Changes

So much has happened since I last posted.

After being in the same office for 21 years I became a stay at home mom. The adjustment has been rough at times, but really worth it. I love being a mommy.

The girls qualified for an in home teacher. She was great and the girls learned so much from her. We went from grunts and pointing to request food to three to four word requests.

The girls are going to start pre/pre-K in August. I am nervous since the girls have not been away from me for more than a couple of hours since being home. I am also excited because imthink after the initial shock to them and me they will really benefit from the experience.

We (knock on wood) have overcome a biting habit. Not before mommy got bit, but there have been no recurrences for over four months.

The girls were introduced to the pool. We got them suits that have life vests attached. This was a good idea since Both girls like to jump into the pool. They are pretty fearless. They can both float successfully in the pool and pull themselves out.

They are growing physically both have gained around three pounds and three inches. The funny thing is that the measurements for both girls are the same. We are still getting people who ask if they are identical - I can see the difference, but can see where others might not.

We took our first trip to a theme park this weekend and let the girls run wild. They had a blast. We are working on wait - because they tend to take off when given the chance. They loved the glass bottomed boats and seeing the animals in the petting zoo. Watching them as their world expands is thrilling for both me and my husband.

Tomorrow the girls are going to be three. I can't wait to celebrate our first birthday together and look forward to all the future birthdays.

Two Months Home

So a lot has happened we since we came home.

The girls have settled into a routine and are sleeping through the night (sorta). They went from being terrified of our two cats to terrorizing them with their delighted screams every time they see them. They went from hysterical fear of our dog to being best buddies. They are learning more and more English everyday.

Both girls love music and sing a lot. Sisi (one of our guides in Nanchang) taught our group a song about a chicken that they sing all the time. We could not remember the words so Larry e-mailed Sisi and she sang it for us - the girls love to hear it and sing along. They also love to dance to music. One of the things that amazed us in China was their gymnastic abilities - they both would do forward head rolls in the hotel and since coming home they also do them off their toddler beds. Can't say I loved that development, but at least they are toddler beds so they aren't too high up.

We have a great pediatrician who has sent us to multiple doctors including an audiologist (the girls hear just fine) so when they ignore us they really are ignoring us. We also went to an ophthalmologist and found out the girls needed glasses. We did not see that coming. So we have embarked on getting the girls used to glasses. Two and a half year olds and glasses - let's just say it is a challenge - although not as bad as I had feared.

The girls personalities have started to become more distinctive. Rose is the more assertive one and loves to mother her doll and Roni is a shall we say gentler soul who loves to figure out how things work.

Sisters

When we first began this journey in 2006 the plan was to go to China for daughter number one and then back for a second child (boy or girl) as soon as possible. We applied for twins from the start, but did not think it would really happen. Then as the wait got longer the possibility of two began to diminish, until it became impossible. We adjusted to the idea of one child and occasionally talked about how wonderful twins would be. Flash forward to 2010....

Sisters - it warms my heart to see the bond the girls have. Yes they have times where they are pulling hair and fighting for a toy or mama's lap, but then you look up and see them hugging or dancing or singing together and you can see the love.

When it Gets Quiet - Watch Out

So the girls were playing in their room with their dolls. Suddenly it got quiet and then I hear a cry. At first it is faint and then louder and louder. I go into the room and both girls are in the closet. The closet that until now they could not access and Rose has both her hands firmly fixed in Roni's hair. There are socks on the floor and several outfits ave been taken off their hangers. It takes several attempts to remove Rose's fists from her sister's hair at which point she is now crying like she is the injured party.

A few kisses from mama and five minutes later they are playing like it never happened.

More on the trip - the playroom at the Jinfeng Hotel, Nanchang China (December 14th-16th 2010)

So one of the best things about the stay in Nanchang was the playroom at the Jinfang Hotel. It was on the 11th floor and was a wide open space for the kids to play In. The downside was it was a little too open. The entrances were both just open gaps - they did have quite a few square ottoman type things that you could use to block off escape route - we used them each time. It did not stop the girls from laying across them so they could see each approaching person. They both would call out to every hotel staff person they saw.

It was nice because the girls could move aaround - unlike the hotel room that had very little room for them to explore. They had a TV that had a DVD in it with songs in Chinese that we played several times. They also had several walkers (that the girls did not need) take that pediatrician that we consulted with who expressed concerns about the girls development after reading an old medical report. They also had a scary white rabbit rocker type toy made of a hard plastic that had a weird look in it's pink eyes. The girls wanted nothing to do with it and I don't blame them it was creepy looking. There was a chistmas tree in the room as well behind a tiny picket fence - I must have said no at least 20 times each visit as the girls reached out to touch the lights or the ornaments - the tree fell over one time while we were in the room. The play area was really better suited for younger children. It did however give us time outside of the hotel room.

