The Girls Love to Sing!

We encourage the girls to sing English songs. This is such a fun way for them to learn. They don't like TV so that doesn't help them learn their English like most children do. I have been recording some of their songs and our favorite one is "Five Little Monkeys". I may not ever get tired of hearing it the way they sing it! I am trying to record all of their Chinese songs, but they know so many of them. This should be fun for them when they are older.

Fun in the snow! Anna's first snow.

Adjustment Period!!

We have been home now for 10 weeks and I can honestly say that things are going great for all of us. The girls are doing so much. They pick up more English every day. They started school full time which helps with their English. They go to the gym to swim and play basketball two times a week. They are active at home with singing and dancing. Anna cracks me up with her singing "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed". They really have fun and we enjoy the entertainment. Anna has been exposed to a lot more than Mia has been while growing up in China. Anna can sing, dance, do dance routines, and play many games. However, her school work and studying is not so good. She really struggles with authority and having to do certain things during a normal day. She is very frustrated and can get mad easily. Her tantrums have decreased considerably and aren't as intense but she is still struggling. We are doing our best to keep a schedule so she will know what to expect. She is having a hard time in school. She will refuse to do her work. Everything she does she seems to rush through and is very messy. She eats messy, spills her drink, writes messy, her drawers and toys are messy. I often wonder what her mind must be like. It must jump from one thing to another without having time to sort anything out. We may have to call in the experts.
Mia is just the opposite of Anna in many ways. She is very neat, but slow when doing homework. She is cooperative 98% of the time. She is quiet and soft spoken (unlike Anna). She can sing many Chinese songs very well. She seems to know a lot of them. She doesn't seem to have been exposed to sports but she is enjoying swimming and basketball.  They were both very afraid of the water when we started going but now they can go underwater. Anna is doing somersaults under the water and swimming down to the bottom. Mia can swim underwater for a little way. They have only been going for a few weeks and their progress does amaze us. Mia is adjusting very well in school. She really seems to enjoy her time there. The only big issue we have with Mia is bonding to us and not to other people. She will go up to strangers and grab for their hands. This can be very hard to explain to them but she is getting better. We know that this will take time. We have told the teachers at school that she is not allowed to hug, kiss, or hold their hand. We have asked that they discourage this behavior until she learns what is appropriate.
They are settling in very well (and so are we). It has been an adjustment for all of us. We get a lot more smiles now and have some really fun times. We are very blessed to have them in our family!