The Holidays Came Fast!

We are into the super busy time of the year -- the holidays and Jaden's birthday (she will be 10 years old on December 13). I did not want to do the whole Thanksgiving affair, so I am taking the girls for a couple nights to Santa Barbara and then home on turkey day to meet friends for dinner at a local restaurant. Our routine the last two months has been school, daycare, and work. Sometimes Harper jokes that I go to her school and she goes to mommy's work. Ha. The coworkers would love that!

Harper really is into coloring right now. And she covers the entire page, every white spot gone with a rainbow of colors. I hope that means she is confident about the world and her outlook is happy. I think so. She is growing taller and thinning out. Her beloved noodles are still requested every meal; fortunately at daycare she gets a variety of items and hopefully because she is hungry she tries them.

Some pictures. Happy Thanksgiving!

Oct 3. At San Diego zoo.

Oct 3. They hear the lions roaring in the distance.

Cute panda!

Oct 31. Halloween parade at daycare.

Oct 31. Getting ready to go out for the candy loot!

Nov 2. The after effect on the tongue from the post-haircut
blue lollipop.

Nov. 17. The sisters.

Mostly Pictures

Time is zooming. We are into the school routine, which is not my favorite thing ever, but Jaden is off to a great start. Harper is supportive and does her "homework" alongside her sister. We had a nice visit with Aunt Lisa and family, and G'ma in her new home, over Labor Day weekend. We will visit again in the chilly winter...

Some of the pictures and descriptions of the past few weeks...

Aug 7. Harper had found all these letter stickers in a container. She
had played with them for a couple days, then realized that the
backs came off and they were in fact stickers. Then she put some letters on a
piece of paper...

Yep. That is what she spelled. Should I be worried?!?

Aug 29. Visiting the facility where G'ma lives. Jaden and Harper just
love Kody, the resident dog. He is so sweet and accommodating
of their affections.

Aug 30. At the Minnesota Zoo, 90+ degrees and girls share
a double stroller, but each need their own lollipop!

Sep 2. The sisters still get along very well.

Life Goes On

Harper and I are in a Starbucks on the campus of SDSU, biding our time while Jaden is in a special 5-week reading program. Needless to say, Jaden was not too pleased with spending her Saturday afternoons this way for the rest of the summer, but a co-worker raved about this program and she definitely needs a reading boost. Harper is entertaining herself with some tactile make-a-picture educational thingy, and is on her second apple juice. I have stopped letting her have anything but water, milk, or 100% fruit juice. It was my assessment that fruit drinks (e.g., Minute Maid fruit punch) has something in it that makes her face break out to the point of sores, badly. She currently has light scars, which makes me sad, but hopefully those will lighten with time. That is about her only "issue", except getting the potty training down 100%. But she got a lot of support at daycare this week and had "dry" mornings all week. And she still sleeps throughout the night, almost all nights (insert smile).

The summer schedule for us is a bit looser than the school year, but I still have to go to work, so that is a bit of a bummer. Jaden is in various camps and her after-school program. She did fishing camp until a kid cast his hook into her neck (insert screaming while ER doc injects the anesthetic), but we got that pretty purple lure free from her neck and then on to get her a big vanilla milkshake. She had CSI camp last week and coming up is radical reptiles. She still thinks most of this is fun, and I start to think ahead to a few years and what I will do with her in the summer. That is kind of putting the cart before the horse, so not giving much worry time yet. Harper has "splash days" at daycare, which are quite fun for her.

We had one short vacation over the 4th of July weekend - to Northern California (Mendocino) to visit with friends who Harper and I made in China last year. Jenn (single mom) and I adopted our kids on the same day. Garrett (Gong Gong) had a severe cleft palate and lip that has been wonderfully repaired this past year, although he will continue to have surgeries into his teenage years. It was beautiful weather and the girls especially liked the bonfire on the beach complete with weiners and smores (I ate so many I was sick!).  And our friends have 3 miniature horses on their property, which Jaden really loved following around. We will have to visit again.

A few pictures.

June 23. Flowergirls Jaden and Harper doing their part at wedding
of Jason and Anja (Jason is the son of friend Diane - I used to
babysit him starting when he was 5!).

June 23. Flowergirls and their mama.

June 23. Pretty in lilac.

July 4. Harper and Garrett who was adopted on the same day last year
by friend Jenn. He is about 8 mo older than Harper.

July 4. Parade watchers. Notice how cooperative my girls are, and they inspired
Alma (Jenn's daughter) to join in. Cousin Blanca on the left, Jenn and Garrett
on the right.

July 5. Kids at the beach. Water chilly, and waves strong.

July 5. Post beach after going out for pizza. The kids got along well, and
maybe we will meet up for a camping trip next year.

