Snavely Family

Pictures from the past few days

2009-12-01T21:40:00.001-06:00

Just wanted to post some quick photos from the past few days. Enjoy.

Ang

Our time so far

2009-11-30T09:17:00.002-06:00

Ed and Jiao Jiao are both sleeping, so I thought now would be a good time to update all on the last few days. Our first day with Jiao Jiao went pretty smooth. She is very shy, but seems to open up when it is just the three of us in the room. We had to spend a couple of hours at the registration office where we picked her up, but then we were able to come back to the hotel and have lunch. She ate pretty good and we let her choose from the buffet so we knew what type of foods she would like once we are home. Ed brought a chocolate dessert back to the table for her and she smiled big and her eyes lit up. Jiao really liked the chocolate part, not so much for the cake inside. That's ok, she's definately like her mother on that one. After lunch we came back to the room and let her play her game that we brought and just take time to adjust to us. In the afternoon I had to go fill out some paperwork. It wasn't too long before she and Ed popped in because she was looking for me, plus I think they were both bored. Good timing though as there were papers for Ed to sign and we needed Jiao Jiao's hand print too. Then it was off to dinner. The hotel has an Italian restaurant called Mama Mia's. Ed and I had pizza there our first night and it was ok. As we eat a lot of pizza back home, we do have Pizza Friday after all, it was a good chance to see what Jiao Jiao thought. She's a Snavely, she likes pizza and spaghetti. Then it was time for bath and bed. Jiao Jiao and I headed back to the room while Ed finished up. It gave her and I a little time by ourselves. She got all cleaned up and we put on our jammies and Ed came back as we were climbing into bed. We watched a little TV, she really likes having control over the remote and chose anime, she'll get along great with Aunt Bethany and Uncle Waring.

Wednesday was our first full day with Jiao Jiao. When she woke up, she had a few tears and would not look at me. We had breakfast and then had to get ready to go back to the registration office to fill out some more paperwork for the adoption. We actually had the oppurtunity to meet Josh and Lily from CCAI as their were in town. Lily went with the group to the registration office and I was able to sit with her. On the way over Jiao Jiao started to seem sad and we realized she may have thought she was going back. I asked Lily to explain to her that we were just going to fill out some paperwork and then we would all go back to the hotel. She seemed to understand and wasn't as worried afterwards.

I know I am posting this a week late, but the last few days have been very difficult. Jiao Jiao began getting very distant from me after the first couple of days. Any time I would try to talk to her or hold her hand, she would only glare at me. She was fine with Ed and would even tackle and tickle him and play with him. She wanted nothing to do with me and even started swatting or smacking me when I would try to rub her arm or back or touch her in any way. It was very hard and I spent several nights in the bed or the bathroom crying. I knew there was a strong possibility of her shutting us out, but knowing something in your head and the reality of it are two different things. I guess since the first couple of days went so well, I thought it would stay that way. It got to the point I was shutting her out and I hating feeling like that was what I needed to do. She's my daughter and I love her, but it hurt to see her interacting with Ed and everyone else and not me. I have spoken to some of the other parents, both moms and dads, that are going through the same thing. Their child won't have anything to do with them, but the other parent can't be away from them. After talking to one mother, Lori, (Thank you for everything, especially letting me cry on your shoulder and I mean that in the literal sense), we took her advice and had our rep speak to Jiao Jiao about how she was treating me. I really came to head today when she was spoken too for not listening and hitting me and trying to punch and scratch me. Maggie came up and told her she needed to be respectful and that we both care about her and love her and want to make sure she is safe. That it was ok if she got upset or angry with us, but it was not ok for her to hit. Maggie also told her that she needed to treat me the same way she treated Ed and that we are both her parents and love her very much. She was sad, but we also realized she thought we were still upset with her and that was probably why she was still acting up.. I know we have to be much more patient with her than what it was like with Tressa. Jiao Jiao is not used to the freedoms that she now has with us and just like any other kid, needs to test the boundaries to know just what she can and can't do. We have to be understanding of her feelings that she isn't used to the kind of unconditional love we have for her. She can misbehave and we will still love her, we can be upset with her behavior, but we still love her. As my new friend Lori told me, unfortunately Jiao Jiao is used to the women of her life leaving and she needs to know that no matter what, I'm not going anywhere. No matter how much may try to push me away, I will always be here for her. The talk with Maggie made a huge difference. We had to go back to the clinic to check Jiao Jiao's TB results, (which by the way was negative), as we were heading out, she reached up and grabbed my hand. Not Daddy's, mine. As Ed says, little steps. When we were heading back to the hotel and doing a little shopping, she kept calling for Mama to show me different things. She even saw a bracelet like one that I had given her the other night and wanted me to get it so we would have the same one. Now we'll just have to wait and see what tomorrow brings, but I will sleep better tonight knowing that her and I are on the right path to making a connection.

