One Month Later....Four Months In

Today marks day 125 since we first met our sweet Mia!

Mia is continuing to learn so much and is bringing us so much joy.  It seems rare to look over at her and not have her dancing, singing and twirling around.  We have checked out dancing classes however the place we want to take her is not accepting new students until September.  We are able to sign her up for dance "camp" this summer.  We are also signing her up for little leapster's at school which is a tumbling class offered by her pre-school.  I am pretty sure she is going to LOVE it!


Pre-school is going FANTASTIC!  Mia loves it and love her friends so much.  She is now going all day and is participating in the "up room" which means she does not have to take a nap with the other kids.  She was supposed to be a bit older to have this privilege but her teacher agreed this was best for Mia.  In the up room she is able to do quiet activities like puzzles, coloring, art projects etc.  She is THRILLED with this new arrangement.  


Mia and Logan continue to get along so great.  They play and giggle ALL the time.  It is such a blessing to see them get a long so well.  


Mia is learning more and more English words everyday and her personality continues to emerge.  I love getting to know this sweet little girl with all of her likes, dislikes and new experiences.


Food continues to be our biggest challenge.  Thank goodness for Qui's and their fried rice (no chicken, no veggies just rice and eggs)!  Mia LOVES it.  We have also found a Chinese grocery store.  The first time I took Mia inside with me she got the biggest smile and had such amazing bright eyes.  She kept saying mama look, mama look as she recognized some of her favorite things.  That said, she picked out mostly junk food - UGH!  I got some healthy things to try (and she said she would eat them) but once I cooked them she would not eat the majority of it.  I would HATE to total how much money we have wasted buying new things for her to try only to have her say "yucky" and not take another bite.  She also comes home STARVING from school.  I keep telling myself, if she is hungry enough she will eat but it is SO hard since she is SO tiny.


Mia has been talking to me A LOT about who we now call "China Mama".  I am pretty sure I have figured out that China mama is her nanny.  She tells me all sorts of stuff like China mama did not give Mia a bath and that she likes that I give her a bath and wash her hair.  She also tells me that China mama hugged her but did not cuddle with her and that she loves to cuddle.  Every once in a while she will say something like when I tell her to take one more bite of her muffin (or whatever she is eating) that "China mama no make Mia eat muffin".  :)  Smart girl although of course that is not going to work with me.  Interesting enough she tells me China mama is Mia's friend and does not talk about missing her like she used to.  

Mike and I were just talking this afternoon about how it seems like Mia has been with us forever.  It is AMAZING what 4 short months can do.

Have a wonderful week everyone and God Bless!  :)

Below are a few recent photos of my 3 favorite people.  Enjoy!

Friends and Warmer Weather!

Today marks day 97 since we got Mia!

Holy cats, this week just flew by!  One major change is pre-school, friends and how well Mia is doing.  According to her teachers, she is starting to come out of her shell and talk and play WITH the kids - not ALL of the time but I will take this "baby step"!  WHOOOOOOOOO!  This is HUGE for her since for the first couple of months she basically played alone, stuck very close to the teacher and scowled at the kids when they tried to talk to her (even when a couple of them would speak to her in Mandarin).  She has even started talking about her "friends" at school named Gabby and Addie.  It melts my heart when she says "Mia friends" and she gets excited to go to school in the morning!  :)  Her teacher also told us that during song time she decided to sing a song in mandarin to the kids.  Apparently she must have made up something silly because the other little boy who speaks mandarin in her class was cracking up!  When the teacher asked him to tell her what she sang the little boy just kept laughing and laughing but never told her what she said.

Since the weather was a bit warmer this week, Mia was able to play outside several times with some of the neighbor kids as well as some dear family friends of ours.  She had such a blast!  I am SO excited to see her outside this spring and summer.  She honestly cannot get enough outside time.  I LOVE IT!  :)

So when we brought Mia home, I always wondered what she was saying while she was playing by herself.  NOW I KNOW!  She has quite the imagination.  She tells us stories about "nice, pink, dinosaurs" who are her friends and all sorts of things.  LOVING being able to understand all the chatter.

