Audrey Update

I looked back on the blog today and noticed how long it had been since we have put anything on here. Although we primarily used this blog to keep people updated while we were in China, we still want to update it from time to time. Here is what is going on with Audrey...

Audrey has been growing and turning from a baby to a little girl. She turned 2 in July and we are learning first hand what it is like to have a toddler around. She is still very sweet, but she can still throw some good ones sometimes when she doesn't get her way! I guess we are all like that sometimes! Paige went back to teaching in the classroom in August 2012 and Audrey started in daycare for the first time. She had a hard time being away from momma for a little bit, but she is doing better now. She seems to like her daycare and her teachers quite a bit now. It is hard because we do not get to spend as much time with her especially during the week, but we are making it. Audrey is talking more all the time, especially at home, and it is fun to see her learning new things all the time. She is a blessing and we cannot imagine life without her now! Here are some pics from September...

New pics from April 2012

A little update...

We haven't posted in a little while so we thought we would put a few pics on for people to see. Audrey has been doing well except for a cold/allergy kind of thing going on. But, it is getting better each day now. You may see a picture or 2 below from Chinese New Year we took Audrey to in January. Our Families With Children from China group do a Chinese New Year celebration each year and we took Audrey this year. She is still shy around others at times so she did not get down a run around much, but she watched everyone closely. Anyway here are the pics...

Audrey not in this pic

Looks like she's having a great time huh?

Playing at home

Baby burrito!!

Game day!!!

Geting ready to go to church!

Hi EvErYbOdY!

Hi. It's Audrey.  I know so many of you want to see my beautiful face more often so my friend said she would post this for me. My friends came to see me a few days ago and I was waiting for them at the door.  I love company.  I get to show off all my great toys and books!  I think it tickled my friends to see me at the door. They love me very much (and my parents too)!

My friends went on a trip and bought some Chinese pajamas for me.  They are too big for me right now but I'm growing fast so I will be able to wear them soon. When I opened the gift I passed it around from person to person so everyone could touch it.  Then one of my friends decided I should try it on and I looked so cute I thought I'd show you a picture.



Well, Mommy and Daddy think I'm in bed so I'd better go to sleep. It's way past my bedtime. Good night everyone!

New Pictures...

We have been snapping lots of pictures lately. Here are a couple of them. Audrey has been doing well aside from a cold and ear infection last week! She is feeling much better now. Looking forward to an awesome Christmas together!

Thanks be to God!

I'm giving in to the peer pressure by an unnamed person (Randy Jordan) and posting another blog entry :-).  Today when I woke up, I was not really thinking about all the things for which I am thankful.  Instead, I allowed silly emotions to take over.  I was having a "moment" as they say, and it lasted much longer than it should have.  Sometimes I think I've received a courtesy dose of extra hormones that all ladies experience during and after pregnancy! :-)  Anyway, I was sitting on the floor crying and talking to my husband.  As we were getting ready to pray, my precious little girl crawled over to me, pulled up, and gave me not one, not two, not three, not four, but FIVE kisses in a row!  It was as though God was sending me kisses via this little blessing.  THAT is what I am thankful for today.  Yes, God has blessed me tremendously in so many different ways, but His extravagant love for me just knocks my socks off every time He lavishes it upon me.  My husband has always been such an amazing manifestation of that love, and now I have received another wonderful gift.  Thank You, Father, for allowing us to be Audrey's forever family! 

"The LORD is my strength and shield.  I trust Him with all my heart.  He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy.  I burst out in songs of thanksgiving."  Psalm 28:6-8

Audrey enjoyed her first Thanksgiving with her family, and she had a blast!  She was a bit shy of all the people at first, but she warmed up and quickly charmed everyone in the room.  :-)  She played, danced, sang, laughed, ate, and finally collapsed on Daddy in the recliner!  I'm so glad she is adjusting well and seems to feel very comfortable with others as long as we are near.  We are already looking forward to Christmas!

Audrey's Gotcha Video!!!

The video above is the video we took the very first time Audrey was put into Paige's arms. We have been wanting to go back and post some of our videos from China that we were not able to post. Keep watching for more.

I hate to post pictures like this, but...

She is just so cute at bath time!!!! (and all the time!)

Things are getting better...

Audrey is adjusting better each day. She seems happy most days during the day now except for toddler fussiness that can happen. Nightime is somewhat better for all of us. Last night Audrey slept pretty well all through the night with limited crying out last night. We are making sure to be there for her when she does cry out to reassure her we are there. We are believing this is going to get better and better making all of us a better rested family!

