Ying Ying is having her afternoon nap while Baba is assembling the trike that Grandma and Aunt Cindy sent her for Christmas, so I thought I'd post a quick update in case anyone is still checking the blog. 

Jet lag with a three year old is quite an experience. We were all so exhausted on Christmas Eve that we basically slept through the night. Ying Ying woke up for about two hours, but she and I went to sleep again on the living room couch and slept until a respectable 8 AM. Christmas night was a different story. She finally went to sleep at about 10 PM, but she woke up after only two hours of sleep and was raring to go. As far as her body clock was concerned, sleeping from 10 until midnight was her 2 to 4 PM nap in China and it was time to play! She finally went back to sleep at 4:30 or 5 AM (bedtime in China) and slept soundly until I woke her at 1 in the afternoon. We skipped the nap that day and the next couple of nights have been much better. 

Ying Ying and the cat are developing something of a truce. Neither is acting scared anymore, but they are each cautious of the other. Ying Ying made her first foray into touching the cat yesterday by petting her with one finger, and she has done a little more of the same today. We are hopeful that eventually they will become friends.

We are enjoying our time with Ying Ying. We have left the house for a little while each day, either to walk around the neighborhood or to run a few errands, but we have basically been home much of the time. There is so much for Ying Ying that is new and we are trying to keep the pace slow and easy. We're developing a bit of a routine, especially at bedtime, and I think that helps. Everything I've read encourages us to stick with the orphanage schedule as much as possible, but we can't seem to follow the sleep schedule. Her naps at the orphanage were from noon until 2, and we are doing well if we have her down by 1:30. Likewise, her bedtime was 8:30 PM, but the few times I've gotten her to bed then, she's played in the crib until 10 before falling asleep. Fortunately, when she stays up late, she also sleeps late so she doesn't seem to be sleep deprived. We've had some issues with hitting and pinching, but those seem to be tapering off a bit as we gently hold her hand and tell her to be gentle. We're redirecting some of the hitting into "high fives" and "low fives" which is also helping. She doesn't communicate in English yet and probably won't for many months, but she clearly understands some of the things we say to her. She makes eye contact with the correct person when we say, "Where's Mama?" or "Where's Baba?" and plays peek-a-boo, although it is our job to do the talking. She doesn't eat much (hence the size 12 month pants), but she isn't really too picky. She doesn't like most dairy products, and she doesn't like scrambled eggs. She likes to laugh and play, and she can stay focussed on a "project" like building block towers for 20 or 30 minutes at a time. She has been quite shy with the few neighbors she has met. We've had a couple of mini-meltdowns, but basically things have gone smoothly.

We'll try to keep posting so you can see how things are progressing, and I've got to learn to keep the camera handy so we can post some more photos.