Week 3 of being home

Things just keep getting better & better!!! Its so hard to believe that my girl has only been with me for such a short period of time. She is FULL of smiles and giggles!! This week I really noticed changes in Channing. Before she would cry whenever someone would leave our house, and now she just gives her hugs and kisses and says "good bye". She would cry when people left because she has lost so many people this last bit, so she thought she would never see them again. Now she realizes that she will see these faces again. She also will get out of bed in the mornings and get ready for school like a big girl. Before it was a challenge to get her moving since she has no concept of time. So the routine is getting set now!! Also she is good with leaving school. Before she didnt want to leave as some of the kids would stay for the full day and she wanted to too. A major change that she did was when we were at my brothers and she was playing with Hunter and Iryland and it was getting late. She came upstairs and said to me "mommy lets go home".....my heart melted!!

Channing crusin on her new bike

You all know my girl is a "princess". When we were in China she got some stick on earings. So she would regularly put them on her ears. So Saturday we went shopping with Auntie Randee, Auntie Leissa, and cousin Kyle. We were sitting having lunch and we asked Channing if she wanted pretty earings too. She said "YES". I told her it would hurt for a few minutes, we would have to clean them lots, she couldnt change them for a long time...blah, blah, blah.....she still wanted them. The only way I would let her get them done is if they pierced them at the same time. We went and asked at a few places and finally found a good jewlery store that would do it. So Channing picked out her earings that she wanted, sat in the chair like a princess and next thing I knew it was done and there was no tears at all from her. She sat up, looked in the mirror and said "pretty". It was so cute!!! After she would show everyone her pretty ears!! Now every morning and night she says to me "mama clean my ears".

Her new earings!!

Hangin with cousin Kyle (who she loved and I think he loved her too!!)

On Sunday it was time to head to the lake. The summer season is now over and we have to get prepared for the winter. So the boat came out. It was sad as this was the only boat ride Channing got. The previous weekends the lake was too rough to take the boat out. The minute she stepped into the boat she giggles and squealed with Hunter. She LOVED it!!

My 1st boat ride on Gong Gong's boat!!! The life jacket was a little too big as I havent bought her one yet!!

Hunter at the wheel

Cruzin to the boat launch

This is FUN & COLD!!!

Channing at the wheel once we were on land

My one sport that Channing MUST take is swimming. So she started swimming lessons on Monday with Hunter and my friends daughter Quinn. They had a blast, but Channing cant touch the bottom of the pool where the lessons are.

Putting lotion on her face after swimming
(Look Auntie Tracey...these are the capris from you)

My brother and I took Hunter and Channing to the park one afternoon to feed the ducks. They were crazy!! I couldnt believe how close and agressive they were. At one point I had them pretty much attacking my bad of bread IN MY HANDS!!!

One afternoon while I was cleaning I came into the living room and found Channing sleeping like this. Must've been one hard day at school!!!

My PRINCESS!!!

This week Channing can now sing her whole ABC's and count to 14. She knows most of her colors and can speak EVERYTHING. She isnt talking much in Chinese, but is still singing a few songs from China. We went out for Chinese food one day and the man talked to her in Chinese. Channing walked away and didnt say a word to him.

Not sure when I will post pictures again. My daughter (A.K.A Fuji) has broken my camera. I have some great BUBBLE pictures on there from Auntie Lori's house...I will try and download them somehow. I do need to make my way to the camera store to buy a new one soon but I still havent gotten any EI (parental benefits), so its been tough having no paycheck for a few months now.

Week 4 update real soon!!!

Week 1 & 2 of being home

Being home is busy!! Getting over the jetlag and adjusting to being home is tough. The day after we got home we had many phone calls and a few visitors. My first phone call was to my cousin Lori. I think the person who heard the most about my adoption was her. So Lori and her daughter came to my house and we had to run up to Wal*mart. Of course my 1st day home all I wanted to do was have a shower in Canadian water, blow dry my hair, curl it, hairspray it and what happened........my hair dryer blew up!! So off to buy a new one, and then I had to pick up a few other things. Channing also had her first Canadian visit to Mc D's that day too.

Auntie Lori and baby H.

