2015...and life goes on.

Well, here we are. Can it be over 5 years since this blog was started already? Obviously, the time spent becoming a family has taken time away from the blog. This will likely be the last blog post. In the past few years, there have been smiles, tears, laughs, cries, hugs, arguments, ups, downs...all the things you would expect from a family. We remember the good times and try to learn from the bad times. This is a journey that I dare say none of us ever expected to make, but I believe none of us would have done in any different.

Today finds Anyssa a happy 10 year-old 4th grader. She's prospering as an American girl with a real mom and dad. She loves watching TV and movies and playing Wii. She has a bed full of stuffies. She is working hard on reading and loves being read to. She is great at math and dancing. She's been the Bolingbrook Power Dancer of the Year and has performed on stage with the group MANY times. She attends SPARKS at Good Shepherd and has a strong faith foundation. She has fun with her friends and loves spending time with her sisters. She is on her 3rd bike and loves riding it along with her scooter. She is a Pokémon collector and trader. She loves to climb trees. She cares for and feeds the animals who call our yard their home. She's a great "big sister" to Figaro. As big as she grows, she still loves to be carried and to ride on Dad's shoulders. She's visited Disneyworld. She swam in the Gulf of Mexico and has collected shells on the beach. Every Christmas, Elfina (her very own "elf on a shelf") comes to visit. She is a smart, caring girl. She is beautiful...inside and out. I can only hope that we've brought as much joy to her life as she's brought to ours. Only time will tell.

The love of a family is life's greatest blessing.

Back to School(?)

Wow...so that's the summer?? We've done our back-to-school shopping and Anyssa is ready to enter the first grade. First grade...wow...how time flies. After 1 and a half years as a kindergartener, she's ready to take the plunge. A full day of school. This summer was kind of crazy (when are they not?) and it's hard to think that it's almost over. Sure, the calendar says that summer continues until September but when you've got kids, summer is dictated by school. What's funny is that when I was a kid, school NEVER started this early! I mean, c'mon...she was out in MAY!! The world has gone wacky!!

Ye Ye (grandpa) is out of the hospital and home (albeit with a cast on his leg) and Uncle Bob is back IN the hospital (with a large bandage on his hand.) Anyssa has been a one-girl support system doing her best to raise smiles and feeling wherever she can. When she climbs on top of Uncle Bob while he's in a hospital bed, it's hard to not smile...even if you've just had major hand surgery.

Anyway, after an afternoon of jumping at the Jump Zone, she's howering and is getting ready for dinner. The word is that I'm grilling so I'd better get the grill ready...I just heard the shower turn off.

See you soon...school pictures will be posted soon!

Amazing connection

Yesterday, I was tooling around the net and decided to do some research about the Social Welfare Institue where Anyssa used to live. I was examining the Google results when something jumped out at me...a post was apparently made on a someone's blog referencing a little girl that had been adopted from the same orphange as Anyssa at the SAME TIME. Needless to say, I was blown away. I quickly did a little research and tracked down the author of the post and immediately sent the family an e-mail telling them who I was and why I was writing. I got a response within an hour. We have been chatting back and forth and I'm sending them some pictures. I've gotten some pictures of their little girl from their blog. The initial response to the pictures from Anyssa was indifference...I'm not sure she fully comprehends what I'm telling her. If Anyssa KNEW the other little girl...heck, this was almost 2 years ago and let's just say that there have been a couple of changes in Anyssa's life since then. The other family says that there duaghter remebers "Ji Yuan" but only pictures will tell if she really knew or remembers Anyssa at all.

What a mind blowing experience. Whether the girls ever truly remember each other or even really KNEW each other, the fact remains that they lived together under the same roof together for a good portion of their lives.

Anyssa was in ELL summer school and today (Friday) is the first day she is truly off for the summer. First grade is just around the corner. With luck, she will get Mrs. Knizek as a teacher again. She has made such remarkable strides in her speech, reading and writing that she should do just fine in school this year. I can't whether she likes it or not but she seems to be doing well in math. Just like her daddy!

