Adding 1 Chinese Sister: My name is Mia!

MORE THAN TWO WEEKS SINCE MY LAST POST! UGH! :)

I wanted to post every week but as all you busy parents out there know, that is not always possible. :) I will do my best to catch you up on the crazy fun chaos at the Krisher house.

February 1st marks day 50 since meeting our Mia. Although I was prepared for a lot, she AMAZES me EVERYDAY with how well she is adjusting to life. She truly is the girl that we have prayed and waited for ALL of these years. Mike and I were just commenting on how happy she has seemed lately. We have always been awed on how well she was adjusting but lately she just seems to be getting happier and happier and a lot more relaxed. I really think she is starting to let some of her walls down and is starting to let herself trust that we will be her forever family.

Mia is sleeping through the night most nights. Every once in a while she will get up and be cold and want covered up again or be hungry and want a snack. This is not something we were used to with Logan but given that food is still a bit challenging, we cut her some slack and give her a break. That said, she does not seem to be making any habit of waking up and wanting food, it is just an occasional thing we are dealing with in the middle of the night. :)

Food is still a challenge although each week she seems to add more and more to her list of "Mia approved" foods. She is SO incredibly finicky. One day she will love something and the next day want nothing to do with it. That is SERIOUSLY challenging for me. Rice, noodles and watermelon continue to be the top ranked foods.

Mia has started using a lot more English words without being prompted. It is so much like hearing a year and a half or two year old learn the language and start speaking. Every day she learns new words and it is so exciting. I LOVE hearing her use her English words but I am seriously going to miss her Mandarin. She now is saying "my name is Mia" and when she sees a picture of herself she says "it's Mia". Super cute.

All of her medical tests came back great. It appears she is only going to have to get the MMR vaccination as she does not have any immunity to measles yet. We are so happy she will not have to get all of the series of shots babies normally get.

Babies and pretend play (cooking, playing nurse. etc.) continue to be her favorite quiet playtime things to do. When Logan gets home she LOVES to play horsey with him, play catch and just about anything else Logan can think up. She loves him SO much and I could not be more proud of him as a big brother. He is simply AMAZING with his little sister! Mia is also liking to have books read to her and Logan loves to read them to her. It is very sweet. One sudden switch in interest is cracking us up. As I had posted before, Mia LOVED watching Kai Lan. A few weeks ago Logan had bought her a Dora movie with is Christmas money. We really did not expect for her to like it but instead of not liking it she LOVED it and now wants NOTHING to do with Kai Lan! OH NO! :) We thought she would love Kai Lan because of the Mandarin used but NOPE, she is our little Spanish loving girl. :) One last interest of Mia's but certainly noteworthy is her love our our cat Alexi. She loves that kitty so much (so do we). Whenever she sees her, she says "kitty" in the most angelic voice ever. She then proceeds to run up and grab our poor cat. Alexi totally puts up with it but I do not think she is thrilled by any stretch of the imagination. Mia on the other hand is ecstatic, giggling and kissing Alexi over and over again.

Pre-school is going as well as can be expected. I try to take 2 hours a day (which never happens consistently) and go sit with her. I occasionally leave. The first time I tried, I only left for 5 minutes (just around the corner) and within 5 minutes she was so upset and screaming for me that she got sick. That was the worst. Now we are up to an hour and 15 minutes. She is truly warming up to her teacher (WHO IS SIMPLY THE BEST) and is even starting to interact with the kids. I think this week I may try to leave her for the full morning session and see how she does. I said, I MAY....this is a really tough thing to gage what is right and best....

As I mentioned, Logan and Mia are doing great together. I REALLY hope this sibling bliss will last. I am not counting on it and being 1 of 3 understand the reality, but honestly, my heart just melts when I see how sweet they are with each other.

Mia is continuing to get more snugly, affectionate and tells us she loves us over and over again all day.

Mia is getting baptized with her cousin this Sunday and we are so excited to "officially" bring her into God's family since he has been the incredible orchestrator of this whole amazing journey and gift.

Below are some photos and videos from the last couple of weeks. Enjoy!