one month later

Lili has been home one month today.  We've been busy settling into a routine around here, so I haven't had much time for blogging.  But I wanted to write today, to think about how she's progressed since we've come home.  She has a bunch of phrases that she uses regularly:  "where did it go?", "all done," "too cold,"  "too big,"  "one more time" (which usually means 10 or 12 more times  :  ), "are you ok?", "this one," and "all gone;"  she counts to 10; and she uses a bunch of words like: uh oh, oopsie, same, car, wheel, kitty cat, pretty, boy, girl, nose, ouchie, night night, iPhone, wait wait wait (always in triplicate : ), hot hot hot (also always in triplicate), and butterfly (which is always whispered).  And she understands a lot more than she says, so we're communicating pretty well!  Her favorite activities include pretending to be a cat, playing with toy cars, swinging on the swing, riding in the seat on the back of my bike, and playing with her karaoke machine.  She is a great sleeper now that she is over jet lag - she might get up once a night to go to the bathroom, but she seems to sleep well overall and usually sleeps till about 7 or 7:30 in the morning (once in a while even 8!).  And she seems to be bonding well with all of us - she loves to say night night to all of the kids and give them kisses.  We had our first visit from our social worker today and she seems to think Lili is doing very well.

I have fallen off significantly with the picture taking since we got home, so I don't have a lot of pictures to share, but here are a few:

the fam. . .

Lili's first trip to the beach

a tea party with Kegan 

 still a "funny girl"

 loving the bunnies at the pet store

 It's really tough to be a pirate with 2 eye patches!  (at the costume closet)

 so pleased to be building tall towers with her siblings

making a friend at Old Navy

slideshow

 

Avery Junli Mori (aka Lili)

home sweet home

WE'RE HOME!

Yesterday (Thursday) was a very, very long day.  With our 2 flights and 5 hours worth of delays, we ended up sitting in airplane seats for over 18 hours.  And that doesn't count the bus ride to the airport, the van ride home, and standing in lines for security, immigration, customs, etc.  But we made it, and we are so happy to be home!

Lili was a real trooper.  She did far better than I could have ever imagined she would.  There were only a couple of meltdowns that got all the way to tears, and those were short-lived.  Overall, she was cheerful and cooperative.  The little TV's on the backs of the airplane seats were a real help.  She chose a variety of shows to try.  Some were rejected within a few minutes of beginning.  There was only one show she chose to watch more than once - 9 1/2 times to be exact.  Phineas and Ferb (in Chinese of course). 

We all slept well last night, and the older kids stayed home from school today to spend time with their new sister.  They're having a ball showing her around and entertaining her.  It's so much fun to see them all together!

Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support!  We could never have made it through this journey without all of you!!

Our last full day in China

Today is our last full day here.  We went back to Shamian Island this morning to do some final shopping.  Sorry, no pictures today, it was much of the same as the last time we went to the island. . .
Tomorrow we will take a bus to the airport at 9:30 am and will not get home until 6 pm LA time (which is 9 am China time), so we will be traveling for almost 24 hours if there are no delays.  Please pray for us!!  I am a bit anxious about those 24 hours!  But I know that we will survive, and that the Lord will be with us the whole way.  I am so excited to get home!  I miss Jared and Kegan and Timmy!  Please pray for Lili's transition at home as well.  She has gotten quite used to being the only child in the past 10 days (has it only been that long?) and it will be an adjustment to be one of four.  Thank you for all of your prayers for us on our journey!  We really appreciate all of you!!

Lili's chinese dress

Here's Lili hamming it up in the Chinese dress we bought for her. . .

So. . .Lili continues to baffle us.  Ed is still the favorite.  She would rather he carry her, hold her hand, etc.  But it's ok for Ed to leave her alone with me.  She cheerfully says, "Bye bye, Baba!" and waves to him when he goes.  But she doesn't like for me to leave.  She cries and gets upset.  Go figure!  It's a good thing because Baba will be going back to work next week and she'll have to say goodbye to him every day.  But it's just a mystery to me what she is thinking.  Maybe this is just what was modeled to her in her foster family.  Her foster father would have left each day to go to work and her foster mother would have stayed home to take care of the children, so maybe she just thinks that is how it works.  Who knows?

a visit to the park

This morning we had our consulate appointment.  They didn't allow cameras,  but it wasn't terribly exciting anyway.  We were relieved that it was our last appointment before we leave.  The only thing we're still waiting for is Lili's visa, which should arrive at our hotel tomorrow afternoon. . .

After the consulate, we found our way to the park we'd heard about.  It took us a little while to find it, but we finally figured out that we had to go down into the subway station and then back up through another exit to get to the park entrance.  Here it is:

It is a HUGE park.  Thankfully there are signs all around in Chinese and in English, directing you to various areas of the park.  There were gardens, a swimming pool, ponds, the little amusement park we headed to, and so much more.  We walked uphill for quite a ways to get to the rides.  (I felt like I was at the LA Zoo, but it was way more humid!)  But it was worth the effort.  Lili loved the rides.  Here are some of the ones we rode:

 the merry-go-round

 The "Shark Tale" ride, which played "It's a Small World" music while we tried to shoot the characters from the "Shark Tale" movie

 the bug ride, which was somewhat like "Dumbo" at Disneyland, only more herky jerky. . .

 The airplane ride, which Lili particularly enjoyed because it went really fast around the corners (it was also quite herky jerky). . .

 The safari car ride

 and the spinning ride. . .

There were lots of great signs around the rides, giving tips about how to buy tickets, stay safe, etc.  Here's one of them:

We didn't get a picture of my favorite, which said "Be carefully!"

Here are a few other park views.  It was really a very beautiful place.  I wish we'd had more time to explore.  But we had to get back for lunch and naptime. . .

 We had a lot of fun, even though it was very hot and muggy.  By the time we got back to the hotel, we had to change our clothes, we were so sweaty. . .but I believe a good time was had by all!

Cravings at night can be found at 7-Eleven!

Near our hotel is a 7 Eleven! It's nothing like the American ones. It's got actual food you'd like to eat and some not so much...

--ed

The Original Chicken Feet!

Now also Spicy Flavor!

Don't Forget the Duck Neck!

7-ELEVEN

 

a rainy day. . .

This morning we had to return to the health clinic to have Lili's TB test read. Thankfully it was negative. Afterwards we came back to the hotel, had lunch at a Japanese restaurant, and came back to the room for a nap. We had planned to go explore the nearby park after our nap. We've heard that there is even a little amusement park inside the park with rides for little ones! But when we woke up, it was raining. Pouring. So right now Lili is watching a Chinese cartoon on TV. I have no idea what it's about - I'm hoping it's not the Chinese version of "Family Guy"!

Ed's Favorites

I'm hijacking this blog while Jill and LiLi take a nap!

These are some of my favorites photos from our time in China!