Three Days and a Wake-up...

to Sarah's first Christmas!  Of course, I'm more excited than she is this year.  So far, the most anticipation she's experienced is opening the doors on the chocolate advent calendar that my mom gave her.  She's definitely caught on to that.  We do it after lunch every day, and her face lights up when she sees the little picture inside and the chocolate waiting for her.  I'm afraid she'll actually be disappointed on Christmas Day when there are no more doors to open.

I've been busy making her stocking.  My mom made felt stockings for each one of her kids.  Mine has an angel on it, and I always thought it was so beautiful.  She still hangs it when I'm home for Christmas, and Santa always fills it to overflowing.  It's hard to believe it's survived 46 Christmases with little sign of wear and tear (except for a mysterious ink stain on the back).  I want to create a stocking for Sarah that she will always treasure.  I've been printing off templates from the Internet and carefully cutting and sewing.  I decided to put a Christmas tree on it.  It will be unadorned this year, except for the star, but I plan to add ornaments and garlands next year.  I don't want to rush the creative process.  :)

I'm really excited about our Christmas plans.  We'll go to church at 5:00 on Christmas Eve, then pick up Chinese food on the way home to enjoy by the tree.  Christmas Day will be quiet, with just the three of us at home, but we plan to cook a turkey anyway.  The next day, we'll have Don's kids -- Reid, Rachel, and Emily -- and Emily's husband Omar and daughter Sophia here.  It will be such fun to have everyone here...for the first time at Christmas (we usually celebrate at Don's parents' in the Twin Cities).  Unfortunately, there's a huge snowstorm headed our way, and travel could be bad from Wednesday to Sunday.  I sure hope it doesn't keep the kids away.  It's such a relief to not be traveling ourselves.
On Friday, we drove to Minneapolis for a follow-up visit at the International Adoption Clinic at the University of Minnesota.  Sarah is still in the 90th percentile for height, at almost 33".  She got rave reviews for her developmental progress since September, having mastered almost all of the tasks she couldn't do back then.  We also saw an attachment specialist who said she is doing wonderfully in that area.  In fact, the woman made a point of telling us it was time to institute more discipline and teach Sarah to be more independent.  She needs to learn to handle frustration.  She won't like that....

We spent much of the visit brainstorming with the doctors about how to help Sarah (and consequently ME)sleep.  We've developed a very enjoyable and quick bedtime routine, but she still wakes three or four times a night and is up for the day around 5:00 a.m.  I'm still sleeping in her room, and, after four months, I'm exhausted.

I wish I could say they had the magic answer, but basically they were only able to rule out a few things (gastric reflux, sleep apnea).  They think perhaps she needs more physical comfort while she sleeps, so they suggested we get her a weighted blanket and put rolled up blankets around the edges of her crib to make her sleeping space more cozy.  We're trying the rolled blankets tonight.  The weighted blankets are pricey (at least $70), so I plan to make one with rice.  I'm not overly optimistic any of this will make a difference, but anything is worth a try.

Time to sign off.  Don's offered to sleep with Sarah tonight so I can get some rest, so I'd better get to bed!  The odd thing is that I feel a little sad about not spending the night with her.  She's challenging, but I love her dearly.