Happy Halloween!

So here's Periwinkle and Tinkerbell from Secret of the Wings.  It's a really sweet movie that Lia's cousin gave her (pre-Rosie). Before we adopted Rosie, Lia would watch the movie over and over again, and we'd dream of her.

Lia wanted a photo of them with their wings back to back as in the movie...it was hysterical seeing them try to manuever themselves, but they finally did it (for a second!)!

As soon as it was time for the littles to go trick or treating, it started to rain.  Lia used my Mary Poppins umbrella and did her best keeping themselves dry.  Lia broke her wrist 2 days ago, but she held that umbrella without complaining.  Occasionally she'd let me know that Rosie was squishing her. Every driveway in our neighborhood is steep, so I hauled these littles (a total of 50 lbs.) up and down slippery driveways, but it was a lot quicker and easier than walking!

Lia Turns Four and Rosie is trailing 3 months behind...

Last Saturday we had a get together with a few close friends to celebrate Lia's birthday.  It was so much fun!   We lined up the crockpot meals, had enchiladas, and a homemade ice cream cake from a new store in the area.  Less fussing, and more enjoying of the things that are truly important...our friendships and building good memories with everyone.

I love this photo of Auntie Esther and Lia reuniting.  Esther babysat Lia last year.  What an amazing role model for Lia.  Esther is the reason why Lia often bursts into a chorus, "Come thou font of Ancient wisdom...".  If you are around Lia enough, you'll hear it!  We are so thankful for Esther and all of our friends that have been a huge part of Lia and Rosie's young lives.

Lia is now embracing Fancy Nancy, Hello Kitty, puppies (battery operated of course) and accessories!  Here we are going to the mall...the day after her party. Lia loved choosing her outfit, including her glitter Hello Kitty shoes. (Keith's car is embellished with glitter and he's totally ready for getting the car detailed again).  The hat is made by my dear friend Loure.

Lia cashed in her free birthday ride coupon on the carousel, which included a ride for Rosie also.  Lia is so excited that her feet fit in the stirrups. It's super hard to get both girls to look at the same time, but Rosie  also had a great time!

Catching our breath...

I'm sorry, fellow blog readers!  It's been a while.  Hey, I thought technology makes your life easier?  My old Mac laptop was on overload, so I finally got a new Mac.  Then the new Mac wouldn't cooperate so I had to make an appointment. Now my cell is on overload with photos, and we need to buy a new printer for the new computer.  Ugh...So, I am going to get you guys all caught up with 3 months of photos.  It actually gave us some time to adjust, well needed time.  

One month after being back from adopting Rosie, we went to Martha's Vineyard.  It was not an easy vacation.  The girls struggled in the hotel room, but the beach was very calming to them.  We made the best of it, but it was definitely stressful at times.

The lighthouse beach at Edgartown

The girls are really into baby dolls.  They take good care of their babies, and Lia lets me hold her baby often.  Rosie has a baby panda as well as 2 baby dolls that she takes good care of.  One evening, we were playing downstairs and Lia was wondering where her doll's baby blanket was.  Rosie quietly went upstairs and brought it down for Lia.  It was so amazing to see Rosie's sweet heart.  Rosie just adores Lia.

Grammie and Grandad's front steps

This photo is taken at my house where I grew up.  I used to sit on those steps with my doll!  

Grasslanterns!

And here they are running around the yard, with some skylanterns that had landed on the property the night before.  The girls had a blast with them!  This was the last time we were there, since we were finally selling the estate.

I went back to teaching in September.  One evening, we had to grab a quick bite in a nearby pizza place.  The pizza delivery car was the cutest, just the right size for the girls!  Just had to take a picture!

Lia has definitely become the peaceful Lia we all know and love.  We overheard her one night telling Rosie, "We love you Rosie.  You are so beautiful.  Don't worry.  Everything is OK".  Keith and I were so blown over by the sweetest words we have heard.

Periwinkle/Fairy Godmother combined into one 

One evening, Lia decided to try to turn Rosie into a pumpkin.  Rosie had on a crocheted hat that she found ( a little big, huh?).  Rosie took the wand on her head all in stride, while Lia kept trying to get the wand to work. Thank goodness the wand didn't get stronger and stronger on her head when it wasn't working...Lia's going to be Periwinkle for Halloween, and Rosie is going to be Tinkerbell.

Waiting...and waiting....

