Does anyone know...

(Rylee's first attempt at dress up)

just how long it takes a four year old to recover from jet lag and adjust to the time difference? This poor child has had very little sleep since we came home. We have done everything possible to keep her awake during the day and she is so exhausted she can slump over sleeping anywhere, however as soon as the clock hits 7:00 or 8:00 pm she thinks it is morning and her energy is renewed. We thought we might just make it through the night last night because she is just so tired, but 3:00 am this morning she is wide awake again!

Rylee was not excited to meet Scrappy and Scruffy and she quickly learned to yell "NO, NO, NO - GO, GO, GO!!!" But she has started allowing them to look at her, come under her chair and she is now happily calling both of them "Scrunchy"! She even will let Scrunchy #1 - with the short hair - lick her hand, but then promptly wipes it off!

In one of my efforts to find something that will keep her awake during the day, we headed down to the neighborhood play area and beach. It seems that Rylee has never seen sand before and was tentative to step on it. She tested it out and moved it around with her shoes. She watched Hanna gallop across the sand and finally decided that it was safe for walking on. It wasn't long before she was galloping across the sand after Hanna.

Rylee is very clingy right now and cries easily and often. She can go from a really good cry to happy and silly at the drop of a hat. Overall she is doing amazingly well on only a few hours of sleep and a whole new world. She is saying many English words and when she copies us she says most words perfectly.

We wanted to give her a chance to be around something familiar so we went to a local Chinese restaurant. They loved Rylee and had a great time talking with her in Mandarin. They gave me information on a local Chinese school for kids that is held on Saturday afternoons and they told us that their children attend there (one is Rylee's age and one is Hanna's). I have a feeling we will be seeing a lot of them since Rylee does not seem to be at all impressed with the look of American food - with the exception of cheeso's which is in constant demand right now!