Laura, Anyssa and I are all off on vacation next week. It's going to be a stay-cation this month with so much to do around the house. Getting caught up seems to be a never ending chore around here...God help us if we ever DO actually get caught up! Laura and I are planning a surprise this fall. I'd like to tell you what it is but you'll all have to be surprised too. I will tell you all when we let Anyssa know in a few months. OK?

OK, here is your selection of pictures for this post. Hope you enjoy them! If you all can convince Laura to start posting, maybe the posts wouldn't trickle out at the rate of 2 a year!!

Our little chopper pilot...at the Cavalcade of Planes at the Clow Airport just down from the house.

Guess who's turning 7?



Daisy Scouts...1 more year as a Daisy then she'll be a Brownie



A fantastic shot of Anyssa by our good friends and photgraphers, the Randalls.

2012

Looking back, it's been quite awhile since we've (I've) posted anything. I'll be completely honest...it's difficult to simply write about everyday stuff that seems so, well, boring. Laura and I have been talking for awhile now about the blog and the importance of documenting what we can because it's becoming obvious that if we don't start making a record of some of this stuff, it will lost to time. I remember when I was growing up that my mom used to carry her Kodak 126 Instamatic camera (with flash-cubes!) in her purse and she would snap pictures of what we thought was the stupidest stuff. Now, years later, I look at some of those "stupid" photos and I'm glad we have them. That's how it is becoming with Anyssa. If we don't keep records of the stupid everyday stuff, it will be gone.

That being said, Laura has asked me to show her how to sign in and start posting. We need to keep this going...together.

I am out of town in Kansas as I write this...once I'm home, we'll start getting caught up. Pictures coming! Please don't give up on us.

The day we met...

When Laura and I were preparing to travel to China, once piece of advice that we got was that, if possible, we should video the first meeting. We didn't have any idea of what to expect, but that thought stayed with me. When November 1st arrived and our van pulled up to the government building, I got my camera ready for video. As soon as we walked inside, I hit "RECORD" and was able to document our first meeting.

Well, yesterday was November 2nd and represents the 1 year anniversary of the day the adoption was finalized. To celebrate, we went to Panda Express (or for, as Anyssa calls it "panda food.") That was not our first choice...we had planned on doing something a little more celebratory but with my brother being in the hospital, things have been a little stressful. We plan on doing something a little grander as soon as he is out and home. ANYWAY...before bed, we got together and watched the video again. I had thought of posting the video on the blog, but for some reason, I thought it as a private moment that should be kept in the family. After all, by Anyssa's own admission, she was very scared. We told her we were scared too. When she asked why, we told her that we didn't know if she would like us. She then told us that she was scared that we weren't going to like her. Talk about unfounded fears.

This morning, Laura and I had a talk about the video and I asked what she thought about posting it to the blog. She told me that she had actually been thinking about it too. That sealed it for me. Here is, public for the first time anywhere, the placement. If you listen carefully, you can hear her utter her first "English" words ever...papa and mama. It's only about 3 minutes long and the focus goes out a couple of times, but the sentiment is all here. The 2 ladies with her are the director and assistant director of the orphange and the lady in the green coat is Emily, our translator. She's eating breakfast....yes, that's a hard-boiled egg she's munching on.

This represents one of the most significant events in all of our lives and it's very special to us. We are pleased to share this with you and hope you enjoy it too. Thank you ALL...for your love and support through the entire multi-year process.

Family photos

Hello gentle readers!

Can it really be almost a year since we first met each other? Yes...Novemeber 1st will be the 1 year anniversary of our first meeting in Chengdu, Sichuan. To celebrate this wonderful event, we all recently had a photo session by Christine and John Randall of Randall Studios. They did an AMAZING JOB!!

Thank you all for your love, prayers and support throughout the entire process as well as being a wonderful extended family to Anyssa. You are all WONDERFUL!!

To celebrate, we'd like to share a couple of the photos with you all.

Fall sets in

While we took full advantage of the hot weather and long days by being out of the house as much as possible, as the days grow shorter and the sun goes down sooner, we are making the migration to the indoors. Sometimes indoor activities are just as much fun! As I mentioned previously, Anyssa really likes Rapunzel (from the movie "Tangled") so in an effort to imitate Rapunzel's long hair, Anyssa tied a bunch of blankets together and then to her own hair (by way of a scrunchy) and walked around carrying her large bundle of "hair."

