What I Love About Yi Mei

Yi Mei has become quite the ham.  She has come a long way from those early days in China when she would stare blankly at the camera. Yi Mei now asks me to take pictures of her and absolutely delights in watching videos of herself.  I love that she is so outgoing, as she is completely opposite of her introverted mom.  I also love how affectionate my daughter has become.  She no longer wipes of those kisses, instead she now will initite them herself.  Yi Mei comes into my bed in the early morning and the first thing she does is wake me up to give me a kiss and then crawls up to my body to sleep as close to me as possible.

I posted a few of my favorites:  Yi Mei dancing at Kaleidoscope, worshipping Jesus with her Kids Praise CD and singing "Skittlee Dinky Doo- I love you". 

Seven Weeks Home

Each week that goes by, it becomes harder and harder to remember life before YiMei.  It is hard for me to believe that we have only been together nine weeks in total.  Those first few weeks home where Yi Mei would not let me take a shower or put her down, feel like a distant memory.  Yi Mei has grown so much in the seven weeks that she has been home! Yi Mei is definitely attached to her mommy now.  Within the security of my love, she has gained some new found independence.  Yi Mei will venture out into the front yard by herself, if there are kids outside.  Of  course, she comes in to check on me every five minutes, but she is making great strides in security nonetheless.  Today she even left the health club pool to use the bathroom on on her own.  All of a sudden, she said, "bye, bye" and walked out of the pool and into the locker room.  Another big stride she has made, has been taking the bus to school in the morning.  She is fascinated with buses and things with wheels, so it wasn't too hard to coax her into trying the bus. 

Though Yi Mei has shown huge growth in independence, her behavior has been slow to improve. 
As I mentioned, Yi Mei is very ornery.  We went to a kids fair/craft show on Saturday and she shut off all the lights in the gymnasium.   This wouldn't have been so bad, except that they didn't come on for thirty minutes.    Yi Mei has a fascination with switches, as she also loves to open and close the garage door multiple times a day.  Her meltdowns persist in the afternoons, where she hits, kicks, and throws things (including her body).  In addition, Yi Mei's sensory issues have begun to impact the types of clothing she will wear.  I can only get her in sundresses, as she hates t-shirts of any type.  More often than not, Yi Mei will run around with her underwear, without shoes nor shirt.

Though she still prefers eggs, Yi Mei has branched out to spaghetti and milkshakes, these past couple weeks.  In school, Yi Mei will use English words with the kids in her class.  I was glad to hear that, as she doesn't speak much English at home.  Yi Mei knows how to say popseecle, biseecle, chocolate, shecool bus, Wreedom(Freedom), these one, hot cold, no more, wow and no.  Yes, she has discovered the "no" word.  Her current interests are taping things, trains, cleaning (she loves to vacuum and wash dishes), singing/music, riding scooters with the neighborhood kids and playing with her stuffed dog "Goo" (Chinese word for dog).  Her favorite book is currently "I Love You Like Crazy Cakes".  It is a book about a mother adopting a Chinese baby.  Yi Mei will look at the pages of the mother and baby over and over and repeat Mama wa ainee baby (mama loves baby).

It was Yi Mei's half birthday and church dedication on Sunday. It took three changes of clothes to get her to wear a dress to church.  She didn't wear the cute shoes that I selected, but at least I got a pair of sandals on her.  All but her under dress shorts came off when she got home.  Yi Mei was excited about serving her Thomas the Train cake that she picked out.  She loved the chocolate frosting, as you can see from her face. 

Sunday was a special day for us. Our pastor confirmed the significance of Yi meaning hope.  He saw Yi Mei on stepping stones, each one leading her further into hope for her future.  The verse that was selected for her was:  Psalm 121:8 "God will direct your coming and going forever more."   Yi Mei was able to receive the love around her at the dedication and the party afterwards.  I could sense a deepening of trust in her spirit.   Since Sunday, she has made an effort to please me by keeping the water in the sink when she is brushing her teeth.  She will also repeat what I have told her about not asking to get up after we have gotten in to bed..  She shakes her finger and says "no more" potty, "no more drink".  After I hold her face and tell he how special she is, she has begun to hold my face and do the same to me. 

I attached some pictures of her party, our boating outing and another of her learning to splash in rain puddles(it was a new experience for a little girl who doesn't like to get dirty).