Photos to follow tomorrow.

Hugs to all
Ang

We have Jiao Jiao!!!!!

2009-11-23T01:49:00.001-06:00

We have Jiao Jiao and are back in the room. We are slowly figuring out how to communicate with each other. She really likes the books and games we brought. I will post more later with photos.

Last day in Beijing & arrive in Zhengzhou

2009-11-22T08:04:00.001-06:00

Saturday was our last day of touring Beijing. Our first outing was to the Jade Factory. Lots of really nice pieces, but nothing I just had to have that couldn't wait for Guangzhou. It was another one of those most tour type of tours, so we just listened to their presentation and then walked around the show floor until it was time to go. Next stop lunch another American style Chinese lunches. So, you cannot go to Beijing and not experience the most impressive and well know sight, The Great Wall. Let me preface this with the fact the I am incredibly scared of heights. Do you have any idea how far that thing goes up. Way, way too high. I knew that when I started up, that I would not be able to look down. However, I made the mistake of turning to say something to the person behind me and saw just how high up we were. I froze, but there were so many people coming up behind me that I couldn't stop completely. I "rested" for a few minutes and then started literally climbing up like a little kid. I may have looked funny, but at that point I didn't care. Ed had climbed on without me, but after noticing I had fallen quite a bit behind him, decided to slow down and wait for me. I managed to make it up to the first tower and that's all I could handle. Going down was just as hard. I just looked at my feet and held onto the rail for dear life. It scared the crud out of me, but at least now I can say I climbed part of The Great Wall. Kinda funny though, we were all shown up by a four year old in our group who went further than anyone else in the group. She's a trooper, she just kept going and going. What an adventure for her to share. After the wall we went to an old part of town and they drove us around in rickshaws, neat experience. We visited the home of a local family that was a host to a French swimmer that won silver at the Olympics. That explained how the village was set up and the different uses for the parts of the home. It was interesting and very nice for them to welcome all of us into their home. Last stop for the night, another traditional Chinese dinner. This time it was noodles. Not your typical noodles though. I don't think any of us at our table ate very much, we were all too tired and too busy chatting. Plus we had to get back to the hotel to pack.

Now we are in Zhengzhou. We met bright and early, this time it really was, so we could head to the airport. Got in, checked into the hotel, went to the bank to exchange money, went to Walmart down the street for snacks and soda, had dinner (pizza in the hotel, yummy), and now we are in the room for the night. Tomorrow morning, the most important part of this whole trip, we get our daughter Jiao Jiao. Ed and I both are anxious and nervous at the same time. We don't know how she will react to us, but we can only hope for the best, expect the worst and let her guide the way. Tomorrow begins a new chapter in our lives.

Friday adventures

2009-11-21T06:37:00.001-06:00

We got in late yesterday and I was really tired so I didn't get a chance to update everyone with our touring adventures for Friday until now. Yesterday we met with the rest of the travel group, I believe there are 14 families total, bright and early at 9am, Ok, maybe not so bright and early. Anyway, we went to the Forbidden City and Tianamen Square. The Forbidden City is incredible, the history, the design, everything about it is really amazing. After we all walked what seemed like 10 miles, we got to our bus which was parked across the street. You'd have to experience China traffic to understand. Trust me it was much safer to take several underground tunnels than to just walk across the street. Especially if you value living, which I do. So after these tours we had lunch at a local Chinese restaurant. The food was really good, but I would really compare it more to American style Chinese than traditional. I pretty much knew what everything was and didn't have to ask Ed if I would like it, if that gives you any indication. Anyone that knows me knows I am not the least bit adventurous when it comes to food. So then we were off to tour the Silk Factory. This is a government run place so it's kinda like a requirement to tour. Really nice stuff though, saw how they turn webbing from the silk worm into silk duvets. It's actually comes from basically their spit, so when you think of it that way, not so nice. But hey, when you are sleeping on silk sheets or wearing a soft silk shirt you don't think of it that way. Next stop, acrobat show. These kids were awesome!! I think this is the same group that was going to come to Richardson Eisemann Center last year. If not them, then similiar style. We bought a DVD to remember, so show and tell when we get back. Unfortunately no photos allowed, bummer. One of the dads in our group got picked to be in the show. He was put in this big clay pot while a girl spun him around with him and it on her feet. Crazy, but cool!! Final stop, traditional local Chinese dinner. This was Chinese food, they served Beijing Roast Duck, needless to say I did not eat any of it. Rice, rice and more rice for me. Oh, I forgot to mention before the acrobat show, we got to go see Olympic Park. We didn't walk around much, way to cold, but I did get a couple good shots of The Bird's Nest and a distance shot of The Water Cube. Tommorow is an early morning, we fly to Zhengzhou, Jiao Jiao's provincial capital, so I will update about Saturday's adventures tomorrow. But I will tell you I almost conquered my fear of heights, ....almost.

