Saying Goodbye to her Brothers

The boys had to leave today to go to their mom's house for the month of July. Sydney was very sad to see them leave but she knows they will be back soon. We had my good friend, Faye, come over to translate what was going to happen. She explained to her that the boy's had another mommy and that they were going to visit her for awhile. She made sure to concentrate on the fact that they live with us and will be back very soon. We also did not mention anything about Liz having another mommy because the adoption specialist said that it would be too confusing for Sydney since Liz does not ever go to her mom's house. Keeping it simple is the key and we will explain more as she gets older.

Sydney was a little sad that evening but was fine today. She was able to talk to the boys on the phone and that seemed to help a lot.

She is a trooper!

Saturday Fun

Sydney Has New Wheels!

Today we bought Sydney a bike. She was so excited and of course she picked the blue and black one. She would have nothing to do with the pretty pink and purple ones but that's ok... my bike is blue too! She loves her new bike but she still needs to learn how to stop correctly. She was not too excited about the helmet at first but she is use to it now.
Something funny happened today. Mark (dad) and Andrew were working outside with their shirts off due to the heat. Sydney was outside riding her bike and noticed that the boys had their shirts off ...so what did she do? She came up to me and said that she was hot and then took her shirt off and was strutting around looking just like one of the boys! It was pretty funny but so cute! Too bad I did not have my camera handy.

Thanks Mom and Dad! I love it!

Going Bonkers

Today we went to a family fun center called "Going Bonkers". Sydney did go bonkers while she was there. She had such a wonderful time. We went swimming this afternoon and the kids played kick ball and jumped on the trampoline after dinner. She has had another wonderful day. She is such a blessing.

For more pictures click HERE

Day 5 Build a Bear

Last night Sydney was really tired and went to bed at 8:15pm. We have been trying to get her on a schedule so we were really excited when her "energizer" battery started running low around 8 last night. I was not happy when she was FULLY recharged by 5:00am!
Since she was up and daddy still had another 30 minutes until his alarm went off to get ready for work, I put her in bed with us. I was curious to see what she would do since she would not sleep anywhere near me while in China. Would you believe it... she snuggled as close as she possibly could to MAMA!!! We cuddled for about 45 minutes and then got up while daddy was getting ready for work. Even though I was not feeling good at all and really needed my precious sleep, I wouldn't have traded those moments for anything in the world. She is such a sweet little girl and I am so thankful that she is opening up her heart to me after all she has been through in her life.
So, today we went to Build a Bear Workshop. She did not understand it at first but after she caught on she loved it. We were all shocked that she picked out a PINK bear but then it was funny to see the clothes she picked out. That's my girl! Too Cute!! She has carried HER bear everywhere! It was so cute to see her bear tucked in next to her with PJ's on. On our way out of the mall we passed Game Works so we stopped in for a bit. She tried all of the race car games most of which I never put money in... she didn't know the difference I swear. :)
When we got home we took a little nap and then we were back in the pool for more afternoon fun.
Her skin is doing much better and thank for all of the suggestions!

For more pictures click HERE.

Home Day 4

Today we had a relaxing day since we have been on the go since she has been home and mommy is sick. I have had a really bad sore throat and cough so I am trying everything to get well. I have a 6 year old to keep up with now.

Sydney's skin is getting better and we managed to stay away from the pool today to help her skin recover.

Sydney is really starting to bond to mommy. Attachment and bonding is a process that takes months and happens over time but at least we are beginning the process now. It is hard to think that only a week ago she would not hold my hand or allow me to really hold her...and just tonight after bath time I rocked her almost to sleep in my arms singing to her. It was so cute. We were playing a bonding game we made up together called "rock the baby". She sits in my lap and she says she's a baby and I rock her and hold her in my arms. She just smiles and looks up at her momma. She seems to really like this and even though she is 6, adopted children sometimes need to regress in order to fulfill certain needs that were not met in the past. It is also a wonderful bonding opportunity.

Tomorrow we are going to Build a Bear which I am sure will be a blast. I cannot wait to see what type of dressed up animal Sydney will make. Thanks in advance to my wonderful aunt Linda who gave her a gift card to go nuts there!

