Merry Christmas!!!

Happy 4th Birthday HaiYang

Bananna split for breakfast??? Why not?

Christmas Eve and Christmas morning were a blast!!! Everyone including Haiyang jumped in and immediately started ripping open their gifts, it really takes much longer to wrap than to unwrap. Haiyang finished and asked for more, haha. Lucky for her, her B. Day is the 26th so she had more to open the next morning. We celebrated her day Christmas evening with a Dora cake (of course) which she loved, every morning she asks for "happy birthday to you" meaning cake. Her speech is really coming along, it is amazing how much she has picked up the last few weeks, making our communication much better!!

Maybe a little late but I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and are enjoying the holidays. We are having much fun here. Haiyang enjoyed decorating cookies and playing in the 1st snow, she LOVED it!!!!

I was able to join Tessie for her Christmas party at school, it was fun to see her with her classmates and meet her new friends. Tessie has a fantastic teacher this year and a small class with a nice group of kids.

December Fun!!!!

This is my girls uniform. She has so many adorable outfits to pick from and this is what she wants to wear, don't you love the shoes?

Lucie's Christmas recital, she played "Frosty the Snowman" and did an excellent job.

We really packed alot of fun into last weekend. We also had an Ice Skating Party with TRFCC, we went to the PPG Rink - so much fun!!!! If you live in PGH and you have never done this you must do so this winter, so very festive. Lucie and I were holding our own on the ice and Tessie deserves a medal for her effort, she may have spent more time down than she did up but she had a blast and was a really good sport about it. Haiyang maybe didn't have the best time but she did enjoy looking at all the ginger bread houses on display.

So we headed out to "cut down" the Christmas Tree. This is our 5th live tree and I believe the 4th year of cutting our own tree, Lucie LOVES it!!!! I thought of going artificial, to make things a little easier this year, but L.Q. was having no part of that. We go to a tree farm that takes you out on a sort of hay-ride and you get to chop your own tree. So we set out to find the perfect tree, we have had some crazy trees, the 1st year I was super excited myself and we ended up with an insanely huge tree that of course fell over and broke the tree stand, my Dad built us a tree stand that could hold the White House tree, we will never have a tree fall again. One year the tree was 1/2 dead inside, it had been covered in snow when we chose it. Another year it had an odd trunk that branched out into two at the top. But this year we have the BEST TREE EVER!!!! Perfect!!! Well the decorating may not be but the tree is super!!

Yep that is my man chopping us a tree. We forget that Haiyang doesn't always get what we are doing so it surprised us that she wasn't having fun on the tree trip. Then it occurred to us that she probably thought we were crazy! She did enjoy the hot chocolate and cookie at the end and loved helping me with the lights and hanging ornamants.

19 Day 'til Christmas

Amazing how much fun uncooked pasta and water can be.

Here are a couple pictures from this past week. Things are continuing to move along, it gets a little better each day, not to say we don't still have tough moments (days) but it is getting a bit easier. And as the picture above shows, Tessie and Haiyang are becoming better friends, of course it helps when HaiYang is in the mood to do what Tessie wants to do - haha.

HaiYang is continuing to pick up more and more words and communication has improved greatly. It is fun to hear her speak English and we can tell she is quite pleased with herself as she learns more words and phrases. She is starting to calm down some but I have a feeling she is just going to be one of those really active kids. She rarely stops moving and gets into everything although she is beginning to learn that some things are not for her to get in, it doesn't really stop her it just slows her down :-). Fortunately Lucie and Tessie are very good at letting me know when she is doing something she shouldn't. Actually Tessie is VERY good at this.

Christmas is going to be super fun, she loves all of the decorations and really enjoyed decorating the tree we put up in the dining room. Next weekend we are heading out to cut down the "family tree", I am sure she'll get a huge kick out of that. We also have an ice skating party at the PPG Rink with TRFCC (Three River Families with Children from China), I know she love all the decorations and trees there will be to see there. Now if I could just get my shopping and decorating done!

