Happy New Year!

Yi Mei and I celebrated the eve of 2013 with our friend Debby and her granddaughter Bella.

What a celebration it was!  I purchased steamers, bubbles, horns and plastic champagne glasses for toasting 7-Up.  We had planned for the girls were going to ring in the New Year at 9:00, but after hearing, "When do we get to make the loud noise?" for the tenth time, we began the count-down at 8:00.  Yi Mei and Bella  blew horns, danced, banged on pots and played instruments for the next hour. 

The girl's exuberance was an outward manifestation of my own heart.  Yi Mei and I will always remember 2012 as the year that we first laid eyes on each other- a year of painful waiting and a year of great rejoicing.  Above all, a year filled with fabulous adventure! 

Thank you to everybody who helped bring Yi Mei home.  The outpouring of your hearts allowed this sweet little girl to experience a mother's love, the security of a family and true joy.

 

All Things New

This past month Yi Mei has experienced many firsts:

Sitting in Santa’s lap

Baking Christmas cookies with Aunt Debbie

Making a gingerbread house with Aunt Bette

Decorating a Christmas Tree

Discovering Advent calendar have chocolate

Hearing about the birth of Christ

Caroling with friends

The magic of Elf on t he Shelf

Rosasting marshmallow in the fireplace

Watching Rudolph, Frosty and the Little Drummer Boy

First birthday party invitation (Sophie's princess party)

First snowfall
Opening presents on Christmas morning

Christmas has always held special meaning for me- a time for embracing hope, keeping traditions and making memories. Seeing Christmas through my daughter's eyes has brought new found joy.   Nothing compares to witnessing the delight in a child's face, as they first discover the miracle of Christmas.

Three Months Home

It is hard to believe that it has been three months since I first laid eyes on my beautiful, little girl. It seemed just like yesterday that YiMei and I  exchanged our first words.  I will never forget how she slept on top of me, clinging to me for dear life during those first few nights in China.  At the same time, it feels like I have known her for a very long time, as we have become so closely knit together.

Motherhood is by far the hardest job I have ever taken on.  YiMei's iron will and fierce independence challenge me on a daily basis. I am happy to say that there has been a great improvement in her behavior,  as she has stopped deliberatley trying to push my buttons. There have even been some tantrum free days, though most days there is still one huge meltdown.  After many years of dismissing her emotions, it has been very hard for her to gain some control over them when they arise or trust that someone will be there to help her work through her pain.   Even so,  parenting has also been the most rewarding of experiences.  YiMei has melts my heart with her enormous smile.  My heart swells with pride, as I watch her  take brave new steps each day. I never grow tired of hearing her call me mommy.

YiMei has learned so much in the fthree months we have been together.  She has an expressive vocabulary of 50 words, can count to ten and recognize a few letters.  She will play outside with the neighborhood kids, as long as mom is in sight.  Snow White and Cinderella have become two of her favorite movies, though she still prefers to play with her baby dolls more than anything else.  She lays her babies in their crib each night and checks on them as soon as she gets home from school. YiMei has begun to speak in sentences such as "I want chicken nubbets or "I want i see cream."   Her food preferences have not expanded nearly as much as her sweet tooth.  Yi Mei's still prefers rice, noodles, eggs, chicken and fruit. Just recently she started eating spaghetti without meat and decided that a bowl of whipped cream tastes as yummy as ice cream. Oreo cookies and chocolate pudding are also favorites.

YiMei recently discovered that each season brings new adventures.  She loves helping mom rake the leaves.  She likes having her very own pile of leaves, which she insists on picking up all by herself.
My little girl squeals with delight when she is covered with leaves from head to toe.  YiMei loves the idea of dressing up for Halloween and can hardly wait to trick or treat with her beloved Freedom.  Freedom will wear her banana split costume and YiMei has chosen to trick or treat as a butterfly.

Her favorite night time ritual has become reading books with words and pictures, such as Richard Scary's first word book.  YiMei has a such a great desire to learn!  After we read our books, she loves when I gaze into her eyes and tell her YiMei and Mommy will be together forever and ever and ever and ever. 

