Hello From The Trenches

Holy crappers, I finally got a few good nights of rest! I have been so tired lately and gone are the days of returning emails and phone calls. I am doing well at this point just to blog occasionally. Who knew going from one to two kids could be so tiring and zap every bit of energy out of my body? I wake up around 6:00 am and fall into bed as soon as John and I put the girls to bed around 8:00 pm. I think I fall asleep even before my head hits the pillow.

Other than being tired and falling asleep while standing, things are going good. Samantha has been transitioning really well and I can't believe how similar her and Sofia's personalities are. Of course Sofia is always a little more cautious about jumping into things while Samantha jumps right in. Here's a few things Sammy is doing...

• She will go to John with no problems now. You may remember that while in China she would only hold my hand or we risked some serious Linda Blair type behavior.
  

• We think we may now have a southpaw in the family. We think she is left-handed. She will occasionally use her right hand for things but seems to prefer her left hand.

• She and Sofia just love each other. Sofia actually loves Sammy so much that I have to eventually pull Sofia away from Sammy because Sofia doesn't get that Sammy does not want to be hugged 24/7. I give Samantha a lot of credit for the patience she has shown Sofia (lol).

• Samantha is modeling a lot of her language after us and also loves to say Mama, Daddy, Sofia & Samantha. I think it helps her to define the members of our family. She also counted to 8 in English the other day. 

•  Even though Sammy is potty-trained, we still put a diaper on her at night since she tends to have accidents while she is sleeping. 

• Samantha has a habit of putting her hands in her mouth when she is nervous. She can almost fit her whole hand in it. Now, Sofia has started doing the same thing. I have tried to get Sofia to stop but I am not pushing it with Sammy since this is her way of coping with all the changes. Both of the girls love to copy each other.

• My mom came into town last week to meet Samantha and we took Sammy to have her ears pierced on Thursday October 8th at Claire's in our local mall. We took her to the same place that Sofia has her ears pierced at shortly after we brought her home in 2007. Samantha cried a little, but LOVES her new earrings and points at them every day, She is already a girly-girl.

• Both Samantha and Sofia went to their first dental appt. last Wednesday. Samantha has one cavity on her bottom right that will need to be filled and the dentist also thought that he could create a veneer for her front right tooth that was chipped off in her SWI. I don't think Samantha had her teeth brushed much while in her SWI. The first time we brushed her teeth in China, they turned bloody and luckily that does not happen anymore. Both girls really love to brush their teeth, so we are happy for that. Sofia's teeth looked good and both girls got their teeth polished and got to pick prizes from the treasure chest. I have to take Sammy back in November to have the cavity filled and the tooth veneer applied to her chipped tooth.All in all a great visit.
  

• Last Friday (10/16/09) Samantha had her first doctor visit. I think her weight and height were a little off in China. According to her doctor, she weighs 32 lbs. and is 36.5" tall. That places her in the 50th percentile on the American growth-chart. I am going to bring the Chinese growth-chart to the Pediatrician at our next appt. on Monday. Sammy received 3 shots on Friday. Luckily, one of the shots contained two different vaccinations, so she was spared one shot. Our Pediatrician wants to start from square one with immunizing Samantha, just like we did with Sofia. Even though we have Sammy's immunization record, our doctor cannot be sure that the immunizations in China were 100% reliable, so she wants to reimmunize. On Monday Samantha has to have blood drawn for a panel of tests, including lead. She will also need another vaccination on Monday. Poor baby, I am dreading Monday since I know how scary it will be for her.

I think that's about all for now. Here are some pics from the past couple of weeks. By the way, we woke up to a small dusting of snow a few mornings ago. I have a feeling it is going to be a LONG and COLD Winter.

Samantha getting ready to get her ears pierced. She always sucks on her fingers when she is nervous.

Sofia telling Sammy that it is really cool to have pierced ears and not to worry.

Sammy with her beautiful new pierced ears that she absolutely loves.

A cute picture of the girls wearing their new winter coats Grandma C. bought. Putting on Grandma and my shoes was their idea! :)

The girls at this year's LaFayette Apple Fest. It was in the 40s, so we did not last long.

Sofia getting ready for her first dental appt.

"Okay I'm ready for my close-up."

Samantha getting ready for her turn.



The girls did great at their first dental appt. :)



Our wonderful dental hygienist Peggy.



The girls picking a treat from the treasure chest.



The girls outside our dentist's office.

Our fun playdate at the MOST with our good friends Erin, Grace and Joseph. We also traveled with Erin's husband and her father to China a few weeks ago when they traveled to bring Joseph home.

The kids had a great time.

Erin and Joseph under the big brain.

Samantha and Sofia had a great time in the indoor playground.

Beautiful Grace.

Erin having fun with Joseph and Sofia.

Sofia getting up close and personal with an iguana.

The girls looking at a model replica based on a nearby town here in upstate NY. They loved when the train came around the corner and rolled down the tracks.

Checking out an exhibit.

Sofia holding Samantha's hand before Sammy's first doctor's appt.

Sweet Sammy