Tuesday, November 22, 2005
November Check-in
Let's see, it was AUGUST the last time I posted to our blog! So much for updating weekly!!! Life is just too hectic at this point, and I keep forgetting... so my apologies!!!
Kaeli is doing wonderfully - at 28 months, she's still not showing TOO much of the terrible twos. We occasionally see a bit of temper or obstinacy, but thankfully it is not daily or hourly!!! She continues to love to sing, dance, play, laugh, and make others laugh. She now can identify 8 colors and 8 shapes, and is able to point to the correct letter in books when you ask her to find a certain ones. She almost knows her ABCs, and can count to ten as long as you don't need the 4!
One morning recently, NaiNai went in to get her up in the morning, and Kaeli stood up in her port-a-crib and then waved her arm in the air and said "FOOF!" (the signal that there's a messy diaper around). NaiNai was puzzled (no usual odor from 20 feet away) and asked skeptically, "Do you have a foofy diaper??" Kaeli said "Noooooooo....." and burst into giggles.
When I went in one afternoon to get her up from her nap, she stood up and gave me her usual big smile and "Hello!" as I went to the window to open the curtains. When I turned around, she had fallen to her mattress, squeezed her eyes shut and was "snoring". The big grin on her face gave it away though - she was just pretending to be asleep.
Her ballet dance classes are going well - NaiNai and I are both surprised to see how well she minds the teacher - taking her turn, waiting patiently against the wall across the room while the others take their turns, watching intently so that she knows how to do what she's supposed to do next. She still looks like a football player in tights, but her heart is certainly in it!
Kaeli is still a neat freak - she gets the vacuum hose from the central vac system in the house and vacuums up cracker crumbs she's spilled, or gets paper towels to wipe up a water spill. She also frequently picks up all her toys in her room and puts them back in their baskets, without being asked to.
She is certainly a creature of habit - we have daily routines that we have to follow or she gets upset. There is breakfast time, nap time, book time and tooth time, among others. She "helps" NaiNai get dressed in the morning, imitating putting on deodorant and makeup and doing her hair just like NaiNai. She also "shaves" with YeYe. She is also very eager to flush the toilet for you and make sure everything has gone "bye-bye".
Kaeli sings and chatters and talks and giggles and makes noises almost constantly. She is always hopping or jumping or marching or dancing, or running or walking on tip toe. But she can also sit very quietly for 15 or 20 minutes at a time and watch the birds at the feeders or the squirrels playing in the backyard. She also loves to sit in YeYe's office chair and watch the screensaver on his computer, which is set to display random photos from thousands of pictures YeYe's taken that are stored on his computer.
She loves to imitate others, and will sit at the kitchen table and fold her hands together like YeYe, or put her chin on her hand and her elbow on the table like MaMa, or fold her arms on the table like NaiNai. She is also learning her manners, and covers her mouth (most of the time) when she coughs, and says please and thank you (in Chinese) without prompting (most of the time).
JioJio is here visiting for Thanksgiving, and it is so wonderful to hear Kaeli yell "JioJio!!!" in the mornings and climb onto his Aero bed in the family room to wake him up. She loves having JioJio visit - he's the only one who can lift her high into the kitchen skylight, or hang her upside down or spin her fast in circles on the floor.
Kaeli has gotten quite good at hugs and kisses, and gives them frequently and lovingly. She also cares for her stuffed animals, especially her best friend Frog (or "Sog", as she calls him). She will put all her bears and dolls and frogs in a half circle around her and "read" a book to them like at school - holding the open book out towards them and moving it around the half-circle so everyone gets a chance to look at the pages. Then she "reads" the next page to them all, and repeats the book viewing.
December 13th is our "Gotcha Day" - one year ago was the first time I saw Kaeli in person and held her in my arms. She is SO different in many ways from that tiny little over-dressed roly-poly girl who had no idea what was going on, and who curled up into a tight, frightened little ball on my lap when we rode in the van from the adoption office back to the hotel. We've been watching a lot of the video Laurie and I took in China and the first few months back here in the US, and we just marvel at how far she has come!
I am so eternally thankful that Kaeli and I found each other and will share the rest of our lives together. Kaeli seems to think so too, and announces to others quite frequently and loudly "My MaMa!" and pats me or gives me a hug or kiss. She is one happy, smart, loving, enchanting little girl, and thank you all for letting me share her with you!!!!
Kaeli is doing wonderfully - at 28 months, she's still not showing TOO much of the terrible twos. We occasionally see a bit of temper or obstinacy, but thankfully it is not daily or hourly!!! She continues to love to sing, dance, play, laugh, and make others laugh. She now can identify 8 colors and 8 shapes, and is able to point to the correct letter in books when you ask her to find a certain ones. She almost knows her ABCs, and can count to ten as long as you don't need the 4!