And here is the infamous Easy Bake Oven that I was told, "Everyone has to use once"! Yes, we did use it once, and now it is officially off the bucket list (yay!), and ready for the garbage (the insides are coated with baked on brownie).  The girls waited and waited for the lightbulb to cook the cookie sized brownie, hence the pajamas and the tired looks on their faces.  The anticipation was so exciting and the girls got the biggest kick out of the oven.  The brownie was uncooked, (no kidding?)  and very, very gooey, but the girls thought it was the best thing.  Just today Lia was talking about making her birthday cake in it, but I told her, "Won't it be soooooo  much fun to use mommy's oven?".

big sister Lia rocking my sunglasses

Now we're getting ready to celebrate Lia's birthday.  She is so excited to be turning 4 next week!  She sings all the time now, chats a lot, and loves wearing bandaids as rings.

The Yin and Yang of Things...

"In Chinese philosophy, the concept of yin-yang (simplified Chinese: 阴阳; traditional Chinese: 陰陽; pinyin: yīnyáng), which is often called "yin and yang", is used to describe how seemingly opposite or contrary forces are interconnected and interdependent in the natural world; and, how they give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another. Many natural dualities (such as male and female, light and dark, high and low, hot and cold, water and fire, life and death, and so on) are thought of as physical manifestations of the yin-yang concept. The concept lies at the origins of many branches of classical Chinese science and philosophy, as well as being a primary guideline of traditional Chinese medicine,^[1] and a central principle of different forms of Chinese martial arts and exercise, such as baguazhang, taijiquan (t'ai chi), and qigong (Chi Kung) and of I Ching.

Yin and yang are actually complementary, not opposing, forces, interacting to form a whole greater than either separate part; in effect, a dynamic system. Everything has both yin and yang aspects, (for instance shadow cannot exist without light). Either of the two major aspects may manifest more strongly in a particular object, depending on the criterion of the observation".  

-Wikipedia

OK, love the part about interconnected, not opposing but complementary...Here's what I always thought about Yin-Yang-------What would salt do without pepper?  What would hamburgers do without ketchup or hot dogs without mustard?  Or Abbott without Costello, or sunshine without rain?  How about chocolate covered pretzels?  I'm sure you could add to the list...I just never thought that it would also pertain to my daughters...

As we are learning more and more about Rosie, we see some really interesting things going on.  We just had corn on the cob tonight...those who know me know that I've been really into nutrition, so I've not been into corn on the cob for the past three years.  Hence, Lia hasn't had corn on the cob...But tonight we had wild salmon, corn on the cob and wild rice.  Lia delicately tried it out; Rosie bit into it! Then it was bathtime; as always, Lia endured her bath, Rosie savored it (She pours water on her head!).

But to recap my day....Today I had the most interesting morning.  I was so exhausted that I dragged myself to the sofa and rested for a while.  Rosie hung out with me, but she suddenly put her head back and hit my left eye area super hard.  It smart.  A few minutes later, Lia woke up and joined us on the sofa.

About 2 hours later, we were walking around the house, and somehow Rosie's shoe and my left pinky toe had a huge get together, and I ended up breaking my pinkie toe.  The pain has been unbearable!  So here I am with Lia who has been so delicate for almost 3 years of having her (!), and here's Rosie that has made my day very, very memorable!  My dear Kimberly came over to babysit, and I went out to go food shopping...it was my very first day out by myself,  with my black eye and broken pinky toe.  That kind of thing never happened with Lia!  Rosie sure is adding a lot of spice to our lives, making us realize what we have been missing!  (And I was thinking that "Ricky was in trouble", ha! God is definitely speaking to my heart and letting me know it's not about me anymore).

The girls both had to have medical tape and tape their toes up like I did...

And Rosie made a great exit for the night; she actually went potty for the first time, and then did not even whimper while going to sleep with can you believe it, pajamas on!  Rosie is sure of surprises...and is adding a lot of spice to our lives!!!!!

Ricky might be in trouble...

We've been back almost 2 weeks and we're trying to find normalcy!  I still have an occasional bout with vertigo, but all in all, there is a new rhythm going on here.  Laundry is still insane and we're still enjoying take outs and drop ins at favorite restaurants (and new ones too; Crooked Rooster is awesome!)   It's actually been very helpful talking and listening to just you "regular", seasoned parents. We've also been just using common sense and at times survival tactics (divide and conquer, contain, etc.)!  We definitely are dealing with a lot of Parenting 101 issues that surface when you have 2 or more children.  Adoptive Parent sunglasses go on occasionally, but for the most part, we are realizing we are just parents, period. Just regular people with 2 kids.  And loving it more each day.

