Yes, we do still exist!

Hello everyone! I know, I know, it's been way too long since I've posted anything! I'm so sorry about that! Life has been so crazy since we got home. Between jet lag (it was horrible!), illness, starting school, doctors appointments, going back to work, more illness, early intervention appointments, adjusting to life as a family of five, and everything in between, I just haven't had the time (or the desire!) to sit down and try to write something. I also needed to go through our pictures from China so that I could post something from the second half of our trip. I think I'm finally ready!
Addison is doing extremely well! From the moment we arrived home, she pretty much took over the house! She was excellent on the flights home, she slept for all but two hours of the trip. I wish I could say the same for the rest of us! Once we arrived here, it took her about half an hour and she was down and roaming around the house with the kids. I was really concerned about Monday morning when the kids went back to school and Bill went back to work. As of that morning, I still couldn't pick her up and I had no idea how I was going to bring her out to the bus stop with us. I figured I would have to put her in the stroller or she would scream. Bill was gone when she woke up which I though would send her into a tailspin. I sent Kailyn in to get her when she woke up because usually she would be happier to see her than me! Instead she cried when Kailyn went in and stopped when I walked in! How strange! After that she got up and played with the kids until they left. When it was time to go outside to the bus, she actually let me pick her up and hold her the entire time we were at the bus stop! Success! And the rest is history! From that moment on, I have been able to hold her and carry her and she is fine with it! For the first week, she was a little sad after the kids left but then she would perk right up and be fine for the rest of the day. Now she is OK with all of it, I think because she knows now that they will be coming back. She gets so excited when they get off the bus in the afternoon, she laughs and hugs them both, it's so cute!

We have discovered that she is a real ham. She loves music and singing and dancing so I definitely have to put her in dance class. She's quite a little performer! She is starting to learn the rules at our house and that she doesn't always get her way, which she does not appreciate one bit! She was obviously spoiled by her foster family and when we say no to something, she kind of zones out and pouts for a little while. Then, like the flick of a switch, she'll start laughing and being silly. She can throw a good tantrum when she wants to, but they seem to be happening less frequently now. I think she's starting to realize that they don't get her anywhere!

The poor thing had her first doctors appointment right after we got back and she wasn't happy about it. They are starting her vaccinations over as if she were two months old, so that meant four shots, a TB test, and two sticks for drawing blood because they didn't get a good vein the first time. Most adults would have been miserable also! Once they were done though, she was in a fantastic mood for the rest of the day! Of course we took her shopping, so that always puts her in a great mood! It's her favorite thing to do!

I know I'm probably biased, but she is one of the smartest two year olds I've ever met! A little too smart sometimes. She can figure out any electronic device from cameras to DVD players. She loves to take pictures and when we bought Kailyn a new DVD player, she wanted it out of the box as soon as we got home. She proceeded to take it out, plug the wires into the back of it, looked for a place to plug it in, and then aimed the remote at it to turn it on. When we go to Walmart, she points to the electronics area every time. I try to keep her out of there if at all possible, or she'll have everything in the carriage!

Even though she has speech difficulties because of the cleft palate, she has no trouble letting us know what she does or doesn't want! She does a lot of pointing and grunting, but we have been making her say words before she gets anything. I think the foster family let her get away with grunting all of the time so she has gotten a little lazy with her speech. She is capable of saying a lot more than she does. Normally "hard" sounds like K's are difficult to pronounce with a cleft palate but she did a pretty good job on "cookie" when she saw her brother and sister with one! I think she'd do just about anything for food! This girl would eat all day long if we let her. We're trying to keep it in check or she'll weigh 50 pounds by next week! She understands a LOT of english so it is getting much easier to communicate with her.

I have posted a couple of pictures from the trip and a couple from home. Our travelmates will appreciate the picture of me holding Addison and her smiling! They know that that was not an option while we were in China! LOL! I also posted two from our day at Hong Kong Disneyland, one family shot and one of the absolutely gorgeous sunset at the end of the day. I do have to say that China has some of the most beautiful sunsets we have ever seen.

Hopefully now that things are back on track I will be able to post more often. Addison has fit into our family so well, it now seems like she's always been here. Life is good! I hope that our travelmates are all doing well also. The kids were all so cute and we made such good friends while we were there. We would have liked to have spent more time with the other families in Guangzhou, but it just didn't work out that way. Sounds like a good excuse for a "family reunion" if you ask me! Take care!