The 9am sweet potato

June had a sweet potato at Thanksgiving, and has eaten one nearly every day since. For all I know she was eating them in China; but, it is super funny when your four year old brings you a bag of spuds and asks you to cook one at 9am. A good, healthy snack no doubt.

June is currently in love with her Advent calendar. Yesterday while eating her little candy, she said "maybe tomorrow 8, okay"? She is really smart, counting really well. Quinn finds it super irritating that, while doing her homework (counting back from 50 or something), June starts chiming in. June has begged her teacher for homework - and every piece of paper, from the Market Day order to the newsletter is closely guarded as her personal property. She and Quinn continue their love/hate relationship...sometimes they can play dolls together for a long time; then, June said the other day in response to Quinn's constant nagging about being older "In China, Junie not younger. No Quinn in China!" That about sums it up for those two.

We are definitely seeing the testing of limits I was expecting. She, like all 4 year-olds, I suppose, would like to do whatever she wants, whenever she wants. She would like to "watch tv all day", "mommy watch me (play) all day", "sleep all day no school today". She occasionally hits when mad, which I am sure is a frustration over language sometimes - generally her hitting is restricted to altercations with Quinn. She does not love a time out on the stairs, bringing out the tears in no time. She talks all day, which is great - most of the time!

June enjoyed her first LPA party, meeting some new friends, and playing with others she has already met. We attempted the Brookfield Zoo lights the same day - an awful idea...it was cold, so Quinn cried the whole time...and you couldn't see many animals, so June cried the whole time. Plenty of frozen snot for all to see. Tom took them home early while I stayed w/ Delaney and Riley, who had a good time as long as they were fed every 20 minutes as usual.

We are into our 24 days of Christmas cookies, so there is a lot of baking and a lot of mess. Still have shopping to do, school parties...need the stomach flu to get OUT OF OUR HOUSE. So far, Tom, me, Riley me AGAIN...a caseload of Lysol is coming my way!

3 months (and 3 days) home : )

At the Halloween party...

Proudly displaying her story time chicken...


"I do it my byself!"

"I want food, mom."

"Junie not cry, Junie big girl."

"That's mine!"

"Go away!"

"I don't want to go to school, I want to do sleeping at home."

This is one funny kid. June has been a busy lady - bumping up to school every afternoon, enjoying story time, her first Halloween, asserting her authority in the world order....

June would like to do everything "my byself"...this requires patience on my part (which I had in higher reserve 4 kids and 10 years ago). She brings a stepstool to the car, so she can climb into our giant Yukon. Then, she would like to do the seatbelt herself. She brings the stool to the fridge to get herself some water. She likes to click the garage door button, press the elevator buttons at the library, pick things out at the store...

Halloween was a lot of fun, with June really getting into the idea of asking for treats. "Go ahead and pick one" said one of our nice neighbors..."I want two" was her reply. Well, who could turn down that angel face? She really loved collecting all of the candy she could get her hands on. She wanted to show her "Peng Mama" from China her costume, and her carved pumpkin...and she wanted to give Peng Mama some of her candy : ) She is so sweet, and really has only shared positive memories from her SWI....so I am sending off some photos to the SWI for all of her friends and caregivers to see. A stubborn standoff ensued a few days after Halloween when June sneaked a piece of chocoloate candy after being told no. It was a chocolate feast. She refused to apologize (yes, she did know what I wanted), instead opting for a morning nap before preschool. This girl can be very, very stubborn. And then oh so sweet when she cuddles up and says "I miss you mommy". I am not sure how she latched onto that, but she uses it alternately with "I love you mommy", so I'll keep it : )

Some very sweet friends made June the beautiful quilt in these photos. We appreciate all of the thought and hard work that went into giving our family this beautiful and meaningful gift. We are hanging it in June's bedroom, above her little bookcase. It was hard to tell June that she can't sleep with it, but I want her to have it forever, and I can just imagine her puking on it or something.

So, things continue to go very well here! I still can't believe it has only been three months home all together. We are talking up the fun of Christmas...June has upgraded her Santa list from " a banana" to a long list of puzzles she would like.

Finally, I am looking forward to parent teacher conferences next week...I have already gotten a preview from one of the boys in June's class, who tells me "She's really bad at circle time and never listens to the teacher..." Can't wait!! Add that to one who hates school, one who is nearly mute in school, and one mini celebrity who struggles with her math...who wants to meet me for drinks after conferences??? Surely there is a margarita with my name on it somewhere!

" Junie didn't do it"

We have a tattletale on our hands. Last week, J came home from school saying that "all the friends were yelling". This was followed by the sincere proclamation, complete with head shake, that "Junie didn't do yelling". I'll try to believe her on this one : ) Later in the week, when caught jumping on the bed, she again proclaimed her innocence "Junie didn't do jumping. Junie no do it". Most disturbing is the very straight face she can maintain when trying to lie!

