Six Months Home

Johanna has been home for six months as of today! She has come so far, and it's hard to remember what life was like around here before she got home. 

Some of her favorite things include the color pink, fancy dresses, the movies Frozen (she calls it Let it Go), Moana, and Mulan, and eating. This girl still eats us out of house and home! Her favorite foods are still meat and noodles, but she pretty much likes everything (though milk and cheese are probably her least favorites).

Johanna still seems drawn to music, and she loved our Music Together class. She's learned to play "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" on the piano, and she likes trying out my violin. I'm looking to get her into another music class starting in August. She's also super excited about starting a dance class, and I found a Chinese one that might be perfect for her in the fall.

She also enjoyed art class and swimming lessons at the recreation center, and she played a season of soccer with Jonas. Gymnastics also became something Johanna looked forward to each week. Classes and sports have kind of died down for the summer, but we've been keeping busy going to the zoo, the Children's Museum, on hikes, playing at various playgrounds, and swimming. She enjoys all of that, as long as the hikes aren't too long!

Johanna still likes learning and practicing her writing. She's also recently enjoyed completing puzzles on her own, and she loves books and games. This summer, we've been working on letters and numbers and other preschool-type skills. She's always so proud when she learns something new and can do it correctly.

Other notable activities since the last update include Johanna's second camping trip (to Twin Lakes), attending two Colorado Rockies baseball games, a visit from her godparents Jason and Amy (and their daughters), setting off and seeing fireworks on the Fourth of July, seeing her first movie in the theater (Beauty and the Beast), and enjoying the trampoline we installed in the backyard.

The molluscum on Johanna's face are completely gone. Her bangs have grown down past her nose, and the rest of her hair reaches her shoulders. We're still working on getting her cavities taken care of (insurance changes and various other difficulties), but otherwise, she remains perfectly healthy. She's about 41.5 inches tall and weighs 33.5 pounds, which is a gain of more than an inch and three pounds since coming home (and she was already tall). 

Johanna sleeps through the night from about 8:15pm until 7:00am, though she still often likes me to stay in her room as she falls asleep. We read books together and then she reads some on her own in bed each afternoon before putting herself down for a nap almost every day. I end up having to wake her up from that so she doesn't stay up too late!

Johanna and Jonas still get along fabulously. Those two can play together for hours upon hours, making up various imaginative scenarios complete with costumes and props. Their latest favorite activity is pretending that he is Daddy and she is Mommy and some type of toy (usually their blue stuffed dog or Matchbox cars) are their babies. Then they act out everything from feeding them to taking them to the park to reading to them to putting them to bed. It's pretty cute, and interesting to think about how just a few months ago, Johanna had no concept of Mommy and Daddy and how a family interacted. Now she loves acting out what she experiences in daily life!

There are still difficult moments though. Johanna still copies Jonas to a somewhat unhealthy degree. We find ourselves challenging her to "be her own person" and ask for what she actually wants, versus what she sees Jonas doing or having. We hope that starting preschool will help with that, as she will hopefully make some girlfriends and branch off on her own a bit. I think having her involved in some different activities from her brother (dance and music) will help as well.

Johanna also still has a meltdown about once a week, though it doesn't deteriorate into the deep grieving cry anymore, and she doesn't call out for NaiNai. It usually starts with something simple, like stubbing her toe or being told no (especially if she's tired) or getting frustrated with something she can't do perfectly, and then her crying takes what I would lovingly call a "psycho turn," and she basically loses her mind. It's almost an otherworldly look in her eyes, and she screams and sobs and hits her thighs over and over and flails about on the floor. Sometimes I literally have to hold her down to keep her from hurting herself. It's very sad and scary. When she "comes out of it" (usually in ten to thirty minutes), she's completely back to normal and plays like nothing ever happened. She has gotten better about asking for (or accepting) a hug or letting me know that she wants to be held in order to help her get through it.

Showing affection and true emotion is still difficult for Johanna as well. The race to hug Daddy when he gets home from work is sometimes more about beating her brother there rather than showing she's happy to see him. Being held is sometimes more about having one up on Jonas rather than actually wanting physical contact. We're working on eye contact in emotionally vulnerable situations, expressing feelings, and not reverting to silliness or avoidance in uncomfortable moments. I know it'll take time for some of the hard stuff, but 95% of the time this girl is sweet, kind, happy, helpful, agreeable, and fun. At about four months home, she started expressing that she would rather live with us than go back to China, so that was progress for sure!

We did the 23andMe genetics test for the kids. No surprise, Johanna is almost 100% Chinese and of the Han ethnic group. We did it more to find out if there were any genetic health issues (none-yay!) and find biological relatives if possible. We were able to connect with her closest match, a predicted third cousin. She's a girl in North Carolina who's a few years older and was also adopted from Fuzhou, Jiangxi. They look similar in a lot of ways, so that was pretty cool to find.

So overall, Johanna is doing great. Having two kids is actually easier for me than one, since she and Jonas get along so well and entertain themselves most of the time. Plus I can easily take them places, and they can enjoy activities together because they are the same age and interested in a lot of the same things. It's harder for Zack though, as he has two kids competing for attention when he gets home from work! It's fun having a girly girl in the house to balance out the boys, and Jonas loves having a live-in playmate. At half a year home, Johanna is happy and healthy, and we're so glad she's part of our family!

I'll probably update this blog once a year in January like I do with Jonas's on his Adoption Day. I still post almost daily on Instagram under @aubreekeys (HERE) if you'd like to keep up with pictures of the kids. Thanks for following along on our adoption journey with Johanna!