We're Home
January 24  |  February 19  |  May 15

Saturday, January 24, 2009 We have been home for just a week and boy, it’s great to be home! Our Flight Home Our flights home were an adventure, and that may be an understatement. On Thursday, 1/15, we flew from Guangzhou to Beijing. Emily was not very cooperative and cried a lot. While waiting for luggage in Beijing, Marissa was pushing Emily around in the stroller. Before we knew it, a group of girls (age 7 – 10, perhaps) in red coats were pointing, taking pictures, and even video recording Marissa and Emily. After we got luggage and Rick was pushing the suitcases on a luggage cart, Marissa decided that she wanted to ride as well. So she did, and the group of schoolgirls appeared again. They took more pictures and even touched her cheeks. And Marissa gave her best smile. If she’d waved her hand it would resembled a scene from a homecoming parade – except she was riding on a big pile of luggage. We went to check in at our international flight with Air Canada. But when the agent saw Emily’s passport (Chinese passport with a one-time entry visa into the U.S.), he said that she could not take the flight. To take that flight, she needed a Canadian transfer visa, which would require us to stay in Beijing five additional days. After weighing our options, we decided that Rick and Marissa would take the planned flight through Toronto which left in less than an hour. Kathy bought a new ticket on Air China to Los Angeles (the only flight leaving that night) and would worry about getting to Pittsburgh from there the next day. While Rick and Marissa ran to get their flights, Kathy and Emily--with the help of a ticketing agent named Mario—went over to buy the Air China ticket. Mario stayed with them for at least an hour and got them through security. Rick and Marissa made it to Toronto. At Canada Customs, the officer asked Rick for a note from Marissa’s mother authorizing her to travel outside the US alone with him – which he obviously didn’t have. Then he asked Marissa a few questions and she tried to explain where her mom was, but the guy was obviously not used to talking to a six year old and finally let them pass. They spent the night in a hotel by the airport – the temperature was 27 below 0 - and arrived back in Pittsburgh at noon the next day (Friday). Meanwhile, Kathy & Emily made it to LA and spent the night in a hotel there. They took a USAir flight that arrived in Pittsburgh at 7 pm - also on Friday. Emily experienced frigid winter temperatures for the first, and certainly not the last, time. She also sat in a car seat for the first time and, as we expected, did not like it at all. Our first meal at home was steak, which we had all been missing – there were no left-overs. At Home Getting over the jet lag has been a bigger challenge than we expected. On Saturday, everyone sat around the house. Emily went to bed at 5, Marissa at 6, Rick & Kathy at 8 pm. Emily had a pretty bad cold, so we stayed at home on Sunday as well. On Tuesday, Kathy took Emily to the doctor, who confirmed that she had a cold and it would probably last a few more days. It was a few days before Emily started to show the personality we’d begun to see in Guangzhou and to adjust to the time difference. But starting on Tuesday, she seemed to be in the same time zone and, despite the cold, her personality started coming through. She has slept all night since Tuesday, waking up only once if any. She has taken reasonable naps and, when we give her a bath after naptime, she has managed to stay awake until 7 pm. Now, if we could only get her to sleep in later than 5:30 a.m. She has met Alaina, John, Angela and Ava. She and Ava gave each other hugs at one point. She has met some of the neighbors. She has also met Grandma and Grandpa O’Connell. She has been to the grocery store and gone with Kathy to get her hair cut. She has made a sweet impression on everyone. Marissa is already a very good big sister. While it will take some more adjustments, she is handling it well. She is fascinated with BMs, and insists on watching diaper changing when there is a BM (although, she doesn’t participate). She picked out a leopard outfit for Emily so they could wear matching outfits. She has pulled out her baby music CDs and played those for Emily. And she has also given Emily some of her bathtub toys. She has even given Emily her signature Tonka dump truck ride—the same ride Ava loves. Here are a few glimpses into Emily’s personality and her likes and dislikes: ~She enjoys music, including listening to Marissa’s music CDs at home and in the car. She’ll hum along or rock her head back and forth or rock her whole body back and forth like a gingerbread man. ~She likes to eat. When she can’t wait to eat, we get head shakes of ‘yes,’ jumping up and down, or hand slaps on the table. She has no problem shaking her head ‘no’ or swatting away food when she is done, or wants something else (we’re thankful that wood floors are easy to clean). If you put food on a fork, she will take it and feed herself. But she refuses to try drinking milk on her own. She is also a “lazy” chewer. If things aren’t easy to chew, she doesn’t want to deal with them. She prefers milk to water or juice. And she likes sweets.

Ava, Emily, and Marissa Marissa pushing Emily in the dump truck; Ava waiting her turn Alaina holding Emily; Emily checking out John Kathy, Marissa, and Emily cheering for the Steelers against the Ravens Emily determining that she does not want to touch snow; looking is good enough Emily and Marissa with Grandma & Grandpa O’Connell

~Emily is fascinated with books and has learned how to turn the pages. Although we are not sure whether she is interested in the story itself. It doesn’t seem like she was exposed to books at the orphanage. ~She laughs when someone will play the ‘bumping heads’ game. ~She likes to splash—really splash—when she takes a bath. Whoever is giving her a bath needs to plan on getting wet also. ~She has a stubborn streak. When she is in a bad mood and doesn’t get what she wants, she will stand, cry, and stomp her feet to get attention. And she can do it for long periods of time. ~She is fascinated with fans, lights, and snow. While she has no interest in personally touching snow, she does enjoy walking in it. ~She enjoys having people around. If she is not sure, she will go up to them, acknowledge them, and then return back to Kathy or Rick. She waves hello and good-bye a lot—often, it is the ‘backward’ hello that toddlers first start doing. It’s cute. ~She likes fast rides in the dump truck when Marissa is pushing. ~She likes “airplane rides”, when an adult lays on the ground and hoists her up in the air with their feet. ~She his very regular BMs. Usually halfway through breakfast, she will have one. Since she doesn’t like sitting in the mess, she wants you to take her out of her chair. When you put her on the floor, she will take your hand and lead you into the bathroom (she knows the routine for diaper changing). Then, she’s ready to resume breakfast. ~She is fascinated with the pictures of her cousins in her bedroom, though she is yet to meet them. ~She is cautious of Felix, the cat. She watches him from a distance a lot. For her sake, that is probably a good way to allow Felix to get used to her. We have noticed that, as she gets more comfortable here, Emily is thinking very seriously about petting Felix. But so far, she doesn’t move fast enough. ~She prefers hard plastic toys to soft dolls. Although the other day, when Marissa was playing with one of her dolls, Emily did show some interest. ~She likes banging toys, banging her hands on the table, and clapping hands. ~ She enjoys walking, especially if someone will hold her hand and go along with her. ~She wants to get into things. If there is something that she should not get into, she will try if it is within her reach. Each day, we see something new in Emily. And each day she becomes more comfortable in her surroundings. She is fun to play with and we enjoy watching her interact. We are slowly working toward our new routine. Though we’re not exactly sure what our routine will be, we look forward to having one.

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