Everything is BEAUTIFUL!

My goodness!  Time has had a crazy way of getting away from me these days.  Life, as always, has been really busy.  There seems to be very little time to sit down, collect my thoughts and update this blog very often.  That said, I really want to keep this going, not only for my family and friends who like to know what is going on, but also for all of those parents in the process of adopting who are curious as to what joys and challenges may lie in front of them.

Okay, here we go...

Each week that goes by is so amazing to us.  Mia is learning so much and is bringing us so much joy.  She seems to be getting happier and happier every day.  So many people tell us that she is lucky to have us.  I feel just the opposite.  WE are the lucky ones to have her.  She has enriched our lives in ways that I will never be able to articulate in a way that does it justice.

Food and sleep are about the same other than my choice to wake her up in order to take her to pre-school everyday.  She is grouchy in the mornings but is getting better.  It really just depends on the day.

Speaking of daycare, we figured out something VERY simple that has made all the difference in the world.  We now call it school instead of "going to play with the kids" or "daycare".  I think since she knows that Logan goes to school and comes home everyday that she will too.  UGH!  I cannot believe that was the simple little key to it (well, that and time with us).  The funny thing is we called it school when Logan went so I am not sure why we didn't with her.  Anyway, now she waves goodbye and enjoys herself while she is there.  Last week she went to the botanical gardens and LOVED seeing all the pretty flowers.  Apparently she fell asleep on the bus on the way back to school and they could not wake her up so they had to carry her in.  That kid can sleep!  :)  She is starting to talk about her friends when we ask her about them but still prefers to play along side kids her age and not necessarily with them.  I know all in good time that will change, especially when the kids are able to understand her better.

Although it still sounds much like a two or three year old, her English is really starting to come along.  She now stringing more and more words together.  She is also really enjoying learning her letters and colors.  She found our GZonk flashcards (a few pictures of the cards are below - these cards are awesome and based on one of our families FAVORITE books - G is for one Grand GZonk).  She loves to do them over and over again repeating after me the letter, then the sound.  She also insists on tracing the letter with her finger before moving on to the next card.  She is starting to sing the ABC song and is up to letter "G" after that it is Mia's version.  :)  A new word that seems to be the favorite is "okay" which we love when we tell her to go do something.  She happily answers us "okay"!  :)  She also has been asking "what is it"? to things that she does not know.  She cracks me up all the time when she asks me what something is or after I sing her a song or whatever and then says "good job mama"!  :)  With all the language progress and while we are so super excited for her, there is a downside.  Besides missing hearing her speak Mandarin, she has officially broken her father's heart for the first time.  She is now calling him Daddy instead of BaBa over half of the time.  He really loved her calling him BaBa as it was just a special little thing between the two of them.  We are a little unsure where she got daddy since Logan calls him dad but I am pretty sure he is going to be daddy all the time sooner rather than later.

Mia was supposed to have her first of two dental appointments to get all of her cavities filled.  When they took more x-rays, they noticed it was worse than they thought so the decision was made to take her to the hospital and have it all done at once (instead of 5 plus visits it would take her in the office).  It was a bit scary to think of her going under general anesthesia but I knew it would be best for her.  On Friday at 5am in the morning we took her down to St. Joe Hospital (it is the only Fort Wayne hospital that has a dental room).  She did great and so did the nurses and doctors.  They did not stick her with any needles or anything until she was under (by gas).  Waking up was a whole other story.  They wanted us back there when she woke up but she woke up faster than expected and was terrified not knowing where she was at, what had happened, where we were at and of course HATED the IV that was now in her tiny little hand.  When we went into the recovery room she was crying SO hard and the nurses were not able to calm her down.  It was the cry we heard when we first adopted her and were on the way back to the hotel for the first time.  Her heart rate was 140 and she was clearly very upset.  As soon as she saw us and I picked her up and held her, she calmed down, stopped crying and her heart rate went down to 90.  The nurse just smiled and said there is nothing like a mommy.  As much as I hated to see her crying and upset, it really solidified that she sincerely knows that I am her mama  - and a very proud mama at that.  It is so nice to know that I do calm her and bring her peace.  If you remember in the beginning, before adopting her, one of my prayers was that I would be able to comfort her when she was upset.  It appears we are there and that prayer has been answered.  Thank you God!  :)

