The Freeling Family: One month!

So today, it has been exactly one month since "Gotcha Day" and we held little Anastyn in our arms for the first time! What a difference from that moment to now! If you remember, Anna was a little fighter & was doing everything she could to get away from us, kicking, hitting, biting, screaming, crying. She completely shut down after that, only moving her eyes. Oh it breaks my heart thinking how scared she was. She had no idea what was before her & how her life would be changing. Just in China alone, she was taken on buses, a taxi, various plane rides, different hotel rooms, new places, new foods, and the biggie, new people she never seen before in her life, who didn't look like her or talk like her. Absolutely everything was completely new & different. To put it into perspective for me, I think of someone coming & getting our little Blayten & taking him to China. It FREAKS me out, thinking how terribly scared & afraid he would be. How would he ever cope....and yet, this is exactly what happened to our little girl & all the little ones who are adopted internationally. Now, I don't mean to imply, that the little ones aren't loved & cared for, but just image the shock and adjustment that takes place for them...scary.

Well I am so thrilled to tell you little Anna is adjusting so well. We really got to see her true personality while we were still in China & it has blossomed even more after getting home! She still gets quiet, won't smile, and takes everything in when she is in a new situation or with new people, but thankfully she has never returned to the place she was initially on Gotcha Day. It is taking her shorter & shorter amounts of time to warm up around others. I must say, everyone has been so understanding & never pushed her to be held by them. They give her the space she needs to feel comfortable & when they do this, soon enough, she is happily being held by them.

Anna has such an amazing personality and I have said it before, is feisty. We have started calling her "Sassy." She is laughing, smiling, giggling, running, hugging, kissing, teasing, talking, singing, dancing, ...so many great things, that I often found myself worried about before we went to China. "Will she smile?" "What if she really does have a serious personality? Will she fit in with us?" "Can she talk?" Yes, no one ever confirmed to us that she could actually talk, so we kind of held our breath & hoped for the best, but prepared ourselves that she may not be verbal. It reminds me of when Mark & I were dating & he first met Bethany. I asked him afterwards how he thought it went & he said "Well I wish she would have talked more." In which I responded "Boy are you going to regret saying that." So true...Bethany is a TALKER, and so is her little sister. I am so amazed at how much she says & all the new words she is learning. You say a word once and she is repeating it. She can't always recall it on demand, but she does surprise us. You can bet if Blayten is saying it, Anna is saying it too. If Blayten is doing it, Anna is too! Monkey see, monkey do!

So I would say our biggest adjustment in the weeks since we have been home (yes weeks...so weird, it seems like we just got home & yet, it seems like we have been home forever.) Anyways, the biggest adjustment has truly been with our little guy. First, he didn't want Mommy or Daddy out of his sight. This took a bit over a week, but has definitely improved. He started back going to his babysitter to get readjusted & he has done great being away from us for that time. He seems to know that we will be picking him up & he will be going home. Not to say, he wasn't well cared for while we were gone, but again, his little world was also changed & he has to readjust as well. The next obvious adjustment was having this girl in his home, wanting to play with his toys & doing the things he wants to do. I will admit there was a moment I thought to myself "What have we done?" Our little happy guy, was not so happy & was crying more than normal, and his parents did this to him. Nice. However, first thing in the morning, he is asking for his "Nahna" and off to look for her. He hugs her & kisses her, smiling. He makes sure she has her sippy cup, whether she wants it or not. He can be so sweet to her & I am reminded "why we did this to him." So he had a sibling his age, to play with & share things with....ok we never expected this sibling to be only 6 weeks younger than him, but we don't tend to do anything a normal way.

This week, we started Anna going to our babysitter's home a couple of days. So many fears, so many worries...none panned out! She LOVES it at Janet's, just like Blayten has. As Janet has said "She is in her element." She loves playing with the other kids & has taken to Janet's pets. Initially Anna was TERRIFIED of our dog & I was all prepared to get rid of the dog until Mark pointed out that Janet has pets. Well when you have a fabulous babysitter that you trust your children's lives with, you don't give that sitter up for nothing. So, we worked with Anna to get use to our dog & now she chases him around crazy like, yelling out "puppy, puppy, puppy!" She has done well with Janet's dogs as well & is enjoying the cats too. Another worry I had was how Blayten was going to be with "that girl" in one more area of his life. He really could care less. He does his thing at Janet's & Anna does her's. Ah....happy kids...what more can you ask for?!

Our last big areas have been food & bath time. Anna at times won't eat anything that we are serving, so we break out the noodles. Now this is NOT a moment of "You eat what I fix, or you don't eat." You have to be very careful with things like this to help the little ones adjust. I am often surprised at times the food she will eat. We were at Mark's parents' house this weekend & Anna couldn't get enough of the taco meat. Who knew? So, we continue to offer her everything & some things she eats & some she doesn't. It is helpful to have Blayten eating the food & then often she will too. However, it seems that our little man has become more picky, so monkey doesn't see, monkey doesn't do, also prevails.

Bath time. I remember trying to give Anna baths in China. Oy Vey! It was war if you remember the posting and I ended up soaked. Well I am still getting soaked, but now it is because Anna can't get enough of the water & is splashing it everywhere! She giggles & laughs the entire time she is in there. When she hears the water running, she will run as fast as she can & try to climb into the tub. Doesn't matter if Blayten is in there or not. We have tried to give them separate baths, but he is also like Anna, the water is running & so is Blayten....to undress & get into the water! So most of the time, they are in the tub together, jointly getting the bathroom & anyone in it wet. It is quite the process, but we are getting it down. Before bath time/ bedtime, I am usually thinking of everything I am going to accomplish once the kids are asleep. Once we actually get through it all...I'm beat and nothing gets done. That is definitely the story of my life right now...nothing seems to be getting done. I am trying to figure out how we are going to accomplish anything once we head back to our real lives. Friday, Bethany has Freshman orientation & on Monday has her first day of high school. Oy Vey again! Mark starts back to school on Wednesday & I follow shortly behind him with teaching at UNK & work. Bethany's school activities have already started & will continue to keep her and us busy. We now have the task of trying to juggle a teenager & two-2 year olds & somehow finding the balance between the two vast spectrums. I am sure sometimes we will make it look easy & other times, we will fail miserably. But nevertheless....we now have our complete forever family...and what more could we ask for?!