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*** Last Updated for May 18th, 2009 ***
*** Estimate Page Last Updated on October 2nd, 2008 ***
Note: I've moved all entries before we travelled to China onto the 2008 Page May 18th - Has it been a month already? Man, I guess I’m guilty of not keeping everyone up to speed on Wren, but I have a really good reason. For Mother’s Day, I worked on writing a book that describes Wren’s days in the orphanage (as best as I could tell), our trip to China and our days with Wren since then. Sandy and I gave a copy to my Mom for Mother’s Day and she was gushing about how good it looked. We’re printing some additional copies for ourselves so that Wren will be able to see exactly what her first year was like when she gets older.
For any of you who are interested in doing the same thing, we built it from a site called Blurb.com. You download an editor, build a copy of the book digitally and then upload it. It probably took me 3 weeks to write and Sandy a week to edit. We then uploaded the digital book and they were able to give us a copy about a week later. Prices vary depending upon the number of pages and hard-cover/soft-cover, but a 58-page hard-cover version cost me only $38. They also apparently have a tool that will convert a blog to a book. I haven’t tried it myself, but I’m sure that it will give you some good results.
So, now that the book-writing is over, life is returning to normal for Team Wren. Our little girl had a checkup last week and is doing well (27 inches, 21 pounds and according to our pediatrician, she is well ahead verbally). She is walking everywhere she can and will often walk in circles if you let her. Yesterday, she started spinning herself around apparently just to see how dizzy she could make herself. She’s also got a large vocabulary and is starting to put words together (like “more milk”). I’m sure the one-on-one (or two-on-one) attention that my parents are able to give her during the day is helping out a lot in that regard.
Last weekend, we also celebrated our first Mother’s Day as a family. After 4 successive next-year-we’ll-be-celebrating-with-Wren letdowns, we were really happy to actually have our little girl. We didn’t do anything fancy, just visited a British pub that Sandy’s been itching to visit for a quiet lunch and then some shopping and a homemade dinner.
Now, we’re getting ready for our first summer together. Wren has already befriended a couple of our neighbor’s children and its fun seeing all of them run around. Other than a trip or two up to Maine to visit Sandy’s family, we don’t have any extensive travel plans in our near future. We’re just looking forward to visiting zoos, parks and farms with our little girl.
I’ll post some pictures next time, but for now, here’s a couple of shots of what Wren’s book looks like. 'Til next time:
Cover
Sample Text Page
Picture Page April 22nd - It’s been a busy week or so for the Curewitz family. Last weekend, Sandy went down to sunny Florida visit her friend Christina and her brother Marco, leaving me as a single parent for the long weekend. Let me just say that, as much fun as I had with Wren, I have a newfound respect for single parents everywhere. Thursday and Friday were regular work days, except for the fact that I dropped off and picked up Wren from my parents home. Still, Wren and I had some good times. First we celebrated “Record Store Day” and picked up a half-dozen CDs (although Wren seemed more interested in the free candy than in any of the music I picked out). Then we visited Old Sturbridge Village (a recreation of an 1830s New England town) with our friend Denise and her daughter Julietta. Wren absolutely loved being up close to the farm animals and started to giggle when she got the opportunity to pat a calf. Then, on Sunday we once again spent the day with my parents and Wren enjoyed the new swing that they had set up for her. Thankfully, Sandy returned safe and sound on Monday and the first time I saw her, Wren was happy in her mother’s arms.
The other big news is that Monday marked our 6-month anniversary of becoming the parents of Wren. I can not believe how much she, and we, have changed during that time. We were given such a precious gift and every day, we find something new to love about our little girl. I recall the quiet little girl who could barely crawl that we met in October and she hardly seems like the vivacious, loving and (incredibly) mobile little girl we have today. All I can say is that fatherhood with Wren is better than I ever thought it could be. It’s not always easy, but I would not give it up for anything.
The other newsworthy item is just how much Wren is learning. It seems that every day she is adding another word or two to her vocabulary (we’ve just added book, diaper and clock). She also is learning all about the parts of her face, if you’ll ask her (and she feels cooperative) she’ll show you where her eyes, nose, mouth, ears and tongue are. It’s just amazing. Sandy will drop Wren off at my parents home in the morning, and by the time I’ve picked her up in the afternoon, she’s doing or saying something new. So, stay tuned for the next entry, because you'll never know what she's going to do next.
And now some pictures
Father, I strongly disagree with your breakfast choices for me
Stopping to smell the flowers
Daddy/Daughter Day
With an oink oink here and an oink oink there
What do you mean Juice OR Milk? April 14th - Yes, we’re still alive and doing well. It’s just that life sometimes gets a little busy, especially when you have a 14-month old. Wren is doing fantastic and I just wanted to share a couple of bits with you:
The past week was pretty busy. It started off on Wednesday when we had our traditional untraditional Passover seder. Wren’s still too young to fully participate, but having her there meant so much to all of us. Then on Saturday, we got together with Madison, Lily and James from our travel group. It has been months since we’ve seen the kids and it was great seeing how much they have grown, hearing about what each child is doing and catching up with friends from the most important trip of our lives.
Then we celebrated a small Easter on Sunday. After her lunch, we placed some plastic eggs around our sunroom and then put Wren in her nicest dress and let her enjoy the eggs. She loved picking them up and shaking them. Once she was done with the eggs, we changed her into an old outfit and then gave her a chocolate lollipop. I’m not sure if my daughter reached a state of nirvana, but if not she was awfully close. Before we knew it, the lollipop was gone and she was sporting a chocolate goatee surrounding her smile.
She’s building quite the vocabulary. She is saying Mama and Dada regularly now, but her favorite word seems to be Shoes (and a lesser extent socks). She will actively look for shoes to carry around with her while she walks down our hallway. She also likes saying “Uh-oh” whenever something falls to the ground, whether she dropped it or threw it there is besides the point. She also can identify the Dog (dawg) and our Cats (which she says “eow”, like meow without the M… too darn cute). I’m sure the next time I get to write, she’ll have a couple more words in her vocabulary. March 27th - Sandy, Wren and I had a nice week or so together. My parents were on vacation, so Sandy and I both took off some time from work to be with our daughter. The highlight of that time was our trip into Boston on Friday the 20th. After our morning nap, we drove into downtown and did lunch in the historic Quincy Marketplace. For a little while, I was afraid that Wren was going to get whiplash from her attempts to take in everything there was to see.
