All girls are princesses

Sheoot, it's cold. We're trapped inside and trying hard to keep everyone occupied and productively engaged. Nora (as she is referring to herself these days) was again the star driveway shoveler, that girls takes a task and just doesn't let go until the job is finished and she really likes the shoveling.
My incredible Ellie organized most of the activities today and princess fashion show just had to be the highlight. Each girl sashayed down the hall and later sang a song of her own choosing acapella style. Too cute, I can hardly stand it. Nora hasn't broken into the Mimi/YuYu joined at the hip action yet. I don't think that will happen until she gets a lot more language. The games Mimi and YuYu play the most involve a lot of imagination and role-playing and Nora just can't do that yet. Just thought you'd like to see my princesses on parade. Talk about a full heart.

Mixed Bag

We've been home for two whole weeks and she still can't speak the English, what's up with that? She must not be trying hard enough. I wish I had kept a blog/journal/something for the other girls, because I'm having these completely delusional memories that YuYu was speaking English by now. I do remember by week nine YuYu told me she couldn't talk to her foster parents on the phone because "I don't speak Chinese." Nora chatters away in Chinese and doesn't seem to get upset that we can't understand most of what she says. She can say "Mama peezy (please)" and "NO." She seems happy most of the time, I think. She sleeps well and she's a good eater. Nora will eat peanut butter sandwiches and for that, I am blessed. Now I have two out of four (although Mimi not reliably) who will eat a peanut butter sandwich, or any kind of sandwich (oooh, that Ellie and her, shall we say selective, eating habits). Nora loves to help, I couldn't get her to stop shoveling the driveway until every inch of ice was chipped and scraped. She adores Ellie, but who doesn't. She started right in at Mimi's preschool and except for a monumental fit this morning and that she HATES to be outside in the cold, she seems to have a good time her teachers think she is doing okay. She is still a puzzle to me because we can't talk. I can only guess at what she wants or likes, sometimes I get it right. I hear MaMA, all the time and I have to infer all her wants and needs from the tone of her MaMA. She seems to like me more and more. She is free with the hugs and wants to sit on my lap. She still doesn't like to be corrected, but is dealing with it a lot better, not as much pouting, but still more than I'm used to. I make sure to use Chinese words when I have to correct Mimi or YuYu so Nora knows that I'm mean to all my kids, not just her. I do a lot of laundry and go through a lot of groceries and I have to remind myself, oh yeah, I've got a big family.
When I think of all the changes she has experienced in the past four weeks, I can't imagine what she is thinking or expecting to happen next and I think she is adjusting and adapting really well. Now, it's up to me to adjust and adapt very well. I think it will come together if I can keep up with the laundry and grocery shopping.