We got out of the house for the first time in a while yesterday and today. We took a walk around the neighborhood yesterday and today we went to Wal-Mart and Los Portales for some mexican food. Audrey did well and she likes the rice at Los Portales. It was nice for all of us to get out of the house.

Home at last!!

We made it back home on Monday and we are glad to be here. Audrey has taken some steps backward since we have been here which may be part of the process. Our adoption agency said this could happen. I know the little girl has been through a lot in her little life and especially in the past 2-3 weeks. We love her very much and it is hard to see her unhappy which she seems to be right now much of the time. I don't want this post to be a downer though and we believe that things will improve as she comes to more of a realization that we are not going anywhere and this is her forever home! Please pray and agree with us that she realizes it as soon as possible. Thanks everybody!

Kyle, Paige, and Audrey

We are back home!

After 20 hours of travel and waiting at aiports we are back home or at least to Nashville! Thank you Lord! We will always have fond memories of our time in China, but there is no place like home! We will probably still post things about our family from time to time, but probably not as often now. Hope everyone enjoyed it!

Audrey had her first meal in the US tonight with our friends, Joe and Lori Marlar! She likes Spaghetti!

A tribute to Peter

Another day has gone by here in Guangzhou China (Thursday). We just put Audrey to bed and it is 7:15 p.m. here. Not bad! She is doing well. We had our consulate appointment today which is where we applied for Audrey's visa so we can travel home. We will get that back tommorrow and then off to Hong Kong! It went very smoothly thanks to our guide Peter.

Speaking of Peter, we wanted to include a picture of our guide Peter in this post since we have referred to him a few times. He is very very good at what he does and he is on top of everything. He does not miss anything which is nice for us. I don't know how he keeps it all straight! He does everything fast and you have to be on your toes to keep up with him, but we completely trust him and that is nice to have when you are in a foreign country! He is also a gentle sweet spirit and even though we don't know him that well, we will never forget him. Here's to you Peter!

While we were at it we thought we would include another shot of Audrey! It is not real clear, but a good picture of her - Are'nt they all! See you soon!

Another day closer

 

Today is Wednesday here in Guangzhou China! We did not do a whole lot again today, but it was a really good day with family. We had a late breakfast and then came back to the room for Audrey's nap. Last night and today she has been going to sleep without as much fuss. She was fussy for a while this afternoon, but she had a really good evening. I guess that may be typical with a baby. She is more confident with us each day and it is really neat to see her becoming more comfortable. I think that is why she is going to sleep easier. We may have already said this, but she hardly would crawl when we first got her. Now she can easily crawl. She now loves standing on her feet and she just laughs when walking with our fingers in her little hands. She gets so excited and gets going so fast it is hillarious! Bath time was not near as difficult tonight either (check out the picture with the cool hair style). We took a walk around the area here this afternoon.

Tommorrow is our last appointment (consulate appointment) and then Friday it is off to Hong Kong which is a 3 hour drive from here. We will stay the night there and fly home on Saturday. We are very excited! Thanks for everyone for reading our blog and keeping up with us and praying for us. This trip has been challenging, but very good also. We are very blessed! We love all our faithful friends and family. God bless you all!

Kyle, Paige, & Audrey Fuqua

Audrey walking with Daddy

Tuesday evening in Guangzhou China

It is Tuesday evening here in Guangzhou China. We had a good day, but did not do a whole lot. We are getting to spend time with each other which is nice. Audrey is enjoying learning to walk! She is getting more brave each day and trying new things. She loves getting up on her feet and having us help her walk. She smiles and laughs almost every time! Bedtime is still a struggle to get her to sleep, but once she goes down she is sleeping pretty well. We are hoping once we can get back home and in more of a routine it will get even better. We are still ready to spend our time together back in the U.S.

This afternoon we went to this area called Shamian Island. It is very pretty there. We did a little more shopping for Audrey. We got several authentic Chinese things at a little shop called Jenny's Place (Thank, you Vicki Pierce). We also ate at a place called Lucy's for dinner which was pretty good. We are not very adventurous eaters. We have been eating some at the McDonalds next door and we ordered out some Papa John's last night. We are ready for some good food when we get back home. Our hotel is a 5 star Marriott hotel and the included breakfast buffet is very good.

Just a few more days and we will be home! Can't wait for everyone to meet Audrey!