Once we finished eating, we walked over the Aquarium which captivated her like nothing I’ve seen before. She loved the penguins. We must have spent 15 minutes just watching them swim and walk about. Every time I moved to a different vantage point, her head would jerk around so she could get a glimpse of them. Eventually we moved onto the giant central fish tank where Wren was giddy watching the fish, sharks and rays swim past her little window. We put her up on the window’s ledge so she could walk back and forth and see what was swimming her way. We then spent another 30-40 minutes or so wandering past the smaller exhibits before leaving. Honestly, I was a little concerned about how long the aquarium would keep her attention and I’ve got to say that it more than met the challenge. Add in the fact that children under 3 are free, and I readily recommend it.
The weekend was pretty quiet, except for a pleasant playdate on Saturday morning and a long walk with friends on Sunday evening. I then got to spend the next two days with Wren which were relatively quiet. The weather never did allow us to hit a playground, but I’m hoping to rectify that situation in an upcoming weekend. We just stayed inside, played with some toys and I did my best to amuse her. On Tuesday, we drove down to Providence to pick my parents up from the airport and they were happy to see her (and she them). Other than a couple of teething episodes (we now have molars…) it was a very relaxing couple of days.
Now we’re back to our regular schedule. Wren’s having fun and Grammy and Papi’s even as I type and we’re looking forward to another hopefully-quiet weekend.
And now, the pictures:
Wren really enjoys being her Daddy's little pillow.
Now that she has teeth, she loves using them on Corn-on-the-cob
Mommy and Daughter inside Quincy Marketplace
So this is what fish look like before they become fishsticks
Daddy, can I have a penguin? March 18th - It’s been a hectic couple of weeks for us in the Curewitz household, but here’s the latest news on our little girl. The big news is that Wren is now almost exclusively walking. She still isn’t the most stable of walkers, and she isn’t the quickest of walkers, but she’s definitely a walker (and sometimes a runner… see the pictures). She can even walk around with objects in her hands (especially Tupperware lids, can someone tell me why little kids love Tupperware so much).
Mentally, she’s starting to show an attention span. She will play with her toys for a period longer than 30 seconds and she will actually let me read a book to her, instead of trying to flip the pages before I can read them. This new trait really showed herself as we joined our fellow 99ers the Murphy’s and De Veau’s at a children’s theatre production. I spent more time watching my little girl than I did the show, but for the first 30-40 minutes, she was just enraptured by what was happening on stage. The last 20 minutes were a slightly different story, but with enough grapes we were able to keep her amused and in my arms.
Dietwise, she’s pretty much off of baby food or formula. She shows a fondness for a variety of juices and she seems to enjoy her warm milk at night. Her favorite foods right now are fruits: grapes, blueberries, oranges, pineapples and bananas. On the rare day that we have sweets (ice cream or cake), she’ll devour those down too. She will eat vegetables (especially green beens, but peas, celery, cooked peppers and corn too) , all sorts or rice and pasta and very small pieces of meat.
This week is shaping up to be an interesting week. Sandy and I are taking some time off to be with our little girl. We’re looking forward to visiting the Boston Aquarium, and hopefully we’ll have a nice enough day so that we can enjoy a walk along Boston Common and Faneuil Hall too. Beyond that we’re hoping to get together with some friends for a play-date and maybe we’ll take a couple of trips to our local playground. It should be a good week.
Finally, a couple of new pictures:
Yeah, we reached THAT stage
Nope, no grapes in here.
Mommy/Daughter fun
We have got to visit Sophia more often! March 4th - A new batch of referrals came out, including a batch from the Yugan orphanage, which just pleases me to no end. Some of the children who shared a room and a bed with Wren will shortly be placed in the hands of their parents. Seven months ago, I thought I understood how special that is, but now I realize that if anything, I underestimated the majesty of the moment. So a huge congratulations to the newest parents of Yugan girls.
Of course, with every joy comes a sadness, and in this case, it’s for the families from my agency who just missed the cutoff by a single day. Sandy and I lived through that hell and I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone. It hurts now, but in a few weeks you’ll have the knowledge that you indeed are truly next and that in four weeks, you’ll be getting the greatest gift you will ever be given.
In the Wren front, it’s been a fairly quiet week. The big news is just how good at walking our little girl has become. This weekend, she made the jump from “mostly crawling” to “mostly walking” and even (dare I say it) running a little. OK, maybe it’s not true running, but she can definitely motor those little feet of hers. She also has started going down stairs now. We are really looking forward to getting her outside if/when the snow ever melts and the temperature gets warm.
The other bit of Wren-trivia that I’d like to share with you, is that our little girl is now helping us make meals. We made a pizza on Monday night, and Wren helped by throwing some cheese on top. She was immensely proud of herself and we all enjoyed that homemade pizza more than any other we made. Now, I’m wondering what other recipes she could help with…
Finally, a couple of new pictures:
You really aren't planning on waking me up right now, are you?
OK, I'm up already. February 25th - All-in-all, it was a pretty quiet week for us and Wren. The biggest thing is that our little girl is now able to climb up stairs on her hands and knees. She is also able to take more steps than she used to before she falls over. We’ve seen 4 or 5 come in a row. We’re bracing for the day that she will be fully bipedal. We know that when spring finally comes to our little New England town, she will be able to run on the grass. We’re looking forward to that moment.
As promised, I’m posting a couple new pictures, courtesy of my new I-Phone.
You can never be too young to start good dental hygiene
Wren loves looking out the windows on our drive home from Grammy and Poppy’s house
Ah… the things grandparents do to their grandchildren February 17th - The big news for the week is that Wren had her physical last Wednesday, and she is doing just fine. She is still around 50% on the height charts and head-circumference charts and she’s gaining ground on the weight charts up to 25% from the 20% that she was at just last month. It’s not uncommon for some children who came from Chinese orphanages to not even be on the US growth charts, so the fact that she is where she is and gaining is a great sign.
She’s also making the transition from baby to toddler. While she’s still mostly on all fours, she is becoming increasingly bipedal. We’ve pretty much stopped using bottles and are now on sippy cups. Toys and books now hold her interests for more than 30 seconds and she is babbling up a storm. I know that the daughter we see now is totally different from the one we brought home from China just under four months ago and I can only imagine the one that we’ll have come summer. It’s just an amazing gift to be able to see her grow right before my eyes.