Until tomorrow..

Love to all,

Ang

Photos-Thursday

2009-11-19T08:44:00.000-06:00

I think I got this work. These are the photos from today from all the walking we did. There's a photo of a beautiful Catholic Church. It's where we bought the scroll and the money went to the church, at least that's what the gentleman today us. Hopefully he wasn't just scamming us. He said he teaches English to the Sunday school kids.

Ang

Thursday-free day

2009-11-19T08:20:00.001-06:00

Today Ed and I had breakfast with another family that came in early. Then we were off on our own to do some sightseeing. We found the mall, pretty much the same as back home, only much much bigger. Then we went to Tianamen Square and the Forbidden City. We didn't go all the way in because you have to pay and we are going with the group tomorrow. It's very interesting to see. It's very long, but really the interior is just a city of walls. I know once we see the emperor's castle, there will be more. We saw part of it when it was on tour in Dallas a few years ago. We did see the guards doing formation, which was cool. Ed took a picture, but so did a lot of people. You're not supposed to take photos of the military, but I think these guys are more for show. We walked around quite a bit today, and managed to make a couple of purchases. A scarf for me, because it's so incredibly cold here especially with the wind. We also bought a scroll that we had made of our names in Chinese. Kinda corny, but it's neat. Tommorow we meet with the group and go to Tianamen Square, the Forbidden City, lunch, and an acrobat show. I have to post photos separetly for some reason, so photos to follow.

Ang

Photos so far

2009-11-18T16:12:00.001-06:00

Photos so far.

We made it!!

2009-11-18T03:49:00.001-06:00

We have made it to Beijing. Just wanted to give a quick post to let everyone know we made it here safely. I'll post more later, but we need to eat and sleep. I'll post later with a photo from our room. We have a great view of the Forbidden City.

Hugs,

Ang

more JJ

2009-10-16T22:18:00.003-06:00

We got an updated picture of JJ. She has such a beautiful smile. We sent her a care package that hopefully she has by now. I'm hoping she will be able to get lots of pictures of her friends for her scrapbook. Her last update info said she is almost 4' 3" and 50lbs. She's not much bigger than Tressa. We got our I-171H (approval from US immigration) last week and our agency gave our Letter of Acceptance (LOA) to China on Monday. Now we just have to verify the approval letter gets to the US Embassy in China and wait for our Travel Approval from China. If everything runs as quickly and smoothly as it has so far, we should be with our daughter by Thanksgiving.

Alaskan Cruise

2009-09-30T21:07:00.002-06:00

Ed and I went on an Alaskan cruise recently and had a wonderful time. It's the first time we've been away from Tressa for more than a couple of days. That was the only hard part about the trip. For me anyway. Ed got a bad migraine and was sick for most of the trip. Interestingly enough, he was ok when we weren't on the ship or if the ship was still.

This photo was taken at Glacier Bay and it wasn't as cold as I thought it would be.

Introducing......

2009-09-30T20:21:00.002-06:00

Our newest daughter... Jiao Jiao Snavely

She is 9 years old living in Kaifeng province, China. We are hoping to travel very soon to bring her home. Tressa is very excited to have an older sister.

Wildlower Festival

2009-05-25T19:41:00.004-06:00

Tressa had a blast this year at the Wildflower Festival. She loves all the activities and especially the music. She loves to dance around and kept telling me the whole weekend she wanted to see more music.

