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We found out yesterday that we actually will get to leave Taiwan eventually ;)

We've been told by the court that our decree will arrive next week which means we should be able to bring Mr. Caysen home mid to late August.

This means that Lance will be able to join us in the next couple weeks or so!!! I can't wait!!!!!! Caysen doesn't know it yet, but he can't wait either :) :) :)

Hangin' Out

We've had a lazy day today after the past few days have been pretty full:

As you can see, Caysen is all smiles!!!

Together in One Place

Yesterday I got to meet with Caysen's birth-mother and her family. I didn't think I would be able to meet them, but I couldn't be happier that it ended up working out. What a sweet family!

I can't think of any clever caption to go with this picture; but it cracks me up!!!

What's For Dinner?

This was supposed to be dinner a couple of nights ago:

I obviously couldn't read the directions so I just guessed. Unfortunately, I must have guessed wrong because I baked it for what seemed like forever and it still came out raw. I ended up having a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich that night.

Tonight we went here:
Sounds harmless, right?

Upon further examination of the menu, I realized that you can't judge a book by it's cover:

I mean, unless you like deep fried squid balls or deep fried stuffed intestines, YUM!
And if that doesn't sound good, there's always this:
What, you don't like those options? Good thing they have this:

I decided on the fried squid balls; oh how I love seafood! Yeah Right!!! They actually did have more "normal" options on the menu and I went with a veggie burrito ;)

I was worried that I would have trouble finding anything to eat while in Taiwan; but I'm relieved to say that I've eaten quite well. Sometimes I choose traditional taiwanese cuisine, and when I'm craving something familiar, I always have plenty of American classics like grilled cheese, pancakes (of course), and chips and salsa in the apartment to fall back on!

Everybody Needs a Hair Wash!

Holly took me for a Taiwanese hair-wash and I have to say, it was WONDERFUL! I know a hair-wash doesn't sound that exciting, but it wasn't just any hair-wash. First, the lady massaged my back, shoulders, and neck for several minutes. Then she washed my hair while I was sitting up without ever getting a drop of water or soap in my eyes. During the shampoo, she continued to massage my neck and scalp, so nice!!! After the shampoo, we went to the sink/bowl to rinse and she massaged a little more :) Once that was done, they dried and styled my hair and it felt so smooth and soft!

Even Holly's daughter McKenna got pampered!

Caysen was so good the whole time; he just hung out in his stroller playing with his toys (and looking at his hands).

Round II

Now that Caysen is feeling better, we are getting back into physical therapy. He did so good today even though I had to wake him up to take him to his appointment :)

This is one of the moms at the house. She really loves Caysen; so cute!!!

11

Hey, guess what!!!

I'm 11 months old!

Everyone says I'm a miracle baby because I was born so early, but I'm doing great!

Sometimes people think they know more than God, but when he healed me, he showed a lot of people that anything is possible with him :)

1. My two favorite things are my hands and my tongue. They are good for hours of entertainment!

2. I can roll over like a champ, and I can sit up for a little bit if I brace myself with my hands. I'm going to physical therapy so I can get really strong!!!

3. I am very generous with my smiles!

4. I am a good sleeper. I usually wake up once during the night to eat, and then I go right back to sleep.

5. I'm not very interested in eating. I'll take my whole bottle, but I usually fight it quite a bit before I give in.

6. I like to sleep on my tummy best and I prefer to be laid down in my crib rather than rocked to sleep.

7. I like to snuggle and cuddle when I first wake up :)

8. I used to have three buttons, a hemangioma on my eye, a hernia on my belly, and a shunt on my head...now I only have a button on my head! God made the other ones disappear!!!

9. I like to make sure everyone is paying attention to me; if they aren't, I just talk louder and louder until all eyes are on me!

10. I love kisses!!!

11. I have the most perfect baby hands and feet ever :)

Rock & Roll

Holly and Trena warned me that earthquakes are very common in Taiwan and there would be a good chance I'd feel one at some point during my stay.

Yesterday afternoon, I was sitting on the couch in the apartment reading my book when it felt like someone grabbed the back of the couch and slid it from side to side. I jumped out of my seat thinking someone was in the apartment and then realized no one had touched the couch. I stood still for a second and could feel the building swaying back and forth, back and forth. Then just like that, it was over.

It wasn't a big earthquake and it was fairly far away, so I was able to experience my first earthquake without getting scared. I guess it's all part of the Taiwan experience ;)

We went for a follow-up appointment today and Caysen was given a clean bill of health. In fact, the dr. that saw him today said he didn't even think that Caysen had pneumonia. We will go ahead and finish the antibiotics since they seem to be helping, but I'm so glad that our little guy is feeling better :)

This look turns me to mush...

And this look tells me Caysen thinks I take too many pictures...

"Enough with the pictures already Mom!"

Splashin' Around

Caysen is on the road to recovery so we decided to get out of the apartment for a few hours this afternoon and go for a swim.

I wasn't sure how he would feel about the water because he. hates. bathtime! I guess it's different when someone is holding you in the water though, because he really seemed to enjoy it!

Here he is with one of his Aunties, Mary Joy while I was snapping a few pictures.



And with Aunt Trena :)

He looked so handsome in his little overalls!

Little by Little

Caysen is slowly starting to feel better. He has still been sleeping a TON, but when he is awake, he is much more smiley than he was a few days ago. Here are some pics of our trip to the hospital:

Poor Guy :(

Caysen has been pretty miserable since the day after I got here. He's had a fever, cough, and runny nose that don't seem to be getting better. Today we decided to take him in to get it checked out and they determined he has pneumonia. He hasn't been eating his bottle very well over the last 24 hours so they re-hydrated him with an IV and then they loaded us up with meds and sent us home. I'm really hoping the meds do the trick and Caysen feels better soon.

Physical Therapy

Caysen had his first physical therapy appointment on Friday and he did so well! He actually woke up that morning with a fever so I wasn't sure how it would go, but he hung in there and showed the therapist how amazing he is! Can I just say he is the best baby ever?!?

The therapist had so many encouraging things to say and he is amazed at how well Caysen is doing considering he was born so early with some pretty major complications. He was so gentle with Caysen which put me at ease because I didn't know how I'd handle it if he had made my sweet boy cry too hard ;)

We learned a few excercises we can be doing to help Caysen get stronger in the areas that he is behind. The best news is that the therapist believes that Caysen can be caught up to his age-level by the time he is two years old! Music to this mama's ears!!!

Time to Eat!

Yesterday, I got my first taste of Taiwan. First I tried dry noodles, they looked similar to this:

Then I tried bubble tea. It tastes kind of like a Starbucks frappuccino, YUM!

And no meal is complete without dessert, so I finished it off with a Taiwan-Style donut:

I APPROVE!!!

Randomness

Poor Caysen has been sick since the day after I got here; but he's still the sweetest baby in the world :)

My apartment is surrounded by pineapple fields and some sort of orchards which are lit up like an airport runway at night. I'm scared of the dark, so I don't mind that it ligts up the bedroom.

I saw a little lizard in the apartment last night and thought it was cute!

I saw a cockroach in the car yesterday and screamed! And then I contemplated jumping out of a moving vehicle ;)

Studies show there is nothing cuter than a smiling baby...

except maybe a sleeping baby...

or a naked baby ;)

Taiwan is hot, airconditioning is good. Sweating profusely is not so good...but it happens!