That’s all for now. I know, I need to add some pictures. Hopefully, I can put some up in the next couple of days or so. February 10th - All-in-all it was a pretty quiet week for Team Wren. No big parties, just a nice get-together with our friends on Saturday night. Wren is continuing to grow and is on the brink of walking. She’s capable of standing up on her own and even taking a few tentative steps, although she prefers to say on all fours at the moment. Like a good musician, she is experimenting with new sounds, specifically G’s and M’s. Sandy is hoping to hear her first true “Mama” soon and I’ll be happy to have the title of “Dada” all to myself.
We’ve got a pediatrician appointment tomorrow, nothing scary, just a check-up. Beyond that, we’ve decided to check out the “Gymboree” experience on Saturday, so we’ll see how that goes. Until then, it’s more days with my parents, more car rides with her blanket and Zebra, more dinners where we play “What will Wren eat tonight” and the prospect of actually being able to take Wren for some stroller rides amidst the melting snows of New England.
By the way, I’m now on Facebook, so feel free to send a friend request. February 2nd - On Saturday, my little girl turned one year old. A year ago, she was a newborn in an orphanage with not a single possession to her name, now a year later, she’s surrounded by friends and family (who in some cases travelled hundred or thousands of miles) and surrounded by all the material things a one-year girl could ever want (and then some). And, as fortunate as some of you think that she may be for having a loving family, all I can say is that we are far more fortunate for having her in our lives. Her ready smile brightens up these cold New England dreams and I feel fortunate to be able to spend time with her every single day.
She’s really starting to change. In the past week, she’s made ready use of the word “DaDa” (which she calls everyone, including Sandy who’d much prefer “MaMa”), “Oops” for when she drops things (which is quiet frequent, sometimes accidently and sometimes not) and an occasional “Hi” when I pick her up out of her crib after naps. This morning, as I was lifting her out of her high chair she said “Down”, which she repeated again as I put her down. Of course, she’s also doing lots of baby-talk… although for all I know she could be reciting Confucius in ancient Chinese.
The birthday celebration was held on Saturday, with a quiet morning around the home. A couple of Sandy’s friends from high school came here for the weekend (including Christina who won the award of “furthest travelled” from her home in Jacksonville). We put Wren down for her afternoon nap, and by the time she woke up, she was introduced to a conglomeration of friends and family, many of whom she never met before. After a few wary minutes as I stood by her, she starting interacting with everyone else and had fun.
Aside from the mountain of gifts (seriously, we could open our own Babies ‘R Us branch right now), the highlight of the day was the Wren-sized, Panda-shaped cake that Gemma made for her. Sandy placed Wren in the high-chair and put the cake in front of Wren. At first, Wren didn’t know what to do. Then Sandy took a small swipe of the cake and placed it in Wren’s mouth. Yum! Then Wren tentatively reached for the cake herself and grabbed a tiny nibble, then a small bite, then a big bite, and well, the next thing you know, she’s grappling the cake like a sumo wrestler, pulling it towards her and shoving as much of it in her mouth as she could. The end result was one extremely messy, but happy, little girl and a room full of laughter.
Today, the last of our friends are travelling home and the excitement of Chinese New Year with our 99er friends and Wrens birthday are over. We’re getting ready to return to the routine of our lives and wondering what new word or trick our little girl is going to show us next.
Finally, we have some pictures that we'd like to share with all of you:
A scene from Chinese New Years
The 99er girls (minus Lily who had to leave a little early): Sophia, Wren, Carolina and Lia.
What do I do with this?
Nevermind, I figured it out.
That's odd. Mommy usually doesn't like it when I make a mess of my food.
Our little Zebra girl!
Saying Hi to Uncle Lance and Aunt Kathy January 28th - No pictures yet and no Wren news, I just feel like it's past time to do my annual Songs You Should know article:
Lover by Devandra Banhart. Marriages sometimes confuse your musical tastes. Sandy, for example, loves T-Rex. I can't stand T-Rex. Devandra Banhart's Lover from the Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist CD sounds like T-Rex. There's more than a hint of that early 70's hippie sound that I loathe. The lyrics are pretty laughable "I-I, I wanna be the pear tree/I want you to climb all over me/Try my fruit and taste my seed." So, I should hate this song on 17-different levels, so why can't I stop replaying it over and over again on my IPod? Probably because of it's totally funky, kick-ass bass beat and Banhart's vocals that could convert the most pious of nuns into a rock star groupie.
Riot Radio by The Dead 60s, The second (and final) song from the Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist comes from Liverpool's The Dead 60s. While their name and origins may make you think of the Beatles, their sound on this song reminds me of a much later British export, the Clash, circa London Calling. The music doesn't want you to change the world, it just makes you want to pick up a guitar and play three chords as passionately as you can.
Borneo by Firewater - While the Dead 60s avoid politics, Firewater embraces it. Sandy's long been a fan of Firewater and the first time that I heard the song was at a show in Boston a few months before we went to China to pick up Wren. I can't say that I loved the set, but Sandy did, however I loved this song, which was all about escaping from the world of George W. Bush. "WWell I ain't gonna live in your world no more (Hey, Borneo)/Yeah feeling like a funky two-bit whore (Here I come, Borneo)/Got a monkey for a president (Hey, Borneo)/And a head all filled up with cement (Look out, Borneo). Combine the passionately-sung lyrics with some creative "counting down" in the vocals and a guitar beat that seems more at home at a hookah bar in Baghdad than anything you'll hear on commercial radio these day. As much as I love some of the other songs on this list, Borneo is easily my song of the year.
Like It Too Much by Kaiser Chiefs - I've got a weakness for the Kaiser Chiefs and I admit it. They may not make great music that change the world, but they make consistently entertaining songs that grow on you like a fungus. Their latest album "Off With Their Heads" was far superior to their "Farewell Angry Mob", but none of the singles on this album were as strong as Ruby. Still, I had to include at least one song from my current favorite band. How can you not like a song with lyrics like "Because you are descended from animals/And you are constructed of chemicals" especially when sung with utter glee and surrounded with anthemic bass beat?
Black Plant by Last Shadow Puppets - Artsy side projects are usually recipes for disaster, but this is the rare case that I like the side project more than the original act (Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys and Miles Kane of the Rascals). The songs sound like the come from a killer soundtrack to an early 1960s movie, with lush orchestration that complement each song without overwhelming them. The entire album flows nicely, to the point that it was hard to select a single song, but Black Plant ultimately gets my nod.