Home Day 3

Today was a great day... Mommy got her first real hug and kiss! She is starting to bond with mommy now and she was actually ok with daddy going to work.

We went to a small water park by our house and little Sydney had a blast (sorry I forgot my camera). We went to McDonalds so Sydney and Rylee (her cousin) could play on the inside play area since it was so hot outside. Sydney also discovered that she in fact like ketchup on her fries!

We are having problems with contact dermatitis and skin irritation due to the climate change and exposure to chlorine and soaps. We are using special lotions, soaps, Benadryl, and hydrocortisone to help to ease her discomfort. Hopefully it will help soon. Her poor little skin has been exposed to so many new things. We will try to skip the pool tomorrow BUT that will be a challenge since it is the first thing she wakes up talking about!

I promise I will take pictures tomorrow and get them posted ASAP!! I will also try to post more videos!

We LOVE her!

Home Day 2

Click HERE for more pictures

My sister came over for the day and brought her two kids. Rylee is just a year younger than Sydney and they are new best friends. Rylee spent the night and they had a blast!

First Full Day Home

Today was a BIG day. We had breakfast, swam in the pool (yes in the morning), played with toys, ate lunch, went to Target and Toys R Us to get a "few" things, swam AGAIN, ate dinner, had bath time, and now she is sleeping sound in her bed. Tomorrow my sister, Stacey and her kids are coming over to swim and hang out. Rylee is spending the night and so far the girls get along great. I wanted a little extra support and distraction since "Daddy" is going to work on Monday and I am not sure how Sydney will react. My mom is here helping out for the week and she is amazing!! I am so glad that I have a mom who would use her precious vacation time to help out her daughter. Thanks Mom! Thanks everyone for following our journey and I will continue to update the blog with pictures and how the transition is going for our family. We all love her very much and are so thankful that God gave us such a precious child.

We Made it!!! We are home!

Well, our plane landed in Dallas a little after 10:00pm on Friday night. We were greeted by many of our friends and family and I felt bad because Sydney was so tired and not in a sociable mood. Thanks everyone for coming!!! Please send me pictures as I was unable to take very many pictures myself.
Sydney was so excited to see our car and then went crazy when she saw her new booster seat!!! She hopped right in and smiled really big. She was a little nervous on the drive home, but when we pulled in the driveway her eyes lit up and she was all smiles. Her cousin Rylee came too to show her around and they hit the ground running. I had to practically run with the video camera to keep up. Sydney screamed when she saw her room and all of her toys. She likes all the animals and LOVED the pool and trampoline! After we all finally settled down around 12:30am, Mark and I put her to bed IN HER OWN bed. We thought for sure that she would be in our bed in minutes but...nope. She loves her new bed and slept in it all night!
Click HERE for more pictures

Flight Delayed!!!

Well, we a sitting here in San Francisco waiting for our flight to Dallas. Our flight (AA 1178) has been delayed and we will NOT arrive at DFW until 10:00pm!

We have officially been up for 24 hours since no one managed to sleep on the long flight, so we are pretty much exhausted.

If anyone still wants to greet us you can but most likely we will not hang around too long at the airport.

If you do come to the airport: PLEASE HELP TAKE SOME PICTURES AND VIDEO FOR US.

The long flight was miserable to say the least. I think I took Sydney to bathroom at least 10 times and she pretty much had played with all of her toys in the first 2 hours of the flight. We tried to get her to watch the movies on her personal TV screen since they had so many in Chinese but she kept playing with the remote and turning it off. She was constantly pushing buttons,turning lights on and off and could not sit still for 5 minutes. We were constantly giving her this and that and pretty much could not even enjoy a movie ourselves.

We thought we had a plan...Benadryl and our test drive the other night worked like a charm. We were not so lucky this go around. It did the opposite!!! She finally slept for a couple of hours at the end of the flight but they had turned on the lights at that point so there was no sleeping for us.

We cannot wait to be home and to sleep in our beds!!!!

P.S. Sydney is now a United States Citizen!!!!

Leaving Disney

Well, we are packed up and ready to leave. Well, almost. Sydney has been begging to go swimming since she woke up this morning and we couldn't resist her cute little face. So, Andrew and Dad took her to the pool one last time. So, I am sitting here waiting for them to finish so we can pack the wet suits and get ready to head for the airport.