A week or so ago, we had the pleasure of our return trip to the ENT. No crying, which J is very proud of. The ENT removed a seriously disgusting amount of impacted ear wax. Now, everything is very loud to her! Definitely has improved her hearing. Unfortunately, we had a big thunderstorm last night. I can say that the SWI was correct when they told us that she does not like "loud thunders". Very true. Too bad the storm began at bedtime : ) Once everyone was asleep, though, they slept all night, which can only be counted as a minor miracle at the Lyons house.

In other quick updates: I am really hoping that Lin Lin has found a family this time : ) I will keep you posted. Riley is having a successful gymnastics season, with lots of first place ribbons to her credit. Delaney's softball season has ended - a winning season - and is looking forward to the start of volleyball. Quinn and June are continuing with their dance class and are very happy that their friend Aly has joined the class! We are looking forward to Halloween as an angel, a mean witch, a "goth" Little Red Riding Hood", and a pirate!!

2 months home!

Hanging out at the zoo...



Seriously, she is eating an egg at the zoo...




Wishing to join the sea lions...





The bus ride, a longed-for experience...




June has officially been home for 2 months today!!! Wow. It feels like a lot longer, everyone here agrees. 2 months ago, June, Ying, was still living in China, with people who loved her, but without her own family, hanging out with her friends and waiting for her family. Since then, she has traveled thousands of miles - much to her delight she has now traveled by: taxi, car, plane, horse, boat, and most recently, school bus! She goes to school, dance class, library story time...plays with her sisters, loves to read, sleeps pretty well!


She came speaking no English, and now uses short English sentences often: She touch-e me. There it is, Mom's car. Take the bus-e, see the monkeys. She is very curious - she wants to know what all signs say, she likes to read the instructions that go with games. She can identify lots of letters - M for Mom, D for Nini (Delaney), etc. Her favorite letter is W. She can tell the names of all the foods she likes, body parts, colors, toys, etc. She is really amazing us with her resilience and humor. She starts most sentences with "I want to".....drive a truck, swim with the polar bear, go to the big girl school, do that again, go to the library. She loves to be on the go, and she loves to snuggle up. She really would like to play softball, so it looks like t-ball in our future next year!

She has had a successful visit to the dentist - no cavities! She did not enjoy the ENT, where it took 4 adults to hold her down while the dr. tried to remove the giant ball of hardened ear wax that is keeping her from hearing as well as she should. A return visit is needed next week. Due to her non-stop eating, she has gained two pounds since coming home, and possibly grown a bit, although I never trust the measurements. Someone has taught her the word "WHY"! A word that now echoes throughout the house at all hours.

Something that illustrates the change in her and her experiences - when I took her to the zoo in China two months ago she was TERRIFIED of the animals, thinking that the tigers could get out and eat her, that the monkeys would leap out of their cages to bother her...when we went to the zoo field trip for school today, she spent the whole morning in eager anticipation of riding the bus and thinking about seeing the monkeys! She really wanted to get in there with the monkeys (well, apes and chimps, really) and eat a pumpkin as they were doing. Before we were even leaving she was asking to go again. Last time, she would not get out of the stroller. Today, she was climbing the fences to get closer to the animals. Also today, we watched lines of kids go in and use the bathrooms....in China, we watched kids squat down at the side of the path to pee at the zoo....enough said.

Enjoy the photos of our big girl!!

Complete sentences!

Well, we have had a few little phrases in English and tons of English words...and June often says "I don't know..." But our first complete English sentence is:

Quinn push-e me!

Sigh...

He's Still Waiting!!!

Hey everyone, don't forget about Lin Lin! This gorgeous, independent 3 year old is still waiting for his family. Please let me know if you would like any more information about him - he is a sweetie!

Enjoying the moment after her first ballet class!



Out of focus, but so cute.




She spent most of the class like this, but talked about nothing else when we got home.




Lounging while her big sister pays attention!


Updates...

June is headed off to the ENT, along w/ Quinn today, to check her ears regarding her visit to the audiologist a few weeks ago. We'll see what her ears look like and if we need to pursue tubes or anything else on that front.

Preschool is going well, with June enjoying reading time, and especially, snack time! That girl still loves to eat!!! She is always on the lookout for another snack...or a better snack. Look out if you are holding something that looks better than what she already has. She is still napping on the days that she doesn't go to school, so we are sticking w/ 3 days a week until she decides to give up the naps on her own : )

She has had lots of fun going to Delaney's softball games, and then goes into great detail about how she would like to play, how she will hit the ball, and that she will need a little ball. I see tee ball in our future. For somoeone who must have had to share things in the past, she continues to have no interest in sharing, and has very little patience in general...sigh...