I must be crazy!!

2009-01-26T13:36:00.005-06:00

About 8 years ago, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was hard times for a while, but she is doing great now. So for the past several years I have walked in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. Last year I heard about the 3day, 60 miles in 3 days to raise money and awareness for breast cancer. I thought I can do this. Everyone thought I was nuts. I got comments like "do you know haw far that is", "are you sure about this", and my favorite from my wonderful husband, "OK honey" (read sarcastic tone). Well, time past quickly, I ended up having to have surgery, got sick, and it didn't happen. Well they've already started talking about the 3day for this year, which isn't until November 6th. So, now I'm determined. I'm going to do it!!! I'm going to start training for it now. Ed set up the treadmill in the living room so I can walk every night. I have a co-worker that has registered with me and we've formed a team. This will be great, we can motivate each other and the plan is to walk at lunch. Our office is on the 27th floor so we're going to start walking the stairs at lunch. We'll be walking for a cause and getting in shape at the same time. It's a win win!!!

This is where the raising money part comes in. If you would like to contribute, please click on the link on the right and it will take you to my donation page. Every little bit helps and some companies will match donations which will help even more. And this concludes my shameless plug for donations.

2009-01-17T22:41:00.005-06:00

I am attempting to learn more about photo editing. I have only managed to turn a photo into black and white and it turned out ok. Ed is the photo editing genius. Of course that's what he gets paid to do so he better be good at it. He gave me a brief introduction to some of the basic, but for now I think I'll stick to just making the pictures black and white.

Tressa's song

2009-01-03T19:50:00.005-06:00

Tressa loves to sing and has her own take on We Wish You a Merry Christmas.

Time for an update

2008-12-29T19:31:00.009-06:00

Since it's been so long, it's time to post an update. I know Lauren will be happy with me. Santa gave me a laptop of my very own, so I hope to stay more current on my updates.

I don't have many photos of Tressa and I since I take most of the pictures, but Papa took this one at Christmas Eve service. I turned out pretty good and you can even see Tressa's dimples.

Every year at Ed work they put up Santa's Village with a Christmas tree out of poinsettia. It's very pretty. Ed got called into work on a Saturday when we were out shopping so it was a perfect opportunity for me to get some photos of Tressa with the decorations.

Tressa had a great Christmas. She was too funny, she asked Santa for a Cinderella dress, a white dress, pink donuts and chocolate milk. Tressa and Mommy didn't send her letter until Christmas Eve, but Santa came through, even the pink donuts.
Tressa loves bling.

Photo editing attempt

2008-12-27T22:16:00.003-06:00

I found this picture of Tressa from a birthday party from this summer. Ed had me download this great photo program and I turned it into a black and white and I think it turned out great.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T21:57:00.002-06:00

I know it's been some time since I've updated, but for now I'll post a current picture. More to follow later.

Diva in the making

2008-06-09T13:11:00.001-06:00

I just love this picture. I got a new camera a couple weeks ago because mine would die after like two pictures. I love the pictures the new camera takes. It's just a little Sony Cybershot point and shoot. It's 8.1 megapixel and has a great zoom and is fast like an SLR. Not even close in comparison to Ed's Nikon SLR that he uses for work. But hey, mine still takes great shots. I love the detail of the clouds in her glasses. Too cute.

DWTS

2008-06-09T12:56:00.004-06:00

Tressa loves to watch Dancing with the Stars. She knows that we watch on Monday and Tuesday and goes nuts when it comes on. She wants us all to jump up and dance. She runs around flipping her hair and wanting us to dip her. Its the cutest thing. Poor kid though, she dances likes her parents, no rhythm at all. She's so funny though 'cause she'll stand there patiently waiting for the dancing to start and then gets her booty movin'. That's what she was doing in this picture. We made cookies with Nana and then she decided she wanted to watch Dancing. Thanks goodness for Tivo.

Papa's car (aka Tressa's ride)

2008-04-02T11:56:00.007-06:00

Tressa loves to go for a ride in Papa's little red car. She gets so excited when she sees it in the driveway and tells Papa to take her for a ride. It was a nice weekend recently so Papa took the red car out of storage and took Tressa for a ride around the block. I know the day will come when she asks to drive it, good luck with that one kiddo.