On the weekend we headed out to the lake for a few hours each day. Channing had a blast out there. Her and Hunter played, ran, ate, giggled...just had fun!!! Actually the first day out there Channing didnt even go into the house once. Hunter is so amazing with her. I'm so proud of him....he grew up so fast!!! He is so gentle, caring, sharing, loving with her it is amazing. And of course she worships the ground he walks on. After that weekend all Channing would talk about was HUNTER. She took a picture of him to bed with her and would cry for him while she would be going to sleep. We also had a few people stop by out at the lake to meet her, which she loved everyone.

At the lake

While we were in China I heard that Channing didnt like dogs. So the first time she met Saige was Saturday at the lake. She LOVED her and obviously knew her from the pictures I had sent. I didnt bring her home until Sunday and that was because Channing wanted her to "come home". This is a picture of Channing giving Saige a kiss before bed.

Over at Hunter's house playing

Eating her candy necklace

The first week home was also busy with paperwork and appointments. The biggest challenge I had was to get Channing's social insurance number and provincal health card issued in her Canadian name, not her Chinese name. I was able to get her social insurance number here, but had to drive a hour to get her health card. Both went pretty easy and both were issued in her Canadian name. I did have to go armed with some paperwork that says it can be done...and had to use it for her social insurance number. Also Channing had a doctors appointment, which she got a A+ from my doctor. She was amazed at how healthy and happy she was. No blood work or tests were done as it will be done later at a different appointment.

While we were in the big city we went shopping. Auntie Randee came with us and we found this great Halloween costume at Old Navy. Channing loves it. She will put it on a few times a day and prance around laughing in it. It also has orange leggings but she sometimes leaves those off!! We also made a dash to the Chinese grocery store for some food. It was so cute seeing Channing in there. She knew what a lot of things were and told me what to buy!!!

My girl LOVES chips....just like her Mama!!!

Our second week home, since my grandparents cant really go far from home anymore, we took a trip to see them for the day. My dad was up there combining already so my mom, Hunter, Channing and I drove up. They were so excited to meet Channing and loved her to pieces. My aunt, uncle and cousins also came to meet her.

Eating one of great-grandmas famous cookies

Hunter wanting to take Channing for a cruise!! These 2 kids had a blast on the quad. Grandpa (A.K.A Gong Gong) took them for many rides!!

Before I went to China I had registered Channing for Montessori school. I wasnt planning on her going until at least November but when we were in China my agency director Yulin strongly advised me to put Channing in school ASAP. She was used to going to school in China and also with her going to school it would help in many ways. So on the friday Channing had her interview and her teachers were amazed at how well she was doing. I felt better seeing her in the classroom and checking everything out. It was hard telling them she would start on Monday but in the same breath I could see in Channing's eyes that she wanted to go. I would ask her is she wanted to go to school and she would tell me YES!!! 11 days after being home my baby girl went to school. She goes all week just in the mornings. I stayed with her for the first 2 days and that was it. She is loving it!!!

Channing and Hunter in their school uniforms

A gift from a friend.....a new toy box!!!

Once we were over the jetlag and colds Channing started to blossom. Everyday got better and better. After 1 week she would go to bed in her own bed without any tears. She will eat pretty much anything I put infront of her. On day 8 she decided she liked her Gong Gong and Po Po (Grandpa and Grandma). She is very attached to me......just limited cuddling on the couch yet. Her English is amazing. She can speak 3-5 word sentences already and understands everything I'm telling her. She says so many words I cant even count them. She can count to 10 and says half the alphabet already. She will still talk a bit in Chinese, but not much.

More to come.....week 3 & 4 update tomorrow!!!

Trip & First few days home!!!

Again, sorry for not posting to the blog sooner. Life with a 3 year old is busy and of course a blast!!! I will try and do my best to bring you up to speed with things since we have been home. I'm sure it will take me a few posts as I will think of things after I publish the posts to the blog.

When we arrived at the Beijing airport it was a zoo. There are people everywhere and you are pretty much touching whoever is next to you. When we checked into the airline they had our seats all scattered.....I really wanted to be close to my parents incase I needed there help. So we showed them that we had seats already assigned and explained why we wanted to be together. They ended up making it happen....thank heavens. I felt really weird when we were in the airport. I was sad to be leaving China, happy to be going home and scared of the 11.5 hour plane ride to Vancouver. We said good bye to Yulin (which was hard) and made our way through security with no problems. We had 2 other families on our plane and there was a 4th family with us at the airport but on a different flight. So some went shopping in the airport while we waited for boarding and some just hung out with all the carry-on luggage. When it came time to board we said good-bye to Barry, Carolyn and the kids and made our way to the plane. Channing knew what was happening and started to cry. She was mad!! She took off her jade bracelet and I had really no extra space in my hands so I hooked it on the stroller handle. We boarded the plane and she still wouldnt settle down. All that kept going through my mind was "I could get off this plane and stay, I could get off this plane and stay".

