Sophie the Great!

One week before Sophie goes back to school.  Thank goodness!!  She is more ready than she ever has been.  I think she's finally tired of the "unstructured" summer, and ready to get back to more challenges and brain activities.  I almost said she was tired of playing Minecraft and Skylanders, but that would be taking it a bit too far.   She is turning into such an awesome big sister, though.  She literally just said in the background - "isn't she the cutest thing in the world?"  Yes, referring to her sister (i actually had to ask, because it was an out of the blue statement).  She wanted to help her put her jammies on tonight, and read her a story, and stuff, which was unusual.  But I will take it - i love to see them together.  Cora of course thinks EVERYTHING sophie does is awesome, and tries to emulate every move.  Sophie brushed away my kisses at bedtime, and made a face, so then 5 mins later, Cora did the exact same thing.   Go figure!  We rode our bikes together tonight, and Cora just calls out for Sophie continuously, unless she is in the exact right spot (not too far ahead, and definitely not behind us).  I was still walking/jogging next to Cora, cause though she is doing great on her new Princess bike with training wheels, she still likes to have me there just "in case".  She practiced her brakes a lot tonight, so i think she will be more confident and in control now.

Anyway, it's been about a week I think since I wrote last.  We've had a bunch of Anderson visitors - Mom, Dad, Jenny and Mariah.  All were big hits, and Cora asks about them often, and wants to skype and say "hi" on the phone when she can.  It is so so wonderful to have her meet her family. I think she thinks they are celebrities, after seeing all the pictures of them in the albums!   We'll be going to Chetek on Friday I think, so she can see g'ma and g'pa's house, and do the lake stuff, and meet Kyle and Mike.   Paul's coming in a few weeks, too!

Everything is just rollin' right along.  We're staying busy with summer activities, and enjoying almost every minute!    Cora just gets better and better about meeting new people, and also separating from James and I.  She loves anything that involves her "listing" the family (like setting the table, one spot for each of us, and naming our spots).  I think she is getting the family idea more, and certainly seems to love it!  She does still have her moments, and her tantrums still come out once in a while.  It usually involves me telling her no, or doing something she is not happy with.  James tells her no, too - but when she melts down and gets really angry, it's almost always with me.  But it only happens now maybe once every 3 days or so?  So not much to complain about there.  We still recognize that even though she seems like a VERY happy kid, there are still feelings in there that she can't express and she still has pain/anger/confusion about this new life.  The language gets better every day, but there are limited things she can actually say, and she gets frustrated by that sometimes.

But yes, the comment from almost everyone she meets is how smiley and happy she is.  We laugh a lot in the house, and she's certainly brought a new spark to us all.

Oh, she is on night number 3 of sleeping in her bed!  We got a bed rail put up last night, after she fell out of bed 3 times the night before.  So now we all sleep sound in our own beds.  I really can't believe she transitioned that fast into her own room.  I hardly slept the other night - mostly cause she was falling out of bed, and I was worried and listening for her all night.   But knock on wood, she is doing amazing on that front.

I did register her for school today.  We'll meet her teacher this week, and come up with some sort of "staged" approach.  Likely starting around the 16th of September.  Wish us luck on that!  We think she's ready, though.   She's smart (of course) and is good at standing in lines and sitting in circles.  It's just the separation part that worries us.  I'll keep you posted.

Pool tomorrow, since we are having a heat wave, and i think lunch with some friends.  Have a good week!

Michelle

Mariah in the studio salon

Cora and cousin Mariah, Jenny's daughter

Grandpa and his girls with their Alaska gear!

Tickles from Grandpa Anderson

At her first bday party!  Happy Bday Henry!

Perfect bday takeaway, Abby!

Hangin' with the big kids!

Her newest accessory, the neck scarf!  LOVE it

With aunt jenny and mariah (how cute is this outfit -thanks Jen!)

selfie

I've got a shopper on my hands!

