5/14 - 5/24 - We've been home a little over a week and have come a long way, at least the little one has. I will continue to update the blog weekly and post pictures when I can. We seem to be on a pretty good sleep schedule now; Kimberly goes to bed around 9:00 PM and wakes up about 8:00 AM with a two hour nap in the afternoon and a bath every evening. The potty schedule is back on track, too, every morning like clockwork. She has tried all sorts of new foods. Her favorites are hotdogs, french fries and spaghetti. She also tried some ice cream yesterday and decided that was pretty good. Mashed potatoes, toast, scrambled eggs, noodles, rice, pizza, bratwurst, pudding, jello, breaded chicken patties and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are all on the edible list. She does not like oatmeal, milk, yogurt, toasted cheese sandwich or cereal with milk. Silky (cat) and Kimberly play pretty good and Reba (cat) still runs from her. The dogs are very tolerant of her. She hand feeds them teddy grahms and gives them her toys to play with. Neeko has figured out that food time in the kitchen is a good time for him. She has also petted all of the minis and ponies at Papa's house. Kim Kim has definately learned who Grandpa is and likes him best. Mikayla and Emma have learned to play with her, too. She has been to the store many times and out for a walk on Headwaters Trail. Yesterday, she even went to Emma's pre-school to pick her up. She has spent a couple hours alone with Grandma and Grandpa Thornton and with Grandma Bowers. Dan and I both went back to work this past week and our schedules were compatible. He worked in the mornings while I watched her and I worked in the afternoons while he watched her. He thinks I had it easy and I think he had it easy. I had to feed breakfast and lunch and he got to nap for 2 hours. I think she has tried out every toy that is in this house. Nothing is untouched. She likes anything that makes noise and lights up when she touches it. She also likes some of the pots and pans in the kitchen cupboards. Kimberly has had a few crying sessions at the end of this week. I swear she was thinking, "I hate you and I want to be back with my old family." Usually they last a few minutes, but one session lasted fifteen and I was afraid the neighbors were going to call the cops on me. They've done it before, you know. Her vocabulary is up to a few more words. She can say Mama, Dada, Bye-Bye, Kitty and is working on Doggy. I also heard something that sounded like E-I-E-I-O. She hums along to music and sings her own version of songs. Last Friday I started with a sore throat and cough which had me down for a couple of days this week. I'm feeling a little better today. I just hope Kimberly and Daddy don't catch it. Kimmy's first doctor's appointment is coming up on June 1st and she'll have a complete workup with the international adoption specialists at University Hospital. We'll know more about her heart condition at that time. Our plans for the big Memorial Day Weekend include gardening and grilling and maybe a parade. The adoption agency we used has a big party this weekend at the Cleveland Zoo. We opted not to go this year, but will probably attend in the future so she can see and make new Chinese friends. All in all, she is adjusting and getting used to life in America. She still barks and will throw a minor tantrum when she is unhappy. But for the most part, she is all smiles and laughs and is a happy little girl.