Mike is now officially "daddy".  When we asked her why not "baba" anymore she said something to the effect that I call Mike "daddy".  UGH!  It is my fault and she is right.  I call him "big daddy" sometimes.  OH NO!  When I tried to plead my case and say to Mike, "but I call you big daddy"  she smiled and started calling him "big daddy"!  YIKES!  :)  Mike was less than thrilled but smiled his way through the conversation.  By nighttime he was back to plain ol' "daddy".  Phew!  :)  

This week Mia has been talking about her friend Jahn Jahn from China a lot.  She found a picture frame and asked me what it was.  I told her that you put a picture in it.  She said she wanted to put a picture in it.  I asked her who she wanted a picture of and she said Mama and Mia.  I said okay!  Then she told me that she wanted a picture of her and Jahn Jahn instead.  So, I found one, printed it out, put it in the frame and she took it and ran to her room.  She then came running back into my office and said "Jahn Jahn now in Mia's room" with the proudest smile on her face.  Very sweet.

One thing that threw me off a bit was that out of the blue she said she had 2 mama and two babas.  When I asked her where her other mama was she said her baba told her bye bye and made Mia cry.  OMG!  I have no idea if she was talking about her nannies and a male at the orphanage or if she was talking about her birth mom and dad.  Remember in the orphanage they referred to the nannies as mama.  I SOOOOO hope she does not remember being left.  Anyway, I quickly got out the pictures they sent us with her and her nanny in them and asked her if that was the mama and if one of the guys in the picture was baba.  The first time she said "no"!  Other mama and other baba.  And then when I asked her again a minute or two later she said, yes!  That mama and that baba!  Totally confusing.  Regardless she told me that she misses her China mama and wants her to come live with us.  All I could do was tell her I was sorry that Mia was sad and that she cried with China baba said goodbye.  Of course I told her I (and her baba (Mike) would never say goodbye and that we would be together forever.  When I told her I was sorry that happened to Mia she said "it's okay mama".  MELT.  Poor sweet girl.  I then asked her if she needed a big hug and she said "yes".  That was tough.  I always knew those conversations would happen but I am not sure I was prepared yet, especially since I am not sure exactly what she is saying.  Regardless, I know she has a lot to say and is processing a whole lot.  I am just happy she is talking to me about it.  I ALWAYS want to make it safe for her to talk to me and love her China mom and dad.  I know for certain this child was loved because of how she loves.  I will forever tell her how loved she was by them and how much we love them and are eternally grateful.  God help me on Mother's Day this year!  I will be SO happy for me, but SO heavy hearted for the woman (and man) that had to make the incredibly difficult choice to let someone else raise this sweet, amazing, adorable little girl.

Have a wonderful week everyone and God Bless!  :)

Logan reading to Miles and Mia.  Logan is so sweet to little ones.

Sweet baby Joss...Look at those AMAZING EYES...and check out those EYE LASHES!  They are to die for!  :)

The four Kings...LOVE THEM! 

John and Mia...So stinking sweet.  She just went up and put her arm around him.
John is so amazing and has such a soothing soul.  Obviously Mia felt it.  :)  I love how kids just know...
Also LOVING the post pony tail hair!  ;)

Super Moon...

Mia and her Dad looking at the super moon.  

Mia and her doll house.

2 princesses!

Logan and Mia

Silly Faces

So happy it is warm enough to play outside!

Happy!

And the pink princess is out!

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

Fevers, Cavities, Hearts and Balloons!

Today marks day 70 since getting our sweet Mia.

This week was a tough one for poor sweet Mia.  First she had to go to the dentist for the first time.  We knew she was going to have a number of cavities but we did not know what the extent of them or the number would be.  Poor sweet thing has 10 cavities out of her 20 teeth.  The good news is they are all surface and will not need any root canals or crowns.  Apparently with over seas adoption this dentist said that he has seen A LOT worse and that we were lucky.  Lucky with 10 cavities - YIKES! :(  We will get them filled over two visits the week after this and then the following week.  Mid-week she got a nasty cough and fever.  She was a bit whiny but overall handled it pretty well.  What cracked me up is that even though she was sick, she still wanted her "pretty" clothes on - meaning her dresses. 

