating really well and likes all kinds of food. She had to have gained a few pounds since the last checkup.

She is still working on new words but for now just likes to imitate everything I do. She also babbles more everyday and uses a lot more expression in her babbling.

For now our days are filled with playing and learning reading book after book after book and of course, more pictures........

15 Months Old

Olivia is 15 months old today and you can see by the "then-and-now" pictures how she has changed so much from the sad, tired, scared, very limp, weak and unresponsive baby she was at 11 months old on Gotcha Day, May 14th.

Today she is remarkably stronger, so active and a very happy baby. The catching up she has accomplished came pretty easy for her since she is very determined and seems to concentrate so much on whatever her latest goal is.

Olivia is trotting around the house on her own and loves to be outside, although I've discovered what I had heard about Asian babies and bug bites is true with her. A mosquito bite can last forever on her and gets very red and sore so we are careful with that and waiting for the cooler weather to get here and slow down the bug population before spending too much time out there. She can entertain herself with her toys and is starting to sort of play-pretend with her kitchen set. She is also getting much more interested in books and is always bringing one to me to read. She won't sit and listen to an entire story but wants us to hold the books so she can turn the pages, point to pictures and we make up a shorter version of the story as she goes back and forth through the book many-many--many times.

She is also babbling all the time now, knows what Hi and Bye mean and everything else is "Ba". We can't wait for her to really start communicating (or can we?). She can be so goofy sometimes and once she finds something that makes everyone laugh she knows to stick with it.

It's pretty hard to remember what life was like before she came into our lives just four months ago. We're enjoying every minute!!

All Caught Up

Olivia's Physical Therapist, Dawn, has been very impressed with the progress we have made in the past 7 weeks. We have reached the all the goals we had set. When we started Olivia couldn't sit up without help and now she is standing up by herself and walking all over, getting into everything. She is drinking from her sippy cup and is now starting to experiment with talking more everyday. She now says "bye", while making her hand motion. Her personality is coming out more every week and is still a very happy baby. Dawn will be coming this week yet, just to sign off on paperwork and give us a few things to work on at home but then her therapy is done. We feel she is caught up to any normal American 14 month old baby.

Our next project is steps. Going up and down safely. Today she climbed all the steps from the basement to the first floor almost completely by herself. I just stayed behind to catch her while Misty nipped at my ankles. The two of them fight over my attention everyday. I will now work with Olivia on how to turn around and slide off of furniture on her belly instead of her idea of going down head-first. This will also help her in going down steps safely. She is so determined with everything I want her to learn it makes it pretty easy for me. Also, climbing up the steps is a really good way to tire out a very ambitious toddler.

Amazing!

Our goal of standing up without anything to climb up on has been reached already! On Thursday when Olivia's physical therapist was here she still didn't have the strength or coordination to get her feet under her and push herself up to stand from sitting down. So that was our task to work on for the week. Well, on Friday I took her out to the front lawn to play. She likes the grass and pulls it out. As I stayed across the lawn picking weeds and watching her from the corner of my eye she stood herself up all by herself and walked over to me. You can imagine the pride in her face for her new accomplishment. She just amazes me every week. She is so determined to work on her next goal and keeps working on it until she gets there. Then we all clap and cheer and she is thrilled. The pictures show the proof.

P.S. the last picture is not her being really snotty, for those who don't know, it is her version of "what a cow says". Her hands are doing "itsy bitsy spider" but her mouth is doing a cow. She thinks this picture is hilarious!!

No More Walker!

The walker is cleaned up and ready to be taken back to the neighbors that let us borrow it. Olivia has reached another hurdle and does not need it anymore. She can walk all around the house by herself. I am always encouraging her to learn and grow and get stronger but it is also a little sad when I step back and think about how fast she is changing and growing up. I can't keep up with how much she learns each week and how strong she has gotten since we came home only three short months ago.

The good part is now she can play and wander around while I get things done. While I'm busy in the kitchen she is busy pulling out every piece of Tupperware from the cabinet I leave unlocked, just for that reason. It keeps her busy and gives her something to carry around as she makes the circle from the kitchen through the dining room, through the living room, sometimes down the hall and into her bedroom and then back to the kitchen. She will be wearing a path in the flooring the way she keeps circling. Misty also has to be on guard a little more now as Olivia loves to pet her and follow after her.