My mom and I had to laugh today, because we realized we have a little girl who really likes to shop, and really likes shoes (and even more so SOCKS, for some reason!)  Grandma Jeanne finally got to meet Cora today, and I think it was love at first sight from both sides.  Cora completely took to G'ma.  Not that I was totally surprised, but you just never know.  I doubt Cora knew many grandma's with beautiful silver hair in china - but this one is pretty great, so how could she resist!   Chun wu couldn't decide if she could call her Nai Nai (paternal grandma in mandarin), Why-paw (maternal g'ma) or just Gramma in english.  She rotated thru them all, but pretty much settled on Nai Nai.   And then called for her over and over to make sure she was watching her all the time.  It was so cool to see, and just kind of crazy to think our little girl is finally home, and meeting her family.  Pretty soon, she will just be "one of the gang", racing around with her cousins at the family gatherings.  

But yes, we hung out at the house for a while, and then decided we should go do some shopping.  Sophie HATES shopping, pretty much always has, so just Mom, Cora and I went.  Oh, and what made us go is that Cora is hell on wheels on her bike with training wheels.  She doesn't watch where she's going, and just races all over, assuming mama is going to hold her upright and help her avoid wiping out.  So far, we have been lucky, and that statement is true, but it's not going to last long.  A big spill is sure to come soon.  So we thought we needed to go get her a helmet, and some knee and elbow pads.  Then I might have to just let her loose, and she will quickly figure out that she has to be more careful!

We hit Lands End, and bought all sorts of stuff.  Don't feel bad, Mom - remember, we had 5 years of NOT shopping for her, so think of all the money we have saved so far!  I think I'll be using that excuse a lot - maybe until college?  But Cora loved it - tried it all on, picked out her favorite stuff. and charmed the sales ladies along the way.   Those dimples are hard to resist.

Grandma went home after dinner. It's kind of exhausting being in our house right now - feels really chaotic to me, at least.  So one day was probably enough!  Cora was sad to see her go, but no meltdown.  We just kept telling her we'll see her again soon!

So it's been 10 days home.  I haven't written in a few days - it's been kind of a blur, but in a good way.  James has been working 1/2 days, and that is going really well.  Cora isn't happy about him leaving but does pretty well with it.  Might cry for 5 mins, but might not.  Just depends on her mood that day.  But still definitely daddy's girl.  She's gotten lots of good bonding time in with me and Sophie, too, though, and we all are just getting each other figured out.   Cora is starting to chase Sophie around, and wants to do what the "big kids" are doing.  Sophie is generally pretty good about waiting up for her.  The other day Cora took off at top speed literally chasing sophie down the street.  Quiet street, but still, yikes!  So we had to nip that in the bud :)

We're all sleeping good, usually 10-12 hr a night for Cora, and almost as much for me.  We've gotten to the next step of Cora actually falling asleep in a BED.  Not her own bed (that would be jumping way ahead!), but a bed none the less.  James tells her some story, either about the planets, or might be about roman catholic history, or maybe chinese history if she's lucky.  And she's out in literally less than 5 mins.  James lectures can put ANYONE to sleep, so it's perfect!

At this point, the hardest part is still the communication.  Cora started talking more than ever today.  We said it was my Mom's visit maybe.  Who knows why, but she was mimicking way more than she usually does, and saying all sorts of things.  But she still gets frustrated when she can't tell us something, and still has little fitsl But pretty normal stuff, and manageable.  And just keeping up with her and keeping her entertained is a challenge.  No wonder I'm sleeping 10 hrs a night.  But it's fun mostly.  Oh her first sentence today was "Where's the meme?"

Okay, I better go, I am up WAY past my bedtime!  Jenny and Mariah are coming tomorrow afternoon, and then my Dad on Wednesday morning.  And then we just need to see Paul and Kristin and all the Davis' .  I wish everyone was closer!

chasing in the backyard

At the Edina rec center the other day

pure FUN

This girls  got more accessories than one should ever need! 

You knew it was bound to happen!  Mom had to go through "Cora's Hair Salon"

How do you say "LOOK FORWARD!" in mandarin??

The 5 yr old rules the roost!

Wow, how quickly you forget how your time is no longer yours with a toddler in the house!  Not much time to post, but a quick recap.