Love Me Dead by Ludo - Back in the 80s, I loved the MTV show 120 minutes, which showcased alternative music back before just about everything started to be classified as alternative. I think Andrew Volpe, the singer/songwriter of the band had a pretty bad relationship. The album's called "You're Awful, I Love You" and the lead track (Love Me Dead) starts off with the lyric "Love me cancerously" and it goes down from there. It's also incredibly infectious as he contrasts the love he feels for a woman who is killing him slowly, but he doesn't seem to mind all that much.
Accelerate by REM - Like a lot of people, I wrote off REM sometime at the beginning of the decade. They may have taken a few lumps during the decade, but they came out rocking with the title track of their new album.
Triops Has Three Eyes by They Might Be Giants - Now that I have a daughter, I feel absolutely no guilt in purchasing children's albums, especially not by They Might Be Giants whose songs have been in my ears for over 2 decades now. Here Comes the 123s is the Giants third children's album and ranks with the excellent "No!". The best thing about TMBG's children songs are that they are just as accessible to adults as they are to the wee ones. Throughout the song, the two Johns sing about all the things that have eyes (like hurricanes and needles) but reminding us that Triops have three eyes. It reminds me in a lot of ways of Flood's Partical Man, and considering that song is one of my all-time favorites, that should tell you just how much I like this song.
Great DJ by Ting Tings - The greatest New Wave hit since the 1980s. This Manchester based duo reminds me a lot of Blondie, from Katie White's looks to the catchiness of their lyrics (Imagine all the girls/ah-ah-ah-ah-ah/and the boys/ah-ah-ah-ah-ah/and the strings/he-he-he-he-he/and the drums, the drums, the drums the drums...). Based upon their debut album, I expect to be hearing from them for years to come.
Sidedish Friend by Rachel Yamagata – I stumbled across Yamagata’s 2004 album happenstance and could not get it out of my CD player (because, there was a time before IPods). She can be sultry as a soulful 1960s siren or she can rock the pants off of you if she chooses too. She reminds me a lot of the much more famous Amy Winehouse, only without all of the drama. Her 2008 release is divided between the 10-set first disk (called Elephants) full of her soulful tunes (which unfortunately seem to pale in comparison to Happenstance) and the 5-track second disk (called Teeth Sinking Into Heart) which has her rock tunes. The opening song on the second disk is Sidedish Friend is my favorite. January 27th - I haven’t had a chance yet to download the pictures from the camera, so you may have to wait a couple more days until you can see the latest pictures of the Wrenster, but I didn’t want to let too much time go between posts.
Wren is firmly in a routine now when it comes to spending her days with my parents. She seems to behave well for them and she definitely loves them and her Auntie Em. She gets to go on long walks (when its not too cold out there) and steals whatever food she wants from my Mom and Dad’s lunch plates. Sandy usually takes her to their house in the morning while I get to pick her up in the evenings. I’ve got to tell you that the moment I walk in the door and see my daughter just melts my heart.
I walk through the kitchen door and her face is just beaming. I can’t believe just how wide her smile can get. Her little eyes are all scrunched up, because that’s just how she smiles. Best of all, her left hand is extended towards me, as if she can’t wait to get into my arms fast enough. Man, it’s magic and it happens to me on a daily basis.
I speak with my parents for a few minutes as they tell me all about their day with Wren and then we dress her in the 87 layers it takes to survive this New England winter. Then, it’s out to the Jeep and I place her in her car seat and tuck her pink blanket around her. The pink blanket (with a ladybug on it) has been a mainstay with us from the day we got her in China and is easily her favorite thing in the world (alas, poor Zebra is relegated to second place). We then drive home where we do a brief playtime before dinner, bath and the goodnight routine.
We also had a great weekend with our 99er friend as we all celebrated Chinese New Years. Sandy and I hosted this year, and it was amazing seeing the 5 little girls and the three big brothers all playing in our living room. It’s amazing to see how different the three older girls are (Caroline, Lia and Sophia all came home in December 2007) as opposed to the two younger ones (Lily and Wren) but every year, that gap is going to be less and less. I can’t wait until they are all of the age where they can truly play and interact with one another. There will be 5 sets of extremely happy parents on that day.
Just a quick note that yesterday was the 3-year anniversary of our documents being logged into China. Last year, the anniversary of being LID was truly depressing, and I can only empathize with those whose wait has now hit the three year mark. I hate sounding like Pollyanna, but keep your faith and you will be rewarded, not as soon as you deserve, but it shall happen.
Well, that’s all for now. Hopefully the pictures will be up before the end of the week. Be sure to check in next week as we tell you all about Wrennie’s first birthday. January 20th - Hello again to another installment of “What’s New with Wren”. Actually, it’s been a pretty quiet week. She’s spending her weekdays with my parents and her nights and weekends with Sandy and myself. The only thing out of the norm last week was we had our 3-month visit from our social worker Christine and we spent most of the time talking about how Wren has grown, both physically and developmentally. By every means we can tell, Wren is doing the types of things that any child her age should be doing, and a couple of things that she shouldn't.
We’ve got some busy weekends coming up. This Sunday, we’re celebrating Chinese New Years with our 99er friends and the weekend after that our little girl turns 1, so we’ll have family coming from all over the place to pay their respects. So, stay tune for the next couple of entries as we will hopefully have some very special pictures to show you. January 14th - A pretty quiet week here for Team Curewitz. The big news is that Wren is now spending her days with her Grammy and Poppi and she (and they) are loving every minute of it. We are so lucky to have my folks living as close as they do and who are willing/delighted to spend as much time with their granddaughter as they can. It certainly makes life easier for Sandy and myself.
As frustrated as we were about having to work and pay proper attention to Wren, there does seem to be a gap in our lives. We get to spend only an hour or so with her in the mornings and maybe two more with her in the evenings before she goes to sleep. Every minute that we have with her seems more important and we try to make the best we can of whatever time we have together.
As far as what’s new in Wren-land, she is getting better and better using a spoon and she is now able to handle both a sippy-cup and a bottle. She’s still not verbalizing yet, but there were a couple of confirmed utterings of “dog” whenever Boudicca was nearby yesterday morning. We’re still trying to get her to call us Dada and Mama, but it hasn’t taken yet.