Before she got too sick, it was Valentines Day and Mike and Logan surprised Mia and I with flowers and balloons delivered to the house.  Mia's eyes got huge, and when I told her they were from Logan and Dad she got a big smile and hugged the balloon monkey.  Of course my heart melted that Mike made our first Valentines Day with Mia special.  Normally I am not a huge Valentine's Day fan, but this year seemed different and it was nice to celebrate.  

Every week Mia is trying new foods.  This week she liked a chicken sandwich which is great since she REALLY needs the protein.  Fruit and yogurt (not together) are still the favorites and rice is the main staple. Noodles have taken a back seat.  I am sure she is just bored with them.

Except for the night where her fever was the worst, she has been sleeping like a champ, which means I get to sleep!  :)  On the weekend, Logan loves to camp out on her floor and they have a slumber party.  It is very cute.

No daycare last week but will go (depending on the weather) this week.  My challenge is the schedule.  To be honest, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the morning teacher but the afternoon teacher I am not crazy about.  Because Mia sleeps most of the morning, I struggle with whether sending her for such a short time is worth it (they go down for a nap at 12:30 and she has practically just gotten up).  Mia also has not really connected with any of the kids in a meaningful way.  I think it scares them when she cries and because they cannot really understand her, they just kinda stare at her.  Mia does not help the situation when someone is being nice and sweet and asks something like do you like me or do you like to play with me and she just scowls and says "No".  Not sure what is going on there because she LOVES to play with her brother and she supposedly loved playing with all the kids in the orphanage.  Ugh, sometimes being a parent and making all the right choices is just not easy.  

Mia is now asking me to sing to her a lot.  It is very sweet.  She climbs up into my lap and gets really relaxed and just wants me to sing and sing.  I am seriously running out of songs.  I need to google some new cute ones to sing.  I would love to hear what your favorite childhood song was.  That said, I do not think she cares if she has to listen to the same ones over and over.  Mia is also LOVING to play in her kitchen and is constantly bringing us "food".  She tells us what it is and then tells us that she is going to go make something else and runs to do it.  She can do this for an hour or more at a time.  She certainly gets her daily exercise going back and forth.  We took Mia and Logan to a movie this weekend.  We went to see Tangled per Logan's request.  It was her first movie and although she said it was big, she did not seem impressed. She did not cry or anything she just watched it and asked if they had Dora.  :(

Mia's English is improving with every day that goes by.  Everyday the ratio of English words to Mandarin words increases greatly.  Earlier in the week Mike and I were unpacking the groceries and Logan and Mia were playing in the basement.  All of the sudden Mia runs into the kitchen and says "Loga hu, Loga hu".  I knew she was saying Logan something but I was racking my brain for all my Mandarin words that sounded like "hu".  I was coming up with nothing and she was repeating herself over and over so fast.  Then, with a bit of frustration, she yelled "Loga I-O (that is not how to spell it)" which means HURT in Mandarin.  OMG!  I asked her if Logan was hurt and she said "YES!  Loga hu".  It was cute, she was trying to use English and I was trying to figure out what she was saying in Mandarin.  :)

Logan and Mia are continuing to get along brilliantly.  Every once and a while Mia does not want to share me with Logan, but she quickly gets over it and peace is restored.

Below are some pictures from the week.  Enjoy!  :)

Always a princess, even in the bath! 

Where is Mia?

Loving her brother and saying thank you!

She hugged this monkey ALL night - she even tried to figure out how to sleep with it!

Dad's little princess

My loves!

The flowers Mike sent when I got done with them.  Much more my style and Mia agreed.  See photo above.  :)

Even being sick is better with a pretty dress and cupcakes!  Thanks for the yummy treat Tappy's!  

Sick movie night picnic - Horton Hears a Who

With Grandma and Grandpa.

Sporting the new "Mia preferred" hairstyle!  :)

Update from the CKC (Crazy Krisher Casa)!

