Continuing the Journey

Let the Games Begin!

While Carson thought Molly was "perfect" at the airport Friday evening, that feeling did NOT continue for long. He was very aggravated that she got so much attention at the airport and at dinner and that she had the house in an uproar with her screaming fit at midnight. He REALLY didn't like that she got to sleep in Mommy and Daddy's bed. Sorry, Little Man, but this is a TOUGH night for Molly and we all have to adjust.

Thankfully, when Molly woke up on Saturday morning, she was all smiles...
...and decided it was time to discover all her new toys. (Unfortunately for me, every morning takes her a step backwards with Mama. She starts off distant and angry, but eventually warms up to me.)

We headed down to the family room to see...
...the awesome Sleeping Beauty vanity Grandma and Grandpa B. gave her...
...which Carson seemed incredibly jealous of as he watched her discover all the stuff. (Uh-oh...) This pic...
...was taken for Miss Trish (who we like to think of as Honorary Aunt Trish). Doesn't she look awesome in her Princess outfit?! She LOVES it!! Probably her favorite toy...
...is the Barbie dream house. Fortunately, we didn't even have to buy that...it was still in the basement, where it has been stored since Meggie graduated from the world of Barbies. Glad we didn't ditch any of the Megster's old toys!

Carson has for a long time refused to play with his toys, figuring if he doesn't play with 'em he won't have to clean 'em up at the end of the day. So, he ends up walking around the house all day, complaining and driving us all nuts because "There's nothing to do!" Interestingly...
...he's very willing to play with Molly's toys. He thinks he can play and she'll be stuck with clean-up. (Nice try, Little Man, but you're sadly mistaken. Clean-up is a team sport in THIS house!)

In an effort to keep me (and Molly) awake and try to re-set our internal clocks to our time zone (which is 12 hours behind China time), Meggie suggested we head out to do a bit of shopping. After all, Target cures all ills, ya know!

Meggie took this pic while I was driving...
...'cause we thought it was cute how they both lean their heads the same way in their seats as they fall alseep! (I just LOVE looking back in the van and seeing my Little Ones together!)

Everybody woke up in time to shop, so Meggie and the Littles (or the "Asian Invasion" as Meggie likes to call them) took part in a time-honored tradition in our family...
...of goofing around trying on silly sunglasses, then taking pictures of each other. (I know, we all REALLY need hobbies...)

We shopped about an hour or so at Target, then headed to the shoe store to get Molly some gym shoes. (She only had sandals and Crocs, neither of which are allowed to be worn at her Preschool due to safety issues on the playground equipment.)
Carson was EXHAUSTED from all the shopping, as you can tell...
...and Meggie got an impromptu workout tugging the Littles around the store! (She's such an actress...she totally didn't mind and was actually having a ball with them!) At one point...
...the Littles decided they needed a rest on their jet-lagged Mama! (I also didn't mind!) Carson spent a lot of Saturday making comments like, "You like Molly best!" or "I'm sad I'm not the baby anymore," so we are really making efforts to be completely fair with our attention...
...even when it means Meggie might end up with a hernia! Tonight, in fact, Molly accidentally ran into a door and hit her ear. As she came up to me for kisses to make it all better, Carson said, "Hold on, I need to go hit my ear so you'll kiss me." I assured him he can have kisses any time he wants them...silly Little Man.

Saturday evening, our friends Shannon and Chris brought us a wonderful gluten-free lasagna dinner (which Meggie loved, by the way!) but had prior plans and couldn't stay and eat with us. Sarah and Scott to the rescue! We invited them to come hang out (so Sarah and I could catch up and their kids could play with Carson and Molly) and we asked them to share dinner with us. I thought it was so cute that Selleck insisted the kids hold hands and pray...
...and while Molly wouldn't hold the boys' hands, she did close her eyes and sit quietly. Good girl! After dinner -- again, in an attempt to keep the jet laggers in the house awake until a normal bedtime -- we headed up to our neighborhood pool. The kids had so much fun...
...and I realized how hard it is to get all three kids smiling and looking in the same direction for a picture! (Come on, kiddos...I have a reputation of getting great shots of my photogenic kids. Help me out here!)

Molly actually is doing very well adjusting. After her screaming fit Friday night, we worried about how to get her into her bed at night. Meggie actually had the brilliant idea to make her bed feel more like a crib and maybe increase her security. So we purchased bed rails at Target...and it worked like a charm! She climbed into her bed Saturday evening and fell fast asleep in a matter of minutes! She has slept through the night in her own bed every night since! YES!!!

So, are Carson and Molly best friends? Uh, no. We have spent an inordinant amount of time trying to explain to Carson why things have changed and why it's so important for him to be a good big brother. (He has, sadly, also spent quite a bit of time in the Whiney Chair...)

I think this pic...
...is an EXCELLENT depiction of their current relationship. Notice how Carson is smiling, yet pointing a GUN at his sister! Molly, do you think it'll get better soon??
Gosh, I hope so, too!!