Fall Fun

It's been a busy week full of Fall festivals, playgroup parties, school parties and more! This year the kids have worn their costumes at least 4 times before Halloween...we've gotten our money's worth out of them!

Jenna is more comfortable with us everyday and is opening up to everyone. She has truly become a part of the family in just a few short weeks. Thanksgiving and Christmas will be a lot of fun this year.

Here are a few pictures of the kids from the past few days.

Quotables

It's been awhile since I've posted, sorry. Things are quite busy around the house with 3 children and I'm just now finding a routine where I can actually get to the computer long enough to have a complete thought!

The kids have adjusted well to being in a family of 5 and we've had a few funny comments I'd like to share with you. All these have either been said directly to me or I have overheard them in the last 2 weeks:

"Jenna sure does scream a lot."
"Babies cry all the time, that's what Oma told me."
"Jenna, lay down! Some people are trying to sleep!"
"Please take her out, I can't take my nap with her."
"Jenna does not like her socks, she always takes them off!"

Most were said by Julia since she shares a room with Jenna. And Jenna is not screaming or crying as much as she did the first week. I think it just made an impression on Julia and now she's associating Jenna with crying. However, Jenna does have a very loud voice. She squeals with delight a lot and it's quite ear piercing. My third child is presenting new challenges! We have already started talking about inside voices...I can't wait until she actually understands what I'm telling her.

Julia's preschool class had Farm Day on Monday and Jenna and I had a great time with Julia. The kids had a petting zoo, did a craft, jumped on a moonbounce, picked a pumpkin, and played games. I've posted a funny picture of Julia with 2 of her friends and a happy Jenna. The Halloween parade is Friday and I'll post again then.

Falling Into a Routine

Well, now that we have been home for almost 2 weeks things seem to be starting to fall into a routine. Jacob and Julia's schedules have helped us stay on track and Jenna is adjusting well. I might add that Jacob and Julia are adjusting well too...they both love helping Jenna and playing with Jenna. It is very interesting to see the 3 of them interact.

Jenna doesn't seem to have any stranger anxiety as long as Daddy is near...yup, she's Daddy's little girl! The girls are sharing a room successfully now except at bedtime. We have to "stagger entry" Julia because it takes Jenna a bit to settle down for a full night's sleep. It seems like Jenna is just too cuddly to want to sleep on her own, but once we get her calm and under the covers she settles in...for a few hours, then she's up to complain about not sleeping in our bed with us! So our first few nights of sleeping "all the way through" are going to be short lived for a few more days or weeks. Only time will tell.

We took the kids to a pumpkin patch last Saturday and they had a great time picking out pumpkins. Jenna also had her first visit to church last Sunday and she did well there too. We attempted to have her sit with us in the pew, but she got a case of the wiggles which usually leads to a case of jabbering at the top of her lungs! So I took her outside for a bit and returned to listen to the remainder of the sermon in the Narthex where I could make a quick exit if necessary. I think we'll try the nursery for Jenna in a few weeks, as soon as she's a little more adjusted and attached to all of us.

Party of Five!

We are well on our way to forgetting about jet lag! I am happy to say that for the past 2 nights in a row, Jenna has slept 95% of the way through the night, waking only once to complain a little bit. She has taken 2 regular naps today in her own crib...happy, joy, happy, joy!

Here are a few pictures of our arrival at the airport. Once we get our camera batteries recharged we will start to take a few more pictures of the kids together and then post out here. That's all for today, love to you all!

A big bird is in our yard!

Jacob came in from soccer practice yesterday yelling, "Mom, a big bird is in our yard!" This is what he saw.




I believe our local FCC chapter blessed us with this sign...thank you!! What a nice welcome home!

Home Sweet Home!

37 hours, 3 planes, and 1 hotel later we are home! Sorry it has taken us a few days to post but jet lag has kicked our behinds! Jenna did well on our 13 hour flight home to Newark and actually slept 6 hours on the plane and only threw one temper tantrum. We were pleasantly surprised. When we arrived in Newark Jenna's visa paperwork was processed by a former US Marine, Immigration officer. He was very nice and welcomed our "new American citizen" home and wished us good luck. That was a great welcome home!

We stayed overnight in Newark on Saturday because there were no flights via Continental home the same day. Just as well because we would have arrived home too late to see Jacob and Julia at the airport. Jenna slept only 2 hours at a time that night and Daddy had to take her on a stroll around the lobby, the business center, the workout center, etc, to keep her entertained and quiet. So daddy unfortunately didn't get more than 6 to 8 hours of sleep in 2 days.

Our plane arrived home earlier than anticipated so we had to wait in baggage claim for our family to arrive. We were very happy to see our family. I especially was happy to see Jacob and Julia! Julia flew into my arms when she saw me...wonderful! I hadn't mentioned it before, but I had a problem knowing what to do with my hands in China. You see, my hands are usually holding Jacob's or Julia's hands and I missed holding their hands...I didn't have any little hands to hold in China. It was so nice to finally hold their hands again!

Jenna is still jet lagged but seems to be adjusting to USA time instead of China time. It's been a hard couple of days for her; she is not used to other children being around and is a bit jealous of all the time we spend with Jacob and Julia too, she is not the center of attention anymore. The next few weeks will be a struggle for her. Please pray for her little heart to be settled and for her to adjust to being the youngest in a family of 3 children.

I will try to post a few pictures in the next few weeks of the kids together. It's been interesting already to say the least. Jacob is turning out to be a great helper of a big brother and Julia is a little concerned with all the screaming and we think she isn't so sure about having a little sister around! Sharing mom and dad is proving to be difficult for both of our girls.