Happy Father's Day!

We had a great day as we were able to celebrate with all of our dads and grandpas.  We had lunch with Grandpa and Grandma Klecker and Uncle Shawn.  And we had dinner with Grandpa and Grandma Lanoue and Great-Grandpa Leonard.

I love you, Daddy!

3 generations of Kleckers

Ashlynn with Great-Grandpa Lanoue

Ashlynn with Grandma & Papa Lanoue

Ashlynn has officially been a Klecker for a month already.  She was first put in our arms on May 13.  She's such a blessing to our family.  She has fit right into our routine.  She's watched her brothers play lots of baseball, spent the afternoon with Grandpa Klecker and her aunts and cousins at Aunt Brooke's baby shower, went for a play date with friends at the park, traveled to Buffalo for a fun afternoon with Aunt Alisa, Aunt Kim, and her cousins, and spend some great days at home playing with her big brothers.  She enjoys being around all these special people in our life. 

Ashlynn is doing lots of tummy time and putting up with Mom and Dad doing her exercises with her.  All of her hard work is paying off as just yesterday she rolled over from her back to her tummy and then she rolled to her tummy again.  She was pretty proud of her self and she kept showing off her new moves. 

Ashlynn's first surgery has been scheduled for Monday, June 24.  As we previously posted, the plastic surgeon will complete the first step of her lip repair and the ENT doctor will put tubes in her ears.  This will be a "same day" procedure at Children's Outpatient Clinic.  We pray this procedures goes as planned with minimal fear and pain for Ashlynn.  We will post an update on surgery day.

Happy Father's Day to all great dads! 

Good news!

Our day at the U of M was filled with good news.  We started Wednesday morning at the cleft clinic where we saw a number of specialists.  The doctors will work as a team to recommend a treatment plan for Ashlynn's cleft lip and palate including orthodontic, speech, and ENT.  We are waiting for the official report but the next step will likely be same day surgery in the last week of June to start Ashlynn's lip repair and put tubes in her ears (common with cleft palate patients).  Surgery to repair the palate and finish the lip will be 8 to 10 weeks later. 

Our next stop was the International Adoption Clinic.  The doctor felt Ashlynn was doing very well.  She gave us some strategies for increasing the fat in her diet to help her gain weight (can you imagine the doctor telling you to add butter and cream to your food?).  We also met with an Occupational Therapist who gave us some exercises to help Ashlynn meet important development milestones like rolling over and crawling.  Before leaving this appointment, Ashlynn had to endure a blood draw.  They numbed her arms so we don't think she felt much pain but she was upset by all the unfamiliar people in the room holding down her arms.  It was no fun for any of us!

Our last appointment of the day was with the cardiologist.  Ashlynn's PFO (patent foramen ovale or small hole between the left and right upper chambers of the heart) has not closed since it was found by the doctors in China when she was 3 months old.  However, the tests showed no other heart defects so the doctor had no concerns.  She wants to see Ashlynn again at age 5 but Ashlynn's heart is healthy, she will not need any heart related surgeries, and she is cleared for her lip/palate surgeries.  This was certainly the best news of the day!!

While we were very pleased with all the great news, it was a tough day for Ashlynn.  She cried through most of the exams and procedures.  She missed most of her nap so she was exhausted by the time we got home.  She slept almost 12 hours that night!  Hopefully she'll get more comfortable with each doctor's visit.

 

Ashlynn also got her first haircut this week.  After the tough day she had with the doctors, we weren't sure what she'd think of getting her hair cut but she surprised us and did really well.  Thanks, Aunt Holly!  Ashlynn liked looking at herself in the mirror and the little snack that Mom kept feeding her helped too.

 

We have seen such wonderful changes in Ashlynn in the last week.  Each day she shares a bit more of her personality with us.  She charms us with her smiles.  Dad and her brothers have even got her to giggle a few times.  She is getting more comfortable with us holding her.  She has just started to let us hold her while she falls asleep for naps and at night.  This is significant because previously she would cry until we would lie her down with her blanket to fall asleep.  Now that school's out, she is excited to wake up and be greeted by the boys in morning.  She seems to think it's more fun when it's more than just Mom around here. 

 

10 years

Yesterday (May 31) was our 10 year wedding anniversary.  Our life has certainly changed in 10 years! 

We spent the day with our blessings!  We had lunch together with Ashlynn after watching some of Derek's Track and Field Day.  In the evening, we picked up Matthew (our "little brother" through Big Brothers/Big Sisters) and all went out for dinner.  We had planned to then go to Derek's soccer game but it was cancelled due to lightening.  The evening still ended on a good note as we enjoyed ice cream at the Blast (an Owatonna favorite).  All in all, a good day!

Ashlynn is adjusting to her new life with us.  She continues to be a good eater though we wish she'd take in more fluids.  She's gotten her days and nights almost sorted out so we're all getting more sleep.  She loves spending time with her brothers and is excited to see them when they come home from school.  She is happy most of the time.  We do have times when she cries and we can not easily comfort her.  We expect she is missing what is familiar to her.  It's hard to even imagine how difficult it is for her with so much change in just three short weeks.  We hope we will continue to earn her trust each day.  We gotcha Ashlynn and we're not letting go!

 

Look for another update after Ashlynn's appointments at the U of M on Wednesday.

Home Sweet Home

Thank you to Derek, Mason, Grandpa and Papa Klecker, Grandma and Papa Lanoue, Uncle Shawn, Aunt Krystal, and cousin Gavin for meeting us at the airport on Thursday night.  What a wonderful sight you were!  We had been looking forward to that moment for two weeks.