I think last time I wrote, Cora had passed out, literally, in the bean bag at about 3pm.  She ended up sleeping that whole night, woke up the next day (monday morn) at 1am.  Stayed in the bean bag, james and i on the couches, and all was pretty hunky dory.  The 1am awakening was not great, but we took turns once she was up, and off we went for the rest of the day.

Last night, we kept her up till 5:30, pm, then she zonked rocking herself to sleep on the porch.  She slept till 4:30 am, in our BED.  YEAY!!   She had a short 10 minute night terror thing before waking up this morning.  But all and all, we were thrilled, and we all got a good night sleep.

She is generally super happy, but VERY busy.  Runs around constantly yelling for Baba and Mama and Sophie to come with her, or do something.  She still likes her morning walks, but has let go of the stroller attachment.   She's completely hooked on James, though, and we now know that will be the next hurdle.  He was going to work this week, but decided he's just going to work from home a few hours a day.  She looks for him constantly, and wants him in her sight, or to at least know where he is.  Me...she can take or leave me!   We'll see how it goes when one of us really has to leave, though.

We played outside a lot today.  James was able to get a solid 4 or so hours of work done.  She kind of forgot about him once we were occupied outside.  He did do a "trial separation", and ran to McDonalds and back.  She was not happy to see him leave, but I was able to distract her with the trampoline, and then she was okay.  I think if we do a few more of the leave and come back quickly trials with him, she'll be okay.

I am exhausted.  It's 7:40pm, and Cora fell asleep in the living room chair.  I'll move her to bed in a bit, then I'm sure will pass out myself.   We are not as on edge anymore, worrying that she will cry, or melt down (though she still has a few moments here and there).  But she just doesn't want to be alone, and really wants one of us doing something with her at all times.  I know that will change with time, but it's tiring.  We all have so much fun with her, though, so it's not like it's torture, I just can't get anything done!   She is such a character, really a funny kid.  Though she can't talk, her expressions are worth a thousand words.  I know that is cliche, but it is so true.

We have someone coming to clean the house tomorrow morning - hallelujah!!   That will be a big relief.  Now if I can' just get caught up on some of my admin, I will feel more in control.  I guess control is something we all want, right?  Makes sense why these little kids are so out of whack when they feel like they have none at all over what is happening to them.

She is so sweet - more playful than affectionate, I would say.   She'll let us hug her, though, and sometimes will run up to me and give some snuggles.  But she also is stubborn as all get out, and her anger come out now and then, too.

That's all for Tuesday night.  I really can't believe it's only been 5 days since we have been home.  Thank you to you all for the emails, calls, texts, notes!  I promise they mean the world to us, and I will get back in touch with you all soon!!  

Hugs,

Michelle, James, Sophie and Cora

Hanging outside today with the Gracie "big girl"

Honeynut cheerios all around!

Honeymoon is over, I think....

We are now on Day 3 of being home.   The first night we only got a few hours of sleep, then laid pretty low on Friday.  Maybe got 4 hrs of sleep on Friday night.  We keep reminding ourselves that it's like bringing home a new baby - we have to be ready for sleepless nights.  There are so many factors at play, jet lag being one of the biggest one, though, I think.

Saturday (yesterday) we were all just zombies.  We stayed home all day, but I think made the mistake of being too busy, and too social.  Cora LOVES seeing people and visitors, but cries and cries when people leave.  My friend Hui from work came over, who speaks mandarin, and brought her kids, too.  It was a great visit (thanks Hui!) and I think Cora loved hearing someone speaking her language finally.  But she was pretty angry and upset when they left.   We also spent most of the day outside, playing with our good friends and neighbors and their kids.  Again, Cora loved being with them, but was beside herself when we had to separate.  We were walking on eggshells all day, just waiting to see what would set her off.   She screams and gets so angry, and we just don't know how to snap her out of it?  The stroller is still a good distraction, or just getting her to play with her dolls or something.  Or having her new BFF "big girl", come hold her hand and bring her somewhere.  But I think the poor thing was just SO tired yesterday, she just was losing it right and left.  And James and I were also on the brink, many times.