That’s all for now. We’ve got a visit with our Social Worker on Friday and then on Saturday, we’re going to celebrate Caroline Murphy’s second birthday with her family. It’s amazing how fast our little 99er girls are growing up.
Until next week… January 5th - Wow, a busy week which brought us a snowstorm, two get-togethers and a new year. I’m hoping that 2009 slows down a bit, because if things keep up at this pace, I’m never going to get any rest.
So, first the big news is that its been over two months since we first came home with Wren. That means that we’ve completed the one-of-us-needs-to-be-caring-for-Wren-at-all-times policy that our agency has. In theory, I agree with this policy, since it allows the child to know who its main caregivers are (namely me and Sandy). During these past two months, we have watched Wren grow, not only physically and developmentally, but in her connection to us. During the first month, it was relatively easy since Sandy was taking vacation time, so even when I was working from home, Sandy could care for Wren’s needs. The second month though, when one of us was truly working from home while caring for Wren was much more frustrating than either of us first thought. While we are incredibly grateful for our employers to give us the opportunity, we both had occasional problems juggling work and Wren. We both felt at times that instead of being a good employee or a good parent, we were simultaneously doing a poor job at both. Well that period is over for us and now our beloved little girl is spending her days with my parents. We are so incredibly grateful that they agreed to care for our girl while both Sandy and I work. Wren will stay exclusively in their care during weekdays until this fall, when we’ll put her in a part-time daycare program, just so she can spend more time with children her own age.
As for the events this year, after spending a snowy-and-frigid New Years Eve home with Wren, we joined most of the members of our travel group at Pat & Melissa’s house for a get-together. Of the 10 families who went to China, 7 of us came together and it was great seeing how much they all had changed during these two months. We traded notes on what gains our children had made over these past two months and how we were all reacting to the changes in our lives. Dozens upon dozens of pictures were taken (some of which I need to send to our orphanage) and we enjoyed coming together. These children are as close to cousins as Wren will ever have and we all agree on the need for our girls (and boy) to have bonds to other Chinese adoptees their own age. I can only hope that this is the first of many get-togethers.
Then, yesterday, we got together with our 99er friends to celebrate Sophia De Veau’s 2nd birthday. I’ve got to admit that at first, I was a bit overwhelmed by spending that much time with that many little children. I can’t remember the last time I saw that many 1 and 2 year olds together. Still, it was great to see just about everyone again (unfortunately the Bordens had prior commitments) and we’re looking forward to the upcoming birthdays and Chinese New Years parties to come. It’s always a treat to see our friends and now that we all have our little girls, we can share war stories and advice and bask in the joy of simply being parents.
That’s all for now,
- Dave
Do you have any idea how hard it is to get 7 infants together on a couch for a picture with none of them crying? Luckily, I had just enough goldfish crackers to go around. In order we have Emma, Samantha, Mei, Christian, Lily, Wren and Madison. December 30th - Two weeks, two posts… that’s an accomplishment, isn’t it?
Well, it’s late December so we did what any semi-Jewish family does and celebrated Christmas. We started off the day with the regular routine, bottle and breakfast and then introduced Wren to the joy of opening presents. She seemed relatively indifferent to the few gifts that we got her, but she really liked the wrapping paper and really, really liked the bows! We then did a bit of playtime before putting her down for her morning nap and once she awoke, we headed off to my parent’s house for the rest of the day.
While waiting for Uncle Matt (who prefers to be called Uncle Balthazar) and Auntie Joce (aka Auntie Superfantastique), we sat with my parents and Auntie Em and struggled to get Wren to take a nap. Once Matt & Joce arrived, it was time to open gifts.
Without going into too much detail, let’s just say that it started with Wren’s stocking which was easily twice her height and it devolved from there. Wren got so much stuff from Grammie and Papi, and her aunts/uncle that we had problems fitting all of it in the station wagon. Let’s just say that I think we got every book, stuffed animal, musical toy, non-musical toy and clothes that an 11-month old could possible use. We no longer have a living room at home, we just have one big playroom. It’s a great problem to have, but I’m just wondering what we could possibly give her for her birthday at the end of January that she doesn’t already have. We’ve got a big week coming up. On New Years Day, we’re reuniting with several families who went to China. We haven’t seen most of them since then, so it will be good to see how the babies have grown and how the parents are coping. Then, on the 4th, we’re going to get together with the 99ers in honor of Sophia DeVeau’s 2nd birthday party.
That’s all for now. Enjoy the pictures and hopefully I’ll be able to update this page next week.
The best part of Christmas: The Pom-Pom!
Zebra and Tiger help Wren with opening her presents
Look what Daddy and Wren got!
Our new and vastly improved family December 20th - Has it really been three weeks since I’ve updated this blog? Man, talk about feeling guilty…
The past three weeks have been pretty crazy. Wren is growing and blooming right before our eyes. Three weeks ago, all Wren could manage was to pull herself across the ground a few inches at a time. Now, she is crawling wherever she can get to, she’s standing up (with the assistance of a wall or chair) and she’s starting to take some preliminary steps (with Sandy and I holding her hands).
A few weeks ago, we had Early Intervention come to our home where they tested Wren’s development. We’re glad to say that she is at or above what a child of her age should be doing. We also had her growth charts checked out and she’s a bit tall (75%) but slightly underweight (10%-25%). For a girl who spent her first nine months in a Chinese orphanage, these are all good signs. So we’ve got a happy and healthy girl and we couldn’t be any prouder than what we are. Even better, she is sleeping through the night (7pm to 7am daily).
Best yet, we got a confirmed “Da” and “Dada” the other morning. I was changing her morning diaper and she just looked up to me and say “Da”, as I was trying to figure out if she really said what I thought she said, she said “Dada” followed a few seconds later by “Dad”. Of course, she hasn’t said anything since then, but that’s OK, the memory is enough for me.
That’s all for now. I hope you enjoy the latest pictures and stay tuned for another entry sometime after Xmas.
Our little cutie is back on the web
Getting ready for the holidays
Mommy and Wren playing "swing"
Wow Dad, you need to shave! November 30th -
Wren has been keeping us pretty busy since the last time I updated this site. I barely know where to begin… but I’ll try.
First off, Wren is so much more mobile then she was a couple of weeks ago. She is crawling, not the baby crawl on hands-and-knees, but the belly-on-the-ground crawl. It may not be the most elegant way to get around, but it gets her to where she wants to go. She is also able to keep herself standing up once we put her in that position up against an object. She loves being a biped and she really loves it when we put some toys on top of the ottoman and we let her stand there.
