Hanna is really a treat.  She charms people whereever she goes and is learning things so fast.  She knows about 10 English words now and understands what you say to her.  She spilt her Cherrios on the kitchen floor this morning and Debbie turned around and told her to pick them up and put them in the garbage.  Of coures she didn't expect that Hanna would understand what she wanted.  Well, she looked and Hanna was picking up the Cheerios and putting them into the garbage can!  That was amazing.  She really understands a lot of what we are saying.  Except when we want her to go to sleep. Then we may as well be speaking Russian.  She does not like to miss anything and is very stubborn about getting her way.  Tuesday night was especially hard as Debbie and her really got into it.  Hanna threw a major temper tantrum and would not look at Debbie so she could calm her down.  Did you every try to intentionally get someone to make eye contact with you?  It is virtually impossible if they do not want to do it.  I mean she looked at everything but Debbie's eyes. She finally hyperfocused on the Van Gogh print over our bed and we figured either she is a really lover of fine art or really stubborn.   I think it is the latter.

 

Well, the battle of wills continued for over an hour and Debbie finally won by being persistent and repeating the same phrase over and over again like a mantra.  "Hanna, look at me and stop crying and I will listen to you"

 

At a certain point Hanna seemed to give up and she looked right into Debbie's eyes and the tantrum came to an end but that little girl is persistent!

 

So we did not get a lot of sleep that night.  Last night was certainly different. Hanna took a nap in the afternoon and was really hard to wake up for dinner. And she did not want to go to bed at all later.  Too much to see and do.  So the battle was enjoined again and this time it lasted for 4 hours.  About midnight Debbie came to me in bed trying to sleep and said "You give it a try"  Hanna has not been letting me be a caregiver at all.  I am fun to goof around with but if I pick her up or try to comfort her she calls for mama and does not like me to hold her at all.  But last night was different.  I guess she had given up on Deb who was exhausted and had been letting her cry in her crib. So I went into the bedroom and she held out her arms for me to pick her up.  I told her mama was alseep and to shhhhhhhh.  She started telling me the whole tale about how she and mama got into a big fight.  I did not understand a word except for the word mama but she told a great story and I sure got the idea. She was mad at mama so she would accept comfort from daddy.  So I rocked her to sleep in about 5 minutes and went back to our bedroom. Debbie couldn't believe it! Here she had been fighting with her over sleep for about 4 hours and I put her into a deep sleep in 5 minutes.  Well, I figured Debbie wore her out so much it didn't take much.

 

She slept until 5:30 this morning so things are improving but we still are only averaging about 4-5 hours a night and it is not restful as we are listening for her on a subconscious level.  We have a baby monitor in the room and when she crys we get it in stereo in our bedroom.

 

Yesterday Debbie took Hanna to her school and gave her lectures holding Hanna in the front carrier that straps to her body.  Well, Hanna was playing peek-a-boo with everyone in the front row and generally distracting the whole class. But at a certain moment she fell asleep and this got a laugh as the students said the lecture must have been pretty boring.

 

Today Hanna and mom went grocery shopping for the first time after a visit to the pediatrician.  Hanna is in perfect health and was interacting with everyone in the doctor's office.

 

The grocery store provided a great adventure as well as lots of food to taste.  The little old ladies were there with their tables on the aisles and Hanna tried them all.  She wanted a taste of everything but finally settled for her very own box of animal crackers.  Debbie met another women who has a 5 year old daughter from Hunan Province and got her name and number.  We are making lots of friends since starting this adoption process.  That is the fun part.

 

Hanna is doing great and seems to be adjusting well.  She eats a lot of the right foods and has gained about a pound since we picked her up 2 weeks ago.

 

Erik and Angie flew back yesterday and Angie was heartbroken.  She fell in love with Hanna and did not want to leave. So the house is a little quieter but Hanna keeps us jumping.

 

Well, that is all the energy I can muster for this weeks tale. Stay tuned for more adventures as the old Fox parents try to keep from keeling over from lack of sleep and keep up with this little 2 year old whirlwind.