Kaeli and Ye Ye going for a swing on the back deck

Kaeli and her ever-faithful companion, Froggy

Kaeli and Nai Nai pausing during one of their many walks

Kaeli's first adventure with corn on the cob (and doing quite well!)

Cinder enjoying a bag of catnip in the main hall

Updates (finally!) from Oregon

Kaeli and I are settling in here in Oregon. We are staying at Nai Nai and Ye Ye's house for the time being. Kaeli is attending "school" (daycare) from 9am to 1pm, five days a week, and then coming home for a two hour nap, and then two hours of fun and frolic with her grandparents! MaMa commutes (up the stairs) to her office each morning and is thoroughly enjoying her work (telecommuting) at Grand Canyon University. She heads there Sunday for a week, her third trip since June. Cinder the cat was "home" immediately, having lived here in this house before, while MaMa was in graduate school. We are enjoying the Oregon weather (ittle or NO humidity) and excited about renewing old (and new!) friendships.

Kaeli adores the three boys (Aaron, Luke and Paul) across the street, and is making the most of the greenbelt paths and playgrounds and swimming pool. She has a wading pool on the front deck, a sandbox on the back deck, and toys strewn throughout the house from stem to stern! It's amazing how many friends of Ye Ye and Nai Nai come in and say in horror/amazement "Your house!" Ye Ye and Nai Nai have survived the invasion quite well, and hopefully they and the house will recover sometime in the future, once MaMa and Kaeli have moved into their own new home! But until then, we're all having a wonderful, marvelous time - it feels SO GOOD to be home!

At the same time, we sincerely miss all of our friends and family back in Pennsylvania and New York! But we hope that we will see them all here in Oregon, visiting us! Plus, I still have that one storage unit in West Chester to still empty out and ship home to Oregon, so I'll be heading back to PA sometime this fall!

Kaeli reunited with her Jio Jio (uncle)

Beautiful Haystack Rock, at Cannon Beach, where the reunion was held

Kaeli in a (rare) still, quiet moment

Laurie, MaMa, Kaeli, Madison, David (Madison's BaBa), and Amy (Madison's MaMa), and Dr. Susan

Kaeli and Madison imitating each other

Kaeli and Dr. Susan, the Beijing pediatrician who traveled with us in China. She was luckily able to get her travel visa approved for her trip to the US to attend the reunion here. Unfortunately her mother's visa was denied.

Madison and Kaeli, reunited! Madison is 6 months younger than Kaeli, but definitely in charge now! Kaeli, Madison and Alex (not able to attend the reunion) are "Kunming sisters", from the same SWI (Social Welfare Institute, or orphanage) in China. This is the first time Kaeli and Madison have seen each other since China in December. They immediately grabbed hands and spent the rest of the day holding hands and playing together. Madison is in charge, and Kaeli is the caring one - At one point, Madision headed by herself towards stairs leading down to the beach, and Kaeli raced over, put herself between Madison and the stairs, grabbed Madison's arm with one hand and shook her finger on her other hand in Madison's face, saying loudly "No! No! No!". We were in hysterics, and Madison did NOT go on the steps!

Laurie and Kaeli enjoying the beach

Laurie and Kaeli in front of the world's largest Sitka Spruce, on our way to the Oregon coast for our adoption agency's 10th annual reunion.

The first look at the POD in Oregon - filled to the brim!

Kaeli celebrating her second birthday with angel food cake, strawberries, whip cream and candles!

Ye Ye and Kaeli sweeping up the front deck in our new home in Oregon, with Ye Ye and Nai Nai!

Kaeli supervising the pickup of the POD, filled with MOST of our stuff from West Chester (but not all, unfortunately!)

Kaeli with Gavin, her future husband

Kaeli with cousin Jeff in West Chester

Kaeli and Jio Jio in front of Gramma and Grampa Schneegas's old house in Hornell (where MaMa was born!)

Kaeli at Gram and Gramp Towne's old barn in Medina

Kaeli and cousin Dick in Watkins Glen

Kaeli with cousin Greg, Aunt Margie and Uncle Burt

Aunt Linda and Kaeli enjoying a morning stroll

Kaeli enjoying some self-made airconditioning on our trip to New York to meet and say see-you-later to our upstate relatives

Kaeli practicing with her Oregon raingear