Easter 2008

2008-03-28T08:46:00.005-06:00

Tressa loved Easter this year. Even though she wasn't feeling great (yet another ear infection), she really enjoyed herself. It was too cool outside and looked like it was going to rain so the Easter Bunny hid the eggs in the house this year while we were at church.

After Easter service, before the egg hunt.

A basket full, and not done.

On the go for more eggs

Tressa got a helmet and gear to go with her scooter she got for Christmas. Now she can ride it outside instead of in the house.

What's better than a kiss from Daddy.

Grandma J gave Tressa these cute pants, but she just couldn't take off her Easter dress to put on the whole outfit.

Easter Egg Hunt

2008-03-28T08:04:00.014-06:00

This year we missed out on all the Easter Egg Hunts. Last year Tressa had four hunts to go on, this year we thought she would only have a change to get eggs on Easter. Luckily we found out last minute about the city's provided egg hunt on Saturday. She had fun with all the crafts, collecting eggs, and seeing the animals. Unfortunately it was so crowded she didn't actually get to pet any of them. But, she saw them and seemed happy with that.

The sea of eggs and people.

Tressa had no interest in getting close to the Easter Bunny.

Tressa got to make a pretty little flower. She did just a great job. She knew exactly how to thread the flower onto the stem, without any help from Mommy.

Tressa has one heck of an arm. I think she really surprised the people at the bean bag toss 'cause she threw it so hard.

Tressa was very good about waiting for her age group's turn to grab eggs.

She even played with the boy next to her while they waited.

New look

2008-03-14T10:51:00.002-06:00

As you can probably tell, the blog has a new look. A few days ago our friend Lauren (Mia's mom, one of Tressa's China sister) asked if we wanted her to make a new design for the blog. Even though Ed does design websites for a living, he hasn't had time to update ours, so I jumped at the chance. Lauren's blog is incredible, you can check it out here. Now I'll just have to make sure to keep it updated or she'll be after me.. just kidding Lauren.

Tressa's 1st snow

2008-03-14T10:30:00.009-06:00

Last week we had an unusual amount of snow hit here in Texas. We actually got snow on Tuesday and Friday. Of course it was almost 60 degrees in between. Crazy Texas weather, what can I say. Anyway, Tressa was thrilled. She got to go out and play in the snow twice.

Doesn't she look like a little michelin baby.

Tressa's (and Mommy's) first ever attempt at making a snowman.

Tressa and her friend LeighEvan had fun chasing Daddy.

Tressa and her friend Davi from across the street.

Christmas 2007

2008-03-07T14:03:00.007-06:00

Doesn't it look like she's thinking of something mischievous to do.

Long over due update

2007-12-10T08:41:00.001-06:00

I know it's has been a while since I updated the blog. Things have been crazy busy lately, so for now I will just update with pictures.

FCC Cultural Day, making Great Wall pictures with Daddy.

Tressa playing with the Dragon costume at FCC

Digging for diamonds with Daddy at Crater of Diamonds, Arkansas

Tressa's first day at elemantary school for PALS (speech therapy) program. Tressa goes every Monday and Wednesday for two hours and gets to ride the school bus. Now when she sees a school bus she always tells us "I ride cool bus!!!" She loves to ride the bus like a big girl.

Tressa was Tinkerbell for Halloween and got way too much candy, but she had a blast.

We took Tressa to Santa's Village in Richardson. She was not interested in seeing Santa, but had fun running around looking at all the lights and decorations.

Happy Birthday Nana Merritt

2007-10-02T20:47:00.000-06:00

Tressa wanted to send a special message to her "Nana Merritt". She has been saying "happy Nana Merritt" all evening.

2yrs already

2007-09-14T15:01:00.000-06:00

It doesn't seem like 2 years have gone by already. That sweet little face that was pale and thin has turned into bright, round, chubby cheeks. I sometimes think back to the first time we held her and remember the curiosity in her eyes. As if she were mesmerized by who we were and what we looked like, just trying to take in everything that was happening. That small baby has turn into a little girl, full of energy, yet that inquisitive nature still remains. I still see that same look in her eyes at times. I am so proud to be her mommy.

