Pull me back up the hill, Mama

Lela wipes out

Let it snow! We finally got a good snow fall - after the prediction was for one inch. Lian got to go sledding, probably for the first time ever. Most fun, undressing and redressing for the bathroom break. NOT.

Lela's Chinese Class had their annual Chinese New Year Party. Everyone had a blast. The girls made traditional dumplings, danced, sang, ate and ate and ate

Lian the dragon dancer

Lela heads the line

The Turnip pulling song. A few minutes after this was taken, 25 kids were sprawled on the floor, having "pulled" the turnip.

Memories

It's time for the Lian's 6-month post adoption report. Wow, we’ve been home almost 6 months. And yet China seems like a lifetime away, and Lian has fitted in like she has always been here.
So our social worker, Carrie, who has worked with us through both adoptions, arrives for our interview. After Carrie met Lian, she (Lian, not Carrie)was whisked upstairs for her nap. Lela, who no longer naps, was suitably attired for an afternoon visit in Cinderella gown, tiara and high heels, and busy trying to horn in on the conversation with princess vacations to Illinois and anything else she can come up with. Carrie attempted to convert her to a source and asked, "What do you remember about your trip to China?" Lela thought a few moments and said, "Well, Mama tried to encourage me to eat slimy things that were still living." This is a verbatim quote. So, the Great Wall, Terra Cotta Warriors, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven... and her main memory of China is the plastic bins full of live water bugs, worms, poisonous sea snakes and other delicacies at the restaurant in Guangzhou where we ate the night of the Autumn Moon Festival. Good thing I took a lot of pictures.

More January Doings

The battle of the cereal bowl. Lian is prohibited crunchy foods for 6 weeks. The girls' favorite snack is cereal (an organic, whole grain version of Cherrios, but of course) Lian doesn't like to wait, so the soaking of her cereal in milk was accompanied by loud screams of displeasure until Mama invented speed softening; 30 seconds in the microwave in water, drain, rinse in cold water, dump in milk, Voila!

Silly Sally. Our dog likes her creature comforts, and sun bathing in the most comfortable chair in the house is one.

The couch potatos. What's on next?

Sudsy fun at the Children's Museum. It was supposed to be an area for blowing bubbles, but the soap had been stirred to a foam by dozens of kids, making that pretty much impossible. It didn't stop the fun though.

More Children's Museum. It was jam packed with kids, but had enough different areas to keep everyone busy. Lots O' Lelas was a mirror display.

Lian took her turn to be multiplied.

Lela and Lian's version of the Push Me-Pull You.