Wow, I can't believe how time flies! It's been almost 4 months since we first saw Amanda and it seems like so much longer.
Amanda/YangYang has come a long way. The first Sunday we were home, we went to dance class even though it was Easter. It seems like every mom, dad, grandparent, and child that spoke both Mandarin and English were at dance class. They loved Amanda. And it had the effect on her I had hoped it would - that I wasn't trying to take away everything she knew and that I did know people who could speak her language and keep her connected with her culture. When we went home that day, she decided to tackle her fear of the dogs and cat. She now loves them all. And who wouldn't love live stuffed animals?!! And after some initial fears on their part, Lucy, Sophie, and Jinny now love Amanda as well!
Within 2-3 months, Amanda was understanding pretty much everything we say. Sometimes I have to find another word or way to describe things, but now she is hardly doing any pantomime to get her point across. She is speaking sentences.
She loves the extended family ("family - good" is what she said after the first time meeting them). We've been to dance recitals, concerts, camping, vacation bible school, school shopping, ride the bus night. All fun things.
I would say Amanda's favorite activity is riding her bike or scooter. She's definitely got a lot of energy. I call her the Engergizer Bunny. She keeps going and going. Jessica says "she never stops talking!" I keep telling her that YangYang is 5. She's doing exactly what she's supposed to be doing.
She's had a few breakdowns as any 5 year old would. The kicking and screaming goes on until we are both exhausted. The last time, I told her I loved her all the time. All of a sudden she goes "WHAT?!?!?!" So I explained that I loved her in the morning, during the day and at night. I loved her when she was sad, mad, happy, excited. All the time.
She loves outdoors and activities. She likes to jump - around the house, on the bed, from the dresser to the bed. I know she'd be great at gymnastics, but I've decided we need to stick with dance - Chinese dance. She has watched Jessica and Anna at dance practice and now Jessica is teaching her some of the stretching and gymnastics part of dance. We've also found the other girls old dance outfits and shoes. She's excited about starting.
She also loves princesses, dressing up pretty especially in the princess costumes we saved, and watching Disney movies. I keep kicking myself for selling so many of the things I sold just last summer at my garage sales. I guess I had given up on believing I'd get Amanda. Sometimes I still can't believe she's actually home!
I still have to stop myself from looking at the waiting child list. Long-term habits are hard to break. I guess I've been planning for and/or waiting for my kids for the last 15 years or so and I now need some new long-term goals so I can move on.
