Our Starr, Katie

In my quest to post every day for my mom who is housebound with broken ribs and since it was a slow news day around here at "Stress is the New Black", I would like to share a little about our children with you all. I will start with our only daughter, Katie Starr Hongshan ~

When I think back to May 2006; the month that we adopted Katie Starr, I could never have imagined all of the amazing qualities that this child would possess. My good friend Kim made a point to comment to me before she left for China recently that she felt that Katie was quite special and unique. She was amazed at the humor that she possesses at her tender age and her real intelligence. Of course, I see this but I am her mother and I think all three of my children are special and unique. It is always nice when someone who is somewhat objective sees the beauty in your child that you see every day. I have always said that you will never see Katie's true beauty in a photo. You have to meet Katie to see it. I do think she is a beautiful child but her true beauty lies in the unique radiance that lies within. There have been a couple of photos that have hinted at it but really have not caught her true essence. This is one reason that I do not think she is destined to become a super model. I do think on the other hand that she is destined to make a great impact on the world someday. I am saying this with all sincerity by the way. This is a girl who knows her mind and wants to make sure that everyone around marches to the beat of her drum. She also has a heart of gold and is extraordinarily caring.

Here are a few other fun facts about our Starr......

• Katie has a very good sense of humor. She knows the little things that make us laugh and she will tickle our funny bone whenever and wherever she can. She also loves to play tricks on us that I am sure will turn into practical jokes someday. Since this is HUGE in our house anyway, there is no doubt in my mind that this is a nurtured behavior. She will have to work hard to get one over on me though as I am the queen of The April Fools Joke around here. It is actually the stuff of legend. Just ask Justin about it. He goes into hiding on March 31st and lays low as long as possible ;-)
  
  
• She is an amazing eater. This child will eat anything and everything we put in front of her. The reason that I use both of those words is that she will try anything at least once and eat everything of what she enjoys. I personally find this quite gratifying. Justin was and is a picky eater and Ethan has eating issues that are being slowly worked out. It is lovely to have one child where there is no pressure around food.
  
  
• Katie Starr is a bit of a drama queen and can make the most mundane of situations into a bigger than life theater performance. I do not mean that she has melt downs; what I mean is that she can really put on a show to make her point. If this child does not grow up to win an academy award then I will be quite surprised.
  
  
• She is smart as a whip and has an amazing memory for details. She remembers experiences that we have shared in great detail. She is quite accurate on most things but the one memory that has been a bit altered is our trip to China to adopt Ethan. She has mixed this trip with the one that we took to attend a CNY celebration for our agency in Tampa. Katie insists that we saw dragon dancers in China and she tells us that she was scared of them. She saw those dancers in Tampa; not China. She also says that two of her friends that were at CNY in Tampa, Mia and Rachel, were in China with her watching the Dragon Dancers. She has a lot of the other details correct though about the actual trip and still talks about our guide CiCi all the time; even making pretend phone calls to her in China to see how she is doing :)
  
  
• Katie loves to be read to. I do not mean one or two books at a time either. I mean that you could read from now to the end of time and it would not be enough. She knows when you skip a page too, so don't even think about trying it; it won't work ;-) Now she loves to tell stories too and it is so much fun to listen to her imagination at work. She actually did this during our last pediatrician appointment and had the doctor standing there in shock.
  
  
• Katie is very shy when she is introduced into new situations. If she knows you she is fine now but even that aspect of her personality has come along way over the last couple of months. There was a time that even the people that she is closest too would get frozen out for the first few minutes after she saw them She is definitely not the kid that could be easily lured away by a stranger. Today, we were waiting at Ethan's school for the teacher to bring him out and there was an older man who was wearing glasses. He waved to her and she cried out for the whole room to hear "Mom, I don't like that!!!!" I turned around to see what "that" was and found the gentleman that was waving at her. I smiled at him in that knowing smile of one parent to another that said she is very "3" right now so no offense. She kept burying her head in my chest saying "I do not like that". I gently explained to her that the man was not a "that" but a person and he was not mean or scary. She wasn't buying it! If Katie is fond of you though you are a friend for life. She likes who she likes and that is that! I am sure that will continue to ease up as she gets older. I used to be shy as a child and there is no way that you would believe that now.
  
  
• Katie is totally into her family and she loves trying to understand all of the relationships between Grandparents, aunts, uncles,and such. She talks about all of her family a great deal and wants to see them a lot. The more the better. She really misses her Aunt Jane and family as well as she talks about her Aunt Shirley and Uncle Paul. She also loves her Auntie Kira who is her godmother as if she was family as well as her Auntie Shannon in the same way. We call them aunts because they are like family to us and to her.
  
  
• Katie LOVES television. We have to limit it because if we did not she would sit like a lump of clay in front of it. In fact, if I let her sit for even an hour then it is H-E double toothpicks to pry her body away from "the box" without a huge crying scene. This is one of the only things that will really upset her.
  
  
• Katie loves her brothers. She tells us "I am very lucky because I have TWO brothers!" She tells everyone that will listen about her big brother, Justin and little brother, Ethan. She also considers Judy her sister but then she gets mixed up with the fact that she is Justin's fiancee and says that "Judy is Justin's sister and they are going to get married!" Hmmm, that is probably not a good thing to say in public (snort) She misses Justin since he moved away and always asks about him. She hates being away from Ethan and is always happy to be with him when we pick him up from school. They have their normal sharing issues but all in all they are thick as thieves.
  
  
• Katie sleeps VERY lightly. She was never the kid who transitioned from the car to the bed for a nap and certainly was not one to fall asleep in a stroller. That is Ethan; not Katie. She wakes up bright and early (way too early) every day and is quite chipper in the morning. Now that we have her out of pull ups at night, she also wakes up many nights about 5am to go to the bathroom, screams for us as she is too afraid to go at night by herself and does not even wake her brother who is in the same room.
  
  
• Katie is amazingly adaptable to new situations. She has no transition issues, loves to travel, wants to try new things and is an overall pleasant personality. I hope that she stays that way as the world will be her oyster with those qualities.
  
  
• I could go on and on about this child and all of my children if you allow me to but I will wrap up this post by saying that Katie has been a gift in our lives in the truest sense of the word. I could not have asked for a more perfect daughter for our family. She is fiercely loved by all of us and in return she is the most loving and devoted child that any mother and father could hope to have. She is not perfect, none of us are but she certainly is a dream come true in our lives.
  
  Katie has no bigger fans than her grandparents and I hope that they enjoy reading about their sweet girl.
  
  Tomorrow, I will post about my first and only born child - Justin Bennett