Today marks day 62 since getting our sweet Mia.

I had to go out of town this week on business.  As you all know, I love, love, love my job and it is a big part of me.  That said, I was pretty worried about leaving Mia and was nervous for Mike if she started to cry and wondered where I was.  Her and I are pretty much attached at the hip.  I started telling her I had to go on an airplane but that I would come back in a couple of days (just like I always do).  She seemed to be okay with the idea and even waved goodbye to me with NO TEARS at the airport even after she saw my luggage.  We are seriously making progress here people!  :)  So, she did not have any tears, but I did.  :(  We Skyped and she would talk to me, tell me she loved me and then say, bye-bye mama, I love you.  Again, she was fine but it was really hard for me.  Mike said it was a bit more work with two but they all did pretty good.  He is such a great dad.  I do not know what I would do with out him.

Mia is still loving watermelon and is now enjoying strawberries as well.  Rice and noodles are still the most requested mealtime items.  I think food is going to continue to be a long term struggle for the sweet girl.

Sleep is going well although she lays in her bed for so long before she actually goes to sleep and that is even without a daily nap.  We would love her to go to sleep earlier but know it will all fall in place in good time.

Because she is staying up so late and then sleeping in so late in the morning, we have not been doing daycare on a consistent basis.  I would just wake her up but honestly, I have never seen anyone so grouchy in the morning if you wake them up.  She is a holy terror.  When she gets up herself she is lovely.  Life is all about choices.  I am choosing to have a sweet girl all day instead forcing the daycare issue.  That said, we are going to have to figure something out soon because I really think once she gets used to it, she will love being with the kids and all the daily activities.

Mia LOVES singing!  She enjoys making up all sorts of songs and keeps singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star this week.  It is super cute and I love all of her little Mia versions.  :)

Mia is speaking English more and more everyday.  We have run into a few people who speak Mandarin and they try to talk to her but she will not talk back to them.  She MAY shake her head yes or no, but that is only if they are lucky.  She is pretty reserved when you first meet her so I am sure that is why, but I SOOOOOOO would love to hear her have a conversation with someone in Mandarin again.  I just think the language and hearing it would be so comforting to her.  Truth be told, when I was in the airport this week and heard the announcements being spoke in Mandarin, I got a smile on my face.  I have really started to love the language.  I SOOOOOOOO wish I could learn it - more than my broken Chinglish.  :)

Logan is continuing to amaze me as a big brother.  I sincerely could not be more proud of him.  He is so kind, patient and loving with his sister.  She is usually just as sweet back but not always!  :)  That said she just loves him to read to her and they play non-stop.  I keep wondering when the sibling bliss will disappear.  Could this really be it?  Could they really be this close and sweet forever?  I am not holding my breath, but I am starting to feel like maybe, just maybe.... 

Last, but a very, very special part of  last week was that Mia was baptized last Sunday.  Her and her cousin Jordan were both baptized at the same time so it makes it doubly special.  I cannot even begin to put into words how it feels to have gone through this journey and to think back at all the times I questioned and doubted.  I almost feel foolish.  God has truly hand picked this sweet girl to complete our family.  I am so blessed to have her in my life and will be forever changed.

Below are some pictures from the week.  Enjoy!  :)

Lights of my life!  :)

Mia LOVING Logan reading to her.

Mia loving on Logan...cannot blame the girl.  He is super amazing!  :)

First Cupcake...My brother's 40th Birthday Party

Those eyes just kill me.  LOVE HER!

Mia's Baptism - This is also where I went to school k-8th grade.

Always so comfy with her Dad aka Baba.

I baptize you in the name of....

Uh oh....where is Logan?  Mia is so proud of her baptism candle

God Bless Mia!  :)

Loving her Grandpa - ME TOO MIA!  ;)  He is THE BESTEST!

Grandma and Grandpa!

Mmmmmmmmm Cake.  She would not eat the chocolate cake because that had Jordan's name on it.  She would only eat the vanilla because that was HERS!  :)

See food anyone?  :)

So many beautiful presents.  Thank you everyone!

Our Princess!