The Mad Tea Party

Maggie and Ellie love having tea parties. So today they put on their pink dresses that I bought for them in China and I set up a long folding table on the lanaii just outside of my office. We set up their tea set with crackers and punch and put "Chicken Little" in the portable DVD player. I could hear them laughing and giggling over their snacks and the movie. As I was preoccupied on the computer I could hear them moving about the lanaii but I was busy working so I wasn't paying too much attention. BAD IDEA. Have I told you that Ellie loves to play in the dirt in the plantar??? Well, I step outside and she is digging the dirt up WITH the portable DVD player...oh well, it now goes the way of the Leapster.

Maggie came in later and was just so proud of herself for not tattling on Ellie (I have tried to get her to stop tattling on everything that Ellie does)...."I'm being a good big sister right Mommy?"....ugh.

Got to figure out something else to entertain them now. Hopefully, they will start swimming lessons soon though Ellie hates to get her face wet so not too sure how that will work out. Also, Cashana (my sister who is a freshman at U of Chicago) is coming home for the summer...can't believe that she has finished her first year. She has not met Ellie yet and I can't wait for them to get aquainted. I know that Ellie will love Cashana's Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) game. Cashana is a DDR pro and Ellie loves to dance so I can bet they will be on it all summer. Poor Maggie. I am afraid she takes after me and dances like a dinosaur.

I feel like I am making some progress with Ellie. She actually got on my lap today and gave me a great big hug. She is starting to share more easily with Maggie and is not hoarding so many toys and food. She has had some rough nights lately though with nightmares and kicking and crying and rolling all over the bed. Last night I picked her up and rocked her on the side of the bed until she went quieted down. I can't wait until she knows enough English that I can have a real conversation with her. I wonder how much she will share with me about her life in China and how much she misses it. I know that for the most part she seems happy to be here, but she has to miss the nanny's and her friends from Hangzhou. Right now Maggie seems to be enjoying doing the one thing that Ellie can't..talking. She is talking almost non-stop with anyone that will listen to her. There has been such a change in her personality since Ellie came. She has really come out of her shell. She is so much more out-going and confident. This morning when she woke up one of the first things she told me was that the best part of going to China was getting Ellie. I hope she always feels that way!