Her vocabulary has not changed much but she has surely mastered "hi". Every time she comes into a new room she says "hi", "hiiiiiiiieeeee". She can almost get herself standing up without pulling on something but is still developing those muscles and is a little weak and shaky but almost has it. One of these days it will just happen and she will be so proud of herself again. Today she walked outside in the grass with bare feet for the first time. She thought it was pretty neat but can also move pretty fast so I really have to watch her out there.

She still loves to eat and eat anything. I've been blending up our own food and she loves it all. Chicken and rice, lasagna, venison, potatoes, vegetables, she isn't very picky. She still gets her bottle with milk but can also drink from the sippy cup. I like to hold her and give her the bottle before she takes a nap or goes to bed but she is starting to bite on the nipple so when she chews through this one I guess I will have to give up the bottle too.

It's Official Once Again

Tuesday, August 21st we had Olivia's USA Adoption Hearing in Juneau. A bunch of family came along and Judge John Storck handled the case, thanks to Olivia's Aunt Lynn who works for the Judge and pulled some strings. That made it even more personalized and special for us. He did a really nice job and Olivia had fun and smiled and laughed the whole time. She is always happy to be around a lot of faces she recognizes and once again put on a show for everyone. Even Judge Storck asked if she is always so happy and smiling.

So it is now official in the US and the paperwork is winding down. There are still monthly things to do for the adoption agency but that is minor compared to the mounds of paperwork we have done over the last 2 1/2 years.

After the hearing we came back to our house for pizza and cake and ice cream to celebrate.

Olivia is now walking on her own. I still keep her confined to only carpeted areas since she sometimes falls pretty hard yet, especially when she gets tired. We are still working on standing up without pulling up on something but that will come soon. She is a very happy baby and make our lives very happy too!!

More Portraits

Here are a couple more poses from when we had Olivia's first year pictures taken. She is really making progress that can be seen almost daily. She now easily sits up, goes into a crawl, crawls across the room to something she can pull herself up to a stand on and takes off. We have to move furniture around to block doorways and corners so she has a cushioned fall. She falls pretty easily yet so we're trying to prevent any major "ouches" until she is a little more aware of how much falling can hurt. She is still pretty oblivious to the fact that she will probably fall when she is trying to run down the hall.

Our next goal is to be able to stand up on her own without having to use something to pull herself up on.

The days really go by even faster now since she gets more and more active with her new-found independence. And, I'm sure the days will not slow down for quite some time.

She has also been sitting up and standing up in her crib while waiting for me to come in to get her from her naps.

Pitz Party

Olivia had more socializing to do this past weekend. On Saturday we were at a turkey roast that a friend was having. On Sunday we went to Oshkosh for a Pitz family get-together. Steve's Aunt Sylvia and Uncle Tom had it at their house by Lake Winnebago. It was really nice day and many of the relatives there had not seen Olivia yet. She warmed up to Grandma Pitz and was pretty happy with everyone else. She is getting a little more "clingy" with me when we are with strangers but eventually warms up and plays. She is always so quiet around other people though. No one will believe how loud she can be. It wasn't until she was back in the truck and on the way home when she babbled the whole hour ride home. Her talk is really cute but I guess we are the only ones that are allowed to hear it for now.

A lot of the family members left by the time we remembered to take a group picture but we got a pretty nice one taken on the steps before everyone was gone.

Sisters.....

THIS SAYS IT ALL:

Time passes.
Life happens.
Distance separates.
Children grow up.
Jobs come and go.
Love waxes and wanes.
Men don't do what they're supposed to do.
Hearts break.
Parents die.
Colleagues forget favors.
Careers end.
BUT.........
Sisters are there,
no matter how much time and how
many miles are between you.
A girl friend is never farther away
than needing her can reach.
When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you
have to walk it by yourself, the women in your life
will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on,
praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on
your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the
valley's end.
Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk
beside you...Or come in and carry you out.
Girlfriends, daughters, granddaughters,
daughters-in-law, sisters, sisters-in-law, Mothers,
Grandmothers, aunties, nieces, cousins, and extended
family, all bless our life!
The world wouldn't be the same without women, and
neither would I. When we began this adventure called
womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or
sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much we
would need each other.
Every day, we need each other still.

