How could anyone do that???

Ok, so my recent posts have generally been adorable cuteness. Since you have likely followed along for the fun stuff, I'm going to ask you to humor me and look at some hard stuff too.

As an adoptive mom, my journey to parenthood has been a little different than that of most.
Over the years I have often heard well meaning people make comments regarding birth parents, whether it be in general or more specifically about our sons' birth mothers.
To generalize, it's often something like "How could anyone ever do that?" of "I could never give up my child".

While I understand where the sentiment comes from, it still hurts my heart.

I'm not sure if I should or not, but I tend to feel a little defensive of my sons' birth mothers. We would not have these kids without women who, for whatever reason, made the most impossible choice anyone could ever make.

Now that we have Penelope Mei, that defensiveness has grown.
In China, there is no way to make an adoption plan for your child. All the children being adopted from China were abandoned.
As easy as it is to say that I could never do that, instead I am choosing to be thankful that I will never have to make that choice.

In an effort to provide a safe place for these children, Guangzhou (and many other cities in China) started a baby hatch. A place to safely abandon a child. It was so overwhelmed, it has already been closed.
Please read the article below about a night at the Guangzhou baby hatch.
Heart Breaking. Absolutely Heart Breaking.
Does it make me understand? No.
Does it make it ok? No.
But it does help me see that these are parents. Parents faced with impossible choices.
As easy as it is to view the woman who leaves her baby on the steps of the police station as a villain, please take a moment to remember. She is a mother too. Not that different than you or I.

So please don't tell me what you would do or what you wouldn't do. Instead, choose compassion and be thankful that you will never have to make such an impossible choice. 

http://www.chinasmack.com/2014/stories/chinese-parents-abandon-children-at-guangzhou-baby-hatch.html

One Month Home

This weekend marks one month home with Penelope. In some ways it seems like we were just walking through the door yesterday, but in others it's hard to remember life before # 4!

Penelope was less than thrilled at the prospect of sitting still for a picture.... 

This little sweetie has everyone wrapped around her little finger!

Penelope's favorite thing to play is tea party!  

What a month! We are so thankful that Penelope has readily accepted her new family! It has been amazing to watch the boys be such awesome big brothers!

We are truly blessed!!

No No QQ

I think if Penelope were able to tell you, she would say she's had another great week!

She really is this happy most of the time! 

She's getting more and more vocal all the time. She says mama very clearly. She says dada sometimes. She also has a new word. NO! It's almost always directed at the youngest of her big brothers. Quincy is still not getting the concept of personal space. He likes to get right in her face. The other day he was in her face and she made some noise that sounded like "No No QQ"!! So, so funny. Since then she is more than willing to tell him "No" when he is too close. She also swats him in the face. I probably would too if I were her.....

She and Quincy have lots of fun together too.

 Penelope & Quincy both suck their thumb. Penelope decided Quincy should give hers a try...

Maybe he's not so bad, he shares his sucker....

Penelope is still taking 2-3 bottles of formula per day. We will continue that for a while for both bonding and nutritional support. Not sure how much nutritional support she needs, she is a great eater!

Some of her favorite foods are oatmeal, congee, scrambled eggs, & carrots. This week she discovered she likes chocolate pudding. We used this as a chance to let her practice feeding herself.

Penelope and I visited my office this week so we weighed Penelope. Drum Roll please.......19 pounds!! She's gained over 2 pounds since we've been home! We can really tell. She's starting to get a double chin and a teeny bit of a belly.

As it (hopefully) continues to get warmer, we thought it was time to put Penelope's stroller together. Anyone who knows me knows I have a little bit of a stroller problem. I kept it conservative with the Maclaren. So far I've only pushed it around in the house but I think I'm going to love it!

We also got a new walker toy. She loves it!

Check her out in action!

After a hard day of walking and stroller riding, sometimes you just need a nap. So she fell asleep on the floor.

So Nanny & PaPa just got back from vacation to the Smoky Mts. They brought the kids hilarious/adorable gifts. 

Who doesn't need a coon skin cap?

Penelope got fabulous new dresses. She is now prepared if Hee Haw comes back on TV and they are looking for a token Asian. Or maybe she will square dance competitively? Either way, so adorable, she was cracking me up so much that I literally had tears running down my face! 

I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves....

Dex looks awfully cute in the hat!

Thanks Nanny & PaPa :)

Last one. This is an awful picture of me but have to share my 2 babies sucking their thumbs together.