 

 

We've been home for three days now and Ashlynn's transition continues to go well.  She loves her big brothers!  She is much more content when they are around and gives them lots of smiles when the talk and play with her.  Derek instantly became a helpful big brother.  He likes to help feed Ashlynn, has learned to carry her, and enjoys playing with her.  Mason is also a proud big brother but really doesn't like to hear Ashlynn fuss or cry.  He quickly let us know when she's unhappy and wants us to fix it.

We took advantage of the little sunshine we got on Friday and took Ashlynn out to our swing set.  She was a bit startled by the motion of the swing at first.  We suspect she has never been in a swing before now.  Soon she really enjoyed it and would let us know when her swing slowed down too much.

Thank to our parents for filling our refrigerator and freezer with food and doing all the boys' laundry, we've really been able to spend most of the last three days just enjoying being home together.  Adjusting to the time change is a challenge for us and Ashlynn.  Thankfully the boys have been sleeping well.  We tried reducing Ashlynn's naps today to hopefully help her get her days and nights sorted out.

We ventured out to church and lunch with Grandma and Papa Klecker today.  Ashlynn did very well and it was fun to see some of our friends and family after mass.  Tomorrow, if the weather cooperates, we hope to take in Owatonna's Memorial Day parade.

The next few weeks will be filled with lots of time at home bonding with Ashlynn.  On June 5, we have several appointments scheduled at the University of Minnesota.  Ashlynn will get a full exam at the International Adoption Clinic.  We'll meet with a cardiologist to evaluate Ashlynn's heart condition and with the team at Cleft and Craniofacial Clinic to plan for Ashynn's upcoming surgeries to repair her lip and palate.  It'll be a full day! 

We plan to continue to update our blog with Ashlynn's progress and our journey as a family.  Thanks for all the welcome home messages and for keeping Ashlynn in your prayers.  We are feeling very blessed!

 

We're Home!

 

We are so thankful to be home with our three beautiful children.  We'll share more after we hug the boys a few more times and catch up on our sleep.

Back in the U.S.A.

We made it to San Francisco!  Ashlynn did about how you’d expect any one-year-old to do on a 12 ½ hour flight.  She played a little, slept a little, and cried a little.  She had a few moments where she (or us) just didn’t know what she wanted.  It’s a long time in a small space with a lot of people so who can blame her.  She wasn’t the only screaming child on the airplane so we were in good company.  We arrived here about 8:20 a.m. San Francisco time, 10:20 a.m. Minnesota time, or 11:20 pm China time.  We’re not exactly sure which clock we’re on!

We made it through immigration, customs, and another airport security checkpoint.  A lot of hurry up and wait but it should be the last for this journey.  Congratulation to Ashynn, she is now a full-fledged U.S. citizen!

We are waiting for our flight to Minneapolis.  In just seven hours we’ll be back in Minnesota and reunited with Derek and Mason.  We can’t wait!  We are especially thinking of Mason this afternoon as it’s his preschool graduation which we are so sorry to miss.  We are grateful that his grandparents (all  four of them!) are there to take lots of pictures for us.  We are so proud of you, Mason!

 

Our journey home

We have started our journey home today (Wednesday).  We spent the morning repacking our suitcases which took a little creativity since our bags are a little fuller than when we arrived!  In the afternoon, we walked to a grocery store in a shopping mall just on the other side of the river.  We wanted to buy Ashlynn more of the same formula she had while in the orphanage as she still doesn't care for what we brought from home.  It took some time to navigate the store but we found what we hope is close enough.  Of course, it was raining again so we were a bit wet but we made it back to the island for a late lunch.

Two vans met us and three other families at the hotel to drive us about three hours to Hong Kong.  The drivers and the vans came from Hong Kong which meant the driver was on the right side of the car.  Since Hong Kong was formerly a British colony, cars drive on the left side of the road and the driver is on the right side of the car.  That was just the first unique part of this ride.  Our driver drove like it was an emergency.  We drove fast, weaving in between traffic and driving on the shoulder when traffic wasn't moving fast enough.  And to make us feel even safer, he was often on one of his two cell phones or pushing button on his GPS.  What a ride!  We had to stop to go through customs at the border of China and Hong Kong.  We were all glad to get some fresh air as everyone was feeling a little car sick.  Once we were into Hong Kong, the driving seem to improve or everyone was finally moving fast enough for our driver.  We were very relieved when we pull in front of our airport hotel in Hong Kong.  Ashlynn did quite well on the ride.  She slept on our laps for the first half of the trip which was probably good because we were holding on to her so tightly.  She then entertained us with her newest trick--she likes to clap her hands and make a noise that sounds something like "yeah".

It was about 8:30 pm when we got into our hotel room, enough time to feed Ashlynn a late supper and get ready for bed.  And now that we are outside of China, we have access to our blog again.  A big thank you to our dear friend Dawn for posting for us each day! 

Tomorrow we board our plane for home.  While we are so ready to be home and with our boys again, we realize what a transition this will be for Ashlynn.  Just nine days ago they put her into the arms of strangers.  And now we are taking her away from all the sights, sounds, and smells she has known her short life.  We hope she has gained enough trust in us in the last week that she'll let us help her adjust to her new home and her new family. 

Over lunch yesterday, we were discussing what a trip this has been.  We feel fortunate that for the most part everything has gone smoothly.  While it was hard to leave the boys, we are so glad we both made the trip to experience China and our first days with Ashlynn together.  The world seems just a bit smaller now.  Despite the culture differences that can seem hard to understand at times, it is clear that people are all more similar than different.  Most want the same things from life--a family to love and a safe place to call home.  Thankfully, we have both!