More Party Time!

This past Saturday we had a party to celebrate Kyle's confirmation. He missed his actual confirmation service while we were in China but was confirmed on Father's Day. To spread out the work and expense we waited until August 4th to have a party for him. Both sides of our families came, along with friends and neighbors. It rained on and off from beginning to end but no one complained since we really need the rain. The tent we borrowed from Grandpa and Grandma Manning gave us plenty of protected space for everyone to sit, eat, drink and enjoy themselves. Olivia got a good nap in before everyone got here so she was happy and ready to go. She worked the crowd all afternoon and had a great time. She spent her time walking around in her walker socializing, dancing on Grandma's lap and eventually talking Aunt Lynn into helping her sneak some confirmation cake! I'd say she has everyone wrapped right around her finger.

Olivia is now going from laying down to sitting up with no problem. Before the confirmation party started, when I went in to get her from her nap she was sitting up in bed for the first time! It looked funny to me to see her in there like that. Pretty soon she will learn to pull herself up to stand and take off walking. More of her personality comes out everyday and she can be so funny and she loves to do whatever she can to make everyone laugh.

First Portraits

I picked up Olivia's portraits that we had taken to represent her Baptism and first birthday. They are all very cute and will eventually get a copy of each one out on the blog.

Here are a couple.....

Big Step

Tuesday evening while we were all relaxing before going to bed Olivia was rolling around in the living room on her blanket playing and sat herself up for the first time completely by herself!
I know this does not seem like a big deal for a 13 month old baby but for her it is a really big step. Two months ago she had a hard time sitting upright without tipping over. She has grown in strength and coordination in leaps and bounds. Dawn, the Physical Therapist we have coming over once a week to work with her says she is really getting strong each week.
From her sitting position she then tries to crawl up on furniture or whoever is sitting near her. We still need to work on that but it gets better everyday. I think very soon she will learn this and be able to walk around without assistance. She can already walk between people from one end of a room to another. This also is a little shakey sometimes but will just take practice. She still only says ma-ma, da-da and hi but she knows the meaning of many words, especially "bath" and is starting to make sounds to go with animal names.
No new pictures for this posting but this week I'll be picking up Olivia's first portraits and you can bet I will have them out on the blog. Stay tuned......

Another FIRST - Brewer's Game

Steve was lucky enough to have a friend give him four season tickets for Saturday's game against the Giants. They also included passes to The .300 Club so Olivia's first baseball game was definitely in style. Even though they lost we had a lot of fun. We started off going to the .300 Club to have lunch before the game started. We sat outside and had some really good sandwiches out on their patio seating. Olivia sat and ate her own food and loved watching all the people.

After sitting there for a while we took some pictures before leaving the Club and then headed down to see where our seats were. The seats were great! Section 120 just 17 rows up from the field behind the Giants dugout. We could see home plate and straight up to first base. It was fun listening to everyone harass Bonds when he came up to bat.

Olivia was on my lap most of the time yelling at people and clapping when everyone else clapped. It was so much excitement though she couldn't take it anymore and had to take a nap from inning 3 through inning 5. She behaved really well the whole day and puts up with a lot. She also loves to flirt with anyone that will smile at her. She is always in a good mood so it is fun to take her with us everywhere.

4th Anniversary July 19th

Steve and I were married outside on the lawn of my parents home four years ago yesterday. Four years ago the weather was perfect and it was one of the happiest days of our lives. Little did we know how many more happy and exciting times we would have. And, we have many more years to look forward to. Four years ago if someone told me we would be back from China now with a one year old baby girl I would have thought they were crazy. But here we are. It is amazing to think of everything we have done and been through in this short time. We are very happy and look forward to each day to see what will happen next.

The kids and I spent the day with friends at Pike Lake State Park. Olivia is getting over the sniffles so she didn't go swimming this time. At night we all went out for dinner at the Elias Inn. We were all very tired by the time we got home after a very busy day.

Check It Out!