Fall is also a good time to play games. She has learned a few games since she's gotten here (she loves UNO) but her latest favorite game is Smess. You have to jump all the way back to the 70's for this classic...it's "the ninny's chess." It's a chess type of game with 3 characters...ninnys, numskulls and brains. The object is to capture the other guy's brain. The moves are laid out on the board so it's pretty easy to play. I'm trying to teach her to think things out. Of course she has to WANT to win. Despite a couple of clear shots for her to win, she wanted ME to win today. Ain't she something?

Oh...and Ducky enjoyed the Rapunzel play too...he took a nap in her "hair!"

A game of logic and skill...sort of.

Rapunzel's hair

Buddies

Summertime is...gone

Holy cow!! Where did the summer go? I used to think that the seasons picked up speed once I got out of school but toss a child into the mix (and extra fun stuff at work) and BAM! Summer is over. As I write this, Halloween is rapidly approaching. Our princess is about to experience her first ever Halloween and wants to dress as, what else, a PRINCESS!! Ah...but WHICH princess? For a few weeks, it's been Mulan. I know...a bit expected but I think Anyssa relates to Mulan because they are both, after all, Chinese. Off to the Disney store for a costume. We were doing pretty well UNTIL she saw the Repunzel dress. NOW she wants to be Repunzel! Oy! We want to make doubly and triplely (?) sure so we bought nothing yesterday. After a day to think, it sounds like Mulan is once again the favorite. More on this as it develops!

Halloween represents exactly 365 days that we've known Anyssa. We first met her on November 1st and the adoption was finalized on November 2nd. We are trying to figure out how to celebrate "Family Day" (as we are calling it), otherwise known as Gotcha Day. Gotcha Day just sounds a little too much like "ha! Gotcha!! Now try and get away." As for the moment, we are sticking with Family Day. We had discussed going out for a nice dinner at P.F.Chang's or something with a nice, Chinese atmosphere. We will try and stick a day trip to Chinatown in too, but probably later.


Anyssa got to visit her first major league ball park this year...TWICE. Of course that meant a trip to the south side of Chicago to see our (my) beloved Chicago White Sox. After having been with her as she was exposed to things for the first time, I thought back to my first trip to old Comiskey Park in the early 1970's. The way the green of the grass looked under the lights was surreal to me and stick in my mind to this day. I just KNEW that I had to keep my eyes on her face as she walked from the gate to the field. She froze, her eyes bugged out and her jaw dropped...no kidding. It was wonderful. She looked so cute in her little pink Sox cap (thanks Ruth!!) Of course, with no idea of how the game works and baseball moving along at baseballs own speed, her attention was that of a typical American 6 year old. We walked around, got ice cream, looked at the souvenir shops and saw the statues around the field. It was a good day to be a daddy and it felt so good to have a little girl on my shoulders. The simple joys of life, right?

She ALSO got to her first NASCAR race! It was the Friday night truck race at the Chicagoland Speedway. I think she enjoyed this one about the same as baseball. Cars (or trucks) driving in a circle is an acquired taste and we're working on her. She liked how fast they were going (good sign) and enjoyed the company as we ate and tailgated prior to the race. Uncle Dave and Aunt Courtenay stayed with us for the weekend and Anyssa loved them visiting and enjoyed playing with them! It was really a fun weekend.

We took advantage of the warm weather last weekend by visiting a local farm and hitting the corn maze! And the hayride!! And the giant corn bin!!! Fun was had by all. Autumn is my favorite season so I'm glad we got a chance to enjoy it while it was warm. Patrick, Linda and Gigi went with us so the girls got a chance to play with each other.

OK...that's my summer-in-a-nutshell update. Of course, here are a few pictures for you to enjoy! Thanks for your patience...see you all soon right here!!

First concert shirt!

Anyssa and daddy off to the DuPage County Fair!

Ducky has learned that there is agood reason to no longer run away!