One morning recently, NaiNai went in to get her up in the morning, and Kaeli stood up in her port-a-crib and then waved her arm in the air and said "FOOF!" (the signal that there's a messy diaper around). NaiNai was puzzled (no usual odor from 20 feet away) and asked skeptically, "Do you have a foofy diaper??" Kaeli said "Noooooooo....." and burst into giggles.
When I went in one afternoon to get her up from her nap, she stood up and gave me her usual big smile and "Hello!" as I went to the window to open the curtains. When I turned around, she had fallen to her mattress, squeezed her eyes shut and was "snoring". The big grin on her face gave it away though - she was just pretending to be asleep.
Her ballet dance classes are going well - NaiNai and I are both surprised to see how well she minds the teacher - taking her turn, waiting patiently against the wall across the room while the others take their turns, watching intently so that she knows how to do what she's supposed to do next. She still looks like a football player in tights, but her heart is certainly in it!
Kaeli is still a neat freak - she gets the vacuum hose from the central vac system in the house and vacuums up cracker crumbs she's spilled, or gets paper towels to wipe up a water spill. She also frequently picks up all her toys in her room and puts them back in their baskets, without being asked to.
She is certainly a creature of habit - we have daily routines that we have to follow or she gets upset. There is breakfast time, nap time, book time and tooth time, among others. She "helps" NaiNai get dressed in the morning, imitating putting on deodorant and makeup and doing her hair just like NaiNai. She also "shaves" with YeYe. She is also very eager to flush the toilet for you and make sure everything has gone "bye-bye".
Kaeli sings and chatters and talks and giggles and makes noises almost constantly. She is always hopping or jumping or marching or dancing, or running or walking on tip toe. But she can also sit very quietly for 15 or 20 minutes at a time and watch the birds at the feeders or the squirrels playing in the backyard. She also loves to sit in YeYe's office chair and watch the screensaver on his computer, which is set to display random photos from thousands of pictures YeYe's taken that are stored on his computer.
She loves to imitate others, and will sit at the kitchen table and fold her hands together like YeYe, or put her chin on her hand and her elbow on the table like MaMa, or fold her arms on the table like NaiNai. She is also learning her manners, and covers her mouth (most of the time) when she coughs, and says please and thank you (in Chinese) without prompting (most of the time).
JioJio is here visiting for Thanksgiving, and it is so wonderful to hear Kaeli yell "JioJio!!!" in the mornings and climb onto his Aero bed in the family room to wake him up. She loves having JioJio visit - he's the only one who can lift her high into the kitchen skylight, or hang her upside down or spin her fast in circles on the floor.
Kaeli has gotten quite good at hugs and kisses, and gives them frequently and lovingly. She also cares for her stuffed animals, especially her best friend Frog (or "Sog", as she calls him). She will put all her bears and dolls and frogs in a half circle around her and "read" a book to them like at school - holding the open book out towards them and moving it around the half-circle so everyone gets a chance to look at the pages. Then she "reads" the next page to them all, and repeats the book viewing.
December 13th is our "Gotcha Day" - one year ago was the first time I saw Kaeli in person and held her in my arms. She is SO different in many ways from that tiny little over-dressed roly-poly girl who had no idea what was going on, and who curled up into a tight, frightened little ball on my lap when we rode in the van from the adoption office back to the hotel. We've been watching a lot of the video Laurie and I took in China and the first few months back here in the US, and we just marvel at how far she has come!
I am so eternally thankful that Kaeli and I found each other and will share the rest of our lives together. Kaeli seems to think so too, and announces to others quite frequently and loudly "My MaMa!" and pats me or gives me a hug or kiss. She is one happy, smart, loving, enchanting little girl, and thank you all for letting me share her with you!!!!
Monday, November 21, 2005
Kaeli's Halloween costume - we really went out on a limb here! We bought this Chinese two piece outfit at a wonderful shop in Chinatown in Portland. The owner knew exactly what size she should wear, and we had a really hard time decidng which color and design to choose. Kaeli wore her costume to school for the day, and then we visited the library to pick up NaiNai after her volunteer hours were finished. We also visited two friend's houses - the Danowski boys, Aaron, Luke and Paul, across the street, and then Jerilynn's house, where we saw all sorts of wonderful stuffed animals in a corral and watched Jerilynn hand out ladles full of pork and beans as treats to the visitors to her "cowboy spread". That is, she tried to give pork and beans to the trick or treaters, but most settled for candy instead!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)