The First Night

Wednesday night we put Saiya down to bed as usual and we were hanging around in the computer room (which is on the opposite side of the house) when we heard her calling, "MAMA!  POTTY!"  Up to this point we were wary about putting her to bed in her own room because we were not sure how she would do if she had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.  As it turns out, she can be pretty loud if she thinks no one can hear her.  Its funny, she calls and calls, but doesnt move off of the bed.  She only got up when I walked into the room and she went to the toilet and I helped her a little bit, but for the most part, she did it on her own.  It must be left over behavior from the orphanage.  She will stay in her bed and call and call, but not move until an adult gets there.

So, last night we decided to try to put Saiya down to be in her own room.  We went to Walmart and bought her a CD/Alarm clock so that she could fall asleep to "sleepy music" using the "sleep" function so it turns off automatically (which is what we do in our room) and a baby monitor just in case she has to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, we will hear her call for us.  As I was getting her bed ready, she was jumping around and bouncing all over the place.  She had all of her stuffed animals in her arms.  She almost seemed excited about sleeping in her own room.  I piled up the pillows and pulled back the blankets and as soon as I turned off the lights and turned on the night light, she started to cry.  I think it was more because she was tired than because she didnt want to sleep in there.  I rocked her for about ten minutes and then tucked her in bed.  She went down surprisingly easy.  She was asleep in a matter of minutes.

When I got back to our room where Chris was reading, it seemed very empty.  I think she took sleeping in her own room better than we did.  We missed her last night and I was up every few hours to check on her and/or look at the monitor to make sure there was no action on it.  But, she's in her own room, which is better for everyone.  But we still miss her being with us...

Yay!  Progress!

Day 3 of Daycare

Yesterday started off pretty much the same as Monday.  Lots of crying and screaming when I dropped Saiya off at school.  Today, however, was much better.  She walked with me into the classroom and I kissed and hugged her goodbye and she let the teacher take her hand from mine without much of a fight.  She did cry a little bit, but there was no screaming.  I think she is getting better at this!  I hope by next week, she will be used to the fact that she goes to daycare during the day while we are at work.

She was being a bit of a brat last night and I’m not sure if that is because she is now in daycare during the day and doesn’t like the idea or if she was just having an off night.  I was feeling bad enough about the fact that she screams when I drop her off, that she was having an "off" night wasn't helping.  Talk about GUILT!

She has been with us for four weeks and we have made so much progress, I would hate to start going backwards now…  We will see how today goes.

First Day of School

I honestly don’t know how other parents do it.  I got Saiya up early this morning to get ready for my first day back at work and her first day of school.  She woke up really well, I was surprised she wasn’t grumpy.  I packed her back pack last night with a blanket, Yoshi, her favorite book, and a change of clothes.  She put on her back pack and climbed into the car.  She was fairly happy until we pulled into the daycare parking lot.  She hopped out of the car and frowned.  I think she knew what was up.  We met with one of the teachers who showed me how to check her in and stuff and then we took her to the classroom.  I tried to put her down and she didn’t want to stand on her own.  Finally, the teacher took her from me and she started scream “Mama! Mama! Mama!” as I made a break for the door.  I closed it as quickly as I could and headed down the hall to sign her in.  I could hear her screaming for me as I walked to the front of the building.  It took all my willpower and strength to walk out the front doors and not turn around to go get my daughter.

I feel like a horrible parent!  I had to call my sister just for some reassurance.  Haha!  Still feeling pretty bad though.  Maybe tomorrow will be better???

First Boat Ride

Yesterday we went out on a friend’s boat with Saiya.  She did ok.  She hated the life jacket on her, so she cried the whole way out to the islands.  Once we got there and I took her life jacket off, she continued to throw a little temper tantrum for about 20 minutes.  After she calmed down and got used to the idea of being out in the sun, she had a blast.  She played in the water and sand with her cousins.  On the way back to the boat launch, my friend let her steer the boat.  She LOVED it!  She hates having the wind blow in her eyes, so she closed her eyes while she was driving the boat.  We also say a pod of dolphins in the channel on the way back.  She was fascinated with them!  We might have to get her a more comfortable life jacket, but other than that, the boat trip was a success!!

Busy Busy Busy Week!!!

This week has been super BUSY!  Lets see....

Tuesday we had lunch with my mother and sister at one of my favorite Thai restaurants.  Saiya loves grilled chicken, so she gobbled up lots of rice and terriaki chicken.  She loved it!  After lunch, we headed over to the Social Security Administration building to see if we could get a receipt of application for Saiya's social security card for Chris's work so that we could get all the insurance stuff squared away.  We were kind of on a time line as we needed to have her school physical done this week.  Well, by the time we got there, the line was way too long.  We had to leave because we promised to pick up my niece and nephew from school.  So we made plans to head back there wednesday morning bright and early.

Wednesday we woke up early and headed to the Social Security Administration building to talk to someone about Saiya's social security number.  At this point I am completely put out that we even need one for the stupid insurance, but we are at their mercy.  After about 40 minutes of waiting, we get to speak to someone about her social security card.  There was no record yet that we filed for one, which means that our paperwork from the American Consulate in China has not been processed yet.  We had the option of applying for a new one, but I dont want her to end up with two SSN's so we refrained.  The Social Security lady said that we could head down to the IRS building and get an ATIN number which might be sufficient for our needs.

