The Belk Family:Somewhere Out There: One month since we have had Sophie!

It has been a month since our Gotcha Day (July 22) with Sophie! We have been home since August 3. We have been going nonstop ever since. I will give you an overview what has happened since we have been home. In my last post, I told you about the trouble of Sophie waking up early ( 2 am) the first night home. Well, it took a couple nights, but she finally started sleeping through the night. Since day one, she has been sleeping in her own room and bed. I think it took Dustin and me a few more days to get on the sleep schedule. Jet lag stinks. I felt sorry for Dustin, because he had to go back to work that Monday after we got back. So, he was really feeling the jet lag.

The day after we got home was a Sunday. Dustin went to church; however, I stayed home with the kids. Sophie did fine her first full day in her new home. It was like she has been here the whole time, but she has to be in the same room that you are. Our family (the grandparents and my sisters) came over for a little visit and brought us lunch. She was fine, skyping really works wonders. They didn’t stay over too long; they didn’t want to overwhelm her. My mom bought her a purse and brought it over that day; and to this day, Sophie has to carry that purse everywhere she goes. She is already calling our family by their names. She is really smart. Later that Sunday evening, Dustin’s football team was having pictures taken; they also take the coaches’ families pictures as well. Dustin wanted Sophie in the picture this time, so we all went to have our pictures taken. She was shy with all the coaches and players (so, I guess skyping with the family was a good thing, because she is fine around them). Sophie wouldn’t let me put her down.

The Monday after we got home, Dustin had to go back to work. So, it was a full day with me and the kids. We had our first grocery trip with Sophie and an extra kid makes a difference, especially one who loves food. The rest of the week I spent a lot of time at my work place since my classroom was moved and I had to get it ready before my students started school, which was Thursday. Yes, it took me two half days to get it ready, because two kids can slow you down. I am not use to a child that is constantly on the go, so I spent a lot of time getting Sophie out of mischief. David Ryan just sat in one of the students’ desks and played on the Kendal. David Ryan has always been good in public places, but Sophie keeps you on your toes. I don’t know if it is a toddler thing or if she is just curious since everything is so new to her. In the future, I will be grading papers and lesson planning when she is sleeping, because it is impossible to get anything like that done when she is awake. Also, that Tuesday night was parent orientation for kindergarteners. Man, kindergarten has changed a lot. David Ryan will be one of the youngest in his class since his birthday is in August. That does worry me a little bit, but his school is one of the best in the county. The following night was Meet the Teacher Night. David Ryan was so excited that he actually skipped to his classroom (this puts some of the worries away for now). He liked his classroom and teachers. We had Sophie “strapped” in a stroller; we wanted this to be David Ryan’s night. We only have been home four days so leaving her with someone is really not a good idea. She was good in the stroller, she even enjoyed being pushed.

School started for the kids on Thursday, August 8^th. This was also David Ryan’s first day of kindergarten. I feel very luck to be able to take David Ryan on his first day of kindergarten. Being a teacher myself, you don’t get the luxury of taking your own child to their first day of school. Since David Ryan is in kindergarten, the parents can walk their child to their classroom for the next five days. Then, after that, they will have to be dropped off in the front of the school and walk in by themselves. Again, David Ryan was very excited. Sophie was excited, too, but for different reasons. She just likes being on the “go”. Sophie and I got some one on one time today. She is pretty much on a schedule now. She wakes up at 7:15/7:30, eats lunch at noon, naps from 1:00 to 2:30, snack at 3:45, bath at 8:00, and bedtime at 8:30. I am also picking David Ryan up from school (I am going to enjoy my time off and do the things that I wouldn’t normally be able to do). Seeing his smile every time I pick him up from school makes me want to quit my job and be a stay at home mom (which I would love to do if we could afford to do it). Sophie didn’t like being buckled in her car seat and us sitting idle in the car until it was time for school to get out. The next day I brought her snacks to occupy her. But, after a few weeks, she has gotten this routine down.