You can see Olivia on the Fuling website for a little while now. I was surprised to see her on the first page. The website is http://www.fulingkids.org. I sent a picture of her at home to them and I thought it would just go into the photo album page but she is right on the front page of their website. When another new picture comes along she will be replaced and then put in probably the last page of the "Fulingers at Home" album but she is out on the first page right now so go and check it out!

A Night Out

Two months ago Marilyn and I were handed our daughters. It feels like they have been with us from day one. Last night we got back together with Marilyn, Allen and Eleanor. We all met at The Fox & Hounds restaurant and had a great time. Nicer people you will not meet. Marilyn brought her niece, "Olivia", along too. We had fun talking about the trip to China, which seems so long ago even though we were just flying over there two short months ago. Also, comparing how the girls are pretty equal as far as their progress and personalities.

Allen and Marilyn were a little delayed getting there so Daddy had to walk Olivia all around the restaurant while we waited. She is happiest when she is walking. She still needs at least one finger and cannot get up by herself yet but is still getting stronger and steadier everyday.

Three hours at the restaurant flew by but both girls were getting pretty tired so we called it a night even though I could have visited longer. We will make it a point to get together as often as we can.

First Camping Trip

This past weekend the whole Manning family camped out at Grandma and Grandpa's. We try to do this at least once every summer. It is a lot of fun but this year was special with it being the first time in a long time that everyone had a baby to play with. Olivia, once again, did great. I was very prepared and expected to be taking her home when it came time to sleep in our tent. But, she surprised me once again and made no fuss at all about it. I had her playpen (which she has never slept in before) set up at one end of our tent and made sure all of her familiar things from her crib were in the there. I also had her CD player set up to play her "Sleep Sound in Jesus" CD that puts her to sleep every night.

Friday was so busy setting things up and then when all of her relatives got there it was constant playing and walking and eating until she fell asleep on me at about 9:00 pm. She was so tuckered out she barely woke up to have a new diaper and pj's put on. I laid her down in the playpen and she went right to sleep. And, slept through the night until 6:15 Saturday morning. She did wake up crying. I think because it was a little chilly and she wasn't sure where she was.

Saturday it was more eating, playing and walking. When it came time for her afternoon nap, Steve took her for a gator ride but had to cut it short since she fell asleep on his lap. The two of them laid down for a nice long afternoon nap and she woke up happy. Once again it was time to party. Saturday night I laid her down with her bottle and she was still awake but made no fuss at all. She fell asleep with her bottle and woke up Sunday morning talking and cooing at about 7:15 am.

We all had a lot of fun with her and she proved again to be very easy going and just goes with the flow. She loves all of her Aunts, Uncles, cousins and Grandparents and they love to dote on her which is so great since she missed out on that the first 11 months of her life. She is really catching up fast.

Olivia is really getting stronger everyday and getting together with family helps her socialize and gets her to try new words. She knows how to say "HI" now. Sunday morning she was saying it and I thought it was a coincidence but she is still saying it so that has been our first conversation with her.

She is so much fun and everyday there is something new that she does or learns. I think she knows she is very loved.....

Together Again!

Olivia and Eleanor were back together again after seeing each other for the last time on our last night in China over a month ago. We met at Pike Lake State park and it was a beautiful summer afternoon. Marilyn and Eleanor met myself, Jenny and Olivia there. We visited for three hours and it seems more like one hour we had such a good time. Eleanor and her parents are doing great. Marilyn and I compared notes and the girls still seem very much on the same track. Olivia walks a little more but Eleanor has six teeth instead of four. They eat the same things, only say mama and dada and babble a lot. Both babies have grown and look so much healthier in every way since the first time we saw them on Gotcha Day.

They played with each others toys, handing them back and forth. We all went down to the beach for a little while. Both girls like the water. Olivia would rather stomp around in the water while Eleanor was more content to play with the sand at the edge of the beach. They were both so cute and I was able to get some great pictures and video that we can show the girls someday when they are older.

We will be getting back together with them for a night out for dinner next week. Then Steve and Allen will get in on the visiting also.