One of the biggest issues we have with Wren is her appetite… or lack thereof. She is an extremely fussy eater and drinker, sometimes we’re lucky if we can get anything at all in her stomach other times she will devour everything in sight. So far, her energy level is fine, so Sandy and I haven’t contacted our pediatrician… yet, but we are worried that she’s not getting the nutrition that she needs.
In other news, Sandy goes back to work tomorrow and it will be a big change for all of us. Up until now, even when I’ve been working from home, Sandy has been there to take care of Wren. I’m concerned about just how much work I’ll be able to get done during the day. Thankfully, my parents have volunteered to come for a visit whenever work demands my full attention. Still, I don’t want to take advantage of their generosity.
Speaking of their generosity, they did Sandy and I a huge favor by babysitting Wren last night. It was the first time since… well, since we came back from China, that either Sandy or I wasn’t with Wren. In one way, it made us remember who we were before children, but we were also wondering how Wren was doing. We kept checking our phones for messages, just to see if anything was going wrong. Nothing did, but I guess that’s what parenthood is all about… worrying about your girl even when she isn’t there. Anyways, I just wanted to post some more recent pictures of our little girl.
She may be behind bars, but she’s still enjoying herself
Sandy makes some more delicious food that Wren will refuse to eat
Some nights, dinner is more performance art than dining
If you’re messy and you know it, clap your hands
Wren likes story time, even when she could care less about the story November 16th -
Everything is going well. Wren is consistently sleeping through the night and Sandy and I have pretty much caught up on all the sleep that we’ve been missing. The big news is that Wren went to the doctor’s office on Friday and she’s gained almost a pound in the past two weeks and there were no problems found in any of her bloodwork tests. So, all is good and happy here.
The only real news is that we’ve just received a packet from our agency with an overview of our “now that you are home” paperwork. This includes paperwork for us getting Wren a Social Security Number and an overview of the “re-adoption” process, which will allow Wren to get an American birth certificate from our home town.
As promised, here are some updated pictures of our little girl.
Wren with two of her favorite stuffed buddies, Zebra and Tiger
Wren and Lily at our last Waiting Parents meeting.
Aurora and Wren.
Wren and I getting ready for a walk. November 11th -
So much happened today that I barely know where to begin. It’s kind of late, so please excuse the syntax and spelling errors. I’m just trying to get everything down while it’s still fresh in my mind.
First off, today was my first “work from home” day. First of all, let me express my gratitude to Mike for allowing me to work home Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays between now and the New Year. You would think that working from home would be an easy task that I’d be glad to zip in between my professional requirements and my home commitments. Honestly, it’s not easy. I’m the type of guy who likes being focused. When I’m at work, I like being at work and when I’m home; I want to only think of home. When Wren’s screaming, I feel like I should be there with her, instead of having Sandy take on the task, and when I’m giving Wren a bottle, I wonder about the code that I should be writing. I guess I can’t win, but I am profoundly grateful to have the time anyways. Even if all I get to do is to have a couple of “bottle breaks” with my daughter during the day and share lunch with her, it’s a blessing… even though the timing may not always be what I want it to be.
The second “big thing” of today was that we had our first home visit from our social worker. She showed up slightly after 1pm and she didn’t leave until sometime near 3pm. During the nearly 120 minute session we told her everything about our trip and our first days with our daughter. I’ve got to admit that the entire time our social worker was here, I was saying things to myself like “Please do not play with your daughter the wrong way”, “Please don’t make a big poop right now” and “What if I accidently say something so incredibly stupid and the social worker takes Wren away.” I know, none of that stuff was going to happen (well, the poop could have happened, but didn’t), but it’s still one more anxiety that we adoptive parents have to go through. Even when you have the child, you don’t really have the child until the last social work visit is done 1 year from now. Now don’t get me wrong, our social worker is a truly nice person and she’s a pleasure to talk with, but still, she has the power to bring Wren out of my life and the remote prospect of that happening scares the bejeezus out of me.
Our third event of the day was our last Waiting Parents meeting. For those of you new to our blog, one of the best things about our agency is its Waiting Parents meeting. It’s where the parents-to-be can get together and talk about how the wait is. Now, a lot of the conversations are a little too crunchy-feely for me, but the people that I met there… man, I don’t know how Sandy and I would have endured the wait without them.
Anyways, one of the traditions of the Waiting Parents meeting is that when families come back with their child, they bring them to the meeting, talk about the trip and answer any questions they have. During our 30-month wait, I’ve seen dozens of parents-and-babies, all the time wondering when our chance would come. Tonight was the night and the only thing that made it better was that we were joined by our friends/travelmates Melissa, Pat, Lily and their two sons and by Dan, Lucy and Madison. We haven’t seen each other since we landed in Boston two weeks ago and it was great seeing everyone in person again and finding out how their babies were adapting.
The pre-dinner at the 99 and the meeting itself were absolute blurs, I had no idea that time could fly by that quickly, still it was nice to be on the other side of the Waiting Parents meeting and to say our farewells to some of the friends that we made there. For those of you still waiting, know that Sandy and I have you in our thoughts and we look forward to the day where you will have the child you’ve been waiting for. The only thing that I can tell you is it’s even better than you think it’s going to be. It’s a lot more work, especially during those first sleepless nights, but my God, what an amazing feeling it is to finally hold your child in your arms.
One last thought and that’s a big thank you to all of you who’ve said all the great things via e-mail, phone or in person, about this little blog. I honestly and deeply thank you for taking time for reading what’s happening to our little family and I’m honored that you think that I’m a decent enough writer. For those of you who have said that I should write a book, well, be careful… I just may do that and then you’re going to have to read it.
I should probably get some sleep night. Next time, I promise to include some more pictures of our little Wren. November 10th -
An end to sleepless night? Hardly, but we had a big breakthrough on Saturday night. Our little Wren finally seems to be adjusting to a daytime schedule. On Saturday night, she went to sleep at 6pm, woke up for an hour at 9pm (hardly a big deal, we were up anyways) and then stayed asleep until 4:45am. I gave her a bottle in her room with the lights dimmed to the lowest level possible and then put her back to sleep. She stayed asleep until 9am (and that’s only because we woke her up).
