Gifts from China...

So, as you've heard we made it bearing gifts from China too. The last gift was a mondo cold. Man it's a biggie! It is one reason I am up right now since I couldn't breathe decently regardless of the medicine I took. It did manage to get me 6 hours of sleep. I would like to say it was straight through but... Last night I had 3 hours, so I'll take 6 any day. Anna Lin did great, no crying, but kept getting up to go to the bathroom or just look around. So she went to bed at 12 am (she had taken a 4 hour nap earlier and we are dealing with jetlag that is why it was so late), 1:30 am, 2:30 am, ... You're getting the picture, right? Unfortunately I have given AL 'the gift'. It is in the early stages (runny nose, little loss of appetite, etc. Yeah, this seems to be a multi-functioning virus. It's hit me all over at one point or another.) and I sincerely hope it doesn't hit her as hard as it has been hitting me.

Anna Lin had a good day. Ric and I, along with the little big, were up around 6 am. AL started the day out right eating cereal with dad. We knew she liked Cheerios (plain) but when she saw Ric pour milk in her bow she wanted it too. And ate it! (Yes, way to go AL! She's branching out. Last night she even ate a piece of pizza with her brothers. ) So, then Ric gives her a piece of Captain Crunch. Well, she loved it. Soon she's wanting to eat that too.

Then in an effort to keep her busy and quiet while big brothers are sleeping still, I give Anna Lin a bath. She loves her bath. When my school gave me a shower, a library friend of mine gave me a bag of fun bath items for her: bubble bath, fun shampoo, a bucket, etc. She had a great time with that in Mom & Dad's big bath tub. (Thanks Ginna!) I let her play, play, and play. (Because that is what a 4 year old does...ALL THE TIME! OK, so Ric & I had forgot about that and are getting a serious workout!) Then it was off to her bedroom to try on her clothes. I opened her closet door and pointed to the clothes. (I don't think she had really noticed them the day before.) I had a pile of shorts and shirts on the floor, but had not gotten to dresses in her closet. At one point she stopped and pointed to the dresses in the closet and the clothes on the floor, then herself. "Yes, baby, these are all for you." Well you better believe, she understood that English sentence and just beamed. She opted for a cute slip on dress given to her by another adoptive family. (Thanks Sherrell, Lee & Mary Clare!)

Noah soon woke up and played with AL. (He has been such a help and has always enjoyed playing with little kids like his nieces Nicole and Sarah Ann.) I got out a box of old wooden blocks. You know the kind you probably played with as a child, red, blue, yellow and green, rectangles large & small, column pieces, squares, etc. Her and Noah went to town. (Ric had previously posted about this.) We hid most of her toys and have been getting them out one by one when the opportunity presents itself. Otherwise, it would have been too overloading. Of course, she had already gotten out her pretty dress up umbrella that Noah helped her find the night before. This has to be kept close by. (In China many women, young and old, want to protect their skin and use umbrellas to shield them from the sun. It really is a great heat deterrent especially from our hot Southern sun. )

Now while all of this is going on, I was making my list of things we needed to get at the store: CD player for AL for lullaby music to help with nap time, Lullaby CDs, plus this that and the other. I had already called Po Po (Grammy) to see if she could go with AL & I shopping. Of course she said yes. Soon after Anna Lin asks about going out (In Chinese. Sounds like woo ma cha, which means I want to go. I've learned many simple phrases from her.) I told her Po Po was coming and was going to go shopping with Ma Ma and her. Oh, well, she understood part of that because we got that beaming look again. However, having ants in her pants like most 4 year olds, she just couldn't understand we had to wait for Po Po. ...And not to mention 1:30 pm since it was Saturday. But she did well and didn't fuss, just would ask every now and then.

Next thing you know it's time and Po Po is at the house. Unfortunately I hadn't given AL any motion sickness medicine. (Now Ric seems to think it's just me and Chinese drivers, since it hadn't happened when he drove. I reminded him that she had like a 24 hours dose of the medicine so I was sure it was still in her system when he drove home from the airport!) She didn't get sick but got a little green. We kept the trip to Target short since I believe sitting in the shopping cart had similar effects. Plus she was tired from restless sleeping, jetlag, etc. By the time we pulled out of the parking lot she was asleep. (It was interesting to drive, since I had not driven in two weeks. Kinda surreal. I felt like I was driving extra careful, waiting for the Chinese traffic to verge on me. After a little bit I realized I was in The States and not driving with a school of fish, which is how we have compared their driving: chaotic but in sync.)

Later that day AL met 'The Girls,' which would be my adorable nieces Sarah Ann & Nicole. I had showed her their pictures and she was fascinated by their hair, especially Sarah Ann. I think she realized she was around her age. Kelly brought the girls over. AL was cautious at first. Everything is so new and overwhelming for her right now. Next thing you know they are giggling, holding hands, etc. SA and AL chased each other around the the house squealing in that high pitch that only 4 year old girls can hit. At one point SA goes to see the boys' lizards and invites AL to come along. It was hilarious to listen to them jabber: one in Chinese and the other in English. We ending up eating out with them, and Dave joined. AL didn't eat much. We tried nachos and she nibbled but we didn't push it. I think everyone had a great time. Spencer ended up with a cookie after he ate his meal like good boy. So, he was happy. I think AL misses her friends. I know there were at about five 4/5 year olds at her orphanage. This was good for her. She is sooo fascinated with SA's hair. I don't think she has ever seen blond hair before. Plus she loves long hair and within a few months will have it herself. Soon AL is so noticeably tired that we cut our visit short (though it really had been long, by very nice.).

By the time we left the parking lot she was out. It was all we could do to have her go to the bathroom at home and change her clothes. She fussed at us because we certainly were disturbing what she desperately needed...sleep. As soon as I layed her on the bed she was in slumberland. This was 9 pm, which isn't too far off her normal bedtime. She woke up once to go to the bathroom and is still sleeping now at 6:22 am. Out of the many gifts China has given us, she is the best.

Angi