Yesterday, she met some of our LPA friends, Aly and Mackenzie and their families. She was particularly delighted w/ the light-up princess shoes that Mackenzie gave her. Of course, they were the perfect accessory to her pink skull t-shirt and black leggings that she wore to Target today. Fashion ranks high on her list of important things in life. I am thinking that costume shopping should be a blast.

Overdue updates : )

Enjoying the spoils of her Toys r Us shopping spree - got the last Lalaloopsy in the place!

Working on her computer skills with Quinn.

It was crazy hat day at school! Someone knows how to pose : )

Updates

As the photos show, June is really doing well...her favorite things are swinging outside, reading books, doing puzzles, and driving her sisters crazy ; ) She loves to be around her jie jie's all the time - even at night. D and R have still been taking turns sleeping in her room, which helps her get to sleep w/ no tears. She tends to wake up around 4:30, conincidentally the same time as her father, but then gets back to sleep til about 6 or 6:30. School continues to be a big hit, and she loves to talk all about her day, and sing her preschool songs. She is getting attached to other family members now, too - enjoying her aunts, grandparents, etc.

One thing Miss June does NOT enjoy is being told "no". When it is not her turn to choose a tv show, or to sit in a certain place, she gets extremely annoyed. The world's saddest face is produced, complete with pouting face and the big, fat tears I have come to know. Today, she decided to pour a cup of water out onto the table and play with it...When I took her down from the table and quietly told her that it was not okay to do that and that someone could slip in the water, it was about the saddest momet ever. The tears, the sobs...she was really upset. If you haven't met Junie yet, you haven't heard her super-cute, raspy voice - LOVE IT! It adds a little extra drama to the cry, too. Some cuddling and reassurance that everything was okay fixed the problem, we wiped up the spill, and off to school we went.

I continue to feed our collective Starbucks habit...everyone needs treats, and Junie enjoys hanging out there. Next on the list - finding a fabulous Halloween costume for her first trick-or-treating here at home. She has some ideas, but we haven't settled on anything yet. Other than that, we are enjoying the beautiful weather, hanging out with friends, and continuing to get to know each other.

Photos!

Junie and her sisters : )

First Day of School for June

In reverse here...looking a little nervous once inside the school...



In front of the sign at school - she absolutely recognized this sign from the book we sent. She immediately started saying "my school, my school"!




The portrait of confidence just before leaving for school.


The first day was a success! June is very proud of the papers she brought home today - a little certificate for a successful first day, and a note about what they did today. She chose to play with blocks and the snack today was goldfish crackers ; ) Her walk slowed a bit as we entered the building and she was surrounded by a whole bunch of kids, some of whom were crying. But, she took the principal's hand and walked into school after kissing me goodbye. When I picked her up, she was not one of the kids running out to the parents for a big hug. She was a bit cautious and took teeny, tiny steps out of the building. She opened right back up in the car, telling me all about her day! And of course she is asking when she can go back.

Family Camp!

Her first horse ride! Nice man in the photo helped me - led the horse so I could walk next to June.



Playing in our cabin!



Picking out a bunk!

We survived our trip to Camp Tecumseh - a YMCA camp in Brookston, IN. We enjoyed a weekend of beautiful weather, fun with the kids, and absolutely no sleep at all (for me, anyway)! We went to camp with the Waldroms - my parents, sister, brother and his family. The kids all enjoyed horseback riding, rock wall climbing, obstacle courses, ice cream making, and more. The adults, and Delaney when we sneaked her on, tried out the zipline over the lake - super fun!

June and Quinn had their first horseback riding experiences. It was about a 20 minute trail ride, where I had to keep my arm raised up above my head to make sure June didn't jump off the horse - she really liked it, but didn't necessarily believe me when I said that she needed to hold on to the horse with BOTH hands! I recruited a dad from another family to help walk the horse along, because I couldn't stand close enough to the front of the horse, and hold onto Junie. Quinn thinks she is a real pro now; she loved the ride.

We consumed significant amounts of junk food and salty camp food...I am wishing to have some of that candy corn back. It would give me a nice sugar rush. I truly believe that the children are conspiring to ensure that I live in a constant state of sleep deprivation...for example, last night: Junie is back to her nightime wake-ups and crying...and she definitely wants someone to sit with her while she falls asleep. So, after hanging out there for 45 minutes, she fell asleep. Riley went to bed fine. Quinn coughed for an hour and half before falling asleep. Delaney was up until midnight, as she has gotten too involved in the imaginary world of Harry Potter and thinks that Voldemort could appear at any moment. Had to hang out with her til she fell asleep. Crept back to my own bed. Quinn woke up twice for drinks and a pee break. At 2 am , Riley insisted her room was too hot (b/c Tom Lyons insisted we didn't need the air on). June woke up twice crying and needing a drink and then a pee break. Tom Lyons gets up for work at 4:45 and my bed was full of kids by 6 am. So if you see me today, and notice a new wrinkle, be kind enough to shut up and keep it to yourself.

