Sassy girl!!

Yes it is true, Lili runs the house now.

First Halloween

Lili is gearing up for Halloween. She is a pro at saying trick or treat and loves pumpkins.....

Well we have been home almost 4 weeks now and Lili is adjusting very well. We are still having trouble with finding food she likes but it is getting better. She is sleeping at night now, most the time going to bed around midnight and sleeps until 10 am. She is having nightmares now but we are dealing with them and they could be a lot worse. When she wakes from them she wants her mama and holds on for dear life. She loves her daddy and he loves her, they spend a lot of time in her bedroom, which she loves. When people come to visit she grabs their hand and tells them to come on and takes them to her room. Her english is coming out now, she is catching on amazingly well, so much that you have to be carefull what you say because she will repeat it, lol. I know enough, here's some pics!!

HOME AT LAST !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sonja, Liliana and Uncle Joe arrived home without incident on Friday September 4, 2009. Matt and I are very happy they are finally home. Lili is very busy getting acquainted with her new home and surroundings. I know all three of them need some time to get their sleeping schedules back on track. I am sure that Sonja will update the blog as soon as she finds the time.... be patient. I thought I would post a couple of pictures for her that were taken their first night home. Lili LOVES her new room!!!

The countdown to HOME has begun..... 3 DAYS!!!!

Everything is moving along in China. Sonja will take the ACS Oath tomorrow, they will get Lili"s Visa on Thursday and they will be on the plane Friday!!! It seems like they have been gone for months! The following pictures were taken during a Skype video call. You will see Lili looking for the ice in Mommy's mouth (they think this may have been her first experience with ice), you will also see Lili modeling her new red dress while wearing Uncle Joe's shoes. And yes...... Uncle Joe has already taught Lili the "fist pound with explosion". Too cute! Enjoy!

Happier in Guangzhou..... But man is it HOT!!!!!!

All is going well in Guangzhou. (except for the heat!) Yesterday they went to a park near the hotel. The temp was 35 degrees celcius (95 Fahrenheit) with 85% humidity! Look at Joe's shirt in the picture of he and Lili on the Merry Go Round, the top half is soaking wet with sweat! He said that a couple of their guides were giving him a hard time - telling him that he looked like he was melting! Actually... both he and Sonja are melting... Sonja has lost 5 pounds and Joe has lost 13. So - other than the extreme heat, high humidity and wanting to be home really bad-things are going well. Lili already had her medical exam and all checked out fine. They all three took advantage of the pool at the hotel. Lili loves the water! She is going to be such a perfect fit in the Balluff household!

Sonja, Joe and Liliana are FINALLY on the home stretch of this incredible experience..... HOME IN 5 DAYS!!!!

They have arrived safely in Guangzhou!!

As you can see by the above pictures.........

Lili did very well on the plane ride to Guangzhou ( for the most part). They were a little bit nervous about how she would react-but all went well. They are in a very nice hotel now that has a swimming pool and they believe that there is a park near by. Now Lili won't have to run and play in the halls of the hotel-they can actually take her to the park! They are also hoping to take Lili to the zoo.

Moving Star in the making????

I am glad to say that Joe, Sonja and Lili are leaving Guiyang tonight. They will land in Guangzhou at approximately 10 pm Friday night. (9 am Friday for us) They will be there for seven days and then back to the USA!!!! They are very anxious to get to Guangzhou. The hotel where they will be staying has a pool and they will be able to take Lili to the zoo. (There really hasn't been much for them to do in Guiyang-and the air conditioning didn't work well-so they are all very tired of that hotel) Lili has had two really good days in a row with very few "melt downs". Hopefully that will continue. I was texting via Sykpe with Sonja this afternoon and I have to share this with you all. She has been trying to brush Lili's teeth...... Sonja said they were quite "furry" and it doesn't appear that they have been brushed often (if ever). Every time she would attempt to brush them Lili would say "NO". So.... since Lili loves to "repeat" everything that Sonja and Joe do..... Joe suggested that Sonja brush his teeth......... so she did....... (the mental picture in my mind is way too funny!) IT WORKED! Soon after Sonja brushed Joe's teeth- she was brushing Lili's!

They went on a tour today (as Joe put it) "of some old town that was basically a tourist trap". Lili had a very good day with only a couple melt downs. The following picture of Lili is after a 10 minute melt down where she finally plopped herself down on the floor and fell asleep. The other picture is just precious! Joe and Sonja tell me that she loves to color! WHAT A DOLL!!!!

Monkey-ing Around.......

Mother and Daughter

This is a great picture that I took during our last Skype call. Lili is starting to adjust-but still has moments of crying spells. They are all anxious to leave Guiyang and get out of that hotel room!

Each Day Gets a Little Easier.....

Here is a bit of an E-Mail I received from Joe. Their internal alarm clock keeps waking them up at 3 a.m. every morning.............

" Guess what time it is in Guiyang. That's right 3 a.m. Anyway Lili was incredible tonight. After her bath she played for hours. She was laughing and giggling all night. She grabbed Sonja's head and gave her a big kiss on the lips. Sonja was on Skype with Matt so he got to see her skipping and running. She is starting to repeat some English words. I don't know if she has retained any yet, but you can understand what she is saying."