The pets: Emma LOVES our pets. Our dog, Maggie, tolerates Emma well. I never worry about her nipping at Emma even if Emma pulls her hair or tail or beats on her (all things that have happened). We do have to be cautious with her around other dogs. Emma can often be heard telling Maggie to "come ere". Maggie only obeys if Mark or I also call her. Maggie tries to avoid her as much as possible except at meal times. Not only does Maggie get the food that Emma happens to drop, she also gets the food that Emma gives to her. Maggie may gain 10 pounds. Maggie also gets very jealous when Mark plays with Emma. Maggie will bring Mark her ball and will keep dropping right by Mark. Our fluffy kitty, Izzy, is also really good with Emma and will tolerate the loving. Emma loves the kitties and says "meow" when she sees them. I actually think that the Chinese word for cat sounds like "meow". Our short-haired cat plays the disappearing game around Emma, but she is like that with most people. There's a reason we changed her name to Cra-Cra. Emma was able to meet Charlotte's kitten, and it was love at first sight.
With Charlotte's kitty
Random thought: it was mentioned to me several times while in China that I needed to be careful about letting Emma get to dark. That is such a foreign concept to me since I've spent my life worried that I am too white. I am not going to worry about her getting too dark (she will be sunscreened just like her brothers). I will also admit publicly that I am so very jealous of her beautiful coloring.
Church: She is doing great at church. I initially brought her for just a little bit on a Wednesday night. We then took her to Sunday morning. She didn't make it through the entire service, but she did very well. She is very social and easy-going, so she did well being around people for the most part. Towards the end of church I took her into the youth room. That did overwhelm her a bit, and she became clingy after that. The next week, I had to stay home with a puker, so Mark took her to church. Apparently she was quite the social butterfly. I am so thankful that she is adjusting so well and is comfortable around others.
First time at church.
I stayed in with her for Bible class. This is actually the class that is a little bit older than her, but her aunt Charlotte was teaching and it is the class she will be in starting in August. She did really well for most of the class.
Mark sent me this picture from when he took her to church. Notice the chocolate donut mouth. She was saying "ah" because she had just taken a drink of Mark's coffee (I know). Notice also that she has a bow in her hair!!!!! This was the first day that she actually left it in. She is willing to wear a bow a lot more often now. That does make me happy.
Now for some random pictures.
Spaghetti was a huge hit.
We always hold hands and say a prayer at dinner. At first, Emma would look at us like we were nuts and just keep on eating. We finally got her to join in. Now she thinks it is great fun, and we often have to say multiple prayers during dinner :-)
I just love her so much
Ice cream
Loving her new kitchen that I was able to buy from a friend
Sleep: The sitting in the chair by her bed isn't working so well. She does everything in her power to get your attention, and she is so stinkin' cute and funny. Most of the time I end up lying down with her until she goes to sleep. Honestly, I'm not too concerned about it. It is such a sweet, snuggly time. When she gets older, I know that this is the time that she will want to talk. She does like for me to sing to her, even though I am an average singer. She has started trying to hum the songs. I need to improve my selection. I don't remember a lot of songs that would be good to sing to her. After she is asleep, I leave her room. Most nights she stays asleep until 6 or 7. I lie down with her again, and we both go back to sleep. When she wakes up for good, then she wants a piggyback ride to breakfast.
Swimming: The girl loves the pool and is fearless. She will now run off the diving board into the water. She is comfortable in the water and is already making swimming motions. We have to be super vigilant around pools.
She saw me painting my nails and wanted hers done too. I happily obliged.
Sad about Daddy leaving
Mark and I celebrated our 19th anniversary. The plan was to enjoy Pei Wei after a certain someone went to sleep. That didn't work out so well, so she ended up joining us for our very romantic anniversary dinner :-)
More to come. She has met more aunts and cousins and has enjoyed a trip to the zoo.
- Jenna
I am so enjoying reading all about your sweet daughter and how everyone's adjusting. I just can't wait to meet her! Really miss you guys!
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