Six months with Sienna Grace!

Asleep in my bed in the hotel in Chongqing, China

Our official adoption portrait - this one is on all the paperwork

Back home - Mama reunited with the other piece of her heart

Sisters playing together for the first time

August 2010 - home 1 month - time to put away the suitcases!

September 2010 - Fashion Diva - Surgery #1 on the 13th

October 2010 - 3 months together

November 2010 - Hat weather!

December 2010 - Enjoying Brunch with Santa at Macy's

December 2010 - My first Christmas at home - And surgery #2 on the 13th



January 19th - Six months with Mama - good enough to eat!



Celebrating with the fam

Mama and Daddy's first glimpse of me at the Civil Affairs Office - July 19, 2010

Already a Daddy's Girl

Safe in Daddy's arms

First hug with Mama

January 19, 2010 - Life has changed for me!

Six months ago today, at the Civil Affairs Office of Chongqing, China, Sienna Grace Herman was placed in our arms for the very first time. Earlier that morning, in her birth town of Xiushan, China she was awakened at 4:30 a.m., dressed in a soft white and yellow knit shorts outfit, quite likely the only outfit she’d ever had of her own, and undoubtedly the only NEW outfit she had ever had. Her wisps of dark hair were put in a ponytail, and she boarded a train with the Nanny who had cared for her since birth. She sat on her Nanny’s lap for a seven and a half hour ride not knowing her entire world would change and she would never return to the only home she’d ever known up to that point in her life.

When we first met her on July 19, 2010 SiYue Xiu was a quiet, timid and shy baby who looked around with her big, beautiful dark eyes and soaked in everything. After signing some paperwork, asking questions of her Nanny, and gathering the very few possessions she had, we gently carried Sienna out to the car waiting for us as and we headed through the busy Chongqing traffic to the Harbour Plaza Hotel. On the drive to the hotel Sienna looked at us tentatively, played quietly with a few toys and then vomited all over her mommy…not just a little…a LOT. We cleaned her up as best as we could with baby wipes and tissues then wrapped her in a light blanket and she fell fast asleep in her daddy’s arms for the remainder of the car ride.

Our driver dropped us off at the front door of the hotel, and the bellman, seeing our sleeping baby, peeked at her and smiled and opened the doors for us and walked us to the elevators. Once we arrived at the 21st floor we carried our precious new daughter down the very same hallway we carried our oldest daughter not quite two years before. Sienna awakened in the elevator and was looking around with a curious expression at all these new things she had never experienced before such as elevators, hotels hallways and lots of strange people.

We entered our room, the very room we carried her sister to in September, 2008 and gently set her down to play with her and to get acquainted with her. Sienna drank a bottle of warm water with cold medication mixed in and gazed at us with curious dark eyes. Afterwards she tentatively explored the room and looked at her new mommy and daddy with subtle gazes. At approximately 6:00 p.m. after rubbing her eyes several times and eyelids beginning to droop closed, we gently changed her into her soft pajamas her Nanny had lovingly chose for her and placed her in her crib and within minutes she quietly drifted off to sleep for the night.

At that time Sienna could only crawl a short distance, couldn’t stand or speak any words and was withdrawn and shy.

Fast forward 6 months of Sienna being at home…she has gained seven and a half pounds, endured two surgeries to separate and create fingers on her tiny little hands, discovered a vocabulary of 30+ words, she can walk, run, sing twinkle twinkle little star, “hi five” and blow kisses with the best of them! She LOVES her big sister and can say “Danika” and “Jie Jie” (Big sister in Chinese). She blows us a kiss when she hears us say, “I love you” or “Wo An Ni” (I love you in Chinese), she loves hats, shoes, jewelry, lotion, make up and anything “girly”. Her first two-word sentence was “Elmo Dog” (she wanted to watch an episode of Elmo that had a dog in it).

She recognizes her grandparents in photos, loves computers, stuffed animals, sausage, coloring with markers, juice, her rocking horse, noodles, puzzles and vanilla yogurt. She can climb on her rocking chair, stand on the arms and reach a dvd on the entertainment center in less than 8 seconds (trust me). She wakes at 5:15 a.m. ready to face the day with a smile and a hug (which has saved her many a time) and she is the light of our lives!

Sienna Grace, a year ago today we had no clue that you existed. In a year’s time we saw you, loved you, traveled for you, and brought you home and today we can’t imagine our lives before you or without you. You have completed our family in a way that only you can and we love you without end little Mei Mei!

~Mama, Daddy and Danika Joy