We have only had a few days where we have dropped David Ryan off of school and have had zero errands to run. We have spent numerous of days running errands and getting business taken care of. We have sat in government offices that take up pretty much most of the day. We sat in the social security office for a while only for them to tell us that we didn’t have all the paper work for us to get her social security card. We later found out that we are waiting on a document that will take 90 days to get here. I hope she doesn’t need it anytime soon. Also, we sat at the health department for a while to get her vaccines. She had to get four shots. She did cry a little when they stuck her, but it only lasted about two minutes. She gets over things pretty quick. Earlier that morning when I was dropping DR off at school, I told him about going to take Sophie to get her shots and he said “let’s just put band aids on her and she will be okay.” He didn’t want his little sister getting any shots, hahaha. I have also been to my school taking care of work business. I have been planning a birthday party for both Sophie and DR since their birthdays are a day a part. I have been of the phone with our insurance company trying to get Sophie some health insurance. We want Sophie on the same insurance that DR has, because his plan only costs $98 a month. Our school insurance wants $200 a month to add her. So, when I called DR’s insurance, they told me I would have to wait for open enrollment to add Sophie and couldn’t tell me when that would be. They told me to call back once a week to see if it is open enrollment. So, do we bite the bullet and get the expensive insurance or do we cross our fingers and hope open enrollment opens up before Sophie gets sick or needs to go to the doctor?

Brother and sister are still getting use to each other. We knew David Ryan will have some jealous moments, but Sophie gets them, also. She likes to push David Ryan out of my lap. They both are still learning to share. Sophie doesn’t play much with her toys, but she always wants what brother is playing with even if it is a car or pirate stuff. Sophie won’t play in her room unless someone else is in there with her. She does like to play with DR’s kitchen play set and her teacup set. She likes to play with her phone and keys. She loves playing outside, especially sliding down the slide. Sophie mocks everything you do. David Ryan gets frustrated when she mocks him (sister is already annoying her big brother-hahaha). She wants to wear make up. She watches me in the mornings and points to her face wanting some make up also. It only took about a week since we got home that she started responding to her name Sophie. Now, she even calls herself Sophie instead of Weina. But, her “Sophie” sounds like “Fefe”. Sometimes her “Fefe” sounds like peepee, so we don’t know if she is wanting to go to the bathroom or not. Every so often, she will point to her Pull-Up and say “peepee.” She is still not fully potty trained, but she needs constant reminders. But, we will get there. She is not a picky eater. She loves all her fruits and vegetables. The only thing we have found that she doesn’t like is Frosted Mini Wheat’s. Like I said earlier, she keeps you busy. One day I was wondering why the dish washer was being so quiet and I saw that someone was pushing buttons and had stopped the cycle. She has to have a bow in her hair. She loves dresses that twirl and shoes. We went Target the other day to get some party supplies and she was okay in the toy aisle, but loved the clothes. She really got excited when we were looking at shoes. You would of have thought it was Christmas morning. She had to try on five pairs of shoes! She is a quick learner. She knows what “no” means. When she gets in trouble, she wants a kiss, hahaha, she already knows how to work it. When she gets upset, she doesn’t throw a fit, she cuffs her hand to her mouth and pouts. She has tested us in several areas, but we have taught her that we are not going to allow that behavior. For example, the first couple of days, she would get up from the table and walk around with her food. We had to repeatedly sit her back down in her seat until she got the hint. She is rough (really rough), she likes to head butt. I am in the process of teaching her to be gentle. Her and DR’s favorite playtime together is chasing each other around the house. They can be affectionate toward sometimes. But, usually it’s the case when one is willing and the other isn’t willing at that moment. David Ryan will try to hug her and she will pull away or Sophie will chase him around the house trying to give him a kiss. There is a lot of arguing. They both need to learn to share. David Ryan has taught Sophie a new word; “mine.” He gets so frustrated because she says to him all the time about her girly stuff and he could care less about her bows and purse- LOL. Sophie also knows how to put the dishes in the sink when she is done eating. She loves when big brother doesn’t finish his supper because she gets to eat his leftovers. She wipes her mouth and table. She also likes to up her daddy’s shoes and put them where they suppose to go (not in the middle of the living room). She does love her daddy; she gets excited when he comes home from work. However, she still prefers me over him. If Dustin puts a bow in her hair after it falls out, she will take it out again for me to put it back in her hair. She cries whenever Dustin puts her to bed, but I have no problems putting her to bed.

