The Holidays are OVER!!

And I really don't think I could be any happier! I really tried to keep things as simple as possible for baby Ya Ya, but of course things still got very crazy!

Ya Ya's progress is slow, soooo slow. It's so hard to describe what she's like or what exactly it is she's doing that is so difficult, but we are all pretty tired and cranky. When she's happy (or even not screaming) she is the cutest baby in the universe! BUT in a split second it can all change and the screamfest begins. She gets ticked off pretty easily, and I'm doing my best to teach her basic sign, but it's coming very slowly. I'm extremely lucky that she sleeps and eats great, and when she's happy she plays so well, but when she gets mad it goes on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on...

Baby Ya Ya has decided that my days on the computer are over, which is a good thing I suppose.

Sheeeeesssss's Baaaaaccckkkkk!!

A week of calmness and staying at home has really made a difference in taming our wild girl! She has really settled down, and is no longer constantly moving. (I'm not kidding about the constant motion. We would count and I think the longest she ever sat still was 4 seconds!) The past couple of nights Ya Ya was still waking up every 3 hours (& staying up for 4) but her complete despair was lessened to soft cries with long breaks in between. I was finally able to graduate to our king size bed with her, although I was still not allowed to talk to her or touch her, yet she would sit at my feet and fall asleep facing away from me. As soon as she fell asleep I'd pull her up to me and snuggle up to her, hoping she wouldn't wake up and hit me!!!
Anyways last night as I carried her upstairs (with her hitting me because she knew it was bedtime) I set her on the bed while I climbed in waiting for the crying to begin, and guess what??? She laid down right next to me, plopped her thumb in her mouth and fell asleep all night long!! I was frozen next to her, afraid to move. I wanted to shout out my happiness!! I got to snuggle this precious girl and she wasn't resisting!! (well duh, she was asleep.) Yes, this is great stuff!!
Xiao Ya saw the Dr. yesterday and had her pint of blood drawn, and tomorrow I get to scoop her poop out of her diaper and bring in samples. This should be loads of fun, but necessary of course. Ya Ya will be seeing a neurologist to figure out all her cafe-au-lait spots. More than five could be a sign of neurofibromatosis, and between her reg. Dr. and I we counted at least five, but some are pretty faint so it will be nice to have someone who knows what they're doing look at her. She doesn't appear to have any other things going on so we'll see. Neurofibromatosis was something the geneticist ruled out in Jie Ling, so I knew this could be a possibility with Xiao Ya and her macrodactyly.

Today we went to Nordstrom and Xiao Ya got her first pair of shoes!! Nordstrom allows you to buy different sized shoes, so we finally found a pair to accommodate her foot!! I was so excited for Ya Ya! I'm pretty happy that she has had surgery, and maybe removing one of her other toes, she'll be able to keep her foot and still wear shoes comfortably.












Look at this amazing girl!! She was so proud of her castle!!

This Isn't Fun...

I had a feeling this might happen, but our happy bundle of energy baby has up and left. In her place is a screaming, unhappy, and demanding girl. I guess this is normal, but it totally sucks.

She screams for me to pick her up, and then the moment I do she screams for me to put her down. She woke up every 3 hours last night, and the big family bed on the floor was not up to par for her. She pulled, scratched, and slapped me while thrashing all over on the floor. I tried the crib and she cried and cried, and our bed is up too high and not safe for this monkey girl, so I put her on the floor with me and she screams and flops all over like a fish out of water. Sheesh...it was all I could do to remind myself that this won't last forever. Nothing I have been doing is good enough, and she's not afraid to let me know with a slap or a scratch.

It's not all bad though...She finally laid her little head on my shoulder, and has allowed me to hold her bottle and her at the same time. I think we're up to a one minute snuggle, which is amazing for this ball of energy. She is not too affectionate, but I believe in time she will be. Oh and she really is into playing with cars and trucks, and instead of pushing the shopping cart, she carries it! Her bath the other night was great. I just had Jie Ling in there playing and Ya Ya started pulling at her clothes, so I threw her in and she had a blast! When she's happy she's a riot.

