All About Ailee

This post has been a long time coming. I wanted to be able to capture everything about Ailee in the first month of getting to know our little monkey. But with how sick we have been around here and the chaos that has been our lives since coming home, getting to the computer just hasn't been easy!

Our Ailee was such a quiet little thing when we first met her. Our first week together was spent almost entirely on either her Baba or Mama's lap and she barely made a sound. She very slowly came out of her shell and started reaching for the 'magic' stacking cups. Eventually, near the end of the week, she would dare to get off my lap and walk a foot or two to retrieve a toy.

By the time we reached Beijing, Ailee started to want to walk more often -- but she absolutely had to be holding onto my hand. If we were anywhere outside of the hotel room (except for the Jade factory), she had to be held. My arms have never been in so much pain before -- she is heavier than Maelyn was at her age and holding her all day long was very tiring. But -- it was a wonderful time to bond. :) At this point, Ailee was still sitting in my lap for all meals and sleeping in our bed. The week in Beijing was also the first time that we got a glimpse of Ailee's funny side. She does this cute little act when you say no to her -- a word she does not like at all! She will stick out her bottom lip, lower her eyes and chin to her chest and then flop herself down on the floor. We could tell that she was very practised at this little act and obviously used it often to get her way. I would burst out laughing every time she did this and eventually, she would glance up at me to see if I was falling for any of it -- which I wasn't. She continues to do this when we say no to her and I just love it!

Our first week home with Ailee was our best yet. She began to open up again to Paul, freely playing with him and even seeking comfort from him at times. It was a wonderful break for this Mama! Ailee began to play with the toys in the house and seemed to love all of the new treasures. Her favourite thing by far, though, were the cats. Instead of being afraid of them, she would seek them out and coo at them for hours. Ailee continued to need a lot of time with Mama, which was totally expected. She would spend hours in my arms and wouldn't sit in her chair to eat.

By the second week, Ailee wasn't well and we spent our time together in the hospital. She spent hours in my arms and couldn't sleep unless she was touching me. We spent hours and hours cuddling. I can only imagine how confused our poor little monkey must have been, with yet another change in living arrangements. At the hospital, once she was feeling better, she started opening up more to others. She started waving goodbye to the nurses every time they left the room and she even started using a few signs that we have been teaching her, to help her communicate her needs.

It was wonderful to watch Ailee's reaction once we returned home from the hospital. She was so happy to be home with her Baba, sister, cats, and all of her toys! Our little monkey really started coming out of her shell. Maelyn and Ailee started interacting with one another and would play together for small amounts of time. Yang Yang also became more vocal. She is constantly chatting and babbling, pointing to things and carrying on full converstaions that only she can understand. :)

Here are a few fun tidbits about our little monkey:

-she is a picky eater; she loves rice, congee, cookies (thanks go Grandma), and absolutely adores soup
-Ailee's other favourite food at the moment is the dry cat food (I know....ewww)
-she always has a ready smile and will giggle, clap her hands and bounce up and down when Baba gets home
-Yang Yang has discovered the trampoline in our house and although a week ago she could do little more than bob up and down on it, she is now fully jumping on it and will do so for hours (but has to play the music on it while jumping, which gets on the nerves a little)
-Ailee loves to say, "Yay!" when she does something well and she will clap her hands (and she will stop her activitiy, such as the jumping, to ask you to clap for her, too)
-she still moves our hands to 'show' us what she wants from us; too cute!
-Yang Yang wakes up happy
-she is getting used to wearing winter gear and will now go and get what is needed; even handing Maelyn her stuff one piece at a time
-she still loves to sweep and tidy up
-bath time is a huge hit
-but she still yells and screams for every single diaper and clothing change :S
-she totally gets the present thing and loves opening packages
-Ailee loves to cuddle
-when Maelyn is misbehaving, she will wag a finger at her, pout out her lip, and shake her head no
-she loves to have her teeth brushed

Ailee has been a part of our family for about six weeks now and we couldn't imagine life without her. We love her so very much and she fits so well into our family. It 'feels right' having her home with us. Her smile and giggles brighten our day and although it hasn't been the easiest of transitions home, we can already tell that life with our two girls is going to be an amazing and wonderful adventure.

Learning to sit in her chair at dinner time...

Her first outdoor playtime in the snow...