Other than not wanting to be alone at night - can't blame her as she used to sleep with a row of kids in tiny cribs - Miss Junie continues to be awesome. She is very much looking forward to her first afternoon of preschool today (sniff, sniff). She has been begging to go each day. She has her backpack ready to go, and is looking forward to seeing her lao shi - her teacher. I am not sure how we will do with giving up naps on school days, b/c she does seem to need them, but maybe it will lead to an earlier bedtime ; ) A mom can dream.

Happy Haircuts!

Fairy wings, worn for two days straight


Perfect for her haircut!




Quinn's First Grade 'do





Just a trim!

Aunt Rah was nice enough to give the girls some back-to-school haircuts - just a trim for Junie to even out the back - she was so good! Quinn demonstrated the process for her little sister. Quinn got about 4 inches cut off - her hair was really long! Both of them look adorable as ever. D and R had theirs done a week or so ago, so no photos - just trims.

June is excited for all of her school activities this week - screening tomorrow, open house Wednesday, meeting the teacher at home on Thursday. Busy week!

First day of school...for some!

Only 3 girls went off to school today, but the 4th little Lyons girl HAD to have her backpack on, too, for the first day photoshoot out in the driveway. She continues to talk the talk about school - saying (in Chinese and English) "my school" "I go to school" "Junie's school"! We took the big girls to school and then took ourselves to Starbucks for a bit. Junie was concerned about the girls and kept asking for them. Good thing (for her anyway) that it was just a half day. We're onto an almost-full week next week -another half day next Friday, seriously - but still no preschool.

In the afternoon, we enjoyed a performance of Snow White (oh yes, I do see the irony there) as put on by Delaney and her friends...lots of work for the organizing mom who took on all those extra kids for the afternoon. June and Quinn enjoyed a LOT of popcorn while they took in the show. She's off to bed for the night, clutching the washcloth of the day, her Kai-lan doll (well, one of them), and her Hello Kitty blanket. Hoping that there isn't a 4 am drink of water and pee break, but we'll see.

Things we have learned about June:

An alarming amount of snot can come out of her nose all at once

She has a powerful nose-blowing ability

Too many raisins are not good

She is a one-woman social committee, waving to all who drove-thru at Starbucks while she ate her pink doughnut

She can be really, really loud when she wants to be

She likes to tell stories, and they are really funny even when I can only understand bits and pieces

She likes to say "Whachya doing?"

Boy, does she like puzzles

She is STUBBORN

She has learned almost all the colors in English

She always gets her shoes on the right feet (unlike another Lyons girl)

She's ruling the roost!

Hanging out at home...

I know my posting is past due here! We've been in cousin chaos here - pretty sure Junie thinks that Delaney and Riley might just store their things here and come over for the occasional meal - they've been hanging out with Molly and Jane all over the earth for the past week!

I have tried to keep Junie home a bit more and keep her napping when she needs to. We took a visit to her school, which she loooved (while it was empty and she had the toys to herself). Still not sure what to do about starting, etc. She definitely needs a nap in the afternoons; we'll see. She is so curious and wants to know about everything. She is a true magpie, repeating everything we say: There you go, I love you, Oh man, Uh oh, shoes...she is understanding more and more each day. I am going to have to start spelling anything I don't want her to know. And speaking of spelling, she has learned how to spell her name - she'll say J-U-N-E, Junie! She seems to really like her name.

She is loving books and has some favorites...Where Does Maisy Live?, I Love you Like Crazy Cakes, What Makes a Rainbow? She sits and looks at any written words - even when no pictures are involved. She must be getting this from Delaney, who, in the last week, has plowed through the first 3 Harry Potters and is working on the 4th. Junie continues to stick out her tongue when meeting new people, altohough she mostly managed to keep it in today when at Quinn's school for a meeting again. She is a happy, happy kid...sleeping well, eating non-stop still, coloring, playing with the girls...She occasionally gets mad if told no - she'll make a little low-pitched whiny sound, but generally bounces back quickly.

The project for this week is to try leaving her with Tom for a bit. Haven't tried since the disastrous day of snot...think she'll do just fine if she is at home with the girls and Tom. I'll be sure to leave a delightful roll of Angel Soft tissue that my friend was kind enough to give me as a gift when I leave.

Big girls all go back to school on Friday - and let me say, it is not a moment too soon. Their sudden need for constant entertainment has begun to overwhelm me. Let the craziness of school and activities begin. Frankly, Starbucks and I need to become reacquainted.