Five years....already??

Five years ago yesterday the wonderful Chinese people placed the most precious of precious gifts in our arms. The Empress. Five years ago today she officially became forever ours. Daughter, what a marvelous word. I have said it before and I will say it many, many, times more, she is the light of my life. What an awesome gift. If only you knew her. She is so fascinating. Such a wise voice in such a petite little body. She is stunningly beautiful and remarkably kind. It goes without saying, but I love her. So much. She has changed my life for the better. I love being her mom. I am sooo proud of her. I am also VERY protective as well....sorta like a mama bear! She is destined for greatness. Mark my words, she will do amazing things in her life.

20 Factoids about my Empress

1. Her live without possession is a blanket that was given to her at her homecoming. She has a special corner she calls "greenie" that she puts her little thumb in.

2. Her favorite stuffed animal is an Eyore she has had forever. Actually it is her second. I bought three thankfully. The first one had it's tail pulled off.

3. She holds onto Eyore's tail when she is scared.

4. She can count to ten in sign, English, Spanish, Russian and Madarin.

5. Her favorite TV show is iCarly.

6. She loves Chemistry.

7. Her Kindergarten teacher told us that she is "more advanced" than the other children in her class.

8. She can add, subtract and multiply.

9. The girl can hula hoop like nobody else I have ever seen.

10. She loves to swim.

11. She won't ride her bike because it goes too fast. She still has training wheels.

12. She loves her brother. She told me that she missed him even before she knew him. :)

13. The Empress can name any singer on the radio and has been able to since she was 2.

14. She has very thick black brown hair.

15. She wants to be a ballerina when she grows up.....or work at Target, or the bank. (too funny since she is exceptionally intelligent and has the makings of a brain surgeon.)

16. She has a chinese baby doll named Mei Mei.

17. She loves to go camping.

18. She can do a 100 piece puzzle by herself in record time.

19. She has been skiing since she was 3.

20. All she ever wanted was to be a big sister.

The Empress is truly my heart. I can't even quantify how much I love her. She is my favorite thing in the whole world. I shudder to think that she will be six next month. How did that happen? Her whole life changed with the arrival of her little brother. She is still the center of the universe only now she shares the spotlight with him. That has been hard on the little dear. She clings to me now and seems to fight him for my attention. It breaks my heart to see her sad. She is an extraordinary person. Extremely beautiful, amazingly intelligent, super kind and loving, witty sense of humor, and a great helper. My Empress is a bit Sweetie!

Crazy good at Wii

Oh, my, that is an understatement.

About 2 Christmas' ago we got a Wii. In the first 22 months of owning our Wii, we collectively played it for about 1 hour. Suddenly a thought springs to mind and I suggest a couple months back that we play Wii for the half an hour the Empress is awake after her little bro is put to bed. You see, we had been playing cards and board games, but alas our Empress is a sore loser and we eventually banned games until she was mature enough to lose with a smile. So, we brought out the Wii. None of us had ever played the Sports games that come with the Wii. Quickly it became apparent that she had the touch, and sadly, T and I did not. We routinely play golf, bowling, tennis and baseball, and darned if she doesn't beat us each time. It is crazy really. She has the most interesting techniques. Techniques that include kicking legs that aren't required in the sport we are playing. She bowls strikes, hits home runs, serves "heat" on the tennis court, and makes unbelievable hole in one shots in golf.

Wii is fun. It has really brought the three of us closer in her special nightly half hours.

Photo Shoot

Since the arrival of her little brother, the Empress has had a bit of an adjustment. Of course we discussed with her what the first couple of months might be like when he came home. On the surface she is fine. She is a doting big sister. She adores him. He adores her. But underneath, deep in the core of our Empress, things are upset. She is acting out. She is in tears. She is unreasonable. We decided to let her stay up an extra half hour each night after he goes to bed. It is a half hour of undivided attention. We play games, do crafts, read books, snuggle. It is alone time with mom and dad and she is doing much better because of it. It is good for us as well. I miss my Empress. Little guy takes a lot of attention and time.

So, she asked me if we could do a little photo shoot. Too funny. I told her to pick out three outfits and we would do it. So, what do you think of my little super model? They were the first photos of her new hair cut. Adorable. So grown up for 5.

New Blog for Travel to the Little Guy!

http://ethioelephant.blogspot.com/

Please follow along on our journey. Not sure how or when we will post. But....we will find a way.

We leave in 18 days. Just think, this time next month we will be a happy family of four!!

Confirmation

Finally. Seems there was some problem obtaining baby boy's birth certificate. Because they had that trouble, the other documents required for the embassy appointment were not prepared. So, our embassy date has been moved back to October 6. Actually, that move was a relief. I know, I know, I have been ranting forever on the wait and now I am relieved at we have an extra 2 weeks. Weird. Though I would go tomorrow, I feel sorta pressed at the moment. The Empress has just started Kindergarten, I have cut back to part time and time seems to be slipping through my fingers. I feel the need to get the Empress settled. Kindergarten has unnerved me, not her. We also need to check some important things off our check list before we are ready to travel. First we need to add little guy to our insurance, visit the pediatrician and obtain meds and instructions, visit our medical provider for meds, request money, have Wills drawn up, and many more probably insignificant tasks. Of course there is packing. Ugh. But, as of today we have obtained confirmation of our flights and requested reservations at the guest house associated with our agency. We had planned a brief jaunt to Paris, but that wish simply didn't work out due to connecting flights and having to obtain an additional visa for the little guy. So, we are breaking up the trip by flying first class from here to DC and then on the return flight with little guy, from DC home. Since the flight from here to DC is nearly 8 hours we will stay over one night on the way over and on the way back. From DC the flight to Addis is 15 1/2 hours.....ugh. Talk about a long flight. I just continue to pray that the little guy is a good traveler and we have no major meltdowns...either by him, or myself. So, we are preparing ourselves and will undoubtedly have all the ends tied up before we leave. I hope to blog our trip.....but that will be determined by internet availability.

We will be there in a month!!

First Day of Kindergarten

Today my baby went to school....for the first time ever. I felt like I was walking through a strange dream as I stood in the school yard with dozens of children and their apprehensive parents. It was tough on me. I was incredibly anxious about the whole thing. Was she going to be OK? I worried about everything down to the pick up at the "kinder loop." It is true....I did cry. Briefly. After I left my happy child with her very nice and capable teacher. I can't believe she is in Kindergarten. How did we get here? It was mere moments ago I was changing diapers, searching for pacifiers, and rocking my baby to sleep. Today I saw a completely independent litttle girl. She happily waved at me as she followed her teacher into the school. And when I spied her exiting the school after a full day, she still had a happy little smile on her sweet face. My baby is growing up.