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!

Sorry -- wrong video!

Message from Mary:

That's what happens when I try to post at bedtime. That one was cute too though, don't you think? Here's the right one.

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Kung Fu Peyton

Message from Mary:

I'm having trouble posting new pictures, so we'll share a video instead. Peyton tied her ribbon around her head then started showing off all sorts of moves!

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The downhill slide

We have thoroughly enjoyed our trip, but we're starting to get more than a little stir crazy.  The island is not very big, and there is a limit as to how many times you can entertain yourself going into the same stores.  We have definitely done our part to stimulate the local economy!  Tomorrow is our last full day, and part of that will be spent at the US Consulate for the "swearing ceremony" which is the final step of this process.     Yesterday, the boys spent the entire day at the Safari Park.  As you could see from the pictures posted yesterday, they took it all in!   As you might have guessed, the girls went shopping!  Today, we spent a quiet morning around the island.  While Peyton was napping this afternoon, Madison and I walked over to the pedestrian mall about 15 minutes away to check out the pearl market.  We really found some bargains there!     During our downtime, Peyton has entertained us with her ribbon tying skills.  We have all been victims and had our hands and feet tied to various things.  Conner, you are going to love playing with her!  She continues to amaze us with her language acquisition and her happy, playful personality.  Today she was singing parts of the ABC song -- not sure where she learned that!  She doesn't always like what we tell her, but she usually listens  and has never thrown a fit.  She is extremely active, but she seems to understand that she has to play by the rules.  Good thing because she is about to be introduced to a lot more rules!

White Cloud Mountain

We took advantage of our free time this morning and slept a little later than normal then had a late breakfast -- partly because Allen was busy watching the NFL playoffs!  We spent a couple of hours bargaining for some souvenirs before heading back to the hotel for an early nap so we could meet our agency group at 2:30 for some pictures at the White Swan and a trip to White Cloud Mountain.  It is a botanical garden of sorts and was absolutely beautiful!  MM and WW, you would have loved it!  Most of today's pictures were taken there.  After the garden, we all went to the Thai restaurant around the corner from the hotel for a delicious dinner.  Now that we know what they have there, I think we'll be back often!  Peyton particularly enjoyed the chicken wings.  Conner, you would have been proud of the way she cleaned them off!!   On the way to the garden, our guide was talking to Peyton and asking her various things.  When she asked her English name, she quickly said "Peyton" -- which we weren't aware she knew!  She has already learned quite a few phrases and is also starting to loosen her grip on Madison.  Apparently she has decided that the rest of us are okay too!    Tomorrow is a free day, so Allen and Carson are planning to go to the Safari Park while the girls join the group for some shopping in the afternoon.  We've already bought a new suitcase to haul our goodies home!!  Now we just need someone to lug it through the airport.

Comments

I keep forgetting to mention that the "comment" feature on the blog is not working like it should, and we are not getting those messages.  If you have posted a comment, we didn't get it!  Please use the yahoo email instead.

Sunday in Guangzhou

At least I think it's Sunday.  All the days kind of run together.  Whatever day it is, we have had a good one!  We met the other three families with our agency this morning and took a tour of the Chen Clan Academy then visited the zoo before enjoying a delicious lunch.  The entrance to the restaurant featured tanks full of fish and snakes and a chef very carefully skinning the snakes then chopping them to pieces!  We were glad our guides chose chicken and beef for our meal!  We visited the Academy on our last trip, but it was still very impressive the second time.  Carson went there earlier in the week with MM and WW while the rest of us were busy with something else, and he enjoyed his third trip just as much as the first two!  Many of the new pictures are from there.  After we got back to the hotel, we got in touch with some friends from home who are also adopting and arrived in Guangzhou last night.  We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening showing them around the island and enjoying getting to know their new baby.  She is a doll!  Peyton was surprisingly nice to her -- she has a tendency to be very rough!    Right now Peyton is prancing around the room in her fancy red dress, counting in English, and eating bread sticks . . . and forcing Madison and me to eat them too.  She is VERY persuasive!   The rest of us are counting the minutes until bedtime!!

Fun in the park

Message from Mary:

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Another great day!

We had a tear-free day yesterday, and we haven't seen any today either.  She even takes a nap without complaint.  Of course, that could change at any moment!  This morning we went back to the medical clinic to have her TB test read (all was well), then we have had the rest of the day on our own.  We had another picnic lunch from the White Swan deli, then the boys headed to the zoo.  The girls took naps then went for a walk and did a little more shopping.  The construction on the island makes getting around pretty difficult, so we decided that we deserved some french fries and milkshakes at Lucy's!  I don't know whether Peyton is used to things like that, but she certainly seems to like them!    Several other families with our agency arrived last night and today, and we will meet all of them tomorrow for some touring and lunch.  There have been very few families here the last few days, so it is nice to see some more activity.  I know the shopkeepers are happy to see them too!    Peyton is picking up some English already and will repeat most anything we say to her.  She is very good at "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Go!"  We're starting to learn some of her words too.  Communication has really not been a problem.  It's amazing what you can get across with pointing and gestures!    We have been talking to the other children over the webcam every day, and they seem to be doing well and are very excited about meeting their new sister.  It's wonderful to be able to see them even though it makes us miss them even more!  Can't wait to have all six at home together!!  I could do without the cooking and laundry that will come with that though.  We're getting really spoiled here!

Reagan has met her match!

The pictures says it all.

Better and better

We had a great day yesterday and no tears at bedtime!  In fact, the only tears all day were when she got her shots and TB test.  Even then, she sat very still and let the nurses do what they had to do, and she got over it very quickly -- with the help of a sucker!  She woke up happy this morning and has been having a great time playing with the boys.  Allen may not consider it playing since it involved chasing him around and spanking him then tying him to a chair!  There is nothing gentle about this girl!!  She is definitely a girly girl though and loves to pick out her clothes and have her hair done.  I painted her nails this morning, and she is VERY proud of that!    We don't have anything scheduled for today, so we're hoping to just play in the park and enjoy a little down time.  Unfortunately, we have to say good bye to MM and WW.  We have really enjoyed having them with us, and I think they have had a great time too.  Today they fly to Tokyo where they will spend the night before catching their flight to the good old USA tomorrow.  We will miss them!    Thanks to everyone who has sent us emails.  It's great to hear from home!    Time to go eat breakfast.  We're going to miss this buffet when we get home -- may be hard going from this huge spread back to Pop Tarts!   Peyton keeps pushing buttons, so I better go before she deletes this.  I'll add more pictures soon, so check the shutterfly site.

Peyton in action

Message from Mary:

Trying something new. Sorry if it didn't work!

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