Anyssa and Eryn waiting for the bus on the first day of school.

Scool projects on the wall...hers is the green and red hand.

Sox Park

Growing up fast! Anyssa and friends.

"My first footy pajamas. Love 'em!"

Mommy, Miss Linda, Anyssa and Gigi in the corn bin.

Picking out pumpkins.

Summer Vacation

Summer vacation this year translated more into "a week when we're all off of work/school." It was a pretty low key stay-cation, but we did get out and see some stuff.

Sunday brought a reunion of sorts. We got together with Patrick and Linda (GiGi's mom and dad) and with Ray and Gaye (Anne's mom and dad.) These are the folks who were in our travel meeting with us. We haven't seen Ray and Gaye since before they went to China so this was the first time we met Anne. She's 4. The girls had fun playing in the sprinkler and on the swingset and also with Play-Doh. It was a fun day for all of us with us parents comparing notes on travel and kids. I asked them if they ever thought that they'd be in a group with other people whose common bond was our Chinese daughters.

Anyssa with Anne and GiGi

On Monday, we hit the Shedd Aquarium with Phil, Lee and Matt Bauman. It was a treat for me because I've never been to the Shedd before. Pretty neat...Anyssa loved the fish but she REALLY enjoyed seeing the beluga whales. Oh, and the otter. And the dolphins. And the jellies. Let's just say she had fun all day! We sprung for JELLIES which is the jellyfish exhibit. Very interesting, but hard to tell what flavor jelly each one was (include rimshot here!) When she saw the belugas, she started insisting that no, they weren't whales, they were DOLPHINS! When she started getting mad, we knew she was serious. We had to find the dolphins and show her the difference. It was a smart move to bring the stroller with...she started to poop out and needed a 15 minute breather every now and then.

Anyssa meets "the jellies!"

Hmm....what else...OH! On Tuesday, we went to visit her kindergarten teacher from last year at her house. Since Mrs. Knizek will be movong to 1st grade this fall and Anyssa will be repeating kindergarten, we figured no harm, no foul. Laura, Anyssa and I hung out with Angela, Jerry and baby Landon, cooked out and swam in their awesome pool. They just had a slide put in that Anyssa REALLY enjoyed. We waited for her at the bottom holding a pool noodle for her to grab onto. Even though she's had swim lessons, she felt safer having something to hold onto. It was a really fun afternoon. Angela has been a great teacher and set the bar for teachers SO HIGH that I told her she's set up all of Anyssa's FUTURE teachers to fail. It was also neat to find out the both Angela and Jerry grew up close to where I grew up so we compared notes about the old neighborhood. I had to grab my HS yearbook when we got home when Angela told me she went to my HS.

I think I know what Anyssa wants for Christmas THIS year...

Pool girl!

 Wednesday was school supply shopping day. Ho-hum... We won't count this day. :-)

On Thursday, we went to the beach! Of course, in Chicago, that means a trip to the Indiana Dunes and Lake Michigan. Unfortunately, becuase of the weather patterns, there were some rip currents, so the beach was closed. No worries...that just meant a jaunt down the road to the public beach where there are no lifeguards and a "swim at your own risk" philosophy. That was great for Anyssa...she mainly wanted to play in the sand with all of her sand toys that she got as presents over the past year. We built a sand "castle" complete with a moat. We tried to fill the moat with water but it kept draining out...darn sand!! Anyssa built up quite a rock collection. (For you non-area residents more familiar with the oceans, since there are no shells, you collect rocks.) At days end, we saved the cooler, smaller ones and tossed the rest back. We drew the line when she started showing up with 5 pound brick-size rocks! The waves were breaking pretty nice (for a lake) so she had fun waiting for the waves, then running away yelling and waving her arms as they broke. Ah, to be 6 again, huh?

Friday brought a special dinner with Gramma and Ye Ye (Ye Ye is Chinese for Grandpa...if you knew that, then you probably watch Ni Hao Kai-Lan.) Anyssa likes her meat so off to the Lone Star steak house. Whoever came up with the kids menu/crayon combo ought to get a peace prize. (insert joke about the meaningless Nobel Peace Prize here ;-) She sat between Gramma and Ye Ye and I believe all 3 had fun...especially when Gramma started the airplane-into-hangar trick to get Anyssa to finish her steak!