More Pictures

We have been home a little over 4 weeks now, things are going well, still some adjusting to do on every one's part but we are getting there. The first few weeks home were a bit rough at times but we all survived. Haiyang seems to be learning how to live in a regular home and most definitely enjoys having a family. Her and Lucie simply adore one another, her and Tessie... well they are working on it. I have found that when it is only Haiyang and Tessie in the house they get along much better. I supposed Lucie comes with a little too much competition for both girls, Tessie wanting to be the "big sister" and Haiyang wanting Lucie's attention. Haiyang also knows that it is very easy to get a rise out of Tessie and takes every opportunity to do so. Now there are times when then all 3 play together just wonderfully and I thoroughly enjoy those moments.

Haiyang is a true little sister, she has started to copy everything the girls do from tumbling, to wearing the same type clothes, to using the same cups and utensils, it can really be a pain when I have to produce 3 of the same item, and she will not settle for anything less, there have been nights I would take pajamas out of the laundry so they could all have a nightgown rather than pjs. She is very strong willed, which will probably serve her well later in life, for now it is just driving me mad.

The tantrums are much less, I think now that we are communicating better she is less frustrated, and she is also realizing that as strong willed as she is, I can be more. If I say no, I mean it!!! I am really trying to be consistent with her so she can learn how we do things, a little annoying for Lucie and Tessie because some of the things they used to be allowed to do I have had to stop. Like snacks & drinks in the family room, it was too confusing for her why sometimes you are allowed to eat in the family room and other times you have to sit at the table. And not being able to stay up late on weekends isn't fun for the girls either, if I can get Haiyang sleeping then the girls can sneak back down to watch TV or whatever. I am not the most disciplined person so this has been a real lesson for me too.

Haiyang has a super cute personality when she isn't mad about something. She loves to get a laugh, that's a Steinmetz thing, she seems to be very bright too so I think she'll catch on to the language quickly. She is already putting 2 word together and says something new almost every day. She loves anything Dora, not to watch but anything with Dora on it, she won't even let anyone else us the Dora plate we have, fine with Lucie and Tessie they let go of Dora a long time ago. She isn't much for TV but loves to watch Tom and Jerry. She is eating a little more normal now and loves bologna, she can even say bologna. She like playing babies and loves to play with our little neighbor Marina, they do very well together even with the lack of language. Marina is an absolutely, adorable, little girl and she will tell me every time Haiyang says something in English, I think she wants to take credit if she says anything new, very cute.

All in all things are going well most of the time. I will be honest, this it is much harder than I expected yet it seems to get a little easier every day.

I so appreciate all the cards, gifts and phone calls, our family has been blessed with amazing people to love and care about our family. Thank you!!!!!

We wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

More Pics

We have been home a little over a week and things are going well, most of the time, it is a big adjustment for everyone. HaiYang is understanding more each day which makes things a bit easier. She is sleeping in her own bed and usually only needs us to come in one or two times, can't complain about that. She has a really cute personality and loves to get a laugh, she is always making silly faces trying to get us to laugh at her. She also has some pretty great dance moves. She is very independent, not always such a good thing, she is into everything thing!!!!!! I had to hide as much food as I was able to and get the rest on high shelves in the fridge and pantry. If I am not watching she'll suck down juice boxes one after another, they had to go out in the garage. Maybe she isn't used to being able to eat any time of the day, I am trying to let her have snacks when she asks but keep them small, I am hoping the novelty of having so much available will wear off.
Yes we took her out for Halloween! No I didn't plan on it, I thought it would be too much but L & T were getting costumes on and she stripped down and grabbed the Minnie dress to put on. She really likes girly things so the dress was right up her ally. She did pretty well going door to door, and was thrilled to be receiving candy at each house. We went with the neighbors and all the girls had a great time running together. HaiYang had a little jealousy issue with Dave carrying our little neighbor, hopefully she'll get over that too, she is pretty possessive of everything.
She is saying a few more words... more, thank you, please, pumpkin, NO, milk and she remembers every ones names which is great. She still speaks to me in Chinese but I think she knows I don't know what she is saying because she is usually grinning, probably saying something she shouldn't, haha. She will also go on and on in Chinese to the play phone, it cracks me up. I feel so bad that she has so much to say and we can't understand her.
She is happy much of the time but still gets very angry when she doesn't get her way, although her tantrums don't last as long and they are not as loud. And she can really tear through the house, wow our house hasn't looked like this in years, haha, I tried to clean up but she is pulling something else out at the same time. I guess I forgot how busy toddlers are.
On that note I need to get back to the busy toddler, although Matthew is home sick so I have a little help with entertainment today, she adores both Matthew and Olivia!!!