So we headed to the IRS building and waited in line again.  After about 20 minutes, we spoke to the IRS guy and he told us that ATIN numbers were distributed through Austin, TX and would take up to four weeks to process.  We said forget it!  Completely frustrated at this point, we headed back to Chris's work to speak to someone else who might have a clue as to why, exactly, they need a SSN for a 4 year old.  At this point I wanted to march up there and give someone a piece of my mind.  Good thing Chris is a little more level headed than me.  He spoke with the head of the HR department who said not having the SSN should not be an issue and that she would speak to the insurance company for us.  As he was upstairs talking with HR, I called my sister to find out how she got her kids' school physicals done.  Apparently, you can take your child to almost any clinic, tell them it is for a school physical, pay $50 and BOOM! done.  No insurance needed, or even asked for...  Might have been nice to know that two days ago.

We took Saiya to a clinic, got the school physical done, headed to the Brevard County Health Department to have her vaccination records recorded on the blue form needed for school, and then headed to a late lunch quite satisfied with a VERY productive day.  After lunch, I took Chris home and took Saiya to play with her cousins at the park.  She did great!  She didnt really care for the swings, but really took to the slides and the monkey bars!  I'm so glad she is finally beginning to play!

Thursday was just as busy as wednesday.  We decided to change Saiya to the VPK class at her school, which meant that we would need to registration form from the Early Learning Coalition.  So we headed up to Rockledge to the Early Learning Coalition to file her birth certificate with the state and get the registration form.  Then we headed all the way back to Palm Bay and stopped by her school for a few minutes to drop off the paperwork and visit with the VPK teachers.  After that, we headed home.

Friday was Chris's first full day with Saiya without me.  I had a cosulting job in Orange City, so I left before they both woke up.  Poor Chris caught my cold, so he was not feeling well, but still managed to avoid a complete melt down for the entire day.  Good Job Daddy!  We had a really nice dinner with both of our families.  Saiya got to spend a little bit more time with both sets of grandparents, although I got the feeling she would rather have played with the other kids.  I felt a little guilty, but we left about 8:30.  Poor Saiya was very tired and we didnt want a meltdown before bed.  To my utter shock and surprise, she spent the whole car trip singing to herself (she didnt fall asleep, which was a miracle) and we changed her and she happily went off to bed about 9:15.  I was in total shock she wasnt a grumpy-pants.  No tears.  Nothing!  Just a happy, "good night Mama!"  Well, then!

Today we had plans to take Saiya out on a friend's boat.  The boat wasnt working, so we settled for the beach instead.  Saiya did great!  As we were driving along US1, she kept pointing at the river with wide eyes asking me what it was.  When we finally got to the beach, she was in awe.  She didnt know what to make of the sand between her toes and she kept playing with it, wiggling her toes and making holes with her feet.  We took her down to the water and I tried to put her down as a wave came in.  The water was only up to my ankles, but she struggled to stay in my arms with a death-grip on my wrist.  When I finally managed to put her down, she stood there until a wave crashed in and then started to scream and claw her way back into my arms.  I scooped her up and took her to the area where we were sitting and let her play in the sand.  She was content to play in the sand until her cousins went down to the water and she got bored of playing by herself.  She started to collect seashells near where the water was coming in and then let loose and went running with her cousins, splashing through the waves.  She had a bucket she kept trying to fill with water, but she would just throw it at the waves and run the other way.  It was super funny!  I'm glad that she finally lost her fear of the water.  At least until she got knocked over by an incoming wave and went head-first into the sand.  At that point, she was done with the water.  It was late anyway, so we decided to leave.  She did have a blast though!

We will try the boat again tomorrow.

 

Pool at Nana's House

Today was a busy day!  Saiya met her grandfather today while we stopped by there to pick up my mother.  He spoke to her in Chinese and she was very shy, so she didnt say much.  Although when he called and talked to her, she was responding like crazy, just in mumbles and whispers, so he couldnt really hear her.

We picked up my mother at lunch time and we all had a nice lunch together.  We headed to the book store after that.  Saiya LOVED the book store!  She loves all kinds of books, especially the ones that look like the ones Chris and I read all the time.  She had plenty of time in China to watch us read, so she has an amazing fascination with books.  We bought her a couple of classics to read as bedtime stories and there are a few others I want to purchase online because the store didnt carry them.  We also bought her a new coloring book because she has sped through her last three.

After the book store, it was on to Walmart for a few things and then we headed over the Nana's house to have some fun in the pool with her cousins.  We were not sure how she would take to the pool since she wasnt really interested in the pool at the hotel in China.  We thought that having her cousins there to show her how much fun it could be would be a big help.  As it turns out, we were right!  I brought stuff to blow bubbles with and the kids had a blast with the bubbles and the pool toys.  We will definitely have to buy Saiya her own pool toys that are more her size.  There was a small amount of bickering about who gets to use the donuts, but since Saiya can't swim, and she had it first, we let her keep it.  Her cousin wasnt happy, but she found other toys to play with instead.  By the time she got out of the pool for dinner, poor Saiya was so pruney!!!  I dont think she ever spent so much time in the water before!

I'm glad she had a good day!  Tomorrow we plan to take it easy.  :)

Wheels!!

Uma and Umpa came over yesterday to visit with Saiya.  They brought a small plastic tricycle for her to play with.  It required some assembly, and she was more than willing to help with that!  Once it was all put together, she got the hang of it very quickly!  She is a fast learner.

After we assembled the trike, Uma and Saiya made fruit salad for lunch.  She had a blast doing that too, although she kept wanting to eat the pieces she was cutting up, rather than put them into the bowl.  Uma was kind enough to bring a delicious chicken soup because I am a little sick and wasnt feeling well.  There is nothing like homemade chicken soup to make you feel better!

Saiya played a little with her cousins yesterday when they came over.  They had a blast!  They pushed her around on the new trike and she loved to go zoom!  Look out world, she has WHEELS!!