Thanks to Mike's mom, Mia and I went to Disney Princess on Ice this week.  She absolutely loved it!  She was clapping, dancing (on my lap) and singing.  Her eyes were so big as she watched the show.  Very sweet.  It was the first time we have went just the two of us to do something special like that other than getting our nails done.  As much as I loved our special time, I have to tell you, it was a bit bittersweet for me as I have never done anything like that without Logan.  I really missed my boy.  That said, Logan would not have liked all of the princess action.  He has done great tolerating it around the house but I think this may have pushed him over the edge.  :)  Last weekend, Mike took Logan on a man-date to see the concert Video Games Live.  Logan LOVED having that special time with Mike and talked about how amazing the show was for days!  Here is a link to the show in case you are interested.  http://www.videogameslive.com

A cute little story...

Mia has been asking me for a bathing suit for a while now.  I found a super cute one at Van Maur that Mia LOVED.  We got home and tried it on and it did not fit.  Mia instantly started crying and saying "mama, too little, mama too little".  I tried to explain that we would take it back and get another swimming suit (knowing that was the biggest size they made that suit in).  Anyway, we were at Target the other day and found a far less cute but doable pink swimming suit with a few ruffles.  She was so happy and kept telling me "mama, swimming suit is bigger" over and over again at the checkout.  When we got home that night she wanted to wear it in the bath.  I told her just this one time we could.  I then lifted her in the bath tub (in our room) then went to do a couple of things in the bedroom.  When I came back in to check on her, she was still standing up.  I told her to sit down and she looked at me totally confused and said "Mama, swimming suit no wet".  I realized she did not know she could get it wet.  I told her it is okay to get the swimming suit wet and splashed a little water on it and said "see. okay"!  She smiled and said "silly mama".  Then she sat down and said "Oh thank you mama - swimming suit beautiful".  I love seeing all these firsts with her.  It is hard to imagine that she did not know what a swimming suit was used for but it totally makes sense.

Another couple of cute short stories.  Mia is so easily impressed.  We were in Williams Sonoma returning our coffee machine for the second time (that is a whole story of its own) and as we walked past the copper pots, Mia exclaimed very loudly "Oh mama, BEAUTIFUL"!  I have to admit, they are pretty but I guess I just never really noticed.  It was so great seeing them through her eyes and they are now even more pretty to me.  Last, but not least, we were going to Red Robin for dinner last night and I decided to take the long way and walk through Macy's.  First, when we walked in her eyes lit up and she said "mama, SHOES"!  Yep, that is my girl!  :)  Anyway as we walked and made our way into the middle of the store, she stops and starts to twirl around (in her fluffy pink dress) arms straight out, head back and saying "beautiful" over and over.  It was so super cute.  Mike (being starved) eventually brought us all back to reality saying to Mia "okay Annie, come on let's go".  It was funny.  :)

Everyone is always asking about Logan and how he is adjusting to being a big brother.  I really appreciate that because it would be so easy for everyone to just ask about Mia and how she is doing since the adoption is so new.  As I have reported in the past, he is doing great and is such an amazing big brother. He is so kind, patient, nurturing and I could not be more proud of him.  That said, the other day he brought home a cube that asked a bunch of questions that he answered and then folded into a square.  I would love to share with you what it said.  Remember, these are Logan's words.

Question:  What was the best day of your life?
Answer:  The best day of my life was when I got a sister

Question:  What happened?
Answer:  I got a sister

Question:  Where did it happen?
Answer:  I was at my house when it happened

Question:  Who was with you?
Answer:  My parents, grandparents and my cousin were with me

Question:  Why was it the best day?
Answer:  It was the best day because I got someone to play with

That is all the updates for now.  To sum it up, we are happy, blessed beyond words, enjoying each other, and looking forward to everything the future has in store for the Krisher's.  See you in a week or so.  Have a wonderful weekend!  :)

Mia and her baby.  Still loving to rock the pony tails.

Happy Girl

Concentrating

Showing us the Grumpy Old Troll card.
When she is grumpy we ask her if she is being a grumpy old troll.
That usually turns her attitude around pretty quick.  After all, who wants to be
a grumpy old troll?

Below - Mia and I before Disney Princess on Ice

ABC Flashcards - GZonk Style