The past two days have had their ups and downs. Kimmy and Kelley have played well together...no problems with those two getting along. As expected, Kimmy is feeling a little out of place because Kelley gets to do special things...like eat in the living room or play with Kimmy's toys (the toys not in any pile). I spent part of Friday alone with Kimmy and Dan spent the morning alone with Kelley. Saturday morning I took Kelley, while Dan took Kimmy shopping in Middlefield. In the afternoons & evenings we had family time together.
Friday afternoon around 3:00 pm Kelley finally woke up. That put her on a different time schedule then the rest of us. I was actually in pretty good shape recovering from the jet lag. When Kelley gets up at 3:00 pm, that means, she's not ready for bed at 8:00 pm. She finally got to sleep around 11 in her own bed and was up crying again at 2:30 am. She stayed awake till 4 or 5; I don't remember what time she finally cried herself to sleep in bed with Dan and I. It is very heart wrenching to hear her sobbing in pain and knowing that we are part of the cause. All we can do is let her grieve, hold her and touch her so she knows we are there for her. Saturday morning we woke her up around 10 and put her to bed around 10:00 pm. This made for a somewhat normal day for her. We only need to adjust by another two hours and she is where she needs to be; I hope.
Kelley saw the ponies Friday afternoon, but was more interested in the swing set and bikes. Kimmy and Kelley laughed while they swung together on the glider. Afterwards, we took two kids and two bikes for a short walk on Headwaters Trail. Kelley's legs were a little shorter than the tricycle was adjusted, so she didn't go very fast. Kimmy had a ball. Dan, Kimmy and Kelley then went on to retrieve Neeko in the evening. She isn't afraid of the dogs or cats, but doesn't like the dogs in her face. For the most part, that isn't a problem with our dogs, who lay around and mind their own business. I caught Kelley trying to feed some fruit loops to Dixie last night, who was happy to partake.
Today, I took Kelley with me to clean stalls. Actually, she stayed inside with my mother while I cleaned. Papa was outside, also, and eventually came in. When I came in, Kelley was cleaning out their refrigerator. She ate some grapes, a banana and chicken noodle soup. Papa taught her to say "hmm, hmm, good", like the Campbell's commercial. She is starting to repeat more words and can say a few English words when you point to something...like banana.
After lunch we hit the grocery store in the rain...all four of us. I wasn't sure I could handle the two girls and shopping, so Dan came along as extra security. We ran into Dr. Cline's wife, who has a 14 year old daughter adopted from China. He talked to her, while I did the rest of the shopping, alone with the girls. Kelley did everything that Kimmy did and they were both very helpful. We stocked up on fruits and vegetables, bread and some fried rice.
We headed home and attempted another bath before our Chinese Moon Festival party. Dan filled up the tub and Kimmy jumped in. As soon as he called Kelley into the bathroom the screaming started. We compromised with her just sitting (fully clothed) in his lap and then my lap, watching Kimmy take a bath and play in the water. Kelley wanted none of it. She cried and screamed for 1-1/2 hours, long after the tub was empty and she was out of the bathroom. I'm not sure why she has such a fear, but we will work thru it, baby steps. I don't want to traumatize her by actually throwing her into her worst fear (even though she needs a bath). I sponged her off, which wasn't a major objection, but she was already crying so I don't know.
We joined the FCC Geauga Group for a Fall Moon Festival at the Swine Creek Lodge in Middlefield tonight. There were six families with adopted children from China. Everybody was interested in Kelley's story and wanted to know if things were the same or different from when they adopted. We found out that one little girl is 2 days older than Kelley, but a little smaller.
Kelly interacted with all of the girls and had fun running around and playing games. She blew an entire bottle of bubbles and loved it. She also played a game with marbles, where you have to pick them up from one bowl and move to another bowl, with chopsticks. She is very adept with chopsticks and did well. She also loves to eat. At one point she went back to the line, 2nd or 3rd time, and was eating fried rice out of the bowl with the serving spoon! In China, they said she wasn't picky about eating and now we see that she really likes all food and lots of it. I bet she will put on a few pounds in the first month.
After dinner and after the rain stopped everybody went outside with extra hot dog buns and fed the fish in the pond. The girls also ran around and screamed. Kelley fit right in and got some piggy back rides from the older girls. Kimmy also did a great job playing with the girls and roasting marshmallows over the fire. I remember that Kimmy would barely talk or play with the girls for the first two years. She isn't the youngest anymore and has come along way, feeling very comfortable with the Chinese girls that she sees every few months. To end the evening, we went out to the parking lot, lit and let loose ten large Chinese lanterns, while making a wish for good luck. It was beautiful to see the lanterns floating away with the full moon as a backdrop. I wish I would have had my camera!
We got some suggestions tonight from Rachel about how to introduce water for a bath in a pleasant and fun way. Lucky for us, we have a glamour tub in the master bath at the new house. It is deep, big, round and doesn't look like a bath tub. We finished the night with all four of us, sitting in the glamour tub, fully clothed, laughing and tickling each other. Dan and I climbed out and the girls were dancing barefoot in the dry tub. I turned on the sink water and there was no fuss. I poured a glass of water into the tub and they dipped their toes in it. Pretty soon, Kelly turned the water on and laughed when it splashed on Kimmy's jeans. Kelley even put her foot under the water stream and laughed. We quit with that, but I think we are on to the fix!
The night ended well and hopefully, Kelley will sleep thru the night. She is back in bed with Dan and I tonight. We might have moved too fast by putting her in her own bed and she will probably need our comfort for a few more months. I am glad we are part of the FCC Geauga group and we can do some fun cultural activities with other Chinese girls. Kelley is really a beautiful girl inside and out. I was so happy to see her so happy with other girls. I knew she was looking for friends when we were alone in China. Tomorrow is another uneventful day and then it is back to work for Dan on Monday. I will stay home on Monday with Kelley, while Kimmy goes back to school.
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