In for a perfect landing!



Wow...looking back, we actually did a lot last week. Back to work for me on Monday, but off the following week again. That's the week that school starts so we'll see how THAT goes!!

We were planning on going to the Rennaissance Faire Saturday, but we woke up to rain and it can get a little muddy. SO...within the next couple of weeks, we'll head up there.

Filling in the gaps

I have to apologize for the delay in getting back online with the posts. A lot has happened in these past few months and I really don't want to skip anything. I'll try and cover the highlights.

On June 12th, Anyssa was baptized. Baptizing a 6 year old is a little different than baptizing a baby. For starters, she wasn't too keen on that whole "water on your head" thing. Luckily, Reverend Heidi had a talk with her and it was cool. She climbed up on a chair by the font and "went swimming." She was a very good sport and the beauty of it was that she really seems to get the gist of who Jesus is. Patrick, Linda and Gigi also came which was good for Anyssa because Gigi is her "mei mei" which is "little sister" in Chinese. No, they're not really related but they both went through the whole adoption thing in China and got to hang together in Guangzhou. She is the daughter of Patrick and Linda and just turned 2! We know that these 2 girls will be an important part of each others lives growing up.

Gigi Coyne and "big sister" Anyssa

We took our first family trip to the Brookfield Zoo in May. Wow...the zoo is a lot different than when I was a kid! She loved seeing the animals, petting and feeding the baby goats and sheep in the Childrens' Zoo and seeing the dolphins (from the underwater viewing windows.) I made sure to grab some change to get her her first Mold-a-Rama figure. Go figure...it was the dolphin! We now know to bring a wagon with next time. That and a cooler. They have the butterfly exhibit going and she absolutely LOVED THAT. She got the butterfly to land on her and was helping other kids hold them. There was a lady in a wheelchair and she went over and showed her the butterfly in her hand. I know I'm her dad, but she really is a great kid.

Anyssa and her first Mold-a-Rama figure

Also in June, we went to the Summer Solstice event at the Bolingbrook Park District. They had an exotic animal show, marshmallow toasting, a bubble making station and other neat stuff for kids. I need to say something about Anyssa before I show you all the final picture of this post. Imagine being in an orphanage your entire life. No parents, brothers or sisters. Imagine having a cleft lip and palate and needing surgery. Imagine being in a hospital for surgery with no parents brothers or sisters when you are 3. Imagine being adopted by 2 strangers and then travelling FAR away from everything you know to go to a life you have no idea of. What do you do with all of that? Well, Anyssa has decided to not look back. She is, to a certain extent, fearless. She approaches challenges with a bravery I have rarely seen in kids her age or even older.

That said, here is how she handled herself when they came around with a tarantula.

While the other kids ran, Anyssa stuck her hand out. Like the sunglasses??

Oh...and she won her frist contest ever...she won us a beautiful, hand-painted rain barrel!! Way to go! Now for the rain...

OK...we're back!

Due to popular demand, a nagging sense that I've left this hanging and a desire to tell everyone about our princess, we're back! I've got Laura set up again so HOPEFULLY, I can get her to start posting as well.

A lot has happened since Anyssa turned 6. School let out and she started summer school. She is also in swim lessons. Today is the last day so after this post, I'm going to change and get ready to take her to the pool. She also experienced her first American 4th of July and, if you can believe it, FIREWORKS for the FIRST TIME! I guess that even though they make them there and they would be celebrating Chinese New Year, the kid at the Social Welfare Institute might not be able to watch them. She was mesmerized. Of course, like every kid, she was getting bored by the end. So be it...we got home and our neighbor had a stash he was blowing off. It was kind of rough that the 4th was on a Monday this year and there was school and work the next day, but we pulled it off. All of us had sleepy eyes on Tuesday but isn't that the sign of a good time??

My 2 favorite girls in the world!

OK everyone, I PROMISE to be back VERY SOON!!

Waiting for the school bus.

