A week of firsts!

We are excited over here because both Noah and Jillian had "firsts" this week.

First, Noah finally learned how to blow a bubble with bubble gum! He learned this while waiting for the flight from Chengdu so I thought I'd share it with you all. He also completed his first Sudoku puzzle. I was so impressed with that. He did one of the easy ones in my books all by himself. I was really surprised because I thought it was a bit too old for him, but he figured it out. He also started reading Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix. He's doing really well with it, he's on Chapter 5 now.

Now to Jillian. Last night she lost her first tooth! It happened really fast. On Monday Night she came running down the stairs yelling "I got a loose tooth, I got a loose tooth" and she showed it to me. Sure enough one of her bottom teeth was a-wiggling. I think she must have played with it from then on straight because when she got home from school yesterday (Tuesday) the thing was practically hanging off.

Todd is in Vietnam right now so I called him to ask him if I should try and pull it out. I am so squeamish when it comes to all things dental, but Todd suggested I get a napkin and give a tug and see what happens. While still on the phone with him, I got a napkin, put it in Jillian's mouth and I didn't even have to tug...the tooth just came right off into the napkin.

So Jillian was so excited! We got the "tooth" pouch and she put it in there. Since Daddy is away, the kids sleep in my room with me, one on a mattress on the floor, one in bed with me (they take up too much space and kick entirely too much for both to sleep on the bed) We took pictures of Jillian putting the tooth under her pillow.

Apparently when the tooth fairy came, she could not find the tooth in the pouch. She knows it was in there earlier but for the life of her could not find it. Now, I had gone on a Girls Night Out and Lian had put the kids to bed so I didn't know what happened to the darn thing, it was in there when I left. So alas, the Tooth Fairy gave up looking, gave Jillian a Certificate for loosing her first tooth and a little note telling Jillian that she couldn't find the tooth but she needs to give it to Mommy if it is ever found.

Well, apparently Jillian knew the tooth was not in the pouch, apparently it had gone missing "mysteriously" after I left for dinner. She woke up with hysterical tears that didn't slow until she realized that the Tooth Fairy still came. She was worried that because she "lost" the tooth, she wouldn't come.

So, that's all the news for now.

Pandas and Sad News

Well, I was ready to post a great blog about our trip to Chengdu to see the Pandas when we woke up Tuesday Morning with the news of the terrible tragedy at Todd's alma mater, VA Tech. Todd has been reading the news religiously on-line since we don't get much more than snippets on tv over here. It is just terrible. VA Tech is a beautiful school and we can't believe something so cruel and senseless has happened there. How could this boy do such a thing? This is a question that will never be answered. We will never understand what moves someone to do such a horrific act. I pray for all the families of the students and staff that were killed and injuried and also for all those students and staff who made it through without a scratch physically but are probably deeply hurt emotionally.

Ok, now on to something a bit happier...PANDAS! We went to Chengdu for the weekend and went to a Giant Panda Breeding and Research facility. We saw many Pandas enjoying their bamboo stalks and relaxing on the grounds. We made a donation to the facility so we were all able to pet a Giant Panda and take a photo with it. They look like such gentle creatures. It is very easy to forget that they are a BEAR and are not at all gentle. When we went to pet them, there were several trainers/handlers who surrounded the bear and we had to go around to the back of the panda so that he could not really see us. And he had to have a bamboo shoot at all times so that he was focusing on eating and not on us petting him. It was an incredible experience.

Next we were able to hold a Red Panda. Red pandas are not related to the Giant Panda, they are actually in the racoon family. They are very very cute. In fact, they were Noah's favorite at the park. Noah and Jillian both held Hao Hao (which means Good Good) and I was able to hold Xiao Xiao (which means small small) and Todd took video. They were so cute. They are small sized just like racoons. They were eating apples the whole time we held them, also to keep their attention away from us humans holding them.

Saturday Evening we went to a Sichuan Opera (Chengdu is in the Sichuan Province). It was a very interesting show. They had performances of comedy, fire breathing, puppets, singing, musical instruments, shadow puppets and changing faces. The changing faces was the neatest thing. All these performers came out wearing masks and if they moved their heads quickly or covered there faces for a fraction of a second the mask changed. It was really amazing and we couldn't for the life of us figure out how they did this.

On Sunday we went to the Leshan Giant Buddha. This is China's version of Mount Rushmore, lol. It is a huge Buddha carved into the side of a mountain. It was really neat to see and we had a great hike up to see it. The only problem there was the kids became part of the tourist attraction. We had a bunch of people asking us to take photos with them, which has happened much in Zhuhai lately so we had forgotten about this. The kids were great for the first 50 people, but then Noah got really sick of people coming up to him and he got really grumpy. Before his mood changed though, I got a great picture of the kids with a group of people who wanted their pictures with our blond hair/blue eyed cuties. I will try and post this picture. (I apologize for the layout of these photos, but I can't figure out how to make it look nice...sorry!)

Once we were done at the Giant Buddha, we headed back to Chengdu and right to Starbucks. Whenever we are in Starbucks it is as though we are no longer in China. It is sometimes a great escape for us. Once done there, we were on the plane and returned home to Zhuhai.

We leave next Saturday for Thailand for the May Holiday. I will try to post before then, but if not, I will definitely post when we get back from there. Our time here in China is coming to an end, and we are trying to get as much in as we can! 'Til next time!

Sleep anyone?

For the last few days I have been having a really hard time sleeping at night. It all started a few days back when I had a really strange dream. I dreamt that we got our referral envelope. In the dream, I felt all the emotions as if it was real. The excitement to open this envelope and see our new daughter. As I opened it, with Todd alongside me, I looked at the picture of the "baby" that was matched to us. I kept looking at the picture and was very confused because it was not a picture of a baby, but of a young woman. When I looked at the birthdate of our potential daughter it was October 18, 1983!!! We had been referred a 24 year old! I still remember the disappointment set in when I realized that of course we would have to reject this referral which meant we would have to wait yet again for another referral, this one for a baby.

Now I know that this cannot really happen. Heck, they don't allow anyone over 16 years of age to be adopted in China, but I still felt the kick in the stomach when I realized that we would have to wait some more.

Ever since that dream, I have been laying in bed at night with all possible scenarios and problems that could arise and paperwork that we need to do, and such. It really stinks!

Got an update yesterday and it appears that all the April Dossiers have been sent referrals so now they are actively matching us to our daughter. But they still don't know how long it will be until we get the actual referral. We are still praying that we have her in time for our flight that is booked for June 27th. If you could also keep us in your prayers, I would really appreciate it.

Ok, well that's it for now. Bye!