HaiYang at home

Making friends with dogs

Trick-or-Treat

Silly Face

Visit to the White Swan

We're Home!!

We finally arrived home after 37 hours of travel. Our flight was delayed 7 grueling hours in Beijing although that did work to our advantage during flight, HaiYang slept for 9+ hours!!!! Thank goodness, when she was awake she was so busy and wiggly and we were in coach on a packed plane - no room for her to move. She managed to hide Dave's hat and Lucie's glasses several rows back, thank goodness someone saw me crawling around on the ground looking, they found both under their seat.

We arrived in Newark around midnight, of course we missed our connecting flight and could not get on another plane until 6pm - we opted to rent a car and drive, we were home by 8:30am. We sort of threw my poor sister for a loop since she wasn't expecting us until 7:30pm. Olivia was here to greet us, I was so happy to see her and be home I burst into tears the minute I saw her. So did Tessie, she was crying & hugging her and saying, " I missed you" over and over, it was so sweet.

It was really cute when the girls took HaiYang to her room, she loves it, especially the play kitchen. She checked everything out and is continuing to do so by exploring every drawer, closet, cabinet, bag, purse in the house. She has found things I forgot we had, the house looks like it has been ransacked! She took to Olivia immediately and pulled her all over the house to get a better look. So funny, every picture she sees of the girls she has to call them to see it, I guess she doesn't realize that they have already seen the pictures. Who knows she probably thinks this is another hotel and we'll be moving to another soon.

On a less than positive note, she is scared of the dogs and seems to be terrified of Sydney. Such a bummer, my poor dogs are stuck in the kitchen until she learns to like them. She does show some interest by getting really close to the gate then running away. She was throwing things at them but is learning that is not allowed. She loves to throw treats at them ( not to them) and will yell at me when they are at the door to come in. If they bark, she gets really scared, which is bad because my dogs bark all the time. Yesterday she started yelling "STOP IT" when they barked, very funny. Oh and she can say Bianca and Baby, Sydney is a little harder.

She is sleeping in her bed tonight and did also last night. I read to her until she fell asleep and both nights she has needed us to go back in to get her back to sleep. It will take time, I am just happy we are out to a good start. I know she would prefer Dave put her to bed but I want her to get used to me doing it so it isn't a problem when he is traveling. She is really a Daddy's Girl.

She is eating much less than the 1st week, thank goodness, I really thought that was going to be a problem. Candy is a problem, if she sees it she wants it and will pitch a fit to get it. I made sure to hide everything I could find. She still managed to rummage through Lucie's room until she found some, I have no idea were she even found it although Lucie is a pack-rat so she probably has a stash in there somewhere. I also had to put all the crayons and markers up high, she will write on anything and keeps finding pencils even when I think I have hidden all of them. If we tell her no about doing something, she'll give the sideways look and do it really quick anyway, I honestly think she understands more than she wants us to believe.

We are all very happy to be home, it seems to be easier on our own turf. But I will say three kids are much much harder than two!!!!!!!! I know you all warned me but I had no idea!!!! I am sure it will get easier once we don't have to watch her so close, fortunately Lucie is more than happy to help keep an eye on her to keep her from destroying everything in her path and to keep her safe. We could not have done this without the girls, they have been amazing and I am so very proud of them.

Final Post

We have officially adopted HaiYang on both sides.  We went to the American Consulate this afternoon to take the oath, with about 60 other families, there were so many babies and toddlers - it was insane & frightening!!!!!  HaiYang will become a U.S. Citizen at the 1st point of entry, for us that is Newark, NJ. 

Can not wait to be back in PA, I don't even care if it is snowing!

See you soon!

xoxoxoxo

Funny Sign

The signs are hysterical, this was on the Great Wall.

Zoo

This was taken at the Zhengzhou zoo, I wasn't sure if I posted it earlier.

Panda

McD's

At McDonalds with Andrew and Kalib.