Okay, I'm feeling better after this vent. Dear Aimee is playing with both girls in their room and it's about time for me to tackle diapers and pajamas with Ya Ya. Maybe she'll surprise me tonight and it won't turn into a wrestling match!

I can't wait for these first few months to pass, and for life to start feeling normal!!

Home Sweet Home!

The flight home was not as horrible as I thought it would be with my little bundle of energy x 10. The thing I was most pleased with is that she didn't poop!! Imagine trying to wrestle an alligator that had a poopy butt on an airplane! I think she cried for the last hour of our Hong Kong to San Francisco flight, but I really don't remember now. It all feels like a dream, and seems very distant.

We were so happy to finally make it home, and Jie Ling couldn't wait to finally see her big sister Aimee! The girls and I slept from 6 pm to midnight, and then we got up and Ya Ya helped me with laundry (literally) and we ate and changed etc...Oh and Ya Ya has only had 1 bath since we've had her!!! I'm not proud of this fact, I just don't want to upset her! I hate being the bad guy, but I think tomorrow is the big day!

Today has been pretty awesome! I made a big bed on the living room floor and the baby girls and I slept from 4 am to 2 pm. We all woke up feeling good and refreshed. I even made pancakes, and anyone who knows me, knows this is a real miracle. Xiao Ya has been running all over playing with toys, eating, pooping, drinking, and wanting to be held quite a bit...She loves all her siblings she hadn't met and has just been a joy. She chased the cat when she met her, so I guess this isn't going to be a problem. Everything has been a complete opposite experience from Jie Ling. I'm wondering how long this bliss is going to last??

Girl Gone Wild

We have not been able to update our blog since arriving in Guangzhou as our baby Ya Ya keeps all 6 of us running! When I mentioned that changing her diaper was like wrestling a small alligator, I'd like to upgrade that statement to a large sized crocodile. This might seem like an over statement, but it isn't. I'm thinking of videotaping the event and sending it to the WWF. I'm sure we could draw crowds, her and I. Right now she has 3 losses, and I have 4 wins!! Ya mom! This girl may have a future that we never dreamed of. I am also so thankful that Mike decided to travel with us, as our little monkey needs intense physical play that this mama just can't do. She loves to be thrown, and tossed all about! (I will write more later. Our princess has pooped.)

A Down Day.

As much as mom and I wanted to jump into a cab again today, or head off to the park, we decided to stay in today for some much needed down time.

We are all doing well, and I'm learning (!!!!!! It's 3:30 am and Jie Ling just got up!!!!!) more things about my baby daugher:

• Wrestling a small alligator would be easier than changing her poopy diaper.



• She wakes up very happy



• Water is the choice of drink



• Does not like getting dressed or undressed



• Will only suck her thumb when she's asleep



• At times she seems to have ADHD times 10 (if you don't believe this ask my mom!)



• Likes both her parents (still prefers Dad and Grandpa over mom)



• Loves the stroller & sitting in a high chair



• Hates elevators



• Is a beginning reader



• Is not a snuggler



• Will not eat any fruit (yet)



• Will not eat any food that is disguised in her rice



• Loves congee



• Likes to play "gotcha last" with her dad



• Loves to wrestle with Jake
  
  

We are leaving today for Guangzhou with mixed feelings. I miss my 3 kids at home, but I'm not homesick and mom and I don't want this trip to end!! (I'm not sure what the guys would say?)

Happy Thanksgiving From Hefei

Good Morning from Hefei! It's 4 am and the babies (I love saying that) are still asleep. I don't even know where to start with this post? Should I start with my job offer to teach in China, or our progress with Xiao Ya? (pronounced shee-ow ya).

Okay well it wasn't quite an offer, but we met a lady at McDonalds of all places, who is here teaching english and she was having lunch with her friend who does the hiring for foreigners. I think she thought when I said that I'd love to teach in China someday, as my bags are packed and when can I start. She even came back 10 minutes later to give me more information.

I really would consider living here for a year or two, but the timing is a little off at the moment!!