Lia and Rosie continue to get used to each other, while they struggle with sharing...sharing me!  So they will kind of grab my leg and assume their position, increase their stability by taking on a wide stance, get very determined and push back as necessary. Push back me, or each other, wherever the tension is coming from.  If I try to pry them off, they combat me with a stronger hold.   As sweet as it is, it is not easy to end this battle of "She is MINE! and I love her more!".  Keith is a great referee, and usually finds a way to get them off within a few seconds.  I dreaded him going back to work, because I couldn't imagine how I was going to end this scenario.  I can understand their stronghold, because my love for them is just as strong and continues to grow stronger every day.   I just don't cling to them!!!!

When we were at Lucy's in Guangzhou, I kind of started to realize I have a Lucy and Ethel situation on my hands.  Lucy is the fiery one, constantly moving, impulsively thinking up things that could possibly get herself in trouble.  Ethel is the devoted, logical friend that just loves Lucy.  Ethel grounds Lucy.  Can you figure out who's who in my family (OK everyone, I mean the girls, not Keith and I! Yes, I do get him into trouble occasionally but it's always unintentional)?   I just dread the fact that I could be the target of conspiracy one day...so I just constantly watch out of the corner of my eye...sometimes I see glimses of what will be.  Today they played so nicely in the living room, and then came into the kitchen where I was doing dishes.  They came in holding hands, smiles beaming, looking up at me, not saying a word, but just giggling.  I was a little suspicious to what would happen next, but it was so sweet and innocent!  But as my friend Loure would say, "Be on the alert!".  Rosie has a sneaky side to her; Keith and I can feel it!  But so does Lia.

Last Summer, my friend Loure and I ate up in a cute little cafe in Clinton Corners. I bought 2 cookies; one for Lia and one for me.  I took a bite out of my cookie, and Lia worked on hers very quickly.  Her hair needed to be adjusted with hairclips...as I focused on her barrettes, she switched plates without me knowing.  Loure burst into laughter...As long as I live, I will not forget that moment of victory that Lia had.  And then there's the story Doreen tells me.  When Doreen babysat Lia for the first time, Doreen was thinking how quiet and sweet Lia is.  And then Lia came into the kitchen up to Doreen, and said, "Boo!". My mind immediately goes to just a few days ago at Uno's when Lia started dancing to the music before the food arrived...she dances so crazy sweet.  It drives me insane.  So Rosie snuck down from the booth and started to rock on.  Hysterical!  What was she doing in the orphanage?  Breakdancing?  Did they put on the music and let them dig the beat?  Just didn't think she was dancing over there, but maybe so.  Anyhow, Lia truly does have a lot of things up her sleeve.   Just hoping I don't have 2 Lucys here.

And so the friendship began...a short lived, quiet moment on the official adoption day in China, before doing official fingerprinting documentation.

And today in Hannaford's...driving (us crazy? just kidding) 

Seeing any simularities????

Not yet?

Lia took a nap, while Rosie skipped hers and then did errands with her dad, including getting free balloons from CVS.  No wonder why Rosie is not taking naps...

Update...After I came out of the shower, Rosie and Lia were each in a section of the mesh divided laundry hamper.  "Who's idea was this?"

Lia's reply, "Rosie and me".  Kind of says it all.  We're heading into lots of adventures!

 To be continued...

Red, White and Blue Daze

We did pretty well with our flight home.  We got to the gate just in time even though we had gotten to the airport early, and we were fortunate to have had no delays taking off.  Our flight actually came in 45 minutes earlier and Rosie became an American as she put her foot down on the ground.  Immigration and Customs went well, as I behaved myself and didn't take any photos; last time I did (in baggage claim, coming back from same route of Hong Kong to Newark when adopting Lia)  and got myself in trouble...How exciting to know that my bro Tim, good friends Doreen and Kimberly, and my cousin Linda would be greeting us! Well there they were...the first people that we saw with a beautiful star spangled happiness banner Welcoming Lia and Rosie home!

We then drove up home and I actually fell asleep with my head on my backpack.  (How did I do that?  I never can sleep anywhere, but it was easy!).  When we got home, it was raining cats and dogs.  Our good friends Loure and Bill also came up to see us, and we had a little Welcome Home party.  The girls pushed their baby doll strollers up and down the hall and were very content.   It was so good to be home and with our dear close friends.  Not to mention the delicious mango cake for Lia and raspberry cake for Rosie!