Other English words she can say now since she has been home; momma, daddy (she calls him daddy now after hearing DR calling him that, so no papa), mawmaw, pawpaw, granny, Manda, Liz, Sissy (we are still working on Zach, she has trouble with Zs), eat, more, pur (purse), baby, bow, hair, night night, Minnie, money, hey, bye-bye, shoes, pretty, cool, mine, no, one, two, three, cupcake, cookie, cheese, uh oh, boo boo, pee pee, poop, done, gar (garbage), Fe fe (Sophie), Harper, hair, sit, flower, thank you, and Bubba.

Speaking of cupcakes, the other day was Dustin’s birthday and the kids helped make him some S’mores cupcakes. David Ryan was excited that it was his daddy’s birthday; DR even had us to hide and jump out and say surprise when Dustin got home. He loved helping to make the cupcakes. Sophie wanted to get her hands on the cake mix so bad. She was excited about eating. After she had her first cupcake that night, she has been asking for a cupcake nonstop. I think she is going to be more excited about eating cake on her birthday then opening up presents. This girl loves food!

Yesterday, we had our first post placement visit with our social worker. She was so impressed on how well Sophie is doing. She said she has never seen a case where a child was so “at home” and adjusting so well. Sophie was acting like she has been in our home forever. Our SW was also impressed how well her sleep schedule is doing. She said she has a case where a child has been home 3 months and is still struggling at night. She said we were lucky on how well Sophie is adjusting and how our paperwork moved along so fast. She said Beth from our adoption agency called her back in February (the day we were matched) and told her about our little girl. She said Beth was so ecstatic about “Sophie” that she talked so fast that our social worker couldn’t understand her. Beth said “Sophie” just popped up over night and was an unbelievable case. She is perfectly healthy and really doesn’t need any follow up visits except for the yearly check ups. We are thankful that Sophie’s foster parents did a great job preparing her for this adoption. Our SW said she didn’t see any developmental delays in Sophie like they do sometimes with children in the care of social services. Our social worker said she couldn’t wait until she comes to back in 6 months to see how Sophie is doing since she is doing so well now. The kids did behave during the visit, except Sophie did show her jealous side when David Ryan came near her and us. Since we had a good visit, we went out to our favorite Mexican restaurant and introduced Sophie to some Mexican food and cheese dip. And of course, she loved it. Also, we received some good news about the insurance that I wanted for Sophie. I just happen to call to see if it was open enrollment to add her and it was! Sophie now has health insurance and it isn’t going to cost us an arm and a leg.

I go back to work in a couple of weeks, she will be staying at my mom’s. I did leave her at mom’s once for a couple of hours to see how she would do while I ran errands. She was fine, so I think “she” will be okay when I go back to work, but the question is will I be okay. I do love being at home with my children and taking David Ryan to school. I wish I could be a stay at home mom, but in today’s time, it is hard to do that. But, I guess being a teacher is the next best thing to being a stay at home mom. If I had the opportunity to stay at home, would I? Yes, in a heart beat. My mom stayed at home with me and my sisters, and I loved having my mom there. Kids grow up too fast and I don’t want to miss anything!

I am going to try to do monthly blog updates on Sophie. Going back to work is going to be a challenge with a toddler that can’t sit still, so hopefully I will be able to fit some blogging in there. I apologize for any grammar mistakes, but typing with a two year sitting beside you grabbing at the mouse is a challenge, also.

David Ryan's way of introducing Sophie to people "This is Sophie, she's from China, she talks Chinese."

Enjoy the pictures!

Sophie on Gotcha Day- July 22, 2013