We're Home
September 2007  |  November 2007

Saturday, November 10, 2007 Where does the time go? I can't believe that we have been home for 2 months. Possibly what amazes me the most is how well our little princess is doing. She is truly a blessing in more ways than I can even begin to describe. I have to believe that fate played a huge role in our lives and made her a member of our family. She is just as outgoing and fun-loving as my boys and has a wild sense of humor. She fits right in!! We have been so busy in the last month. It really is amazing how quickly you can forget what a toddler requires as far as attention. I am back to work teaching a brand new curriculum, the boys are in all kinds of different sports and activities, Aleina is in day-care and we are all exhausted. She goes to day-care quite early in the morning and sometimes doesn't go to bed until 8 or 9 o'clock. Luckily, her day-care provider is a saint! She always makes sure that Aleina has a good nap given our non-stop lifecycle. Thank you Michel for making this transition so easy for all of us. So, more about Aleina.... She is talking up a storm!!! She counts to 15, says things like; "Aleina hungry, drink, please, thank you, excuse me, sorry, Dora, Diego, baby, night-night, love you, daddy, mommy, chips, nanna" and my all time favorite... "mmmmm I don't know". She started saying that because she would go on and on in Chinese and I had no idea what she was saying. So, I would say.. "mmmmmm I don't know" and she would burst into a fit of laughter. It seemed to smooth the frustration of our communication gap. When we first got home, she gained six pounds in one month. I got nervous but she seemed like she was always hungry. She would eat eggs, toast and cereal for breakfast. She would finish her entire lunch and most of mine. I was really trying to make healthy choices for her so the food she was eating was nutritious but she was eating SO much of it that I was concerned. Well, the good news is that that has subsided tremendously. She now eats like a typical toddler. WHEW!! I was ready for a miniature baby Buddha! Bedtime is a challenge. She is doing really well at going to sleep. She is too cute! When I finish her stories, I turn off the light and lay on the floor beside the bed. She rolls over and closes her eyes immediately. After a minute or two, I get up and give her a kiss. She opens her eyes long enough to say "night-night, love you" and closes her eyes again. So, what is the challenging part? Night terrors. She starts screaming in the middle of the night. She doesn't wake up but she kicks the you know what out of the wall and the bed. When I go in, she is sweating profusely and doesn't respond when I try to wake her. One night, I picked her up and stood her up in the middle of the room. She opened her eyes, looked at me and collapsed into my lap. I laid her back down and poof.... sound asleep. So, that has been "my technique". Perhaps I will write a huge book about "my technique" and make millions! Okay, maybe not. But, it seems to be working for us. The problem is that I very often get up 3-4 times a night and practice "my technique". However, the good news is that we have only had one night like that in the last week so I think it is starting to subside. Aleina loved Halloween! She was a princess. Oh yeah, I forgot that she also walks around saying, "Aleina princess". She talked and talked about being a princess for days before Halloween. However, our strong willed princess decided that she wasn't wearing a Princess Costume on Halloween. After a bit of bribery, we finally got her into it and she was beautiful! She is a girly-girl!

Enjoying the pool Smiley Girl!! My first pumpkin My future career..... modeling. Aunt Linda and Aleina at the beach

We go up to the first or second house and the gentlemen said, "I don't give candy if you don't say trick or treat". My 12 year old said, "This could be interesting sir. She speaks Chinese." The man gave her candy and apologized. We got a big kick out of it and I was very proud of my son for sticking up for his little sister. After a bit, Aleina and my boys were running hand in hand from one house to another. It was a fantastic evening. I am also proud to announce that Aleina LOVES the water. Those of you who have followed our site, know about the problems we had while in China. I think I said that at one point it would be easier to give your cat a bath than it was to bathe Aleina. However, we went to a hotel for a get away weekend and she loved the water. She even tried to let go a few times and swim on her own. She is still not fond of water splashing in her face but she has made leaps and bounds in the water arena so I am not pushing it. We have a great group of friends! Aleina loves her Aunt Linda. Linda picked her up one day from daycare and Aleina was very happy about that. Of course, it helps that Aleina has Linda wrapped around her finger and Aunt Linda gives her things she shouldn't be giving her. She also loves Linda's daughter Ashley. Ashley is in college but has come home often and Aleina looks forward to her visits. Aleina has her pretend cell phone and calls Ashley all the time. It is adorable. Well, I guess that that is all for now. I get one more post before I am finished and I plan to wait a bit before I do that. We have a doctors appointment with her cardiologist in December and I will probably wait until after Christmas to use my last post. Until then!

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