Merry Christmas!

Celebrating Christmas Day with "my best friend"!

And the Countdown Begins...

...And "you-know-who" motivated Lia's courageous step up to Santa...Rosie's sense of adventure is a true inspiration.  Don't let her size fool you! She is a power packed little tike.

Now that I'm officially on vacation from school, I can truly slow down and enjoy the girls.  They are getting so big! Rosie's language skills are taking off and their friendship is so sweet to watch develop.  We ate out tonight (ah....should have had a glass of wine with dinner), and while waiting for Christmas cookies, they colored some clipart I had given them and they quietly sang Jingle Bells together.  Rosie actually loves music (we had noticed that when we adopted her in China).  During the Christmas concert at our church 2 Sundays ago, we saw how she really projects (it took me by surprise); smiling and moving to the beat, and  singing really nicely!  Rosie is such a happy kid, and fun loving! I had learned about the concept of "grading" when we adopted her, and she has learned to fine tune things pretty well, including her singing.  She had to learn how to regulate between picking up/putting down heavy or light objects, touching gently, and talking in a regular voice.  We still do occasionally have to remind her to calm herself down, but the sweet singing has definitely become so natural.  So she is making a lot of interesting strides!

The girls truly complement each other, which lends itself to some funny times.  Lia gets such a kick out of Rosie's spontaneousness and often will just crack up laughing, while Rosie loves just having a big sister to copy.  Last week, Rosie by accident, fell off one of the childrens Graco furniture stools, and it was kind of like "Now you see Rosie, and now you don't"...(by the way, she never gets hurt; I swear she bounces).  Since Rosie is very independent, and takes life in stride, it didn't rattle her at all.  The whole scenario made Lia giggle like crazy! Of course, Rosie probably just loves the simple concept of commeraderie, and just plain having a sister so close in age (3 months apart!). 

Lia just adores Rosie, and Rosie adores Lia.  I guess because they are so different, they admire each other's qualities. They definitely are also on different internal "clocks", if that's how you say it.  Rosie is last to bed and first to rise, while Lia needs time to wind up.  So Rosie is developing patience for Lia to wake up.  We are all looking forward to being home together, and especially excited about Keith's blueberry or raspberry pancakes with tiny chocolate chips. (I kinda like making quinoa, almond and blueberry breakfasts, super healthy...but not as fun! Lia is my biggest fan at trying my latest health ideas.  Thanks Lia!).  Last weekend, he and the girls put together a gingerbread house. I swear he enjoyed the project more than them.  Keith just loves cooking for them and getting them involved, playing board games or making cake pops. So, in between the crazy last minute shopping, and mailing gifts and cards out, we are enjoying just being together. And wishing you a very Merry Christmas from our house to yours.