Hi everyone-It has been 5 days since Elena joined our family. Because of her age this transition has been harder on her than it was when we got Isabel. Now we get smiles and giggles and she will lift her arms up to be held. She is a peanut, so beautiful and sweet. She has beautiful dimples and when she graces us with a smile, it lights up the world. We are again so blessed to have this beautiful and sweet child in our family. As usual, I am loving being in China and wish we didn't need to leave so soon. Isabel has been amazing during this trip. On her best of best behavior, loving to Elena and very mature in her behavior. When we first got Elena, it was Izzy who was really in the moment. She played with her, petted her and just helped her get through it. Even when Elena would feel really sad, she was always happy to watch Izzy's antics as she bounced around the room, laughing and being silly.
The hard part for Isabel has been all the attention. People stop to pet her and pinch her cheeks a lot! When she has had enough, she refuses to even look at them. She was a good sport yesterday though and let two Chinese women hold her and take a picture with her.
I think my favorite memory of her during this trip is our daily watching of the Monkey King soap opera. The Monkey King is household name in China, I can't really think of a counterpart for us, maybe Paul Bunyon. Brian has read the entire six volume Journey to the West, which is the story of the Monkey King and other disciples who helped a monk journey to India to bring Buddhism to China. The journey really happened, over time it became a mythical tale, full of magical happenings, mystery and danger. The show is in Chinese, but Brian explains the characters to her and tells the story as they act it out. She has loved it and we have to make sure we are back in our room each day to watch it.
We will be home on Thursday. I may not write again, it is terribly expensive to e-mail and I find I am very busy doing parenting things even in a hotel. I look forward to seeing you all and introducing Jiao Jiao (as we call Elena) to you all. Take care, Michelle