3-31 and 4-1 updates

On 3-31, we discovered the honeymoon was over for a bit. I think we were all just tired and XiaoTing was frustrating us with her behavior. We had let some things go the first few days and she was really pushing the limits to see what she could get away with. We finally decided we had to begin to really discipline her - so we say BauYaou (stop) when she tries to push or hit Sarah or us. She has so much energy that it is hard to keep up with her. I do believe she understands when we say NO and BauYaou. We are now trying very stern faces and holding her hands and saying it to her. She will then shake her head and say NO (which means she understands we are saying no). We were all looking at each other like "What did we get ourselves into?" yesterday. She was such a pill. She was even running around in the swimming area so we had to leave. I was afraid she would hurt herself. Sarah is really frustrated. This is not what she pictured as a big sister. I think we all thought Katherine XiaoTing (we are now calling her that to begin the transition) would follow Sarah more. However, she is so independent and stubborn that she wants to do everything herself. That is good and bad. She does bath herself, including washing her own hair, gets dressed, etc. But she also has trouble sitting and working with Sarah or us.

4-1 - We had to get up at 6 a.m. to catch the flight from Urumqi to Guangzhou. Sarah and I woke up about 5 and talked for a bit about our frustrations and Katherine woke up about 5:30 and we goofed around in bed for a bit. We left for the airport about 7:30. Our flight left at around 9 and arrived at 2:30. Katherine had a hard time on the flight. Her ears hurt, but she wouldn't chew gum (which she usually loves). She slept for about 1 1/2 hours. After that, she would only do stuff for a few minutes (like color) and then she stopped. She went to the bathroom many times (I think just to get up but also I don't think her tummy felt too good). In the middle of the flight, it got bumpy and I had to put her in her seat. She started crying and would not look at me for some time. I think that is her version of a temper tantrum. On the descent, she really started crying and pointed to her tummy. I just knew what was next, so grabbed the airsick bag. The poor kid got sick. But, in her usually resilent fashion, she was fine by the time we got the luggage (laughing, eating banana chips and helping pull the luggage). She actually has been pretty good today. Once we got to the hotel (we are staying at the White Swan and it is awesome - truly 5 star), we changed into shorts (it is about 80 and humid here - palm trees and green and flowers everywhere !!). We then met up with our friends the Bergquists (the folks we hung out with in Beijing) and went for a walk and dinner. They have their new son, Nathan, and he is very cute. Several people stopped me on the street and asked if Katherine was my biological child, they couldn't believe she is Chinese!!

Well, time to sign off. I'll see if I can upload some pictures. I tried the other night and it didn't work.

P.S. Mom- Katherine grabbed my Coke Light (Diet Coke in China) and likes it !!