" 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...