Waiting to board the plane for CANADA!!!

Aidan and Maia......they are both so cute!!!

Once we were off the ground Channing was still crying a little. I felt a little tap on my shoulder from a Chinese lady sitting behind me. I turned around and she was sitting there with her 6 year old son. She asked if she could read Channing a story (in Chinese). WHAT A MIRACLE IT WAS TO HAVE HER RIGHT BEHIND ME!!! Of course Channing went and sat with her for a bit. This lady was awesome!! Channing and the little boy entertained eachother until it was bedtime. Channing slept for about 3 hours and that was it. I didnt sleep at all. About half way through the flight I started to panic. I looked everywhere for Channing's jade bracelet. I couldnt find it in any of the bags. Overall the plane ride to Vancouver went great. It only felt like a 7 hour flight.

Once we landed in Vancouver we were waiting at the plane for our strollers to come. And would you believe Channing's jade bracelet was still hooked on the handle of the stroller. I was so relieved!!!! I totally forgot I had left it there. We had a 4 hour layover in Vancouver which was nice. I had some paperwork to do at Immigration, but that went great. Channing is a "permanent resident" of Canada now. While I was at Immigration with Tracey, Kelly and the kids everyone else was getting the suitcases. I guess my mom got hunted down by the DOG!!! We totally forgot that we had some fruit in Channing's backpack from China. So of course we had to get rid of it and the dog kept sniffing our things. My parents got their bags searched so that prevented us from saying good bye to Tracey, Kelly and their families. By time we caught up to them they were already on their plane. We then killed time by eating and watching Channing and her reactions to all the "white" people.

Our next flight was alright. Channing cried a bit at the beginning and then slept. Before our next flight I got Channing changed and freshened up. She cried and cried when we had to boared the 3rd flight. She cried all the way!!! The poor kid. Everyone around us on the plane was so kind and understanding. They didnt blame her for crying since it was such a long day for us. When we landed at home I got teary eyed!! I knew we had a few people going to greet us and thats all I wanted. When we got on the esculator all of a sudden started to cry when I seen Hunter. I missed him sooooo much!!! It was also great to see my brother, SIL, other nephew, Aunt, Uncle and Bev & Hanna (sorry no pictures from the airport. I didnt have my camera handy so hopefully I can get some from my aunt & brother). We had a quick visit and then it was time to head home. We had a 45 minute drive and Channing sobbed all the way home. It was 10pm, dark, she was strapped in her carseat for the first time and it was also COLD!!!! I sat in the back of the van with her and she held my hand the whole way home. When we got home my friend Cory waiting for me or should I say waiting to see Channing. So she came for a quick vist and had a bag full of goodies for Channing. I made Channing some noodles and that was good enough to recharge her battery!!!

Channing feeding her new baby that she got at the airport from Hunter. Also she did her hair with some of the hair pretties from Cory.

My hungry girl eating her bowl of noodles

Once everyone had left and we were all alone I tried to get Channing to bed. That wasnt working or her plan. The poor girl cried from 11pm until 5:30am. She would cry, then scream, then stomp her feet. I was so tried, she was so tired and I had no idea what to do. All I wanted to do was cry myself. So eventually hours later she fell asleep on the couch. That was good enough for me!!

The next few days got a bit better each day. Channing's hardest part of the day was early morning and then going to bed. The jet lag hit us pretty bad and we both got COLDS. This girl of mine is one strong cookie who has been through so much. Every day when I go to bed I get excited wondering what tomorrow will bring with her. I love her so much!!!

More to come......

Catching up.....

sorry everyone!!! I have finished posting from the trip in China. I had posts written, just didnt take the time to publish them. So there are 2 new posts below this one. I will be posting about our life at home now too. Everything is going great!!!! I'm having a little blogger problem as it seems my settings are still set to China. Has this happened to any of you????