We are counting on Benadryl to help us with the long flight. (Sydney sneezed a few times today... HeHe well actually she did so we feel that our actions will be justified)

The weather is gorgeous here today and I swear it looks just like Hawaii. We wish we could go to the downtown city area but we just do not have the time.

Friday Night

We will arrive DFW on Friday night at around 8:45pm.

Our flight is American Airlines #1178 from San Francisco

If anyone would like to greet us at the airport and welcome Sydney's arrival you can meet us at the baggage claim area. I cannot guarantee Sydney's mood...you know 6 year olds but I'm sure we would like to see some familiar faces!

Look forward to seeing everyone soon.

Hong Kong Disneyland

Tarzan's Treehouse
Buzz Ligtyear Astro Blaster

Cooling Off

Today we woke up at 4:30am and traveled to Hong Kong. We checked in the hotel and headed straight for the park. It was AWESOME!!! Sydney absolutely LOVED every minute of it. Her favorite ride was the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters where you can shoot targets, score points, and maneuver your seat while traveling through the "universe". We all loved it so we didn't mind doing it over and over again.

We pretty much did everything at the park and it turned out to be a beautiful day. The only time it rained (and it rained HARD) was when we went back to watch the fireworks and ride Buzz Lightyear again. It rained as soon as the fireworks started and ended when we were walking to the shuttle bus. I was a little mad since everyone told me to take all of the umbrellas out of our backpack since they were heavy and we didn't need them anyway...HA!

The park was a good size for us and was beautiful since it was surrounded by mountains. All of the vegetation was so lush and beautiful. We also had 2 excellent meals there and our hotel is top of the line. We are all excited to seep on soft beds tonight!

So, tomorrow morning we will have breakfast with the Disney characters and then we will get ready to board our long flight home.

Today was the most fun we have had on our trip!!! Oh, I forgot to mention that our rooms had balcony's overlooking the pool so we had to experience that as well. Sydney loved the big slide!!!

I will have more pictures later.

Hong Kong in the Morning

Tomorrow morning we will leave our hotel at 5:30am to go to the airport. There will be several families flying to Hong Kong with us but we are the only family spending the night in Hong Kong. We are glad that we are not doing all 3 flights in a row this time. We are looking forward to Disneyland and relaxing at the hotel.

I also wanted to mention that Sydney is not hurt at all. She just loves wearing cute bandaids! I don't think she has ever seen decorated bandaids before.

I am not sure if I will be able to blog much tomorrow but I will try to post a few Disneyland photos. I will also update everyone with our flight arrival information.

We can't wait to be home!

Red Couch Photo

Our new family of 6
Our June 2006 CCAI Travel Group

Trying to get 13 children together for a picture...and yes this was the best picture I got

Sydney loved little Noah

Sydney playing in the arcade at the hotel

Sydney loved the arcade

She is so excited to go to the pool!

Daddy teaching Sydney to swim!

Wheeeeee! I LOVE swimming!

Click HERE for more pictures!

It is a tradition for adoptive families to take a "red couch photo". There is literally a red couch at the White Swan Hotel where people take photos. We tried really hard to get Sydney to wear traditional Chinese clothing and finally at least got her to wear a cute outfit... so we settled on that. I think she looked really cute and she was so good during the photo session.

We went to the pool after the photos and she was so excited. She was screaming and laughing the whole time. She loves the water and can't wait to swim on her own. Lessons are a must once we get home and it is too cute to watch her practice during bath time.

Well it rained ALL day today except for the 30 minute window when we went swimming. We shopped anyway and had a good lunch AND dinner at a western restaurant called Lucy's. It was tasted great and we were glad to have some good western food!

We CANNOT wait to get home! We miss everyone and look forward to beginning our transition with Sydney at home.

Sydney is a wild and crazy girl and is a big comedian. She can also be really sweet and loving but can also be a little pill. She is a perfect fit for our family and has kept us really busy. We are having to set limits and boundaries and she is sure testing them! She has learned a few bad habits while in the orphanage but we will work on those a little later on.

See everyone soon!