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Published: March 14th 2012
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The Girls
One of the few times they shared this stuffed hippo at once. The girls have had over a full week now here in their new home. I'm not sure the first week really counts after all the fun we had with the plumbing. Our adoption agency tells us the first week or two can be the hardest part of you're adoption journey. Part of that comes from having everything laid out for you while you're in China, having representatives there to hold your hand, then getting on the plane to come home to you're on your own now, the new child or in our case children, having to adjust to their whole world changing. Then you can add jet lag on top of all that it can make for a very stressful time. I will have to say, they weren't kidding! Last week was pretty tough on all of us. I know just the lack of sleep was just about to do me in. I really didn't get a lot of sleep when we were in China and it just seemed to compound after we got back. This shall pass though.
Rose seems to be very sensitive, wears her feeling on her sleeves so to speak, so there have been some times
All the Couples
This was all the CCAI couples that headed home the same week we did, not all at the same time.
The couples we started with had already left. she has gotten really sad (crying and such). Some of it I think is being home sick but part of it has been from her feeling like the other girls are getting more attention then she is. The missing everything from her life in China I expected, the getting hurt if you spend time with Jasmine or Lilly kind of surprises me, not that I didn't think it would happen it just makes you wonder if she was getting extra attention because of her vision issues and she's come to expect it or something else. Hard to say at this point. She does seem to be getting attached to both of us, although Jenny will tell you she's a daddy's girl more then a mommy's girl. I'm not sure I agree but... On thing we both agree on, Rose is bored not being in school. She doesn't understand why Jasmine gets to go every day and she's stuck here with mom and dad. You can tell she really misses being in school.
Lilly is harder to read. She's always smiling, nothing seems to have upset her yet other then her older sisters trying to mother her. She'll finally get
Our Gang
Our turn on the steps, this was the replacement for the White Swan red couch, not quite the same but it works. tired of it and she'll let them know enough is enough. Rose will however not let up if Lilly is doing something that she knows she shouldn't be doing.
Jasmine seems to be understanding that we're going to need to give Rose and Lilly more attention for now. She is having to get used to having to share stuff although she's allowed to keep her very personal things to herself and not feel like she has to share everything. I think she's doing well with this change considering it's a very big change for her to.
So far our biggest all around challenge has been language. We knew it was going to be an issue so it's not a big surprise that it's at the top of the list. I've been using Google translate to try and and explain somethings, like having to go to the doctor for their physicals before they can enroll in school so that's been a big help. The hard part for them is I can type a question into translate, they understand what I'm asking but then they will answer me in Mandarin thinking I'm going to understand them. They are doing well at understanding us even if they don't know the english words we're using. I guess there's something about a parents tone that is universal no matter what language :-)
Other then breakfast, meals really haven't been a big issue. Lilly likes about any vegetable we've given her. Rose still prefers meats but will eat her vegetables if you tell she has to. We do need to work on her portions though as she's still eating more then she should be. Jenny's been trying to make sure they have something healthy things for snacks, like fruits and such so she won't be so hungry at supper time. We're making progress but still have a ways to go on that one. I'm still trying to come up with a healthy combo for breakfast. The information we received on both of them about what they like to eat for breakfast didn't quite tell it like I've seen. Supposedly they both like and had oatmeal for breakfast. That was the one thing I fixed that neither one would eat. I've tried it with and without sweetener, or fruits. They must have “liked” it because that's all they had because I sure haven't seen any liking for oatmeal.
Yesterday was their physical's day. We had some other things to do so went to town early along with it being Jasmine's karate night it ended up being a really long day for the girls (mom and dad to for that matter) but they handled it well. The doctor said both girls seemed healthy, she was concerned about Rose's BMI (surprise!) but otherwise she looked to be very healthy. We did have to go to the hospital for their lab work. Doctor said that was because of the amount of blood they needed to draw for all the different test needed to check their immunizations, and such. They are even getting tested to see how much exposer to lead they have had. Well she wasn't kidding about the amount! I didn't know you could draw that much blood out of a child Lilly's size and she be able to still walk. I'm not sure but it was at least 6 vials, maybe more. Jenny and I were really dreading this part of the physical but neither girl even flinched when they got stuck. Poor Lilly had to get stuck 3 times. Kind of makes you wonder what they have been through that something like that would seem OK and they not even fuss about it?
They both have follow up visits with the eye doctor next week to find out more about their special needs. We're waiting on a call from another pediatrician that will be checking Lilly's motor skills since she was a premie and still a bit under developed, but that's all they have on their plates for now, medical wise.
That's all for now. Jasmine's already gone to school, Lilly is setting here eating dry Cheerios and Fruit Loops (they don't care for milk btw) while we're watching Nick Jr. Rose is still sleeping so guess the long day took it's toll on her.
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