A Catch up post! And an update on Jaden!

To say that Jaden's life as she knew it has changed in the last month is putting it lightly! She went from being the center of our life to having to share her spotlight. I will say that she is doing better than expected but we are still having some issues. While we were in China Jaden did great with her new brother. I was pretty thrilled with how well they actually were getting along. Besides the fact that Warren was hitting Jaden a lot she seemed to really love him! We got home and things got a little hectic but she was also suffering some major jetlag! About two weeks ago the claws came out and Jaden decided she really did not like having a brother! She is not a fan of sharing at all. If Warren is sitting on my lap she has to come and push him out of the way. If he had something that she wanted Jaden had no problem hitting him to get it. We had our first homestudy visit this past weekend for Warren's post placement and the social worker asked if she liked her brother and she was quick to say she hated him! Thank goodness the social worker has a 4 year old and understands. We have started a chart for Jaden and if she is good and doesn't hit Warren she gets a gold star, after so many she gets a one on one date with either myself or Rusty. So far this is working pretty good. As a matter of fact the last two days she ad Warren have actually played together and enjoyed it. She did say she wants her brother to stay(good thing since she doesn't really have a choice!) so I guess we are making progress. But I am not going to lie, we have had some rough days around here. It hasn't helped that they have both been sick for the last two weeks. But I am hoping we are over the hump and now we just have the usual sibling rivalry! Since Jaden just turned 4 she had her 4 year check up. She now weighs 35 pounds and is 41 inches tall! She has really turned into a girly girl! She is very into dress up now. When you ask what she wants for Christmas she says a pink princess dress and pink high heels! She says her favorite color is pink(surprise) and blue! She loves her dance class but told me she no longer wants to take tap and only wants to focus on Ballet, so in January she will move to a ballet only class! The kid is obsessed with brushing her hair and then wants you to tell her how pretty it is! She loves writing her letters and loves to draw and color. She is also obsessed with her daddy's Ipad! She is still a momma's girl but I have noticed her spending a little more time with Rusty! So here are some highlights of the last few weeks with Jaden! She helped decorate the tree...

She has eaten A LOT of macaroni and cheese...

She went to the zoo to see the Christmas lights...

We spent Thanksgiving with our neighbors...

She has spent some time doing crafts...

She has partied down for Sophie Su's birthday...

She has partied down at Andrew's 1st birthday...

She partied at the COFCC Christmas party where we got to welcome Warren home...

She has decorated Christmas cookies...

She has posed for Christmas card photos...

And finally she got to perform her Christmas dance in front of all the parents wearing real makeup!

(Hannah's new brother, Micah!)

Pearl Market, Shaimen Island, CA and Finally home! 11/7-11/10

On Wednesday all of the families with babies over the age of two had to go back to have the TB tests read. Luckily all of our kids were negative. Our guide told us this was great because usually 10% of the tests will come back positive and then you have to do a chest x-ray. I forgot to say that the medical is no longer done on the island. Another reason for me to be sad. But they have now moved it to "the Pearl City" in a new, much nicer building! The US Consulate is actually being built across the street from the medical building. Once that is done our guide said they will probably move the adoptive families into the Pearl City. I will have to go back to check that out! :-)

(the new Consulate being built) Afterwards we headed to the Pearl Market! The Pearl Market is a huge shopping center with nothing but jewelry everywhere! Our guides took us to the same store we had been to when we were here to adopt Jaden. I bought a few things for myself and Jaden and a few Christmas gifts!

After getting our pearls we ate lunch and then the Shultz family got the bright idea we could walk to Shaimen Island to shop! :-) I thought we were lost for a while but we finally made it! It felt great to be back on the island. It is just so peaceful there. Of course when we were here last time there were shops everywhere, now there are only a few. We did all of our shopping at Jenny's and really racked up! Poor Kim was having no luck shopping. I am sure she never wants to shop with me again! We walked by the White Swan hotel and it is under major renovations. We had heard it would open the first of next year but there is no way that will happen! The whole place is gutted so it is going to be a while! We were the only adoptive parents that were walking around. The Island was covered with brides and photographers! We saw a lot of that last time but this time there were a lot more!

Once the shopping was over we risked our life and grabbed a cab. Luckily we made it back to the hotel in one piece! The next day was our Consulate appointment. For some reason we had the whole appointment to ourselves because the other families had gone an hour before us. We were in and out in 15 minutes! We took the oath which makes it possible for Warren to become a US citizen the minute his feet hit the ground in the USA! (no pictures because cameras are not allowed!) Afterwards we headed back to the hotel for a departure meeting and then we did a little last minute shopping! Once again I got tons and poor Kim got nothing. We ended the night with our own private party with the Shultz family! We had Papa John's on the 4th floor while the kids played! I can't express how much we love this family and I know we will always be a part of each others life! The next day was the day we would leave for Hong Kong! All the families decided to head to the local park and have a picnic. We fed the fish which the kids loved! Afterwards we headed back to the room to pack! At 4:20 our van left for Hong Kong! That was a journey! It took about 4 hours because of traffic. Once we got to the border we had to drive through a check point. While we were sitting in the van this people with what looked like guns came to the door and aimed them at our heads! Luckily they were just checking our temperatures! After going through a check point to leave China we had to move up about 300 ft and go through the same check point to enter Hong Kong! It was nuts! We finally got to our hotel and ate dinner and went to bed. The next morning we were up early ready to go because I was determined not to have a close call like last time! We had 3 hours when we left the hotel which I thought would give us plenty of time to eat breakfast. Wrong. Our check in went smooth and when we were getting ready to go through security we heard Lucy Mei calling for Warren. I am so glad we got to see them one last time! We went through security and then had to take a tram to our gate and walk a couple of miles. By the time we got to the gate we had enough time to potty and that was it! (if you are wondering why there are no pictures its because I accidentally deleted them! Long story) We were seated in the back of the plane which sucked, but we did have a row to ourselves since there were 4 of us. Betty set across from us. We did not have personal TV's on the back of the seats which sucked big time! The turbulence was so bad. Even the flight attendants were sitting on the floor in the aisles. The kids did great! They slept a little, fought a little and played. I was so happy when we finally landed in Chicago! I was also glad that we had a 4 1/2 hour layover because it took forever to get through customs and security! By the time it was time to load our short 45 minute flight home the kids were done! Thank goodness Jaden passed out right away but Warren cried 30 of the 45 minutes! Thank God he did not do that on the long flight. We landed in Columbus and I was so happy to see our friends and family! I am sure the first words that came out of my mouth were I am never flying to China again! Of course I said that when we got home with Jaden too! :-)