Happy 9th Birthday - Nora!

Nora had her Birthday Paty at Libby Lu. They got their make up done and they got to dress up - most of them picked the Hanna Montana look. After they dressed up, they danced around the store then they sang a few songs with their microphones in front of the store. At the end we went to the food court for cake and presents.

And here is our own Hanna Montana birthday girl ... and her Hanna Montana sister.

After the party, we went back to the store so that Nora could get her ears pierced! She was very nervous but her friend held one hand and Jiang Lei grabbed the other and wouldn't let go - he wanted to protect her. He kept giving her advice about closing her eyes and being brave.

Christmas Day 2007

Our family had a very nice Christmas Day! The kids gots lots of "stuff". Don't be fooled by the girls holding the dolls, they didn't play with them. The dolls are only to get the key so they can go on the special web site. And the last photo is a typical 2007 Christmas - each kid is playing their own video games!

Before Xmas

We went to the Christkindlmarket in Chicago to relive our German Christmas Market experiences, though very small. It was a very cold and windy day.


















The kids got Packer wear for Christmas this year. Of course this was at the top of their lists (not). Daddy had to bribe them to wear it on game day but I guess it didn't help them much at their last game.
























This Christmas was all about being with family which is a nice change from the last 9 Christmases we have celebrated. Here are the kids opening their gifts from the families on the days leading up to Christmas. There are photos with their cousins and wearing their new pajamas which they get each year from the Grandparents.

Gingerbread Houses

The kids loved making Gingerbread Houses this year. And since the kit included everything that you need, it couldn't have been easier. Of course the making houses fun quickly deteriorated into a different kind of fun!

Christmas Tree Hunting

Ok, so I'm a few posts behind. I hope to get caught up!


We went hunting for a Xmas tree to cut down as we do every year, however we were very disappointed. The farms that we visited all had small trees which had been trimmed into a cone shape so much that there wasn't much room to put ornaments. They were very thin! We finally had to take a pre-cut tree, shipped in from North Carolina. Sacrilege!

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a very nice Thanksgiving, though we weren't ready for the snow!



















What, can't watch TV because of all the football? How about watching a show on the internet?

Rescue Heroes

We visited Auntie Renee while she was working at the Firestation and the kids were able to go through the firetrucks and ambulance which they thought was pretty cool. They even tried on Renee's equipment.

Mark told the kids that Auntie Renee was a Rescue Hero like the toys that Jiang Lei has in his room.

Also, as we were going for a ride in the Firetruck, Jiang Lei told us that he had been in a Firetruck when he was in China !





























Below are the kids checking out the ambulance and then Jiang Lei and Ji Ji in the front seat of the Firetruck. Then they are trying on the breathing masks.

Remembering China

We had been wondering how much Jiang Lei remembered about China and how he views what he has gone through, but he doesn't have the vocabulary or even the ability to put his thoughts and feelings into words at this level.  We are starting to get some interesting clues as in the last month he is talking about it more and more.  Also, it appears that after 9 months, he is forgetting/confusing a lot.

Yesterday at the salon when I was getting my hair cut, he told my stylist that he was in China before.  And he said that he was there a long time because Mom, Dad, Nora and Ji Ji were busy.

A few weeks ago, when I asked him if he remembered how Uncle Russ was related to us, he told me that he used to know Uncle Russ in China (don't think so).

He also told me that he used to have a flying car while in China (is he getting confused with the air travel that we did while in China and on the way home?).  And he swears that he used to ride on a motorcycle.  Hmmm ....

Current China Fixation
Just a few weeks ago, he asked me to help find the small gifts that he had brought for the girls when we first met him: a hair elastic with dice, a rattle of plastic car keys.  I told him that I didn't know where they were but that we would search for them (I might have actually thrown them away when we did a big clean up during the move, not sure).  He was crying while he was looking for them - they were his from China!  

Last night, he was pointing to things in his room and asking me what he had brought with him from China as he couldn't remember.  He was going around his room pointing to things and I would tell him if it was from China or not.  His Chinese stuff consists of his Winnie the Pooh pajamas (which barely fit anymore, though he still wears them), his small blanket and his snoopy doll plus the clothes he was wearing.

He is asking to wear the jacket that he brought with him from the orphanage, which was way too big on him and not entirely fashionable.  He has about 3 winter jackets which he has been wearing, all donated from our friends but in great shape.  However he really wants to wear his jacket from China.  And he took out his hat and scarf from China to wear to school and he was very excited about it.

This morning was the first day that I broke down and took out my winter coat - its getting cold.  The first thing he said to me when he saw it was "you had that in China".

Whatever is going on, it seems that China and his time in the orphanage is really on his mind lately.  I wonder if we could get him to talk about it on tape?

We are happy that we had taped a conversation with Jiang Lei shortly after we arrived in Germany regarding what he remembered and discussing photos which were taken in the orphanage.  The conversation was in Mandarin with Mark's teacher translating.  It will be interesting to learn if he can still understand what he said in that video 9 months ago in Mandarin.  We need to get it transferred onto disc.

Jiang Lei's Ear Surgery

Yesterday we were at the hospital at 6am for Jiang Lei to get tubes put into his ears. It was a relatively routine procedure but he still needed to go under general anesthesia and the waking up was not easy or pleasant. There was a lot of fluid built up in his ears and this had been affecting his hearing. The Dr. also looked at his voice box due to his scratchy voice and he found some nodules but everything was otherwise normal. The nodules were probably a result of all of the screaming that he does.

Jiang Lei has already commented to me on some noises being too loud. We are hoping that his general volume level will be lower as a result of hearing better.

It will also be interesting to hear what his teachers say about his hearing and his ability to pay attention in class as thers were issues they had previously noted.

Fall

Gotta love Fall. The leaves are fun and the temperature is great. The kids are getting in their last time outside before winter and so is Mommy. I have been doing lots of gardening to get the yard ready for winter and in great shape for spring. I planted 100 Tulip bulbs, 50 Crocus and 30 Daffodils. Plus I added new gardening beds around the house that will be ready for planting next spring and I mulched all of the beds with shredded leaves.

Happy Birthday Mark and Uncle Russ

We celebrated Mark's birthday and Uncle Russ' birthday last weekend. The kids love to play with their Uncle and they all hang on him when he is here.