A moment to post...

Kennedy LOVES Jack and Addie!  Jack can usually be found in her lap!!

Kennedy was watching very carefully as I flat-ironed her hair for her Aunt Sarah's graduation.  She wanted to learn how to do it, so she studied my every move.  Oh, BTW, she got several inches cut off, added some long layers and some face-framing layers and got her bangs trimmed, softened and blended last week.  You can KIND OF see it here.

I have not had much time to post since we arrived home.  I have preferred to spend my spare time with my two daughters...when I am not doing laundry!!!  Wow...add one more person, and laundry somehow seems to actually double????

Kennedy is amazing.  Simply amazing.  Kennedy and Mia are super close, as they seemed to be instantly!  They are rarely found apart!  They have needed a few short "breaks" from each other, but even those were less than an hour!!  They are usually giggling in one or the other's room!  They love to play hide-and-seek, do art projects, listen to music...watch movies.  They are really in to any and all Christmas movies at the moment.  The other night I was wrapping gifts.  I pointed to Kennedy's stack then Mia's stack.  Kennedy looked shocked that she had "so many" gifts.  In reality, it will be a scaled down Christmas for us since the adoption trip cost so much...but she was amazed.  She took me to the calendar, pointed to the current date and counted to December 25.  She said...six days...open!  (about her gifts)  SO CUTE!!!

Kennedy is so disciplined and dedicated to learning English!  She has worked through SEVERAL units of study on the "laptop-like" thing we bought for her in China that teaches native Chinese-speaking children English.  I hear her in there practicing and saying the words in English.  She is doing VERY well!  Two days ago, she was learning about the days of the week and the seasons.  She stopped and wrote all of the days in Chinese and in English.  Later, she practiced asking Mia what her favorite season was.  When Mia said summer, Kennedy said, "Hot temperatures and sunny skies!"  Then Mia asked what Kennedy liked.  She said, "Winter.  Cold temperatures and snow!"  I did not have the heart to break it to her again that she will RARELY see any of that stuff in Texas!!!  I was just busy being impressed that she was communicating in English!!!  The sentence she says most often is, "Mia!!!  Come look!!!!"  She is always calling her over to show her things!  The last 4 or 5 mornings when I have gone in to wake sleeping beauty...she has fallen asleep with one Chinese-English dictionary beside her in the bed, and the other open on her chest.  She is so very intelligent!  Last Sunday night, before the first Monday of Christmas break...Kennedy brought me the translator and asked, "Shall I need to attend school in the morning?"  I explained that we would be on Christmas vacation for the next 2 weeks.  She told me that she had already been out of school for 3 weeks now!  She looked BUMMED that it was not time to get started with classes!  She is ready to get to it!

We have had some medical appointments and the fun testing that goes along with international adoption.  Ya know...fun stuff like urine and stool samples...9...count them...9 vials of blood drawn today!!!  NOT fun.  Kennedy had to lie down for them to take that much.  It was fasting bloodwork, so she got very dizzy!  She had to stay in the room for about 20 minutes before we could leave. Luckily, I planned ahead and brought a thermos of steamed rice, a yogurt drink, some crackers and orange juice.  She had a picnic right there in the room at the doc's office!  She handled it well, like she does everything!  Not a tear shed or a single complaint or argument.

She tries more food each day.  I had to make what is NOT a favorite dinner of mine the other night due to time constraints...frozen, breaded fish.  Turns out, she loved it and ate 3 fillets!  Who knew!  She has had a cheeseburger, hot dog and spicy chicken wings.  The spicy wings went over the best.  She still eats lots of noodles but is willing to try most things without any protest.  I think she will be comfortable with more American food pretty quickly.

My brother, Ryan, brought over his electric keyboard this week so Kennedy can play.  We went the next day to the music store to get a stand to put it on.  She walked around and showed me all the instruments she can play.  Piano, violin, drums, recorder...and some kind of Chinese string instrument they obviously did not carry.  She is so talented!  She has enjoyed playing some classical music for us, and has been working on teaching herself to play some Christmas songs by ear.  She wants to teach Mia to play, but Mia is not one for sitting still that long!  Time will tell!  (I am super proud of Mia, by the way!  She has adjusted VERY well to sharing the spotlight with her sister, and she is always thanking us for "getting her a big sister"!)

Last night, Kennedy got to speak with the person who was at the orphanage when she  arrived as a scared 7 year old.  (We posted about her before.)  She said that she was drawn to Kennedy for her strength.  She said that Kennedy allowed herself to grieve, yet did not become consumed by it.  She was so impressed with her strength and grace as she dealt with the loss of the life she knew in a family for 7 years before she came to the orphanage.  She said she witnessed MANY children who did not deal well with that situation, but Kennedy did.  I believe it.  She is so resilient.  She is wise beyond her years.

Well, the girls are calling for me to come check out their play-doh creations!  Soon, we are heading to an indoor inflatable play place so they can jump and slide for an hour and a half.  I can't WAIT to see Kennedy's face when we get there!!!  She was sure loving her trip to Chuck E. Cheese over the weekend with Charles and Mia!!!!