Last night was even better. We put her to bed sometime around 6:30pm and she stayed asleep for Sandy until 4:45 this morning. Again, a quick bottle in dim light and she fell right back asleep. She was still asleep when I left my home at 7:30 this morning. Let’s hope the good times continue!
Now, if I could just get over this cold, everything would be perfect! November 8th -
The brain’s not working all that well, but I wanted to give you a quick update nonetheless.
Going back to work was much harder than I thought it would be. I felt guilty leaving Sandy with all the responsibilities of caring for Wren and I missed seeing my little girl for most of the day. I would get to see her for a few minutes in the morning and in the evening, we are only together for 90 minutes or so before she is ready for bed. I know in the upcoming days, I’ll be able to work from home for a good part of the week, but even then, I’ll be seeing her a little more frequently, but still, for 2 days a week, I’ll only catch a few glimpses of her.
On Friday, Sandy took Wren to her pediatrician for a longer, more involved visit. This time, Wren had 6 vials of blood drawn, which will be used to determine if our little girl has any medical issues. When we got Wren’s referral we got a complete medical examination, but neither Sandy nor myself were comfortable with treating this report as gospel. Hopefully, all the tests will come back negative, but we’d rather check everything. Again, not being there really bothered me, especially when I heard that Sandy had to hold onto Wren so the blood can be drawn, but life is what it is.
Finally, now that we are started to get adjusted to Wren’s routine (even if that routine is more nocturnal than we would like), we’ve started to introduce our little girl to the friends who have helped us out along the way. It’s nice watching our daughter react to each new face and how she smiles whenever she’s around them. It finally feels like we are just another family with just a 9-month old girl. This is what we’ve been waiting for for all these years. November 5th -
I was alive and I waited, waited
I was alive and I waited for this
Right here, right now
There is no other place I want to be
Right here, right now
Watching the world wake up from history
- Right Here Right Now, Jesus Jones Watching the world wake up from historyYesterday, Sandy and I took Wren to participate in her first truly American act, the voting for the President of the United Sates. Sandy and I are ecstatic that the candidate of our choice won, but whatever your political beliefs may be, the historical results of yesterday’s results must be acknowledged. Yesterday, the United States of America elected a person of color for the highest office in the land. As the new father of someone who is not Caucasian, I celebrate the fact that a majority of country has ignored the color of a man’s skin and judged him solely on his character. I also know that there are millions of American who voted for John McCain, not because of the color of his opponent’s skin, but for the ideas that he espoused.
I’m not sure what any of this will mean for my daughter, but I hope that it is the beginning of a post-racial America, where my daughter will be judged solely by what she says and does and not by the fact that she is an Asian-American. I hope that, because of the events of yesterday, she will grow up in a world where the color of her skin, the land or her origin is secondary to the person who she will become. I hope that, by the time she comes of an age of reason, the thought that the color of a person’s skin is a deterrent to any possible future she may wish, never enters her mind. In short, I hope that the promise of a multi-racial America means only the best for my daughter and her new homeland.
Taking a walk in the New England Autumn
She loves her piggy-back rides
Wren, with her grandparents and Auntie Em November 4th -
There was a point in my life, not so long ago (oh, say 4 weeks ago) where I couldn’t imagine being up at 4am writing a blog, but here I am. We had a great day yesterday, we woke Wren up at 7, let her nap at 9, woke her up again and 11, sleep again at 1 and then up again from 4-7 and down for the night. She woke up twice, but in general seemed to be adapting to a diurnal lifestyle. Today, we repeated the same schedule. We even wore her out a little more with my family coming to our house for dinner (and her first meeting with her aunts and uncle) and everything went great (by the way, thanks for the gifts guys). We put her down at 7 and then… disaster. She was up at 8 with teething pains and would not calm down until sometime after 11pm. Sandy and I got a few hours of sleep, until Wren started screaming again at 2:00 and kept Sandy up until 3:30. Now, I can’t fall back asleep, so here I am.
While I’m typing (and hopefully making sense…) a couple of other notes:
- We started using our video baby monitor. This is honestly one of the coolest toys ever. It even has night vision. Now I can obsess about the status and safety of our daughter from the comfort of my own bed. Plus when she screams, it comes out in stereo.
- I made my first nighttime run for Wren. After her teething pain issue last night, I made an 11pm run to our local CVS so I can get some Children’s Tylentol so that the next time she has these pains she (and we) can rest easier. I hate the idea of medicating children for the sake of making our lives earlier, but then again, I don’t want my daughter to be in pain if we can relieve it.
Finally, it’s Election Day here in the states. We’re bringing Wren to the polls with us. For all my fellow Americans, make sure that you do the same. November 2nd -
You consider me the young apprentice
Caught between the Scylla and Charybidis
- Wrapped Around Your Finger, Police<<<< If you couldn’t guess by yesterday’s entry, we were feeling pretty overwhelmed by trying to keep up with Wren’s sleep schedule. We got some advice from some friends yesterday who all recommended the same thing, that instead of waiting for Wren to adjust to our schedule, we should take some steps to force her onto our sleep schedule. So, last night, we woke Wren up from her nap at 4:00 and made her stay up until 7:30. She didn’t have a restful night... she kept me up between 10:30 and 1 and Sandy from 2 to to 5:30. But I woke her up at 7:00 this morning and didn’t let her fall asleep until 9. We’ll get her up for a couple of hours before giving her an afternoon nap and then we’ll keep her up again between 4 and 7 or so. Our hope is that she’ll sleep when she has the opportunity and if we stick to that schedule, she’ll soon be sleeping when we want her to.
I also wanted to say that sleep aside, we love having Wren in our lives. I thought I’d write a quick list of things that I love about having Wren in our life:
(1) Her Smile – Do you remember going to your first big concert? Just before the band comes out, the arena lights are dimmed and then the stage lights shine like the Fourth of July and you just go “Whoa”. That’s what her smile does to me... every time. I’m completely blown away by my daughters smile. And her laugh? It’s like the opening notes to your favorite song. I just can not get enough of it. I could hear it a hundred times and still want more. When you combine the two... forget about it. It’s magic.
(2) Her Curiosity – One of my nicknames for Wren is Curious Girl (Which I usually sing to Marshall Crenshaw’s Cynical Girl). I just love the look on her face whenever she sees something new. Whether its a new person, a new place, her bottle or even our pup Buddha, you can see her mind trying to understand what’s going on. I love it when she picks up a new skill. On the third day we met her, she learned how to feed herself puffs. The day after we came home, she finally beat her nemesis (Cheerios) and was able to feed herself those treats. Currently, she’s taken some tentative steps towards crawling forwards (she’s got backwards nailed!) and she is doing some verbalizing, although nothing close to words. Still, we’ll get there in time. I’m just wondering what new trick she will show us.