We were pretty busy yesterday. We started off with a short tour of Lord Bao's Memorial Temple, where all the kids had so much fun running around (the other family we are with are traveling with 3 older girls.) It was such a beautiful day that as soon as they dropped us off back at the hotel we all took off on foot to the park. My mom talked me into renting paddle boats, which was fine, but there weren't any life preservers on them! So we risked life and limb and Grandma Rena and Jake rented a boat, and Jie Ling and I rented one. Jie Ling insisted on steering our mighty fine duck vessel, where we promptly went round and round in circles. I finally had to insist on helping out, and we had a beautiful cruise around the lake. My camera battery of course went dead, so no pictures of this Kodak moment. It was great fun, and the old rickety paddle boat never sank!

All this time baby Xiao Ya hung out in the stroller (Jie Ling wouldn't go near the stroller when we adopted her) kicking her legs and yelling something in Chinese whenever her dad stopped pushing her. I did carry her in the baby pack for a half an hour earlier in the day, and she did okay. She's not crazy about the closeness, so this is something that will take some time.

We headed back to the hotel around dinner time, and I decided to stay in the room with Ya Ya while the others went to eat. This was a good thing as Xiao Ya let me in a little more into her space. I don't know what happened, but by the time everyone came back, she was falling into my arms giggling. My heart was full!!

edited to add: I cut this post early as Xiao Ya woke up!

There are no words.

As every mother knows there are no words for the joy (and headaches too) that our children bring to us. Our family was really not complete without this precious precious girl. Her little movements and expressions are the cutest I have EVER seen and I can not imagine our life without her.

Of course all the pictures I post are of this happy girl, but she also many moments of utter sadness, and there is nothing I can do to take it away. Only time will do that. Her sadness was less yesterday, but bedtime was especially hard. Her cry is not of anger or frustration, but comes deep from within her. I did not experience this with Jie Ling, but it is apparent with baby Ya Ya.

We don't believe baby Ya Ya is eight weeks shy of being two, and I can't write this off to developmental delays. She seems very young! I thought she walked to us on Gotcha Day, and she may have taken couple of steps, but when we got her back to our hotel and let her go it was scary!! She would fall every couple of steps and I mean fall in every direction hard and fast. She loved it though, and on day two (yesterday) she's really toddling everywhere still crashing into anything in her way, but loving the freedom!!

Jie Ling loves her baby Ya Ya when she doesn't touch her toys, and Jake of course is the best brother any kid could ever ask for. I am so proud of him!

Oh and once again the baby prefers Mike over me. I feed her and change her, but she mostly wants her dad. This is okay, and not as painful as when we got Jie Ling. (Jie Ling slapped me across the face on day two with her) Ya Ya likes me and will bring me toys, but wants dad to hold her and put her coat on etc. He thinks I have no parenting skills and will tell me how and when she likes things!! I just let him revel in his dad glory, but give it a year and she'll be a mama's girl.

Ya Ya is terrified of the bath, and is an extremely picky eater. No fruits or vegetables for this girl, it's noodles, rice, and egg all the way. The only thing she will drink is water also. She had a sip of apple juice and her whole body shuttered like we tasered her!

Have I mentioned yet how cute she is? She is not dainty prissy cute like Jie Ling, but rough and tumble cute! Her mannerisms just crack us up.

Gotta run!! It's 5 am and she's awake!! (so far she wakes up very happy!!)

Kirsten (K.C.)

Introducing Elizabeth Xiao Ya!!

We have our beautiful girl! She walked right up to us and we exchanged Cheerios for the next half hour! I so wanted to scoop her up, but I kept my distance trying not to upset her.

It was so beautiful as Jake and Jie Ling welcomed their new baby sister. I was just in awe and still am.

I'm going to keep it short...she had a major melt down when I tried to put pants on her to go eat, and finally cried herself to sleep. I'm going to quickly eat and regroup hopefully before she wakes up.

She has had surgery on her foot, and they removed one toe. It looks awful, and I'm sure Ya Ya's outcome will be the same as Jie Lings. The bottom of her foot is just as big as Jie Ling's was and know from Jie Ling's surgery that that just can't be scooped out.

She is adorable with the cutest little voice. She plays with toys very rough, and just makes the cutest and sweetest little movements, though there is nothing prissy about her!! She seems like a very tough girl.

We love her so much!

Thank you God for this amazing gift!