First 5 days.....

It has been a crazy 5 days in our household! Well, I say that like there is ever a normal day! LOL! Anyway, we have gotten off to a great start, just been busy and a little stressfull at times :)

ELISE:

Elise is doing great! I'm amazed at her progress in the little time she's been with me, and now in the 5 days at home she has shown even more growth. When I got her she could sit up well on her own. However, she could not get from a seated position onto her belly, she could not crawl, or move at all. In fact, the first time I put her on her hands and knees to see if she could crawl (on Day 2 of having her in China), she cried! She was no where near walking, was way to wobbly to even take steps when standing. She was very quiet and reserved.

Now, she is a whole new child! Before I left China, after having her for 9 days she was doing better with being on her belly. She was holding her weight better while standing, she was jabbering not stop, smiling and laughing. After being home for 5 days, she is almost crawling! She scoots comando style everywhere! She will take steps while holding my hands. She is talking and laughing and smiling more and more everyday! She is truely a happy baby!

She had her first check-up with the pediatrician. He said she is a very healthy baby. He said not all babies from orphananges are this healthy,and he was pleasantly surprised by her muscle tone. She is small for her age, but nothing to be concerned about. She is in the 6th percentile for height and 10th percentile for weight. Considering I'm only 5'0" I don't think it'll be a big deal if she's short, she'll fit right into the family! He thinks she is going to explode developmentaly in the next few months! I'm so excited to be able to witness her crawling and walking for the first time! Those are precious milestones that I didn't want to miss out on with her.

While for the most part things are going well, I would be lieing if I said all was perfect. There are always issues with adopting. You do not know what the child experienced for the first year or so of life, and Elise is no exception. We have not had any bonding issues, its almost the opposite. She bonded with me so well, that for the first 3 or 5 days she cried when I put her down, she screamed bloody murder if I walked out of the room. I'm happy to report that is improving. She isn't crying for me to hold her 24/7 anymore, just maybe 15/6! LOL! She is doing a much better job at playing with toys and playing with her siblings, and I am able to leave the room to start a load of laundry without her crying! Thank goodness!

She is also having night terrors. which I guess is pretty common, or so I've read. They weren't terrible at first. Just once or twice a night, and she would go right back to sleep without any trouble. However two nights ago, it was really bad. She was up every 15 minutes for about 4 hours straight! It was not a good night for her or me! She seemed to hate her bed and cried everytime I left the room that night. I was so upset, and so was she. I didn't know quite how to handle the situation. She seemed to get mad at me for putting her to bed and then just screamed out of anger and it became a battle of the wills and to be honest, neither one of us won! Thank goodness last night she slept all night and as I'm typing this at 1am, so far so good! I'm hoping we've seen the worst of that and from now on things will get better!

I have to say, she is an absolute joy! She is so smiley! I just love her to pieces!

EMMIE/BLAKE/BRANDON

The boys are doing great with Elise. They are awesome big brothers. They were so excited to have Elise home and it's been great watching them interact with her. She already loves them and enjoys their presence.

Emmie has her moments! It is really a love/hate relationship right now. Emmie loves to mother Elise, however she hates to share her toys and she's not crazy about sharing mommy & daddy either! I tthink most of it is typical jealousy, which we expected and some of it is probably the terrible 2's coming out! She is good to Elise, loves to help feed her and wipe her face. She likes to tell me when she thinks Elise needs a bottle! But she has also been caught hitting Elise, which she gets spanked for or sent ot her room. However, Elise is no angel. Elise is not afraid to hit back, or take back the toy that was taken, or just take a toy that Emmie had first! LOL! So, I think life will be interesting for quite awhile around here! I think the two of them will be the best of friends, or the worst of enemies, depending on thier moods! LOL! But isn't that typical sisters for you!

Here are a few pictures from the week!