Day 1 as a family of five

The most important advice I can give anyone returning from an international adoption is this: Naps are your friend. Your BEST friend.

It's not just when the new baby naps, or when the siblings nap. It's when YOU nap.

Today, as we marked Day 1 as a family of five, I loved my nap. The big girls and little girl went down, and daddy fell asleep too. I was puttering around the house and it suddenly dawned on me: SLEEP WHILE YOU CAN! So I did. Aaaahhh!

Cate had us up sporadically from midnight to 2 a.m., then from 2 to 4 a.m. solid. She slept from 4 a.m. until almost 11 a.m., when I finally woke her up. But she still took her afternoon nap, and I'm hoping she'll do better tonight.

Her cold seems better, but her cheeks -- irritated by the White Swan baby bedding -- are still red. I'm sure we still have ear infection issues, but she's managing.

Her big sisters have mixed reactions. Who I adores her, lugs her around, wants to help feed and change her -- even the poopy diaper, which we'd waited three days for. She tells us, "She's a sweet baby, Mama. And she's cuddly!" Who II is less sure of what it all means. Her nose has been a bit out of joint today, understandably. When I asked both girls if they were glad I went to China to bring home baby sister, Who I emphatically said "Yes!" at the same time her sister shook her head "No!" Ah, siblings!

Cate is warming up to daddy but still gets anxious if I leave the room. She seems pretty content to play with her sisters and explore the house. Tonight she crawled up the stairs from the playroom. Egad!

Tomorrow will be interesting on two fronts. First, we bring the dog home from the kennel. We'll see how that goes! Then we plan to attend our FCC Moon Festival. It'll be our first outing with three children. Attention, friends -- if you see a grown woman sucking her thumb, that's probably me!

I'm off to take my own advice -- to sleep while I can. Enjoy!