Days of Rest

Saturday, Sunday, and Monday have been wonderful days of rest for us. The only downside to that is it makes the time go by a bit slower, and we are so ready to come home! :-) Saturday, we just hung out around the hotel. Sunday, we did much of the same, but we also got brave and took a taxi to a local supermarket to buy some things we needed. Today, we went to another store to buy some clothes for Audrey, and then we went for a stroll around Liuhuahu Park. It was huge! It is a beautiful park, and it was full of people today. I'm not sure if it's that way every day, but around every bend there were groups of people participating in different types of exercise/dance classes. People were also playing table tennis and badminton, and there were even exercise machines in the park!  Chinese people are definitely not lazy! There were also several different musicians and singers hanging out singing and playing their instruments. There was just so much to see, and Audrey slept through it all!

 
She loves to ride in the stroller, and falls asleep quickly. We are wishing we had one that would recline so we could just let her sleep in there at night! :-) As each day goes by, we can see her progressing more and more. When she first came to us last Wednesday, she couldn't even crawl very well. Now, she is walking while holding on to our hands! Amazing! We also see signs every day that she is bonding with and attaching to us more. How awesome it is when she reaches for us!

We have two more days of free time, and then our Consulate appointment is on Thursday. That is where we apply for Audrey's visa to come home to the U.S. We will get the visa on Friday, and then it's off to Hong Kong to spend the night. We'll fly home from there on Saturday!:-) We are looking forward to seeing you all!

Wait! There's more! BONUS VIDEO!

All About Audrey

Today is Saturday, and it's the first day we've had to just hang out and take it easy. Up until this point, we've had some type of appointment every day. I thought I'd help everyone get to know our Audrey a bit better. We are still learning about her, of course, but here are some things we've learned so far.

Audrey is a very curious baby. She is always watching other people around her, especially herself...she loves looking in the mirror! She also explores everything by touching it if she can. It's very sweet when she reaches out to touch our faces, clothing, hair, etc. And when she looks at us with those beautiful dark eyes and smiles...it melts our hearts!

Our girl is also very active. Lord help us when she starts walking! She wiggles all the time, even when sleeping. I think at home she'll need a king-sized bed because she rolls all over the place when she sleeps. She has also started throwing things, except she can't quite figure out how to throw them forward. She throws everything behind her head as though she has no use for it anymore. :-) Audrey is also babbling quite a bit. It sounds like baby babble, but it's possible there are some Chinese words
mixed in there somewhere.

She's been smiling and laughing quite a bit over the past couple of days, which is very fun for us. We do whatever we can to make her laugh. I've discovered that she is ticklish on her belly and her thighs. She also laughs whenever we kiss on the side of her neck. We are loving it! One thing she started doing on her own was making a motor boat sound with her lips. We've got to get a video of that because she spits quite a bit when she does it...hilarious!

Audrey loves to be held and carried around a lot. This is sweet, but becomes a problem at naptime and bedtime. If we put her down, she cries. That's why she's been sleeping in the bed with us. We decided that we'd do whatever we had to do to make sure that she gets the sleep she needs (us too!). Once she does go to sleep, though, it seems she could sleep through an F5 tornado! I would imagine that she had to be able to do that due to living over a year of her life in an orphanage. She also sucks her
thumb when she gets sleepy, which we think was probably a coping behavior that she developed while in the orphanage.

We are blessed to have this sweet little girl in our family! I've been telling her that she is famous back in Kentucky, and that there are so many people that want to meet her. We cannot wait to come home and show her off!

The Zoo, Market and the Passport

Today we spent the morning at the zoo with our guide and the other families in our group. It was nice to get to talk with them about how their kids are doing. After leaving the zoo we stopped by a market where we were able to buy lots of authentic Chinese things that we can give Audrey later in her life. Many people give their Chinese children one thing from their home country every year on their Gotcha Day until they are eighteen. We also went with our guide to apply for Audrey's passport. We are looking forward to having this weekend to rest.










Audrey seems to be getting more comfortable with us and us with her. We just need her to start sleeping more at night.

It's Official!

It was a busy day today (Thursday). Our guide Peter took us to sign papers to officially adopt Audrey. So as of today she is ours for good! We had to go to another place for the notary after that. Our guide Peter is super and he is very experienced in doing this, which makes it really nice. After that we came back to the hotel and while Audrey took a nap with Paige in the room, I worked on paperwork for 2 hours with the other adoptive families. We thought we were done, but then we went to do Audrey's medical exam which is standard procedure. She was fussy after that and I think we were all tired for a while. I also think we are all still trying to learn each other.

Tonight we had our best time of bonding with her yet. The pictures posted are from that time. She was laughing and smiling which she had not really done with us yet. It was a great time! Very sweet!