Here are some pictures and video clips from the Autumn Moon Festival and other fall outings:

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). 

One Month Home

Six weeks ago today, Yi Mei was placed in my arms for the first time.  She cried, kicked and screamed something awful and at that moment I knew that I was going to be in for the ride of my life.  I will never forget how she napped sitting up with her shoes on that first afternoon, trying so hard to maintain control.  Six weeks later and four weeks at home, she is still one determined little girl!  Yi Mei has managed to wiggle out of her car seat, call my friends on the phone, lock herself in the car and find new ways to test her mom every day.  The latest antics have been spitting in bed, spilling water on purpose, squatting to pee in public places, running away from me in the parking lot, throwing things in the car, eating things at friend's houses and refusing them at home and taking bites out of all the fruit in the fruit basket.  Yes, she keeps me on my toes all the time.  While her behavior is still a challenge, there has been progress in so many other areas.  Yi Mei now laughs more than she cries, prefers to walk more often than being carried, is able to sit down to a meal at the table without throwing a fit, sleeps in her own bed, loves her dog, plays independently for short periods and understands more and more each day. 

The biggest change has been that she is seeking me out to calm her down at night rather than fight bed time.  Now she makes the motion for me to rock her to sleep.  As I hold her in my arms, I whisper affirmations to her and she smiles so wide.  A couple of times, she looked into her doll's eyes and repeated the same affirmations to her doll.  Rocking her and singing in the car with her, are some of my favorite times.  Yi Mei loves to watch the "We Sing Videos" and knows many songs by heart.  Her favorites are "Wheels on the Bus" and "Old Mc Donald". When she is very happy, she will sing Chinese songs to herself.   Yi Mei understands most simple phrases spoken to her, though she still speaks in Chinese. In addition to hello, goodbye, mama and chocolate, she now says the words:  Popsicle, bicycle, chicken nuggets, shoes, Freedom and hot.  Her favorite activities are still biking and swimming but she also likes to swing, watch Curious George, play with cars, bake, visit the neighbors and write on paper.  Her writing is a series of squiggly lines, but she is fascinated with print and will ask me to write the words:  mama, Freedom and Yi Mei.   Yi Mei loves being with people.  Though she is reserved at first, she eventually warms up and will blow kisses when it is time to leave. 

Yi Mei is still having difficulty with attachment, as she wipes off my kisses, prefers to go on outings or visit people over being at home and will cry out for her Nanny instead of her mama when scared at night.  She usually has one huge tantrum per day, where she hits me and cries for her Nanny.  As hard as it is to see, I am glad that she is able to grieve her loss. Having attachment difficulties after being in an orphanage for four years is normal.  She is giving affection a little more each day and whenever she gives it,  I soak in the moment.

My life has become so rich because of this precious little girl God has entrusted me with.  I am able to see the world in a whole new way- I can't imagine life without her anymore.

Here are some pictures of our recent outings to Deanna Rose Farmstead, Baking, Playing with Freedom and the Zoo:

First Day of School

I couldn't have been more proud of YiMei today.  Only four weeks home and she was able to stay at preschool for one hour.  When we first got there, she thought we were both going to school and was eager to play with the toys. However, when she spotted me leaving the room, she shrieked, "Mama!"  It was very hard to walk away. After twenty two years of teaching, it felt a little strange being the parent of the screaming kid, rather than the teacher today.  I couldn't help but wonder how my students were doing on their second day of school.

 Upon checking in 10 minutes later, they told me that she had allowed the para to calm her down and was able to join the kids for breakfast.  I came back an 45 minutes later and she was sitting quietly in the para's lap, listening to the teacher give instructions.  I am hopeful that she may be able to stay for the entire three hours in a couple of weeks.  I am very blessed to have  access to such a wonderful Early Childhood Program.  I am very impressed with Yi Mei's teacher and am so thankful for the nurturing teacher's aid. 

Here is a picture of Yi Mei on her first day.  She picked out her Chinese outfit and squeaky shoes for the occasion.