Outside church on July 3rd.

Happy Birthday!

Today is Anyssa's birthday. 6 years old already...WOW! They grow up so fast. Seems like we've only known her 6 months! OK...c'mon...you have to let me get that joke off every so often!

Anyway, as I mentioned, today is Anyssa's birthday. From we can gather, she's never had a "party" before. We are going to have something at the "Jump Zone" in a few weeks. The Jump Zone is a kids party place with inflatable slides and climbing things...just like the places we DIDN'T have as kids, but would have loved! We are also planning a family party. I'm sure that by the time it's all over, she will be sick of parties and gifts. (yeah, right!)

But, today is her birthday, so we had to do something to celebrate. She got a special Happy Birthday banner and some balloons (which she loves.) Laura and I took her out for a special dinner...at the Golden Chopsticks restaurant. The waitress commented that "she looks like she's Chinese." It's funny that we had to tell her that she was! I guess it's still not that common for Chinese folks to see white people with Asian kids. Anyssa had her favorite...RICE! And some chicken, of course. She wore her little paper birthday crown that she got at school. When we got home, she opened a present that she received from Carlson's all the way from Wisconsin. This is no exaggeration to say this, but SHE LOVED THE CLOTHES AND JEWELRY!! It was the kind of honest outburst that only a kid can pull off. No lie. She got a beautiful coordinated top and short/skirt with a matching bracelet and hair clips. From owning absolutley nothing 7 months ago until today...I have no idea how she can process what has happened to her. We just enjoy the fact that she enjoys it.

Here are a couple of pictures from the restaurant. More will follow shortly!!

Such a shy little girl!

Coming home

It's funny...as you get older, your priorities do indeed change. Used to be that when I would travel for work, way before I got married, when I walked through the door upon arriving home, the first thing I wanted was a beer. Oh, how times have changed. I had an over-nighter in Toledo and Fort Wayne. On my way home yesterday, as I approached the house, all I could think of was walking through the door and having my little girl run to me and give me one of those oh-so-tight hugs that only she can give. Let's just say that I wasn't let down.

People thought we were crazy to be adopting "so late in life" but all I can say is that as far as I'm concerned, this is the perfect time. I don't look at Anyssa as an obstacle to my happiness, I look at her as PART of my happiness. Maybe I'm vicariously living a second childhood through her. That's OK...I know what to expect now.

I checked the weather today and it finally looks like it's gonna be nice...maybe we can all take a nice walk tonight. Or maybe we'll walk while Anyssa rides her bike. So many choices... Or MAYBE she and I will go out and buy Mothers' Day cards for mommy!

LIfe keeps rolling along

I'm sitting here by the computer so I thought I'd drop a message here. Laura and Anyssa took Ducky to the vet. I was supposed to be watching Anyssa, but at the last minute she decided she wanted to go with. In Anyssa's quest to calm Ducky (who was less than pleased to be going) I think she might have freaked him out even more. But hey, when you're 5, that's what you do, right? I am pleased to report that with the weather getting better, Anyssa becoming more aclimated and the cats getting used to her, they are coming upstairs more. Since her arrival, they've relocated to basement and only venturing upstairs once the pitter-patter of small feet has quieted for the night.


Anyway, here a couple of the swing-set pictures I promised you...I think her smile shows that she's happy with it. Thanks to Mike, Dawn, Connor and Evan for the set.

My own swingset?

Yes, it's true. Our little girl has inherited a playset from the neighbors who were no longer using it. We set it up yesterday. When she got off the school bus today, she bolted towards the house yelling "slide!" I'll go out and snap a couple of pictures of her in a few minutes. She is changing into her "play clothes" to head out. A swing, a glider, a slide and a playhouse...all for you!! I cannot possibly imagine what is going on in this little girls mind. She doesn't seem to remember any Mandarin...everytime I point to some Chinese characters and ask her what it says, she simply says "ni hao." However, she IS talking more about China, which she refers to as "my China". She remembers who Tao Ji Yuan is (her) and even corrected us on how to pronounce it...Tow Jee Yen...not WEN. We need to make notes because she's not gonna remember any of this in a year or so.