We had an early dinner with the Tbacks, and then got her to sleep at about 7:30.  We all slept on and off, but in the end, were thrilled cause I think she (and james and I too!) ended up with almost 7 or 8 hrs of sleep!  Sophie also got a good night sleep.  She slept the whole night in the magic stroller, though.  Kind of funny.  Reminds me of the days when sophie would sleep in her car seat when she was sick.

The hard part is, when she wakes, she just rages, like she is a completely different person.  James has been reading lots today about night terrors - we think that is what going on.

So today is Sunday, and we are completely taking a step back in our "schedule".  We went for a walk this morning, then have just been playing all day at home, just the 4 of us.  Cora has been doing awesome. She is such a sweet and funny thing.  She is saying more words, and playing with some new toys, and just hanging out.  Oh and news flash - SHE IS NAPPING right now!  She was chillin' on the bean bag, and fell asleep watching the old school smurfs.  I think the extra sleep helped for sure, but I also think staying inside more, and just hanging with the fam is what we need to do for a few days.  It's hard, because my mom and dad, and Paul and Kristin were going to come over today, but we decided to postpone.  

A few little tidbits - she loves cherry tomatoes, she loves changing her clothes, and pretty princess dresses, and still is practicing on her hair styling skills.  Oh, and loves to do the trampoline with her big sister.

sleeping as I type!

playing outside with Daddy yesterday

Messin' around with big sis

Home Sweet Home!

I can say with certainty, we all were never so happy to get home the other night!  We arrived back to the house at about midnight on Thursday night.  A big thank you to Teri for picking us up, waiting with a big teddy bear for Cora (which she loved) and hugs for us all.  And another shout out to M&M for having groceries for us when we got home, and a welcome home sign.  And lastly, to Michael and Barb for helping out with the house and Sheeta.  Everything looked great when we walked in!  Oh, and before I forget, James and I just finally got back on Facebook and read all the notes.   I wish I could have read those while in China - I forgot to tell y'all that we coudn't access FB or the blog from China, so the only way to get msgs to us would have been via Gmail.  Your words of support and encouragement are so sweet.  We definitely need them, maybe even more so now that we are home!  We were happy to be able to talk to our family and some friends via skype while were in China a few time, so at least we had that connection.

But back to the trip home....

I think we figured it was a 26 hr travel day.   Left the hotel at 9am for the airport on Thursday.   The flight to Seoul was fine, 3.5 hrs.  I kept thinking, MAN, I have not had to deal with a busy 5 yr old for a LONG time!  I was laughing about the fact that Cora is not obsessed with screens like Sophie, so it makes plane rides so much more difficult.  She has an attn span of about 10 minutes, and then wants to move on to the "next thing".  Well, I only have about 5 "next things" for her, and then I was like Uh Oh!    But that part was fine, I think I got her to watch some Ponyo (really the only movie or tv we have that she is interested in). I don't think any of us fell asleep on that leg, well I am sure James did some, but we all know that is just a given.

We got to Seoul, and had a very short layover, until our 10 hr flight to Seattle.   A nice Korean Air attendant grabbed us, and a few other families, and rushed us through customs and security so that we could make the flight.  Kind of stressful, but we were happy NOT to have a long layover, so I guess it was good.  Except the lady was going so fast, and I was carrying Cora, and I was like, "wait up!!".  She did not care that i was carrying a pretty heavy, small chinese person.

Next leg was pretty terrible, but we made it through.  Sophie sat on the aisle, I was across the isle, and then Cora next to me, and a koren guy on the other side of her.  James was 4 rows back, unfortunately.  Sophie was an angel, except I felt bad because she really wanted to snuggle with someone and fall asleep, and she was all on her own.  So instead of sleeping a wink, she just "tableted" and "ds-ed" the WHOLE 10 hours.  Cora slept about 5 hrs, I think, but woke up quite often kind of crying and writhing around.  The korean guy seemed kind of pissed off, but whatever.  I was just trying so hard to keep her comfortable, that I maybe slept an hour or so myself.  So yes, the 10 hrs felt more like 15.

But Cora was SUPER happy for most of the journey.  Smiling and laughing, and literally pulling me onto the planes and around the airports.  And she started talking in Chinese!  Like she decided we were okay, and she could could open up more.  So that was super cute, and we just love hearing her talk.

