Friday, May 15, 2009

Today is last day of our journey. When we landed in Central WI airport we had our vehicle all ready for Hailee with a car seat. Hailee had never been in a car seat because China does not require them. The buses, taxies and planes we rode in did not have car seats also. Hailee was not used to being confined and she did not like to be strapped in. We told her the car seat was for big girls and she looked pretty in it…after a day she was just fine. On our way home we meet up with Jim, Mike’s brother and Jim’s wife, Joy, they had been watching our golden retriever, Gracie. They greeted us with a couple of congratulations cards and a cute white stuffed bunny. We were told that Hailee loved dogs and cats but we’re not sure if she just saw photos of the animals because she definitely was frightened of Gracie. After picking up Gracie we still had a 50 minute drive until we reached home. Hailee clung to her little white bunny the whole way. Our first stop was in the “Big City” of Minocqua at a Wal-Mart to pick up some warm clothes for Hailee. All we had were summer clothes for her. It’s a small world because we saw a woman from Mike’s work, Linda. Linda had her daughter, Patience with her and Patience has a daughter Hailee’s age (Elise). So Linda and Patience helped us with some clothing advice and toddler advice. Thanks guys!

On the way home Gracie was behind Hailee’s seat and when she (Gracie) peaked over the seat, Hailee freaked out. We think Hailee might have thought Gracie was a fire breathing dragon just from her reaction. We couldn’t help but chuckle but during our ride home she screamed and cried almost the whole way…we didn’t think it was very funny anymore! After we got home we sat Hailee down in her room and played with her toys. Gracie came in and we petted Gracie and showed Hailee she was a very friendly dog. Within an hour Hailee and Gracie were best friends.

We had a pleasant surprise when we arrived home. Our neighbor, Lisa and her son, Joe, had put balloons on our mailbox and came over with freshly made cookies and a gift bag of goodies for Hailee. After arriving home it took us at least 6 days to start getting over our jet lag and to have our internal time clocks return to Central Time. On the third day home we took Hailee to the local McDonald’s for an egg, cheese McGriddle and orange juice. She loves eggs. We also hit Pamida, the local grocery store and the local meat market. As always Hailee was a big hit with everyone.

Hailee has been adjusting fairly well. Napping and sleeping at night have been a struggle for her. She’s not used to being alone in a crib and in a room by herself. The first night we rocked her to sleep and placed her in her crib but once we left her side she screamed bloody murder and climbed out of her crib twice. Hailee is very agile and like we said a little monkey so climbing out of her crib takes her about 30 seconds. And it’s not like she’s randomly jumps out…she’s like an acrobat she climbs over the crib railing and lifts herself down. We’re seeing that being a gymnast might be in her future.

Needless to say it’s been a struggle… Due to her acrobatic skills we first made a temporary bed on the floor for her and we sleep next to her until she would fall asleep. She wakes up about 3 to 4 times a night and comes and gets us in our nearby room. At that time one of us goes back to lay next to her until she falls asleep. We’re trying to make her bedroom a safe place to be. She is surrounded by stuffed animals which she seems to enjoy. At night Gracie also lies next to her. We hoping she’ll wake up less and less during the night. If anyone has any suggestions for new adoptive parents please let us know.

We’ve enjoyed journaling every day and are so thankful for Joe and Jennifer who have provided us the opportunity to have a wonderful website. Joe has been very timely on posting our text and photos…we thank them both tremendously – they have done an AWESOME JOB! They have a beautiful adopted Chinese daughter, Adrienne and are in the process of adopting another little girl from China, Anna. If you’re interested in checking out other China adoptive websites go to Joe & Jennifer’s main webpage at http://www.myadoptionwebsite.com/

Thank you everyone for following our journey and posting comments on our guestbook. Lots of Love to all of you. We’re very happy and tired parents. We love our little Hailee.

Take care,

Love, Jayne, Mike & Hailee.