(3) Family – Sandy and I have been married for 4 years, but the addition of Wren makes me feel like I’m part of a family more than ever. I love watching Sandy and Wren interact. All I can think of is that my two favorite people are having fun together. I can watch it for hours. Speaking of Sandy, I’m just amazed at how she always seems to know what our daughter wants or needs. I feel like I’m constantly grasping at what our daughter needs, but Sandy just seems to know.
(4) My personal growth – I feel like I’ve already learned so much about myself. Things that used to seem important (Red Sox, music, movies) just seem more trivial than they ever used to. I’m learning a new level of patience and that I can’t always force things to happen on my schedule. I’m learning to use the late night hours with her to think about everything that happened the past day and to look ahead to what I want to do with the next one. November 1st -
You're happy and
Then all of a sudden you're sad
- Happy Sad, Pizzicato Five “… and they all lived happily ever after.” That’s how the fairy tell ends. Unfortunately, this is real life and as much as I would have preferred that option, it hasn’t quite happened.
Our first days home with Wren haven’t exactly been easy. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t wish her to be anywhere else, but it just hasn’t been easy. I was warned by our friends that the first weeks home would be tough, I wasn’t aware at just how true they were.
Days and nights have no meaning. Wren has been sleeping in 2-3 hour spurts and Sandy and I have had to adjust our jetlagged bodies to her needs. We each manage to get, at most, 4 hours of sleep at a time before we must take on whatever Wren-related tasks that need to be done. We’ve been unable to unpack our suitcases, because one of us is always in bed, fighting off the exhaustion that is in our bodies.
Here’s a quick summary of the past 48 hours
- Thursday morning, as I mentioned on the Oct 29th travel page, I got to sleep sometime around 5am. I woke up around 9, took the dog for a walk and then let Sandy get some sleep. I tried to clean up the house somewhat before my parents came down to give us some much needed help around the house. By 2pm, Sandy was up and my mental state had deteriorated to something close to a zombie. I knew I was awake, but my brain felt numb in a way that I’ve never felt before. By 3pm, I had to crash… neither my brain nor body could survive a minute longer.
- Thursday evening, next thing I know it’s pitch black outside. Sandy briefly updated to me on what she and my parents had done while I was asleep. She then turned in for some much needed sleep while I stayed awake and monitored Wren. I went to check Wren’s diaper and discovered the foulest smell that I hope I ever have to smell. Sandy had given Wren some pear juice, to help produce some BM (bowel movements) that had disappeared over the past couple of days. Let’s just say that the pear juice worked beyond our fondest desires. Once that mess was cleaned up, it turned out to be a pretty quiet night until 1am, when Wren (and Sandy) woke up.
- Friday morning, I’m up sometime around 5am. According to Sandy, Wren has been asleep since 4am or so. Sandy goes to sleep for a couple of hours until 8am, when we need to get ready for Wren’s first pediatrician appointment at 9:30. The appointment went well, Wren seems to be in relatively good health. We came back home and Wren fell fast asleep. Seeing as how she’s asleep, Sandy figured that she might as well do the same. While she’s asleep, my parents came back down to help us out around the house. By 2pm, they leave and Sandy is up around 3pm. We then start getting ready for Halloween. We wake up Wren at 4 and dress her up in her “Wrenzilla” outfit (Honestly, I did not choose the costume. My mom went to the store and called up Sandy about the potential cute outfits – a strawberry or a pumpkin. Sandy didn’t like either one. She then asked my Mom what else the store had and dinosaur was an answer. Knowing my love for everything Godzilla-y, she went for it).
- Friday evening – We take Wren out to meet the neighbors, who were all extremely happy to see our little girl. Once the trick and treating was over, we put Wren to bed, while Sandy and I enjoyed an hour of consciousness together before I started falling asleep at 8:30.
- Friday night – Wren awoke sometime around midnight and Sandy took care of her. When our little girl started to stir again at 2:30am, I got up… and stayed up. At first, I just gave her a bottle, fed her and took care of her diaper. We then played for a while. As the clock struck 3 and then 4, Wren would not fall asleep. She would scream and I used every one of the tricks I had learned over the past two weeks to soothe her, but none of them worked. By 5am, I couldn’t take any more. Sandy woke up and relieved me. I told her that I had tried everything to calm Wren down without avail. She asked me if I had done anything for her teething. I couldn’t believe that I forget about teething. You know, if there’s anything worse than a jet-lagged, over-tired infant, it’s a teething, jet-lagged, over-tired infant.
Sandy just seems to have a knack for knowing what Wren needs. I’d call it instinctual, but that seems like a disservice to her. That it comes easy and stress-free to Sandy. That’s not the case. She works just as hard and drives herself just as hard as I do (if not harder), it just seems that she knows what Wren needs whenever I’m in a flummox. Seeing as how Wren was in good hands, I went to bed and woke up at 8:30, Sandy was just putting Wren to sleep.
It’s now Saturday morning, and all I can do is wonder just how today will go. How much sleep will all of us get? How much time will Sandy and I get to spend together? Will we ever be able to unpack our remaining suitcase? Can I ever describe just how good of a job Sandy is doing?
I don’t want to seem to be complaining or wishing to not have Wren. I know that the next week or so will be very trying days, but soon enough, Wren will adjust to her new time zone and Sandy and I can move on to being just “regular” parents again. I know it will happen. We’re just going to have to endure the time between now and then.
Wren in her car
Buddha, Wren and Dad just before Wren's first Pediatrican report.
Beware the destructive cuteness of... Wrenzilla
Sandy and Wren after an evening feeding session. October 31st -
Yesterday was tough but somehow we survived it. I'll write more about her first days home sometime soon. I just wanted to note that I've updated the final two days of the Travel site, so please check it out. October 30th -
In case you haven't guessed it, we're home. I'll update the travel page once I get a moment. It was a long, long, long day yesterday, which started at 7pm Tuesday (Eastern Time) and ended somewhere around 5:30am Thursday (Eastern again). Sandy and Wren are sleeping in Wren's new room. I will share more once I wake up.
Important Link!