5/25 - 5/30 - Another week down and much improved. This week there were very few screaming sessions and Kimberly has bonded more and more to Dan and I. We started the week by skipping the Memorial Day parade. I thought the loud band and firetrucks might scare her - especially since she is afraid of the vacuum cleaner! But, so am I - that's why I don't like to touch it. We did some shopping at Lowe's and Home Depot for more gardening stuff and finished the planting in the front yard. We still need some mulch, but that has nothing to do with Kimberly. The day ended at DQ where she shared Dan's chocolate ice cream cone and LOVED it. As we were leaving, Russell, Jodi and Emma showed up. She waved and reached out to Emma to say bye-bye, which made Emma the happiest girl in the world. We had a good quality weekend and bonded together as a big family. This week Dan had 3 loads per day so the Grandparents had to watch her for a few hours on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday while I worked in the afternoons. Each side got to watch her for a few hours and put her down for a nap. She woke up every morning (and nap time) as a happy little child ready to play the day away. She is very comfortable with the dogs and cats, so much so that she decided to lay on everybody this week. Silky, the black cat, didn't think that was such a great idea and took a little swat at her nose. Kimberly never cried, but stopped to rub her nose from the sting. Charlie, the dog, grumbled once or twice at her when she fell on him this week. So far, the animals have been very understanding, but are still supervised with her in the room. Silky and Mr. Kitty, aka Evil, have been wonderful with her, lettering her play and pet them all the time. The child is a non-stop eating machine! She went to Ruby Tuesday's last weekend with Dean and Michelle (and us) and the Brick last night by ourselves. She was wonderfully behaved and ate most of her food. Tonight she ate 9 shrimp with Dad; he was so proud. Yesterday, she ate half of Mom's cereal. Papa will be so happy; she can put away an entire plate of pancakes in one sitting, too! She has learned NO and even says it now. This past week she had a temper tantrum when I put up the wagon that she was playing with and made her come inside. That was truly a tantrum, which I ignored till she came to me. She also insisted on moving a candle many times one day. After the third time I told her NO and took it away, she started to cry. I put her in the corner of the living room and left her there for a minute. She didn't move, but still wimpered. After a minute I took her by the hand and brought her back to play and all was well. Kim is also picking up some more English. She knows "bye-bye" and has started to wave. Today she said "hi" - doesn't know when to say it, but she said it. She has also started to say "doggie" and "birdie". She has been playing very well with Mikayla and Emma this past week. She played well with Jillian and Jayden last weekend, too. There are some moments where she wants to be in charge and play by her rules, but they seem to have worked it out. Hugs and kisses come easy from her towards Mom and Dad and her new cousins. She has met some new people this past week and does well one on one with Mom or Dad on hand. Yesterday, she met Mary Lynn, Darby and Maddie Griff. Today, we drove to Ashland and she went to her first horse show, which may have been too much too soon. She had a screaming session when we first arrived when too many people came around to see her. She made it clear that that was not a good idea. People scattered and then Dan (security blanket) introduced her to some close friends one by one and she was able to play with friends. After about two hours they headed home and she napped in the car. Tomorrow should be a quiet day and Monday will be the big doctor's appointment. I'll post more after the doctor's appt and when we get some new pictures taken. We have been in contact with the four other families that traveled to China with us from our agency and all of the kids seem to be adjusting well.