Living in the USA

Hard to believe we've been back 9 days already. And we are SO happy to be home and SO happy to have our daughter with us and SO happy to be with Olive again. And, yes, SO happy that our Rikki is asleep during the hours between 2am and 5am now. And that I am not waking up at 4am even when she doesn't.

We are thrilled that she is such a happy girl. Yes, she gets cranky, but she doesn't let that ruin her fun. She loves a good time. She is amazingly calm and yet she is quite clear about asking for what she wants.

In a little over a week, she's been to the blues festival, to the nearby playground (where we met a little Chinese girl named Lizzie with her grandparents who flew over from Suzhou to take care of her), at least 3-4 times to Walgreens, twice to Target, to Ancona School to meet Olive's friends. She and Olive have had a chance to bond, and I think she knows that Olive is part of the family. She's met her Nana, Aunt Linda, and Uncle Jeff, and played with her neighbors Jordan, 3, and Travis, 7 months. She's tried out Mom's home cooking, and eaten lots of Cheerios. She's broken in her new stroller, car seat, crib, and high chair. She's seen many things for the first time (we think): dogs, swings, and balloons, to name a few. Tonight she even tried pizza. It was pretty good, but maybe not as good as french fries.

She also met her new nanny, Jean, a nurse who recently moved here from Shanghai, and they're getting along really well. This will give me some essential time for my wellbeing. Our longest trip was to Evanston, to meet with a craniosacral practitioner who worked with her to improve her muscle tone to help her catch up physically. On the way home, she had her first date, with a little boy named Kubla. Kubla's mom is Chinese and he now speaks a little Chinese, so he was ready for the visit from meimei (little sister). Monday is her first pediatrician visit. We are expecting a clean bill of health ; )

Pan Pan is walking up a storm. She's still holding on to us, but at this point she is pulling us along rather than vice versa. She is even determined to walk up steps.

I discovered upon returning home that we've had some religious followers of the blog. We're so glad you could share this journey with us. Now that we're home, I can't promise to update it so frequently, but I will still post stories and pictures when I can.


Groovin' at the Chicago Blues Festival




Got Milk? Courtesy of Duke Law, my granddad's alma mater




Strolling in Style




Playing with Olive and Neighborhood Kids





Chinese children are born knowing how to slurp noodles




Wow! I didn't know this came with a Nana!




Car seat meets jetlag





Is dinner ready?




Peaceful napping



Our new family