Happy Birthday Grandma J

2007-08-16T09:08:00.000-06:00

Tressa wanted to send a special message to her Grandma J or as she calls her "Mamma J"

China Panda

2007-07-31T08:44:00.000-06:00

When we were in China the hotel we stayed in put a panda in the adoptive parents room for the children. It was Tressa's first stuffed animal and she just loves pandas now. She carried this particular panda around so much and it has been washed so many times that it no longer shows the hotel name on it. So, recently I contacted the hotel to find out if it was possible to purchase another one as a keepsake for her when she's older. I received an email saying they no longer give those pandas out, they have a different item for adoptive families. However, they would try to locate one and asked for my address to send it if they could. At this point I resolved that I wouldn't be able to get one for her and didn't think about it any more. A couple of weeks ago I received a note from the mailman that there was a box I needed to pick up at the post office. Since I had put the thought of the panda out of my mind I had no idea what was being sent. Imagine my surprise when the postal worker handed me a box from China. I was shocked, they had found a panda and sent to me free of charge. I am so thankful for their kindness in finding another panda for Tressa and have sent a thank you note to them for all their help. I included the pictures above so they would know how happy she is with her favorite toy. For now, it has been put back in its box and away in her closet until she is older.

Fun in the pool

2007-07-22T18:18:00.000-06:00

On a weekend we actually didn't have rain Tressa got to enjoy some time in the new pool Nana and Papa got for her. She definately loves the water. I guess we'll be looking into swimming lessons next summer.

4th of July -a little late

2007-07-22T16:54:00.000-06:00

Here's a few pictures from of our 4th of July celebration. A little late, but better than never.

Spring Wildflowers

2007-05-14T11:19:00.000-06:00

We have the most beautiful wildflowers here in Texas. The City of Richardson has a festival ever year in May called Wildflower Festival when the flowers are in abundance. Since Ed works for the city he knew the flowers at City Hall were in full bloom. This weekend we decided to do the typical parental task here in Texas, take pictures of the little ones playing in the flowers. It took Tressa a little bit to warm up to the idea, mainly because she had fallen asleep in the car on the way. But eventually she decided it was ok to play in and pick the flowers.

Tressa's Baptism

2007-05-14T10:56:00.000-06:00

Tressa was baptized on April 29th. Ed had picked out her dress when we were in China just for this occasion. The dress fit perfectly and she looked even more beautiful than I had imagined. Usually Tressa goes to Sunday school after Children's Service, but since Ed and I were joining the church and having her baptized she had to stay a little longer. She was very well behaved and sat in Mommy's lap until everything was finished so she could go to class.

Easter '06 and '07

2007-05-14T10:29:00.000-06:00

What a difference a year makes!!! Last year it was a beautiful sunny day, this year was extremely cold and windy. Tressa still enjoyed herself.

Easter and more egg hunts

2007-05-14T10:15:00.000-06:00

Well Tressa definitely had her fair share of Easter Eggs this year. She went on 4 different egg hunts- school, church, neighborhood center, and Easter Sunday. She might be off her sugar high by the time Easter comes next year. Tressa sure changed from last year when she really wasn't sure what to do, to this year trying to grab all she could get. And by the time Easter came she had no doubt and no hesitation about grabbing the goodies and finding what surprise she had waiting for her.

Fun at the zoo

2007-03-21T12:37:00.000-06:00

I know it's been a while since I last updated the site. Everything is going really good. Tressa had another sinus infection, but it cleared up pretty quickly once she received more antibotics. I then got one and am just about over it. A couple of weeks ago we had a beautiful Saturday afternoon so we took Tressa on her first trip to the Ft. Worth Zoo. It was her first experience at a zoo, well in the US anyway. It was a great day and the animals were pretty active for the most part. We took our time so we weren't able to see all the animals, but she was able to see most of them. Tressa really enjoyed the experience, especially feeding the fish, seeing the elephants, and watching the lion roaring. I think she enjoyed being able to pull the wagon herself more than anything else though. Our friends Waring and Bethany went along with us and between the four of us I think we took about 200 pictures. The picture of her sleeping in the car is not after the zoo, but actually shortly after leaving the house that morning. She was able to have her nap before going to the zoo and she had a blast. We can't wait to take her back, but maybe to the Dallas Zoo next time.

2007-02-11T12:49:00.000-06:00

Here are a few new pictures of Tressa from this week. The bottom one was after eating powdered donuts, what a mess huh!!