We're still pushing through jet lag.  Last night, the girls were very, very wide awake in the middle of the night.  Going to sleep is still frustrating for Rosie, but we think we are on the verge of figuring it out.  We think it is due to new surroundings and the jet lag.  Totally makes sense since when we slept in Guangzhou the first night, Rosie slept on my chest the whole night and wouldn't have it any other way.  Please pray for Rosie...that she learns quickly to trust and not be so fearful.  At times, the adjustment seems so tough, but as a dear friend reminded me, God has orchestrated this adoption every step of the way.   If God is for us, who can be against us?

Rosie continues to make great strides everyday.  Today she learned how to say thank you.  So thank you to you all for everything you have done to encourage us.  And thank you to the anonyomous friend who put a beautiful plant by our door, and American flags on our garage!!!!  You know who you are!

Happy 4th!

The girls at the local parade, eating all American Lays and Doritos...Rosie is the newest American in town and loving it!

Little Rascals style beat up red wagon; courtesy of Brimfield Antiques Fair, 
including rusty and bent up frame with squeaky wheels
Decorations; courtesy of Doreen and Kimberly, 
reused from our Welcome Home Party

Heading to Hong Kong, and Then a Direct Flight Home!

As we were going up to the border, I got very anxious.  Rosie was playing with Keith's shoe.  The lace was totally off and she was content.  She was very interested in lacing the shoe...Although Rosie had to be distracted often during the 3 hour drive,  there finally was a calmness that took over.  Lia was playing with her doll and interacting sweetly with Keith.  The line took forever!  At the border, the trunks were all open as we waited in line for passports to get stamped.  And who knows what.  Tension.  The driver opened the sliding door so that passport photos were matched to us.  At Customs Declaration, we had another checkpoint with documents, and they even checked the girls' temperature.  There was third checkpoint, but it was rather quick.  Keith said the first checkpoint is for leaving China, the second one for entering Hong Kong...

There was some confusion since the driver dropped us off at the wrong hotel at the airport.  Then when we checked in at the right hotel, we had no tub.  The bellhop was very, very kind to me and immediately got a room change, and then waited for me to approve of the room.  I will never forget Simon.  He even let Keith know that he will be coming tomorrow morning to help us with the suitcases.  Another angel unaware. 

We had a really delicious dinner, and then got ready for sleeping. Rosie still gets upset; she will take off her clothes by herself, but then struggles when it's time for putting on pajamas.  We gave her a choice of pajamas and she still refused.  She finally put them on in her own time...maybe that's the key?  Lia was totally wired so I was resting with Lia while Keith held Rosie.  Rosie and I kept staring at each other, and waved to each other every once in a while, until she fell asleep.  She has been making huge strides each day.  Crazy about that kid, you know? 

We'll be up early to catch our 10:25 a.m. flight.  We're so excited to be going home!!!!  Wish us luck as the flight is 15 hours and 40 minutes. 

BTW; we've been adding photos to new posts later on.  We've developed a rhythm of blogging first, then entering photos a day later, so please be sure to check back a post or two to catch up on newly added photos!  Also, I had 2 posts for Friday;  don't miss "Saying Goodbye to Guangzhou"!  It was a fun day!

Keith here...

Sunday morning 00:45 a.m.(Hong Kong time).   Our bags are packed and ready.  It's very strange and also hard to be sitting here in Hong Kong blogging and realizing that we will be on our way home in a few hours.  We've waited and planned for this trip to adopt Rosalie for many months, and now it's almost complete.  It's been a hectic two and a half weeks with a lot of adjustments and changes for each of us.  Of course there have been some tears, but that's to be expected when life changes so dramatically for a child and for a family.  One thing I can say for certain, God has definitely taken care of us, kept us healthy and protected us this entire trip.  Some days Amy and I have gotten only 4 -5 hours of sleep, and yet we've been able to keep going(I know jet lag will set in soon). Every time I or we have ventured out on our own, whether for sightseeing, for dinner and or just going to the grocery store, we've been able to communicate with the Chinese people, either by hand motions or God providing someone who could speak a little English.   For me it's an honor and privilege to be Rosalie's father, as well as Lia's father and to share this role of parenting with Amy. Amy is a great mom and has so much love to give.  I love her dearly and appreciate her so much.  Thirteen years ago being parents to two little girls from China was not even in our thoughts.  I thank God for blessing us with Lia and Rosalie!  With out mentioning names, because I'll forget someone, I say thank you to all that had a part in Rosalie's adoption this year and of course Lia's adoption in 2010.  Amy and I also often think of and pray for both Lia's and Rosalie's biological mothers and fathers.  I want them to know that their girls are loved. As this part of the adoption process ends, I look forward to getting home and living life as a family of four.