One funny thing once we got to Seattle.  Sophie was exhausted, almost falling asleep standing up.  We unfortunately had a 6 hr layover, so we decided to set her up with a bed on the floor.  When Cora saw that - Sophie with blankets and pillows, she just kind of lost it.  All we could think of was that maybe she thought this was our "home", and she did not think it was cool?  So the poor thing was pretty upset.  I found a chines family, that I heard speaking what I thought was mandarin.  I asked the younger boy if he would translate for me.  He was really sweet, and explained to Cora that is was not our home.  That was have ONE more plane ride, and then we would be home.   After that, she was good.  She obviously was very tired too, so who knows what was going through her head.  So again, dang it for us not speaking some mandarin!

The last 3 hr flight was a breeze - slept a little, watched more ponyo, and we were home.  After Teri got us home, Cora just had fun checking everything out.  She was very curious about Sheeta - I think that was kind of a lifesaver for us.   And maybe after seeing a bunch of pics and videos of sheeta, it helped her put together that this is home? Who know, really, but she loved the going up and down the stairs, was excited about her new baby dolls and room, and generally pretty happy.

It took us till about 2:30am to get her to fall asleep, though.  She was in the bed with me, and just wasn't having it.  Combo of overtired, nervous, and just "screw you, I'm not done exploring and don't want to go to sleep"  And then our STUPID alarm went off at 4:30am, and woke us all up.  So yep, 2hrs was our big first night sleep.  She just cried and cried after that, and then we just decided to throw in the towel, and get up.

Here are some pics from our first morning....we did a stroller walk at like 7am, and she was a super happy camper!

Laura and Lucy at the Chimealong Circus!  Our friends from Atlanta that we palled around with.  Made our trip SO much more enjoyable to hang with them!

Sophie on the way to airport

Cora sitting next to big sis on way to airport

Cora's "artwork" as james calls it.  She is obsessed with hair accessories.  Takes them in and out, just loves them!

TaTablet time for both for a few minutes at least

Cora and Lucy, in Seoul, before we parted ways with the Kirklands :(

Sophie and Zoie Kirkland in Seoul

again, obsessed with hair, and she is darn good at doing ponytails on her babies!

omelets with Sophie in first morning home.  too busy to eat, though

painting project!

Last Day in China!

Well, not really last day, but last full day before we fly out tomorrow at noon.

It really does feel like so much has happened in these 2 weeks.  And while yes, we had one of the biggest events of our life, we also had a lot of down time, and sometimes feel like we didn't "do" much at all. 

Our bags are packed, and I should be sleeping, but feel like I need to write one more time.  I know once we get home, people say it's really hard to keep up with the blogging.  And we'll be so jet lagged that I won't want to for a few days, I'm sure.

Today was an awesome day with Cora.  Almost too good to be true.  Now my stress is - What is going to happen when we get home?  She can't REALLY be this easy of a kid??  I talked to a family at the pool today who assured me she won't be.   Thank you lady, for bursting my bubble!  No really, I do know that we will be in a whole new phase when we get home.  I know she will be grieving for some time, and will go through more confusion about "home", and what that all means.  But I was just enjoying every minute with her today.  She let me snuggle her down by the pool when we were done.  She fell asleep on my lap on the drive home from the Circus.  We are all constantly hugging and kissing all over her, but today was the first time day she seemed to really relax into it, and enjoy all the attention!  She was laying all over James too, and playing with Sophie's hair.  Oh, it is just so great!! 

I am less sad about taking her away from China tomorrow, because she is seeming to be really getting used to us, and I know she will be happy.  But I still get teary thinking about taking her from everything, and everyone she knows. 

She went on an excursion with her big sis today.  They headed down to the lobby to buy some lunch from the bakery together, and then mail a letter to grandma and grandpa davis.  Yep, I sent them by themselves, and they both were thrilled!  Cora said and waved bye bye, and took sophie's hand, and off they went.   That was a cool moment, and Sophie was all all proud that she figured it all out successfully.  Lunch was these delish pastries wrapped around a hotdog.   We have been eating OH so healthy here :)

Sophie had some more sad moments down by the pool.  "you don't love me as much", "you are always so mean to me, and so nice to Cora".  I hope that once she is back on home turf that will get easier...but we have been expecting that reaction all along.  She gets over it pretty quickly, but today she was extra sad.  Poor thing - it's been a LONG trip for her, too.

