Hope: One Less

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Day 17 - 1/3

We had a late night last night. We departed from our normal routine and did not have bathtime before bed. She wanted to sleep with her new stuffed animal.

Posing with her new stuffed cat, Tundra

As soon as she woke up, she wanted to take a bath. Chris gave her a bath before church and she picked out her clothes (jeans and a shirt). For breakfast, she had white rice and half a banana. Once she saw I was wearing dress pants, she said "wow" and made me follow her into her room so she could change into her pretty dress and accessories. As we were pulling into the church parking lot, she raised both hands in the air and shouted "yay." She has only been there twice but immediately recognized the building (she also knows how to get to the bathroom). She was very-well behaved and enjoyed "singing along" to the worship songs. I'm sure she enjoys the attention too. After we got home, she kept saying "cheese" because she wanted her picture taken while she was all dolled up. She also kept saying "Kinsley" and making her car motions. My sister and I made last minute plans to take the girls to the Children's Museum of Illinois in Decatur this afternoon. Chris and Dale opted to stay home. As soon as I told her we were going in the car to see Kinsley, she started yelling "yay." She had a quick lunch of scrambled eggs, chicken strips, and applesauce and we headed out to pick up Brooke and Kinsley.

This was our first time at the Museum (thanks for the suggestion, Jen), and I think the girls had fun. There were lots of interactive exhibits and activities for them to do. As soon as we arrived, she spotted the Air Supply. This one was a little different than the one in Champaign because it used balls rather than fabric. We spent lots of time grocery shopping at Johnston's Market. The girls loved having their own shopping carts and pulling items off the shelves and into their carts. She actually filled her cart and then practiced checking out and putting the items into the bags. We also had a photo op with Ronald McDonald. The next popular spot was the bubble room. She kept trying to use the big wands and blow her own bubbles. She also started saying "bubbles." We spent time playing with the water table and floating ducks and boats down the river. She also got to paint on the paint wall. We rode the elevator to the 2nd floor and spent time trying on costumes and playing on the stage behind the curtains and lights. The girls drove an airplane, an ambulance, and a car. We visited the Ready. Set. Build! exhibit and the girls went down the slide. She was not a fan of the one in Champaign but she did great with this one. I think it helped to watch Kinsley and that it was a straight slide. They made pizzas and went to an ice cream parlor. She tried on a fireman's outfit and a construction outfit. We made once last trip down the slide and through the bubble room. Both girls (and the mamas) were getting tired so we decided to call it a day. While Kinsley got her diaper changed, I convinced her to go a couple of platforms up in Luckey's Climber. She was pretty hesitant when she saw it at first, but as long as she held my hands, she was okay. It was a great afternoon!

When we got home, we had a quick dinner. She had white rice and mini corndogs. We worked on putting the sheets back on our beds and she helped put away the folded kitchen towels. She also kissed our dog, Bessie, on the back three times. The first two were out of the blue and the third one was just so we could get it on video. We are going on an overnight trip before her doctor's appointment on Tuesday so she also helped to pack her bag. We told her we were going on vacation and Chris showed her a picture of the hotel pool. Hopefully she understood. We also worked on playing Go Fish and she is really good at matching the animals together. Nana and Smitty stopped by to pick up Bessie. She immediately asked Nana where her earrings were. She was a big helper to get all of Bessie's things packed up and kept saying "bye, bye Bessie." For her snack, she had vanilla yogurt, string cheese, and a banana. She must have been starving. She has also figured out that she can tickle Chris' feet and she thinks it is hilarious. In fact, she has been bouncing off the walls this evening which seems odd considering she had no nap. She has picked up some more English words including Kinsley, Nana, sorry, awesome, and bubbles.

Wanted her picture taken

Car selfie

Air supply

They thought this was cool

Shopping professionals

Showing off her loot

Ronald McDonald

I am holding both of them up at the same time

Pedaling her tractor

Bubble room

She got the hang of it

Water table fun

Everyone loves a button

Firewoman

Our playdates, Brooke & Kinsley

Construction woman

More fun with bubbles

Luckey's Climber

Yay for Kinsley

Better reaction on the slide

A kiss for Bessie

Saturday, January 2, 2016

Day 16 - 1/2

So I slept with her last night and if you don't need sleep, if works out just fine. Most of the night, it felt like she was either sleeping against me or sleeping sideways and using my neck/chest as her foot rest. She slept in, but as soon as she woke up she wanted to know when we were going in the car and her next question was where her rings were. She had scrambled eggs for breakfast and wanted shredded cheese on them because she had seen Chris have some on his yesterday. Chris was in charge of breakfast and getting her dressed while I worked on straightening up the house and putting away the Christmas decorations. She came downstairs to see what I was up to and started saying "ho, ho, ho." Then she broke into the Happy Birthday song. I guess after hearing it once yesterday, she is a quick learner. She has also been singing Jingle Bells a lot. It amazes me how observant and smart she is. She has watched me get ready a handful of times. This morning she was in the bathroom with me and took all of the toiletries I need out of the cabinet and set them on the counter. After seeing me put on my belt, she decided she needed one and that was her focus for at least 15-20 minutes. She even went and told Chris she needed a belt. For her morning snack, she had mandarin oranges and green beans (both her choices).

