Oh, happy day!

Okay, folks. This is a day of days. Yes, it has finally happened. Last night both E and A slept through the night! Yeehaw. I'm not naive enough to think that this will now occur every night, but it does give me hope that in the not to distant future it might be a regular occurrence. It was quite a shock this morning to wake up and realize that it was morning and I hadn't gotten up at all during the night. A and E are waking up at around 6:00 a.m. these days, which is still way too early for me, but if they sleep through the night I've decided I will be happy with that.

Now, to balance off that good sleep news, DoT and I are going through a bit of a hard time these days because, as of last Thursday, we have been putting the girls in their cribs awake in the hopes that they will learn to go to sleep on their own. Everyone says that it takes about 5 days and that the crying gets progressively shorter each night, but so far I'm not seeing a pattern. The first night, they screamed for about 20 minutes. And when I say "scream", I mean scream. If it was just crying it would be one thing, but I find the screaming really upsetting. It's hard to listen to that and not respond. But if we do go into their bedroom to try to calm them down it just seems to make it worse -- I guess they see that they're having an effect and it gives them a second wind.

Basically the screaming goes on for anywhere between 2 or 3 minutes to 45 minutes. Last night, DoT's brother J was visiting. He was amazed when we put A to bed and she went from screaming to sleeping from one breath to the next. (E fell asleep in my arms last night and I decided that there was no way I was waking her up just to put her into her crib.) And the screaming isn't reserved for bedtime -- they'll also scream like that when we're not feeding them fast enough, when they want out of the stroller, or when we don't respond to them quickly enough when they want us. So I don't think the screaming necessarily indicates that they're in real emotional turmoil. At least I hope not.

They are both napping right now. They went into their cribs at 3:05 p.m., and the screaming stopped at 3:15 p.m., so that's not too bad.

They were to the pediatrician again this morning for a check-up and their next set of needles. They got two needles today - one in each arm. There were a few tears, but they got over it really quickly and were all smiles since then -- until they were put in their cribs. :-) For those of you who are interested, they weighed in today at 17 lbs, 11 oz (E) and 20 lbs, 11 oz (A). So A is gaining weight a bit quicker than E. Not surprising - she's not nearly as picky an eater.

This week marked the start of my piano lessons and choir practices again. The piano lessons are late enough at night that the girls are asleep before I leave home, but on choir night DoT gets them to bed. As much as I love being off work with these two girls, I must admit I've really enjoyed the start-up again of some of my 'adult' activities. It's nice to occasionally have something to focus on that is not related to the kids.

Later this week, we will be going to two "play dates". On Thursday we're getting together with the other Ottawa families who traveled together to China when we adopted. This will be the first time the little girls (and their parents) will see each other since China, so it will be nice to catch up. Then on Friday, I've registered the girls for a Chinese play group. I want the girls to learn Mandarin when they are a bit older, and I think it will be helpful for them to continue to hear it occasionally now so that they don't lose their ear for it. So, Friday morning I and the girls will go to a Mother Goose Chinese play group. Apparently we'll all be learning some Mandarin games and songs. I can just imagine how well I'll do at that. :-) Of course, these two play dates are going to interfere with the routine I'm trying to establish. After waffling back and forth for quite awhile, I've decided that these girls need both their morning and afternoon naps. I was toying with dropping the morning nap, but it makes them really cranky and not too willing to eat much at lunch. So, they're getting a nap in the morning and afternoon now. Except Thursday and Friday. Oh, yeah, and Sunday. There's just way too much going on in church for them to shut their eyes. *Sigh* So much for my "routine".

Well, that's it. No new pictures for you this week. I'll try to remember the camera when we go to the play groups, so I may have something for you next week.

Top Five List

After checking out the latest issue of Parenting magazine (which, in case anyone is wondering I wouldn't recommend)...








E & A have decided it's time to hit the road...












Apparently DoT and I are not the ideal parents this magazine presents. (Like I said, I wouldn't recommend the magazine. :-) )

Anyhow, we are learning as we go, and thought we would pass along all our newfound wisdom, since if we've learned one thing with this adoption it's that everyone (almost) has an opinion on how best to parent. So, in that vein, here is our top five list of parenting wisdom ...

1. Always make sure the lid is closed when setting baby powder within reach of a baby.
















2. Babies can kiss each other too! It's not just about biting.
















3. If you want a hat to stay on a baby's head, make sure it ties under the chin. (Although they may be less than thrilled about it.)

4. Kids will lay down anywhere (unless you're trying to get them to sleep in which case laying down becomes the absolute worst thing in the world).

5. Utensils are optional when eating spaghetti. And whether you use them or not, the end result is much the same...















That's it. All our words of wisdom for today. Feel free to ask us for more though. Because I'm sure we have them, and if not we can certainly relay lots of tips from others. :-)

K...