First Ponytail

Olivia's hair is finally long enough to get a very small ponytail in. It's hard to see in the picture but it is there on the top of her head. It was so cute I can't wait until her hair gets long and we can do more with it. She even sits very quietly while I'm struggling to get what hair I can into the ponytail. She is doing great. Everyday she babbles more but is starting to recognize certain words and what they stand for. She won't say any of them yet but that will come soon enough. Her coordination and walking improves everyday with her gaining strength in her muscles. She actually walks pretty well with just holding on to one hand and has already taken a few steps on her own going between Steve and I.

Today we are going to meet and visit with Marilyn and Eleanor. Marilyn and Allen travelled with us to China to adopt from the same orphanage and were the ones that let me use their laptop to update the blog while over there. Marilyn and I are getting Eleanor and Olivia back together today for the first time since leaving China. It will be interesting to compare notes and see the girls together again. Watch for pictures to come.....

This week we will also be preparing for our first camping trip with Olivia this coming weekend to celebrate the Fourth of July. We will only be a few minutes away from home at "Grandma & Grandpa's Campground" which is good in case things don't go well for sleeping in a tent. I know she will have a great time with all of her aunts, uncles and cousins and of course, Grandparents, but might have a hard time sleeping in a playpen, in a tent. We will just have to do our best.

Beach Baby

Olivia had to try out her new swimming gear and swim suits she got for her birthday and baptism. We went to Crystal Lake beach by Beaver Dam today and she had a great time. She is not one bit afraid of the water and loves to splash around. We also put her in her new baby boat so she could float around and give my back a break. We had a great time.

We also went out for dinner Saturday night for Steve's birthday. She does so well at restaurants. Of course, she loves almost all food put in front of her and eats really well and shows off for the waitresses.

She was very squirmy at the church service this week and gives me quite a workout. No crying but gets a little loud with the babble, especially when we are singing. We will have to work on that. It is so hard to not laugh out loud at her. She can really be a lot of fun!!

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY OLIVIA !

Olivia turned one year old on Wednesday and she had a great day. She visited Grandma and got to see horses and have her first gator ride. She took a good nap and was ready for Grandma and Grandpa to come to her birthday dinner. She had another birthday cake to dig into and more presents. We gave her a "Johnny Jumper" to help strengthen all of her muscles and help her balance and coordination. She wasn't quite sure what to do with it but I'm sure she will get the hang of it soon.

She babbles more everyday but has no new words. We can also see her getting stronger all the time and she loves to toddle around, as long as she has fingers to hold on to. She has mastered eating finger foods by herself now and is "playing" with sippy cups and plastic spoons. The most fun is to make a big mess. She still loves her bottle though.

BAPTISM

Olivia was baptized yesterday at Bethany. Her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins came to the service which was really nice. Pastor Bauer did a really good job and it was a wonderful day. Since Kyle was in China while his classmates were confirmed, we also had him confirmed right after Olivia was baptized. Thank you to Aunts Lynn, Nancy and Cindie for being Olivia's sponsors. She is so lucky to have so many family members that love her sooo much.

We had a big crowd come back to the house for the party. After a much needed nap Olivia was ready to entertain again. She had many great presents to open and talked just about everyone in to taking a turn at walking her around by the fingers. She started to really open up later in the day and talked a lot of babble.

We also celebrated Olivia's first birthday which is this Wednesday, June 20. Thanks to Aunt Lynn, she had her first ice-cream cake and had fun getting full of ice cream and chocolate. She made a big fun mess smearing the cake everywhere.

Thanks to everyone that shared this special day with us. We had a great time and hope you all enjoyed yourselves too!

Party Time

More parties to get ready for. This weekend, on Father's Day, Olivia will be Baptized at Bethany Lutheran Church. She will be having everyone over to celebrate afterwards and we will also celebrate her one-year-old birthday which actually falls on June 20th. I hope she is as happy as when she gets done with her bath and gets to wear her bunny towel. As anxious as she is to get into the bath to play, she wants to get out as soon as she spots that towel. She loves to see herself in the mirrow with it on.

Thank you to my sisters Lynn and Nancy and sister-in-law Cindie. They will all three be sponsors for Olivia since I couldn't decide on just one of them to do it. I decided to include all three. They have been so supportive through this whole adoption and love Olivia so much I couldn't narrow it down. Also, thanks goes out to Grandma Manning who has also done and continues to do so much for us. Olivia is warming up to Grandma more every time they get together.