We are getting a package ready for our translator Evelyn who lives in Beijing. There is another group from our agency heading there in 2 days so one of the case workers has agreed to hand carry something to her. We got her a picture book on Chicago. We told her that when she gets a visa to come here, she can stay with us. Laura said she could be our nanny!

OK...I will add playset pictures later. In the meantime, here are some Easter pix.

Wow! A new post so soon??

Yes folks, parenthood is catching up with me. You have to give me credit for good intentions...I MEAN to post something almost every day! Unfortunately, time has a way of doing a number on you. I wake up, go to work, come home, eat dinner, put Anyssa to bed, then put Roger to bed. Repeat. Daily.

Seriously, it's not that bad. I really enjoy the fatherhood part. She is turning into a typical kid. Oves school, rides the bus, hates homework, loves TV. She really likes her teacher and seems to be learning pretty well. How exactly do you measure a kid who has only been exposed to the English language or alphabet for less than 6 months? I think she is doing FANTASTIC! I'm not sure what I already said but she will be repeatling kindergarten again. The teacher and principal think this will be best and I have to take their experience to heart. As much as I'd like her to keep moving, we need to do what will be best for her.

She definitely has daddy wrapped around her finger. Not too tightly, I might add. She is learning her boundaries and tests them hourly. She loves to ride on my shoulders...having 9' ceilings is a plus. It's also a good workout!

Wow...that was quick. I am being paged to keep her busy while mommy does the dishes. I will bail here and post more SOON.

Here, for your amusement and astonishment, are the before and after photos of our daughter. The first is her orphanage mug shot, the 2nd is her American girl glamour shot. Peace!!

Party girl

On Saturday, our neighbors had a birthday party for their daughter who was turning 5. Anyssa was invited. By now, she knows the word "party" and was very excited to go. On Saturday, I took her to my brothers to visit, then we came home. She had a shower and we were ready to get dressed. However, the nice new jeans with the colored gemstones was not what she wanted to wear. She wanted to wear a DRESS. Not just ANY dress,mind you, but the dress she wore for CHRISTMAS. We tried to explain to her that the jeans would be better because they might be playing games and besides, the Christmas dress looks, well, too much like Christmas. Mommy left the room and daddy went to work on her without any success. Under the tears, she kept saying that she wanted to look "beautiful." By now I know that the line a parent is supposed to say about how kids always look beautiful wasn't going to work, so I had a talk with mommy. Laura said we could try the dress she wore at another friends first communion...a nice gray/pink design that looked cute. We showed her, and she smiled. When all was done, she looked at us and pointed to her smile and said "See? Happy!" And she was.

FWIW...she was not the only girl in a dress and without even seeing the other girls, I know she was the most beautiful one there.

The things we take for granted...

Sometimes it takes something very simple to serve a s awake up call to life as most of knew it growing up. Here is something that happened yesterday that was a major eye opener to both of us.

As Anyssa stands next to her growth chart, it's becoming more and more obvious that she was malnourished while she was in the social welfare institute. In the first 6 weeks she was with us, she grew (no lie) 2 inches. As she grew vertically, she grew in other areas also. Specifically, her feet. we bought her shoes when we first got home, but due to the fact that there was so much going on, it was no big deal. lately, she was complaining that her toes were hurting. Lo and behold, she had outgrown the shoes she got a few months ago. So, off to Target. Since she is a major fan of Dora the Explorer, it made sense that when we spotted the Dora shoes, we showed them to her. She seemed to like them, so we went through the ritual of " stand up, wiggle your toes" as we felt for the right sizing. When we were happy, we asked her "do you want these?" The answer was a subdued yes...no big deal, she needs shoes and this was the pair. She immediately wanted to put them on but we explained that we had to pay for them first. "The car" she repeated...yes, we told her, when we get to the car. We made it all the way home and she hopped up on the dining room chair and pulled off her old shoes. I put on the new shoes and that was it. She was smiles from ear to ear. She ran to show mommy then ran around the house. She wore them all evening.

