Saturday, December 3, 2005

Warning! This post contains no pictures!!

Let me start off by telling everyone that we totally appreciate the comments. Wayne and I are both getting a little homesick and we miss Cameron and Anna tremendously. There have been days when we wished that we could have brought Cam and Anna with us, but I (Melissa) am still struggling with jet lag. I can’t imagine putting the kids through this crazy time difference. Julia will probably struggle with it when we get back the Michigan was well.

One of the reasons I think we’re home sick is the fact that it’s the Christmas season and we are so far away. Right now I’m listening to traditional Christmas music (Andy Williams, Brenda Lee, Frank Sinatra, Jose Feliciano just to name a few...) through my Yahoo messenger. It’s hard to get into the Christmas spirit when we see no snow and palm trees lining the streets. The Chinese have taken Christmas on a "fashionable" holiday. It’s become something more en vouge for the younger crowd. The stores are all decorated for the season. I’ve been looking for good deals here for gifts, just not sure how I would get some items home!

Enough about that...what about Julia you ask? Well, last night was a little rough again. When she gets tired she seems to get very cranky and cries quite a bit. I made Wayne take a walk so I could have some time alone. She continued to cry for a while, until like a light switch she saw her bottle and wanted to drink it. Once she got a hold of that it was off to dreamworld for her. She laid awake for just a little while after the bottle, but soon was asleep. Wayne and I decided to have a Yahtzee tournament. It only went 2 rounds...My first game was a 308. A record high game for me! Wayne countered that game with 420. My next game was a 167, he had a 280-something. I quit. Forget getting smoked by my husband! Wayne and both were asleep short after that.

Julia awoke about 7:15am. It was nice to see her get up on her own. She was in a better mood this morning. Still not sure of us, but she seems to be getting used to us. She tends to be a Daddy’s girl in the morning, but by afternoon, loves playing with Mommy. Here are a few fun facts about Julia that we have learned so far:

1. She apparently was pampered at her former home. She knows all about bubble gum, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and cell phones.
2. She has not wet or pooped her pull-ups since we got her. Dry all day, dry all night and lets us know when she has to use the toilet.
3. She can now say her name!! Sounds a bit like "OO-Lee-Ah", but she’s responding to it more. We rarely call her Yin Gui. Wayne and I like Yin Gui, but she does need to learn her American name. :-)
4. Watermelon, Watermelon and Eggs. She loves melon and these eggs boiled in a soy sauce mixture. Something that she doesn’t seem to like? M&M’s! She’s not a big chocolate fan.
5. Her first words were, "MORE PLEASE". I used the sign for more and she signed it back to me and said it clear as a bell. I wish I knew more sign language!
6. She’s INDEPENDENT! Much like her sister Anna. She loves to do everything on her OWN. No help from Mom or Dad!! She also is very bright. She knows her body parts (in Chinese of course!), animals, and I think colors. She says a lot of words in Chinese, we just don’t understand. You can see her look at us like, "Duh! If you knew Chinese you would know what I want!"
7. When she’s happy, she’s just a riot. When she’s sad, there’s no consoling her. Again, much like Anna.
8. She likes to run around and act goofy. She loves the tickle game! Cameron, you are going to have so much fun with Julia. She's a good tickler!

Again today we met Roselind in lobby at 9:30. We went to the Ting Tao Scenery on the East Lake as well as one of Mao’s summer villas. We forgot to put the memory stick back in the camera, so I will need to get pictures from Liz and Brion. We were not allowed to take pictures at Mao’s villa. It needs reconstruction, but they refuse, thinking that original is better. We did do a bit of shopping in a store that carried many Hubei items. We bought a hand-painted scroll that has 2 birds and plum blossoms on it. It signifies spring and youth. We figured that was a good sign, seeing how we found Julia on AAI’s list in the early spring. The Brooks family ended up with a scroll with a Tiger on it. The found Isaac’s chinese name on it. How cool is that???
We will be headed to a western restaurant tonight. I will try to have more pictures then, Sorry about that! I asked Theresa about measuring Anna’s foot. Can someone do that for me and email me the size? I need the measurement in centimeters. Thanks! :-) Please give Cameron and Anna many hugs for us. We miss them so much!!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hi Melissa & Wayne:

I laid awake last night thinking about how long you will have been away from home and how hard it must be on you and the kids. But fortunately you are blessed to have family taking care of everything at home for you. And your on the down streach now (one more week!!!). I mailed the kids Christmas outfits yesterday. Ended up getting Cameron a long sleeve white shirt as I couldn't find the right color purple to match the girls dresses. I just hope everything fits!

Julia sounds like she was destined to join your family. Anna will have a blast with her and Cameron will be a terrific big brother to both of his sisters! Apparently you are going to have fun when both of your little girls are in bad moods:-)

Thankfully from your descriptions of Julia it does sound like she had a terrific foster family.

Love you all very much and can't wait to see you on December 21st!!