Happy Easter

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A girl is never too young to talk on a cell phone!


Playing dress up with Reagan. Not sure what happened to Reagan's hair!!

Another lovely outfit . . . and a signature pose!

Hanging out with "Nucle Ed"

Peyton and Conner showing off their creation

Has it really been 2 months?

Still her favorite!


Enjoying a visit from Will Will



What a crew!

Hitching a ride from Reagan

Taking a break with Carson

In many ways, it seems like Peyton has been with us for years. Her adjustment to our family has been nothing short of amazing! Definitely the easiest of the four. I think her personality has a lot to do with that. She is just a happy, energetic, funny little girl; and she embraces everything and everyone with gusto! Sometimes literally. She has even decided that the dogs are worthy of her affection, and that is a HUGE step considering her initial reaction to them. We rarely hear any Cantonese anymore, but her English is incredible. She can express pretty much anything she needs to get across to us and has learned such charming phrases as "Stop it!", "That's mine!", "You're mean!", "Awww, man!", "That's gross!" and "Go away!" -- all rather useful around here and all said with the appropriate amount of sass and attitude! My favorite quote is "Peyton want more chocolate, Mama." Definitely my child! All in all, she seems perfectly content here; and we couldn't be happier to have her!

Settling in

Peyton seems to like her new home! She runs around with the other children like she has been here all her life. The only issue is sleeping. She doesn't particularly want to do that! Things are improving, but she is still waking up every few hours and stays awake for several hours during the night. We are all battling jet lag, and hers is compounded by excitement, fear and who knows what else. I can't even imagine what all must be going on in that little head!

She is really catching on to our routines and understands that Dad and the older kids leave for work and school in the mornings . . . and that they come back! Tyler has been staying home with us to help her get used to everything. They have really hit it off, and we are hoping that will help when she starts transitioning to preschool since she will be in the same class with him.

When we were in China, she always wanted a jacket. Now that we are home, she wants several! Her usual attire is a layer of clothes, a bathrobe, a coat, her boots and sometimes a pair of gloves -- and that's when we're INSIDE! We're expecting a big snowstorm tonight, and it will be interesting to see what she thinks of that. Hopefully we can find enough layers to keep her warm so she can go check it out!

HOME!!!

30 hours after leaving the hotel in Hong Kong, we made it h0me! Peyton was amazing! She loved the planes, wore the seatbelt with no problem, and was a terrific traveler all around -- not a tear in sight. Now she is busy checking out every inch of the house and getting to know her brothers and sister. She only slept about 6 hours during the trip, so I'm hoping she will be ready to go to bed soon. I certainly am!

Look out, America! Here she comes!

We've made our last minute purchases and managed to cram everything into our suitcases.   Just a couple of hours until we'll be on our way.  Next post will be from home!!   I am adding more pictures to the Shutterfly site just in case you haven't seen enough!

Family photo

Our agency took all of the families over to the White Swan hotel for a group photo the other day and also took pictures of each family individually.  Too bad Peyton didn't want to smile!   We had our oath-taking ceremony this afternoon, and everything went well.  Peyton will officially be a US citizen when we land in Chicago.  The final step in a long process.    Tomorrow we leave for Hong Kong where we will spend the night before beginning what will quite possibly be one of the longest days of our lives!  We leave Hong Kong at 10:20 in the morning, stop in Tokyo for a few hours, land in Chicago at 3:50 local time then finally make it back to Arkansas around 8:00 pm where we will pick up the truck and drive another 2 hours.  Take into account the various time zones, and we will be traveling for over 24 hours . . . with a four-year-old . . . a four-year-old who is never still . . . or quiet . . . a four-year-old who doesn't understand what we are saying.  Anyone want to join us??  I'm sure it will be a blast!