Nanchang Wal Mart (December 13th, 2010)

At the afternoon after the adoption we went to Wal Mart. We were told we could not take photos inside so we don't have any. The store was 3 floors and was much larger than even a super Wal Mart is here.

We first went to the baby area for supplies. Since we had been uncertain as to the correct size we didn't have a lot of diapers in reserve so the first thing we got were diapers and new sippy cups. Oh and some crazy bathtub stickums that Roni managed to snag that we couldn't get away from her. We then went onto the clothes and the stroller area. Unfortunately we got to the strollers too late to get the model we wanted and we wound up with very inexpensive umbrella strollers - it turned out to be a good choice as one of the strollers was damaged on the first in China flight. As for clothes we didn't have a big selection, but we were able to get the girls some warm pj's and a couple of tops and pants. While we were getting clothes and the strollers a man who was mentally ill started to follow our group around the store.

We left the area and went back downstairs. On the way we encountered one of the neatest inventions I have ever encountered - they had an escalator that was magnetic - the carts were held in place by the magnet until we got off at the bottom. It was really cool. In the food section they had a wide variety of items. We were able to purchase Pepsi Max, which was the only diet soda we could find. We also got Lays stacks cool cucumber flavored potato chips - I loved them. Each aisle had at least one worker attending to it. In one area they had set up a display for some noodle bowl type thing and there were several young girls in tight military like red dresses and tall boots that I think were working the booth. The crazy man was still following us so they had to get security to remove him.

All Wal Marts are apparently the same in that there is always at least one item that does not scan properly. When we got ready to check out - the strollers (remember the cheap ones we didn't really want) were not scanning properly so we had to wait for a price check. Needless to say we were the last of our group to leave the store. Oh and yes they did sell chicken feet in the store. We did not buy any.

Adoption day (December 13th, 2010)

On Monday December 13th we got up and went down for breakfast. The hotel restaurant was just off the lobby. It was freezing. Evidently they were a "green" hotel which translated to no heat downstairs. We had to eat breakfast in our coats. Another thing I should note about China is that smoking is allowed inside buildings so at any given meal you could be seated next to someone who was smoking. Sissi (CC) one of staff members who were helping us - came over and helped us get through the first meal. She induced us to not only to congee (which we had read about), but also to steamed eggs. I could not believe how much two little girls could eat.

After breakfast we all met in the lobby and and got on the bus. They do not use car seats in China so the girls sat in our laps. We were driven to the civil affairs office to finalize our adoptions. We weren't able to park close so we had to hoof it to the building and then cram into an elevator. In China there is little sense of personal space so people will continue to push into the elevator well past what we American's would find appropriate. Even though our reps tried to hold the elevator just for our group several other people piled on board. Evidently the elevator we were on was an express.

Once we got upstairs we all took turns getting our photos taken. Each family had to sit with their child for a photo - in our case we went twice since we had two. After the photos we were taken into a big room to wait. Larry had to go and make the first of many payments. Then each family went into another room and sat before an official and swore to care for our children and never abandon or abuse them. It was very quick and we were in and out of the room in short order.

We then got back on the bus and rode to the notaries office where once again we had to walk to the building. Inside the notary office they had several heaters blasting. Larry and I decided to take the girls hoods off and unzipped their jackets. It was a big mistake. The clothing police were on hand. Several older ladies approached us and after some gesturing made it clear we should not have unzipped or taken their hoods off. It was also our first of many encounters with people who were attracted to our twins. The notary appointment went fairly quickly as well and then we were back on the bus.

Our next stop - WalMart.

More on Gotcha Day (December 12th 2010)

So now that we are home and have the girls flipped to our time zone I have time to update the blog.

After we got the girls we went up to our room and settled them onto the bed. Looking back I realize they were pretty shut down, but at that moment all I could do was marvel at how beautiful they were. We played for a while - they were very quiet and did not cry much at all. When we did undress them for bed we found that they were dressed in three layers of clothes - the little red Chinese suits were on top, the next layer were sweaters and knit split pants. The final layer were pj's. Other than the top layer nothing was new, but it was clean and they fit. Most of what we had brought was too big. Fortunately we did not bring much with us as we planned to purchase clothes once we were sure of their sizes. They were 28 months old and needed 18 month clothes. They were so tiny.

We dressed them in the pj's we had packed - they were too big. After a bottle and some more time playing quietly on the bed we put them in their cribs - they laid down and rattled the tops from their bottles against the bars of the crib. It was the only night that we were in China where they slept in their cribs.