Home for One Whole Year!!!

I don't know if any of you are checking into this blog anymore, and my hiatus was not intentional. Just became very busy as grandma was needing more support here in San Diego. Long story short, we moved her back to Minneapolis-St.Paul two weeks ago. She is in a wonderful assisted living facility and she has adjusted better than her kids even could have imagined. A great stress has been lifted as she is safe and doing well, near Lisa and her family, and among many dear friends. My brother Matt and I went through a storage unit this afternoon and so many family pictures - some I knew and others I have never seen before. Time does seem to go by quicker and quicker....

A good segue into the anniversary that is the subject of this post.  MISS HARPER HAS BEEN HOME FOR ONE YEAR! Actually yesterday, June 1, but that day was a blur anyway with the brutal jet lag. And it is a year for Jaden to be a big sister, which is still something she is excellent at and I think she is proud of having a little sister that she can play with, comfort, gang up against mom with, etc. Harper has not demonstrated any post-adoption issues, continues to thrive at daycare, and is very verbal (in a good way, but I get a bit of 'tude with the "I know, mommy, I know"!). She loves to watch Diego and Dora on the iPad or tv, and to organize her stuff into interesting collections and stuff into various bags and ziplocs. Then take it all out and do it again. There are bits and pieces of every toy, game, etc. all around the house. Sigh. But this is the way Jaden likes to play, too, so it works and they enjoy playing together.

Harper can be a very sweet kid, and can be cajoled when necessary to get something done when her stubbornness kicks in. The mention of a "time out" does wonders - there are a few kids at daycare who are in them daily and she doesn't want to experience it herself, I think. She is less focused on control, meaning I can pick out some clothes and she will accept, I can put her to bed at the same time with Jaden and kiss them both goodnight and then leave the room while she is still awake. Sweet. She is still a bit of a picky eater and most nights she wants her noodles. Fortunately, she likes the ones I make better than those from the local Chinese restaurant. Or maybe it is not a fortunate thing that she has lost the taste for the more authentic stuff. I think often of taking both girls back to their birth country, but that is likely still many years away.

Pictures of the past 3 months!

April. Harper does lots of fun crafts at daycare.
Showing off her pig nose here!

May 11. She LOVES chocolate ice cream (Dora's
favorite as well).

May 19. With cousin David on his day of college graduation.

May 20. This is why I don't have many pictures of the girls together. And
they were looking so cute holding on to each other on the airport
shuttle bus.

Memorial Day. At Legoland. Nice setup for me to take both girls on my own.

Harper enjoying the lazy river at Legoland.

June 1. Harper looking very grown up. She and Jaden
will be flower girls in a wedding in 3 weeks.

9 Months & Re-adoption Day

I am a couple days behind in posting on the 9-month anniversary of bringing Harper home, but the weekends are sometimes more hectic than during the week! On Friday, March 1, Harper appeared in San Diego Juvenile Court to have her adoption official by US law. She was adopted in China, which the US recognizes, but this additional process will afford her a US birth certificate as if she were born here. Once I get the certified copies of the proceedings, then I will apply for her passport, social security number, etc. I did the same process with Jaden just before she turned two. I debated, but took Jaden out of school early so she could come along and witness Harper's day in court. We also took friend, Diane, who luckily brought some snacks and so a dual kid meltdown was avoided (I had forgotten about the waiting part). There were all ages of children with all kinds of families waiting as well; many forever families made on that day!

Waiting her turn, passing the time watching Dora. She insisted on sitting
on the table and not a chair.

The judge telling Jaden now she was responsible for teaching her little sister,
and helping to take care of her. I was a little nervous what Jaden might say,
but she said she would do it!

Official adoption picture. Jaden LOVED sitting in the judge's chair.

After the court appearance. Didn't consider the lighting, but I kind of like the effect.

Harper's 3rd Birthday!

Miss Harper is officially a 3 year old, and once she gets the potty training completely accomplished, very much not a baby anymore! That's okay, although my baby time with her was unbelievably short and so much of the time before we met is lost. I hope it does not become an issue for her in how little I know of her life up until 2 years, 3 months. There are some bits and pieces, and I have started up my digital scrapping again to start making pages of her life now and then. Jaden has been nonplussed about missing details about her first year, but it could be an issue any time, like hormonal teenage years.

Harper had a birthday weekend, in part because I had to travel for business on the afternoon of her actual birthday (a Sunday). Bad mommy, but employed mommy so off I go! She did even better with the sitters, and she loves her Dora bed; slept good 2 out of the 3 nights. Improvement.

Some pics.