Papa Swing and Grandma Barb drove down to spend the day with us. Grandma Barb made her a special bracelet. While they were here, she worked on using the scissors and cutting construction paper. She wanted us to trace her hands and feet and then cut them out. The first few cuts were a little rough but she really got the hang of it. She wanted her picture taken lots and would let us know by saying "cheese" and pointing to a phone. We had a yummy lunch at Smokey's BBQ in Charleston. We ordered her chicken strips and applesauce, neither of which she ate. Instead, she tried things off the rest of our plates like cole slaw, baked beans, french fries, cornbread, brisket, and smoked turkey. Of course, she liked it the best; it was off of my plate. Afterwards, Papa Swing took his car through the car wash, but she was not a fan. She looks terrified in most of the pictures and covered her ears through most of it. She also kept wanting Papa Swing to drive out of it. At home, she had rice, yogurt, and string cheese for a snack. She had little interest in playing with most of her toys, but we did play Barbies for a little while since they all needed a bath again. She also played with the Angry Birds game. She even convinced Pap Swing and Grandma Barb to play Ring Around the Rosie with her. We said good-bye to our visitors and she was ready to eat again.

For dinner, she had green beans, the leftover chicken strips from lunch, and white rice. She ate really well. She loves to go in the car so we headed to Effingham. She was super tired and cried most of the way, but was fine once we got out. We stopped at Chris' office quick so she could run around and we rolled around in his office chair. Then we went to see Chris' coworkers, Ann and Dennis and their family. She made herself right at home from the beginning. She loved playing with Jeff and Kayla. They played pool, raced matchbox cars, and had pillow fights. Anytime I got too close, she shooed me away by saying "bye, bye." Caroline was sweet to give her a gift of a stuffed cat. She had a great time with everyone and was the life of the party. She was not shy about eating the snacks of chips, dip, salami, and cheese they had out. Everyone kept saying how cute and precious she was. She gave everyone hugs and kisses on the cheek as we were leaving. They even turned on their Christmas lights and inflated the Minion as we were leaving. It was a late, but great evening.

For more info on our open house please check out: https://www.facebook.com/events/1707998806104086/

Posing with Grandma Barb

Using the scissors to cut construction paper

Adding pom poms to the art

New art for the fridge

Lunch at Smokey's BBQ

Her reaction to the car wash

Loves to wash her hands

Posing with Mama

Posing with Papa Swing and Grandma Barb

Ring Around the Rosie

Chris is tickling her

Grandma Barb is using her as a pillow

Looking at her pictures on Papa Swing's phone

Playing at Chris' office

Playing the piano

Posing with her new friends, Jeff, Kayla & Caroline

Trying on Jeff's hat

Posing with Jeff and the Minion

Friday, January 1, 2016

Day 15 - 1/1

Happy New Year!!! We did not make it to midnight but are excited to see what 2016 has in store for this sweet girl. It is hard to believe we are at the halfway point of our adventure. She has been with us for exactly two weeks. She leaves two weeks from today.

I may have jinxed myself with the pull-up story yesterday. She woke Chris up saying "peeshew" with a messy pull-up. I am guessing watching a few kids get their diapers changed yesterday may have taken us a step back. Hoping it was just a one-time accident. She ate a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast but quickly asked for an egg and toast (since that is what Chris and I were having). She ate everything. After working on tracing letters and having noodles for a snack, we headed to Brooke, Dale, and Kinsley's house for lunch. The girls played with their babies and gave them bottles. They also played with Kinsley's new kitchen set which is fitting since both girls love to help in the kitchen.

After lunch, we headed to Gigi and Grandpa Barker's house for Grandpa's birthday. It was a fun afternoon with Gigi, Grandpa, Nana, Papa Gene, Dale, Brooke, and Kinsley. Kinsley took a nap, but she did not (although she laid down with her for a while). The girls continued taking care of their babies, playing in the beanbag, and visiting the donkeys. There were many trips up and down the stairs, snacks of cheerios and goldfish, playing with Gigi's toys, fun with the sticker book that Nana brought, and chocolate birthday cake. She also had another vanilla yogurt (this is quickly becoming a staple now that she has eaten five; a trip to the store is in order). She had Gigi take her potty multiple times. The girls had some difficulties sharing Kinsley's Snoopy, her new cell phone, and the magna doodle. As soon as Kinsley finished getting her picture taken with Gigi and Grandpa, she wanted hers taken too.

We took a quick trip by my cousin, Danny, and his wife, Jennifer's, house so they could meet her. She also got to meet my other cousin, Jason, my Aunt Beth, and her husband, Mark. She tolerated their dog very well and they were nice to let her color and give her a snack of mashed potatoes. We had a very tired girl on our hands, but she managed to stay awake in the car.

It was so convenient to have dinner waiting in the crockpot when we arrived home. I had made pepper steak and we made white rice to go along with it. She wanted the rice but was a little hesitant about the pepper steak until she tasted it. She loved it and kept giving us thumbs up. She ate the multi-colored peppers first, then the steak (which was super tender), and saved the rice for last. Since rice is her favorite, this was a big step. She also wanted a second helping. Unfortunately, there are no leftovers so we are going to have to make this again soon.

Nana and Smitty came over for a visit and brought a small gift. Our girly girl has been begging for rings to wear and she finally has some of her own. Of course, now she is looking for the next accessory and asking for earrings. She and Nana spent lots of quality time together. They colored, wrestled, played Ring Around the Rosie, read books, and played Barbies. She also helped with the grocery list by pointing to things she thought we needed. Her list consisted of eggs, rice, soy sauce, and string cheese. After Chris gave her a bath, she came into her room so we could mark off the day on the calendar. We have a big red box around the 15th so we can see how many days she has left and when she has to go back to China on the airplane. The last couple of days, she has started pointing to the 15th, and saying "bye, bye" and her name. Tonight I told her we would be sad and miss her. I pretended to rub my eyes as if I was crying. She did the same thing, but she laughed afterwards. I did have a few real tears (thank you exhaustion) and she got a tissue to dab my eyes and patted me on the back. She was trying to make real tears too but was not successful (she just ended up drooling from her mouth). It will no doubt be a difficult day, but we need to prepare her for her return to the orphanage. We still have lots of time to have fun and make memories.