I need to speed this up, so this is what we did on our last day, and some pictures to go along with it.

• Breakfast again outside
• Toured with Richard to this crazy wholesale food market.  You'll see pics of us walking up and down the streets, and then some dried lizards, a bunch of bags of who know what kind of chinese medicine "stuff".  And many many many deer parts. Along with fish parts, scorpions,   dried sea horses, and the list goes on and on.  Quite interesting!  Next time you see sophie, as her about the "3 squeak" story!
• Toured a Buddhist Temple.   We thought it was cool, sophie did not
• Back to the hotel to swim, and wait for Richard to deliver Cora's passport and Visa.  It came, and we are SET to leave!
• Pizza in the room, and then off to an AWESOME circus!  If anyone come to Guangzhou in future, you should totally make the trip.  We went with Laura and Shawn and crew, and it was the best show we'd all seen in a long time.  Amazing acrobatics and animal performances.  Great light show, music, costumes.  I'm not a circus fan, usually, but I was very pleasantly surprised.    We had good seats, and the kids all really loved it. 
• Got home late, kids passed out, and we packed.

And now I must do the same!  Thanks to everyone for all the support and prayers along the way.  See you back in the States very soon!

Love Michelle, James, Sophie and Cora

"She is the stinker that the sages have foretold!"

Sorry, inside joke I guess, but James kept doing a funny fake Chinese voice all day, saying things like that!  But it is true - she is totally a stinker.  When we first saw her file, that is one of the things that drew us to her, and we nailed it.  She is doing something funny all the time.  I should say she is a stinker when she is in her comfort zone.  When she is in an unknown place, around bunches of strangers, she completely shuts off, and gets stone faced and pretty scared.  Like the whole time we were at the consulate appt, she just looked scared to death, and even started shedding a few tears.  Poor thing - who wouldn't cry if you had to go sit in a government building, bored for an hour!

Speaking of consulate appointment, though, it went very well.  No issues with the paperwork, it was smooth sailing.  Richard, our guide, will go pick up her passport tomorrow with the US immigration stamp in it, and then we are free to leave!  It took us about an hour, and was really pretty painless. We saw many of the families we've seen along the journey, including our group from Hefei.  That seems like YEARS ago, honestly. 

I'm just going to comment on the pics that Ben is going to post for me:

• First one is at breakfast.  We sat outside today, and it was just beautiful.  The breakfast is AMAZING here!  If any adoptive families read this, I highly recommend staying at The Garden.  This place rocks!
• Next one is Sophie in the lobby of the medical building.  They have a wine vending machine - what the heck??  We got a kick out of that, and had to share.
• Then the next 5 are outside at the consulate building.  The big squiggly map thing was super cool, and is an etched map of Guangzhou.  There was a massive line of Chinese people waiting outside, probably to obtain different types of visas.  Luckily we didn't have to wait in any line, and were ushered in right away. 
• Then the last couple were swimming in the afternoon back at the pool.  Both Sophie and Cora wanted to literally be attached to me most of the time, and both were being jealous of my attention to the other.  Oh, it begins!!   James was off doing a photo shoot of the area, otherwise, he would have been swimming with us and could have helped with that.  But it all worked out.  Cora likes the water - doesn't love it yet, but was excited to go in today.

That's about it for today.  Oh, we call her our little Wookie, because she just makes funny noises all the time.  She spouts out Chinese words here and there, but most of the time just grunts and points and whines when she wants something.  She did mimick me a few times today in English, but she REALLY resists doing that.  So I think that will be one of our challenges when we get home.  But she understands a lot of what we tell her, and I know she could say things if she wanted to.  But she does not!

One more day tomorrow (Wednesday), and then pack it up Thursday morning.  i think we are doing a museum tomorrow, and then going to this big circus thing tomorrow night, which we are excited about!

Until then....