Feb 8. (One of my favorites to date.) She picked out her birthday outfit (Hello Kitty head to toe, except
the leggings). On this day (Friday) she had cupcakes with her friends at school.

Feb 10. Her actual birthday started out a little chilly. And she wanted to bring
her packed backpack along with us as we had "coffee with the girls" after the gym.
This is her typical "smile" right now.

Feb 10. She did enjoy opening the presents so very much! And each
one was opened and the contents stuffed into the backpack.

8 months & 8 years

Harper has been home 8 months. And today marks 8 years since "Gotcha Day" with Jaden. The sisters get along quite well 95% of the time. Just once in a while Harper wants to annoy Jaden, and she knows exactly what to take/touch/move of Jaden's to elicit the desired response. But less and less of that lately, or maybe I am not paying as close of attention! And to be fair, sometimes Jaden has zero patience and knows that saying "bad Harper" will bring her little sister to tears. Pushing each other's buttons is part of the sibling relationship, I guess.

The month of January went fast. It included my first business trip since getting Harper. My usual great sitters (D&W) had the girls for two nights (I was in San Francisco). Harper was happy and did great, but kept asking "where is my mommy?". And did not sleep well. For this month's business trip, I purchased an inflatable toddler bed that D&W can put next to their bed, with Dora sheets, which should be a big hit. Harper LOVES Dora and watches dvds of nothing else. Travel is part of my job and so fingers are crossed this does not become an issue for Harper; Jaden has always done great in part because D&W bend over backwards to make her time with them fun. I am incredibly fortunate to have them.

I can say with conviction that Harper is now a sleeper (except for the travel caveat noted above). Yep, put her in bed and as long as she is not sick (don't get me started...), once she is asleep she is out for the night or maybe a peep and covering her up does the trick. A wonderful thing. I still have to lie next to her when she falls asleep (and we are in Jaden's room, and Jaden nods off super quick), but maybe I will start to sit at the edge of the mattress (aka "mommy's bed"), then by the door, to out in the hall. The problem is the cats that like to sashay around and meow if the door to the girls' room is open. I will have to formulate a plan, but not just yet. I am okay with things just as they are for now.

Harper will turn 3 on February 10. She loves presents, so I predict she will have a great day. I will try to post mid-month with some birthday pictures.

Jan 4. Harper is in the Penguin class at daycare, so occasionally,
Pete the penguin goes home with one of the kids for the weekend.
This was our weekend and Pete fit right in.  Here, enjoying some ice cream.

Jan 5. Harper sharing her beloved noodles.

Jan 5. Musical trio.

Jan 6. Harper pitched a fit about something, came down the hall and laid
down behind me while I was on the computer. Fell fast asleep on Pete.

Jan 5. Jaden and Mickey. Not a great hair day (for Jaden, not Mickey!).

Feb 1. Tonight. Silly girl. Notice the pizza and the Barbie. Adjusted well?
I would say yes!

Feb 1. Eight years ago. Scrapbook page commemorating the big event.

Happy New Year!

And the 7-month anniversary of Harper arriving home. I put all Christmas away today; Jaden was bemoaning the end of her favorite holiday and no more presents (her birthday is in December, too, so it is an explosion of gifts for her), but I am ready to move on. We did have a nice family Christmas on the 23rd, then a visit to Aunt Lisa and family from Dec. 25-29. Sorry, no pictures of our trip, and I am not sure of my excuse except we were always busy and I didn't really remember to take any. Harper had a doozy cold and most pictures would not have been pretty with that runny nose..... Jaden was healthy and loved the snow and the video/electronics household there.

Harper continues to talk, adding new words and phrases as she goes. Her "f" and "s" sounds are not there, but otherwise she is mostly understandable. She has had 8 or 9 colds since starting daycare (no kidding) and I hope this confers good immunity for her down the road. My fingers are crossed that her little classmates did not get new colds for Christmas as I would like a week or two reprieve! Yes, my sleep takes a hit, but luckily I seem to be immune to her colds and Jaden as well.

Wishing everyone a healthy and enjoyable 2013.

Dec 15. Jaden's 9th birthday party at Critter Camp.

Dec. 15. Cake. Yummy.

Dec. 23. Before family Christmas. She looks a tad bleary eyed -
no nap and her cold has kicked in.

Dec. 24. Preparing for arrival of Santa.

Dec. 24. "Harper, where are you?" Ha, butt naked downstairs playing with her
new Dora dollhouse.

Dec. 31. Jaden demonstrating scooter skills. (Jaden wrote in her Santa letter
to bring Harper a Dora bicycle, but I explained that this was typically for when
you are 4 years old, so Santa knew exactly what he was doing with the
scooter, which is intended for 3 [or almost] year olds!)

Dec. 31. A quick learner. She loved it!