When bedtime came, we put on pajamas and, yep, you guessed it, the shoes. She looked cute running around with her jammies and shoes on. I told her that I hoped she knew that she could not wear them to bed. When it was time to sleep, she took off the shoes and put them neatly back into the box.

This morning, I was watching TV when she woke up. When she came downstairs, she was wearing the shoes. We sat her down and asked her "is this the first pair of new shoes you've ever gotten?" For the most part, it seemed that the answer was yes. Yeah, I know she had the pair we first bought her, but this was the first time she was involved in picking out something she wanted and approved of. It makes sense: back in China, the state owned everything and she probably had gotten nothing but hand-me-downs.

It was a real eye-opener to me that something that I not only took for granted but actually hated shopping for could be such a big deal. Before bed last night, when we said our prayers, she piped in and thanked Jesus for the money she got for the 2 teeth that fell out and for the shoes. Amen.

That said it all.

"100 day"

Yesterday was the 100th day of school (for everyone else...24 for Anyssa) so the kids had to decorate a shirt or something with 100 items on it. We found a couple packages of foam stickers that had tropical flowers so we went with that. Mommy and Anyssa started it, then daddy joined in so mommy could start dinner then Anyssa left because apparently, putting 100 of anything together when you're 5 can get pretty boring. I ended up finishing it with her joining in near the end. I'll swear there were 100 (more or less) of them on that shirt. Her teacher wrote us that since it was a special day, the kids could sit wherever they wanted. She said that all of the girls wanted to sit next to Anyssa. Wow...my little girl...Miss Popularity.

Today I had to go to the social security office to apply for Anyssa social security card. When filling out the original paperwork many months ago, there was a section that asked for her SS number. If you didn't have one, there was box to check if you wanted to APPLY for one. Silly us...we thought by checking the box, we would applying for a social security card. After 3 months with no response from the SS people, our agency told us it was hit and miss and if we didn't hear anything, to go in and apply again. I took everything I could think of that they would ask for. Long story short...we should be getting her card in 10-14 days. Fingers crossed. I was thinking that maybe her card had gotten swiped and someone was ruining her credit already!

Hopefully tonight we will finish her Valentines for her class. Once I explained to her what it was all about, she was pumped up! We'll see how Monday goes for her.

Another post? So soon??

We've been talking about whether we want to continue the blog or not and I would really like to. It's funny how much time a child takes out of your life. It seems like after she goes to bed, writing a blog about the daily mundane stuff she does would be kind of boring. However, this is all still pretty new to her. I find it hard to believe that Anyssa has been in the country LESS than 3 months. We put up a growth chart and after only 6 weeks, she has grown 2 inches. It's looking more and more that she was fairly malnourished is China.

Eating can still be a challenge. Foods she liked a month ago she doesn't want anything to do with. I mentioned earlier that she at least tries food before she says she doesn't like. This is still true, but we have to force the issue a bit. I tell her that if she tries something and really doesn't like it, she doesn't have to eat it. I find this an equitable approach and apparently so does she. I know we are dealing more with 5 year old issues rather than adoption issues. For example, she says she doesn't like carrots. When she was eating some chicken out of a Sam's Club sample, I snuck a large hunk of carrot into her mouth and she said it all tasted good. However, when I put another piece of carrot on the fork, showed it to her and asked her if she wanted it, I got the UGH face. Go figure...  :-)

We have been getting regular reports from her teacher. Anyssa needs constant reinforcement of letters and numbers. She knows them, but if you show her number, sometimes she doesn't remember which number it is. We have a counting book we use...we show her the "5" page and ask her what the number is. She'll count the pictures "1-2-3-4-5---5." It's hard to adapt to her thinking when we have so much we take for granted, but yes...she needs that reinforcement.

She was playing kind of rough the other day and she hit me purposely. I stopped her and said loudly and firmly..."You don't hit daddy...EVER!". So at least now, she knows the word "ever". I had cold hands and touched her back...she snapped around and yelled "no touching...EVER! EVER!!" and she got right in my face. It's hard to get mad when it just makes you smile.

OK...I will post more...I promise. Even if it's at work while my machine is doing it's thing...like right now. Pictures soon.