Books...Cartoons...& Animal Crackers

I was talking to my Mom on the phone the other morning & I commented on how quietly the girls were playing in Emma's room. Hmmmmm, too quiet? I peeked in and this is what I found. I had to come back with the camera. ; ) Then I returned to the kitchen to finish unloading the dishwasher...after all they WERE being quiet and having fun TOGETHER, and the mess could be cleaned up later. (Is this REALLY ME talking?!).

Watching cartoons in Mommy and Daddy's room after dinner! : )

The girls wanted a snack last night. (They eat more than teenage boys...I think that they are BOTH in a growth spurt!). I poured Animal Crackers in ONE bowl so that they could practice sharing (We need A LOT of practice...). They did pretty well. Emma was even feeding Sophie and she wiped off her hands and mouth for her when they were finished! : )

*Do you see the ice on the windows? We got nailed with a horrible snow-ice storm yesterday. Only in Kansas can it be 75 degrees one day and have a storm like this roll in 4 days later--ugh.*

Sisters

I have realized that Emma and Sophie learning how to live together is much like an arranged marriage. :-) Yesterday I forced them to stay together in Emma's room and play-I will not lie, for a while it was not pretty! They both had countless redirections, reminders and a few time outs too! But, they DO like eachother and I peeked in to see them playing nicely (seperately!) & even giggling. As I type this entry I can proudly say that they are playing in Emma's room and there are NO tears! I hear Sophie singing something in Cantonese and Emma is re-creating an airplane out of stuffed animals. Today we have friends stopping by for a quick hello and then we are off to the grocery store (again) and Sams Club. We are supposedly in for a lot of snow starting tonight (URGH! It was 75 on Monday!) so I decided that we had better take care of things early today!

Sleepy....but, Settling In!

We arrived home on Friday afternoon and I am happy to say that all is well. :) The laundry is done, I cooked dinner last night, the girls are getting along quite well...if we were all sleeping regularly I would say that thing are near perfect. :-) Emma has been sleeping with Greg and I have been camping out in Sophie's room. But, Sophie wakes up every 30 minutes whimpering and Emma's body clock is still on China time. Last night was a little bit better though and I am sure that in another few days all four of us will be in our own beds sleeping soundly...unless that is my sleep deprived fingers typing. :)

The girls both did WONDERFULLY on the flights home...they were model passengers. I am VERY proud of Emma and the way that she handled herself during this journey. I know that it has taken every ounce of her self control to regulate herself; her meltdowns were truly kept to a minimum. She is a very loving big sister and she wants to be with Sophie all of the time. At times she is a bit of a mother hen and as I was typing just now she put Sophie in time out for some mysterious defense. :D Sophie has also handled her life transition better than I could have hoped for. She seems very comfortable with all of us and she LOVED being with her Lao Lao too while in China. Sophie cuddles with us, expresses her needs, has good eye contact and comes to us for comfort....a very good start! She began to repeat some words in English while in China and continues to repeat words now that we are home. As far as I can tell she is developmentally on target....or at least very close....and she shows no signs of neglect or trauma.

I want to apologize to all of my family and friends for not bloging often while in China. I had thought that I would be able to blog every day; and as Greg posted before there was a miscommunication with the hotel staff about WiiFi . I was disappointed that things did not go as planned. I will start posting to the blog on a regular basis in the next couple of days and share pictures. :) The ones that we have posted of Sophie really do not do her justice, she has a beautiful toothy smile!

Just China Pictures!! :-)

Our New Friend Judy...we shopped a lot at her place. Greg makes a friend at the park...

Megan's Reunion with her friend Kim-we met her while in China to adopt Emma in 2006. :) (L to R: Mandy, ME, Kim).

Sophie snacking in the stroller...she loves to eat!

Emma & Pooh. (Pooh was black and likely carrying Samonella and Herpes by the end of the trip....ICK)! ;)

1st bath together in Guangzhou

Snuggling with Lao Lao!

Emma and Sophie becoming friends.

Emma & Sophie with fancy hair styles...and our dirty laundry in the backround-nice. :)

The Famous Red Couch Picture!

Finally....pictures!!!

I know that it's shocking, but I (Greg) decided to finally contribute to the blog. We apologize for taking so long to upload pictures, however we just found out today (after nearly 1 1/2 weeks) that the hotel offers free wireless internet in the lobby. So much gets lost in translation in China...

Sophie is a sweetheart but also very dramatic and prone to hysterical outbursts at the drop of a dime. For the first few days, Sophie would cry any time that Emma even looked at her. Sophie has also been waking up the household the past 3 nights and for some reason enjoys sleeping at the foot of the bed. She'll be fighting with Mikey (our Sheltie) when we arrive home for the prime spot near our feet.

Emma has done very well and is off to a great start being a Jie Jie (older sister) to her Mei Mei (younger sister). With that being said, Emma loves to torment Sophie by grabbing her toys/blankets and puting them somewhere where Sophie can't reach.

Enjoy the pictures and keep us in your prayers for a safe trip home on Thursday/Friday. Take care and our love to all.

Rgs,

Greg M.

Pictures Coming Soon!

We are so sorry that we have not been posting to the blog! I got ill on Gotcha day and we also do not have a wireless connection in our room. We are going to get over to the Starbucks later so that we can upload a picture or two. We are all doing well. Emma is being a good big sister, aside from hiding toys from Sophie. Sophie has been bonding with all 4 of us-especially Greg and I. She is very smart and it is obvious that somebody has spent a lot of time with her. She knows how to play, she can put her own shoes on and she knows how to eat. She is a very docile and sweet baby. :)

We Are in Guangzhou!

HI EVERYBODY! :)

We made it to out hotel room at midnight last night. Both of our flights went well and Emma was a PERFECT angel! She has rolled with everything extremely well so far. Today we walked around Shamian Island a little bit and took a cab to Carrefour to buy a few necessities like diapers & wine. ;)

We are leaving for dinner soon and we are looking forward to getting to bed EARLY tonight. We are definitely feeling the jet lag! I am sorry that this post does not have pictures, the converter that the front desk loaned to us did not work. So, until they can find one that works we can not plug in the laptop to down load pictures...I am using the computer in he room!

We will be meeting Sophie at about 2:30 pm tomorrow! :)

Last Post Before Our Journey Begins!

The suitcases are packed, the dogs have been dropped off at our friend's house, the refrigerator has been emptied...I hope that I am not forgetting anything! :)

I will not be posting again until Sunday, March 8th (China time)! So, please check back then and every day after that for updates!

Tonight will be the last time that we go to sleep as a family of 3 in this house.....