Summer days

Well today is the 28th of July, so we have been a family of 5 for 4 weeks now..wow, hard to believe! It's been great to start getting into a rythmn here at home, and start to see family and friends a bit more. Kelly is really getting comfortable now and we see more and more of her personality. She is even showing signs of being a normal 2 yr. old with the hints of temper and some of that wonderful whining that happens at this age. Actually it IS nice to see those things! She is getting frustrated with not being able to communicate, and we are thankful that she is learning some Sign Language to help. To date she is using 11 signs with meaning and intent, and starting to "get" a few more. Just yesterday Ron and I watched her while she was playing, stop and practice making her hand do the "down" sign, a tough one to make small fingers do. It was really cute and really encouraging to see her figure it out and try to do it on her own. She is so proud and pleased when she can tell us what she wants.
We have several Dr. appt.s set up and will be starting the whole surgery process soon. She goes for a hearing test next week and while I think there might be some hearing issue, I'm not worried that it is bad. She LOVES music on the radio and "dances" to it in stores, so I know she hears some sound. We will also see the ENT the week after that, and so on and so on.
We are hitting the beach, pool and park whenever possible, and enjoying the relaxed schedule very much. The "big" girls are gone now in the morning, and Kelly hates to see them leave, and is very cranky when Daddy leaves too....Mom is not nearly as much fun as the girls and Dad are! She is starting to enjoy books a little now (hadn't any idea what a board book was when we got her) and actually watched a few minutes of T.V. this morning with me. She prefers to move around and play and is pretending a lot too. I watched her "make" food and wanted me to join in the meal with her. She has alway pretended to eat and feed you, but I hadn't seen her prepare the meal yet...too funny. She was also putting the dogs to bed, blankets and all...sweet, long suffering dogs...they adore Kelly and put up with her sitting on them, pulling on them and crawling on them. Good dogs!!!
It's a bit crazy, being my age and re-visiting the toddler stuff. Especially when you shift from making a bottle, changing a diaper and then helping with a college application or handing out money for them to have lunch and a movie....my brain sometimes has to take a minute to shift, but it manages.....weird, but wonderful!!!!!

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Daddy's Girl

We are home and almost recovered from jet lag. Very thankful to be here, safe, sound and with all the t's crossed and i's dotted on all the immigration work!! It was a wonderful/exhausting/strange/exciting trip. China is so very different, in so many ways, and 2 weeks is long enough. We had a very good trip home, well not good, but under the circumstances it was good. Kelly slept on the second flight, the long one, for most of it, thank goodness. We made great time thru immigration, and Kelly is now a legal U.S. citizen, hurrah!! It was wonderful to sleep in our own beds and spread out a little in our own house. Both Cory and Jamie were troopers thruout the whole trip and have been a HUGE help since coming home...they play with Kelly, take her for walks, take Kelly when I need to get dinner on or a shower, and get her to mimic them in most all things. Kelly thinks they are wonderful.

Ron had to get right back to work and has finally gotten close to catching up, Cory is back to crew and Jamie is "hanging" with friends, and I am remembering what it's like to organize your day around a toddlers schedule. I am so fortunate in the timing that I can take it all slowly and have nothing really to juggle other than just being a family.

Kelly is amazing. She has such a funny personality....she pretends, she mimics, she hams it up to get her sisters to laugh at her, and she is making great strides forward in her progress. She seems to be attaching very well, thank goodness, and is soaking up everything around her. We sometimes overdo it, and I have to remember that just going for a car ride can be a new and exciting event, and you add that to a trip to Target, swimming in the pool and walking the neighborhood and you get an overwhelming day for a 21 month old who's spent her life up till now in an orphanage. We saw some of the CHOC cleft "team" today and will be setting up a surgery date soon to repair her palate, just to add tor the excitment! The only real issue different from other toddlers is she is having trouble getting to sleep, which she struggles against, but this too shall pass.

We are continually amazed and thrilled at this whole adventure, and are so very happy to be almost done with the "exciting" part and are more than ready to settle down to the everyday, "boring" part...being a family.

Beth

Hi All!
Seems I've gotten on to blog and it's letting me post for the moment so I'll type fast.
We are GREAT...we had a difficult past 24 hours with a surpise problem with Kelly's visa, and for a short while thought we would be delayed for an unknown amount of time...luckily we resolved the problem and are still planning on making our flight!!! Good thing as we are really "done" here, and very ready to come home. Kelly is amazing us daily with new things, personality and progress. She is cracking us up and cute as a button. We have pushed the limits of a toddler (zoo trip all day, bus rides, changing schedule etc.) and she has come thur like a trooper. We are all exhausted, but so very happy and looking forward to getting home and settleing in. I will try to post more when blogger lets me, or China does. Hope the last 3 pictures posted, they are random shots.
Note to all NON Hague, adopting families about to travel or here now, either see my post on the CCAIWCP big board, or post here for info on the new problem of the Visa 37...if you are Hague, never mind.
Beth

all is welll

All is VERY well but blogspot blocked most of the time here in China, so I'm typing as fast as I can to get it out....seems to be a time limit.
Kelly is GREAT, a real toddler, and we are seeing much progress every day. She is giggling, playing and cuddling now and showing a really cute personality. I am going to stop this post, try to publish and come back to it, but wanted to say all is well, and we are so happy!!! just frustrated not being able to blog,,,,be right backe.