Surgery follow-up

2007-02-05T12:11:00.001-06:00

Tressa had her surgery last Thursday and it went very well. It only took 25 minutes from the time the anesthesiologist took her until the doctor came to us. He said her adenoids were "pretty nasty". Yes, those were his words. She had a little fluid in her ears and a lot of stuff in her sinuses, so he flushed her sinuses as well. Within a couple of minutes the nurse came to get us and said she was calling for "Daddy". Big surprise there, not. I always say she's a daddy's girl. Anyway, we could hear her crying as soon as we went through the doors and she sounded terrible. She was extremely horse and very sad. But, our little peanut is a real trooper. She calmed down rather quickly once she was able to hold both us and realized Mommy and Daddy weren't going anywhere. Tressa enjoyed her first full popsicle and lots of juice which seemed to really help keep her happy. Shortly after we were able to take her home and get her something to eat. She ate quite a bit of eggs and pancakes. We had to have both since that's her favorite. She started wearing down right after eating so we decided to all take a nap in Mommy and Daddy's bed. I think we all slept for almost 3 hours and then like flipping a switch Tressa was on the go. She was still very horse sounding and still is, but she is getting better everyday. We had been giving her pain meds the ENT had prescribed, but quickly noticed it made her way too hyper. Since one of Tressa's China sisters, Mia, had surgery the week prior we knew it was the Codeine, so we went ahead and switched to just plain ol' Tylenol. Well, it seemed to help, but she started waking in the middle of the night unable to go back to sleep. I called the ENT the other day and they said to give her a little Benadryl along with the Tylenol at night before she went to bed. Thankfully, it's working and we are all in a much better disposition now. Hopefully, she'll be back to her spunky little self, with out having to be medicated very soon.

For those that have requested new pics, I have a few I've taken in the last few days that I will post this weekend.

Update

2007-01-31T12:21:00.000-06:00

Tressa had her follow-up with the ENT yesterday and he determined she needs her adenoids removed and her tubes replaced. Not a surprise, we were expecting this. Luckily she doesn't have to have her tonsils taken. He said they were small and since she hasn't had any problems with them so far, there was no reason to put her through that as well. Thank goodness!! I was really worried after seeing what one of her China sisters has been through. She had the same procedure plus her tonsils taken just last week and is still trying to recover. Tressa is scheduled for surgery Thursday, at 7am. Her doctor didn't want to waste any time considering the problems she's had with her ears already. Oh, and she does still have an ear infection, but the surgery should clear that. So apparently the antibotic didn't help at all. Poor kid. We're hopeful this will make her healthy and keep her that way for a while. The doctor said the surgery shouldn't take long and we should be home before noon. Please keep Tressa in your prayers for a successful surgery and a speedy recovery.

more antibotics

2007-01-25T13:58:00.000-06:00

Well, Tressa is on yet another round of antibotics. Actually she's almost done, she started this bout back on the 8th when she went for a follow-up with her ENT. He noticed some fluid in her left ear and her left tube was starting to come out. Ed talked to him about the fact she seems to constantly have a runny nose and cough. The doctor recommended putting her on antibotics for 21 days to see how she responds. He said since she hasn't seemed to respond to the numerous antibotics, there's a good chance she doing to have to have surgery to have her adenoids removed, maybe her tonsils, if she didn't respond to this round. He said he'd replace her tubes at the same time. Well, yesterday she started have the green runny nose again. She's still on the antibotic, so apparently she's not responding to this round either. Needless to say, mommy and daddy are a little disappointed, but not surprised. Our little princess will have to go through surgery again. We'll find out for sure on the 30th when she is scheduled to go back to the ENT. Ed and I feel confident that her doctor will do whatever is best for Tressa. We'll keep you posted.

2007-01-19T12:48:00.000-06:00

It's amazing to see how much Tressa has changed in just a little over a year. When we first got her, she was just this petite little girl that rolled around a little and barely babbled. Now she is this active little 2 year old that never seems to slow down. Tressa is constantly on the run, wanting to explore everything. She has been in speech therarpy since April due to her delayed speech from the terrible ear infections she had at first. Her vocubalary is progressing and she has recently started saying a few two word phrases, like No Mommy, No Daddy. I think her favorite word has become NO just like a typical 2 year old. Tressa is a truly a blessing to our family. She is our beautiful Peanut Princess as we like to call her.

Tressa Lyn Snavely

2007-01-17T17:20:00.000-06:00

A year ago we adopted our daughter from China.