No we didn't fall off the deep end...

But it sure felt like we were in some deep dark hole for about a week. Seriously, I had conveniently forgotten just how hard that transition home is. (I guess it's something like labor pain...if you let yourself really remember you might not do it again...) But we survived it and it appears that we finally have both kids back on a fairly normal sleeping schedule.

While we had planned to have Clio attend her preschool part time until I go back to work in January, we came to the decision very quickly, that she needed to go full time. She's always been such an adaptable child, that I didn't realize how important her schedule really is to her. There was a moment in China where we were eating dinner and out of the blue she teared up and said, "I miss my Spanish teacher..." Her little heart was breaking missing all her friends and activities. So, she went all week last week and has been much much more enjoyable to be around. Still a bit jealous that Tian stays home with me, but I assure her that we are only doing boring stuff and getting her ready for school in a few weeks. I'm feeling a bit guilty about this as it also is helping me big time to be able focus solely on Tian during the days, but I do think it's for the best.

As for little Tian, she is doing better and better each day. We had a few days when we arrived home where she was crying inconsolably for many hours at a time. I now believe it was a combination of sensory overload, fear, tiredness and hunger. While we knew she was a good eater in China, she has turned into a major food inhaler once home. Seriously, she eats all the time and is eating more the Clio most days. I don't know if she is making up for lost time or having a huge growth spurt, but we are trying to keep up. Luckily she will eat anything so we are bulking her up with healthy foods...unfortunately, she will not feed herself, so it occupies a lot of parental time shoveling the food in. Part of the way we finally got her to sleep through the night was giving her a huge meal of cereal and fruit prior to bed time.

We have also been running her around the a variety of medical appointments with more to come this week. I will be glad when we know what to expect regarding surgery and future medical treatments.

She continues to improve her motor skills daily and I don't have a lot of concerns about her development, other than the fact that she doesn't put food into her mouth. She has already learned a few signs of baby sign language and is crawling and pulling up like crazy.

So now I'm going to go back and post some photos from our last days in China and our first days home.

Here are a few from our last couple of days in China...






Including the infamous sake photo...I ended up leaving about half of this for whoever cleaned the room. They probably had a really good day!



Here are some photos on the famous red couch...the girls weren't cooperating a whole lot so the photos worked better with parents involved. Unfortunately, there wasn't anyone around we felt comfortable asking to take one of all four of us.




Here are some others around the White Swan Hotel.



We finally found someone to take one of all of us near the waterfall. Yes, this is IN the hotel.

Finally back home...we went on lots of walks trying to get the girls some sun and help reset their internal clocks. The swing was not a big it with Tian...just one of many ways she is the opposite of big sister...

Some photos of Tian learning about her new home:

Despite the smile here, Tian is much more cautious and observant than her big sister. She is getting used to riding "Blue" but it's been a gradual process. Big sister was riding this thing standing on one foot at her one year birthday. It amazing to see the different personalities already at work at this young age.

Here they are in their new double stroller, courtesy of my friend Kelly. I would have killed to have this with us in China.

On Dec. 1, our Homeowner's Association did a nice event with carriage rides and Santa. No Santa photos through, Clio was terrified of him. We feel really lucky to live in such a nice neighborhood.