May 2006

Watch out Mary Lou and Nadia, Molly is a gymnast! Molly and I started gymnastics. I actually think I had more of a workout than she did, since I had to chase her around AND lift her for the tricks! She loved doing somersaults and bouncing on the springboard. She did not care so much for sitting still and listening – she wanted to run and explore! She has now been to 2 lessons and can walk along the balance beam (well sort of!), she did a somersault all by herself, and tried hanging from the bars (her little hands can’t quite grip the bars completely yet!) The class is for children between the ages of one and three and Molly is definitely one of the youngest, but she tries to keep up. She wants to be first in line – we need to work on “waiting for your turn” – maybe she will grasp that concept by the time she is a teenager, but I have little hope that she will get it soon. So I spend a lot of time trying to entertain her while she waits for her turn. Occasionally the girls are asked to follow the instructor to the next area – Molly seems to understand this instruction. As soon as she sees the instructor start to leave, she chases after (probably to see what fun stuff she gets to do next). She is supposed to sit on the “white” line when we get to a new area of the gym and wait for instructions. She does this pretty well, although she keeps choosing to sit on the white line that is already occupied by another child! So she squeezes her little butt into the space she wants – pushing the 2 children already in that space to either side!
Next week I have to go to court for Molly’s readoption in the US. Although she is officially my daughter already and the Chinese paperwork is recognized by the US government and Molly is a US citizen (she became an American the moment we landed in Chicago), I decided to readopt in the US. The readoption will give her a US birth certificate which I really want her to have. I think it will be easier for her in the future. For one thing, she will be able to order copies of it and for another, people can read it! I’ll also apply for her passport immediately after the adoption. You never know when we might want to travel to a distant land! I actually already put away some of my proceeds from the sale of the FL house to an “Africa” fund for Molly and I. I want to take Molly on an African safari when she is about 13 years old. I went a couple of years ago to Kenya and loved it! I’m planning on taking Molly to Tanzania for a one week safari in the Serengeti and a one week climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Only 12 more years until that trip! She will be using her new US passport long before that though – next May we will go to England for my cousins wedding. I may take her to England this fall too if I can face 9 hours on the plane with her. So far I cannot bribe another family member to sit with her, while I upgrade to Business Class and relax! I’m working on it though!

Molly decided to give me a gift I didn’t want for Mother’s Day – she was difficult that day! It was a long and frustrating day for both of us. I tried to get professional photos of her done that day too, but she had other ideas. Molly rarely cries, but after 3 pictures, she burst into tears and didn’t recover. The first photo taken was for her passport, so at least I now have the photo for that. She did make up for it the next day by being my sweet baby girl again. She gave me a silver charm with her name and birthdate on it and 2 cards – one that she somehow mailed from Syracuse, NY and the other is one she made in daycare. But the best gift is always my Molly’s hugs and kisses! My friend, Libbie, also sent me a beautiful Mother’s Day necklace with the Chinese symbols for Mother and Daughter – I love it and wear it everyday! The cats allowed me to scratch their chins and snuggled with me too! I also got to read all about Lori and Marc’s and Sheri and Kyle’s Gotcha Day – what a wonderful day to get their daughters. The girls, Katie and Madison, are from a province just below Inner Mongolia, so I was wondering if everyone would be staying in a yurt. But have been told that the accommodations are good – no dung covered yurts! I did kind of want to see Lori in a yurt – I could always use a good laugh! Soon Madison will be in the US and Molly will be ready to play (she has already tested out Madison’s toys and determined that they are not only acceptable, but down right fun!) If anyone needs their toys tested before they receive their children, just call on Molly – she is becoming a pro at it and seems to enjoy it. Her own toys just get SO boring – day after day of endless toy playing with your own toys can be such a drag!