It is amazing how much of a difference sleep can make! We all slept the whole night the past two nights. YEAH!! Although Jim is still sleeping on the floor in Emily's room and I am still on the floor in Nathan's room...but it's still progress. It's surprising how comfortable a crib mattress and comforter are! Someday soon we'll kick the dog off of our bed and finally be able to sleep in our own bed. I think Jim's going to have Emily help him clear her room of his bed to help her realize that he won't be in there at night anymore. I think he's planning on doing that this weekend. Emily seems secure in her big girl bed and secure with her place in our family. She is getting along well with Nathan outside of the usual sibling stuff. She has finally forgiven me for turning her world upside down. She now will let me hold her and she told me "I want to snuggle with you"...which is the cue I have been praying for since I have really been missing our snuggle time after nap.
Nathan is doing fantastic! He is the sweetest little boy and seems relatively happy about joining our family. He is my little shadow and follows me wherever I go. Now I can tell him in Chinese "mama...one...two...three" and he knows that I'll be back in a few minutes. This has been a wonderful development which has allowed me to run to the store quickly or run upstairs etc. He knows I'll come back. That says a lot for his bonding to me. He's still a little afraid of Jim since the male figure is the disciplinarian in China, Jim has taken on that role. When Nathan was trying repeatedly to sit on the dog or kick the cat, Jim would give him a stern look and say "Bu hao" (meaning not okay). Nathan would burst into tears and either come running to me for comfort or close himself in the bathroom. Nathan loves to tickle Jim and they play together but when I walk into the room, he runs to me. I've been trying to give them some bonding time which has allowed me to reconnect with Emily. Such a long post I know but I finally got the chance and am awake enough to be somewhat coherent.
We are really trying to get back into our routine and Emily started back to preschool two days a week. She looked relieved when she walked into her classroom. It was like the structure and normalcy that she needed. Hopefully we can all get back on track since routine and structure really help her out. It would do wonders for Nathan so he can know what to expect at certain times of the day. His Foster family really did a terrific job of raising a responsible, kind, and loving boy. For that I cannot repay them, but I can honor them by continuing what they started.