Anyway, Camille did as well as expected at Daniel's basketball game. Most of the team moms knew that we were adopting, so when Reg and Camille walked into the gym, they were greeted with quite a bit of enthusiasm. When the game started, Camille sat quietly in her mommy's lap, mesmerized perhaps at what she was seeing. Then, after about a quarter and half, she started to get somewhat restless. So Reg watched the rest of the game from the side of bleachers near the exit door. Camille played in the general vicinity as the older kids watched over her. Good news: Daniel's team won the championship!
Here's a couple shots from the game! The second shot captures Daniel's only made shot of the game. Nice form, little man!
BTW, Lauren also got a trophy because her All-Star basketball team won a couple of tournaments while we were gone. We were soooo happy for her when we learned about her team's success when we were in the PI. We were just really, really sad that we missed the games. At least we were able to see her trophy presentation. That's her on the bottom row, far right.
We also went to get a haircut for all three boys. They needed haircuts even before our trip, but I was simply too busy to give them haircuts or to take them to a barber. So when we got back from the PI, my three sons all looked like Mowgli from the "Jungle Book". Camille also got her bangs cut. Cute na cute talaga!
We also stopped by Reg's parents' house for lunch. Camille let her grandpa carry her for the first time. Reg's dad is one of those old guys that kids seem to adore. I'm sure he and Camille will be best buds in no time.
While we were out and about, whenever Camille would get restless ... in the car, at the gym or at the barber ... we'd pull one of the oldest parenting tricks in the book. Bubbles! We've learned over the last ten years that all kids LOVE bubbles. Little kids love popping bubbles and slightly older kids love blowing bubbles. Assuming you're not at Church or anywhere serious like that, blowing bubbles is one of the best distraction tricks of all time. In fact, we often carry little bubble bottles with us just in case. It worked today for Camille, because when she got cranky in the car ... we had Lauren blow bubbles and viola! The crankiness stopped, and the giggling and laughter from Camille and Kyle began.
All day long, Camille continued to have a blast exploring the house. She spent a lot of time in the backyard, going up and down the slide structure with Lauren and Daniel. Lauren has been an absolute angel, watching over Camille every step of the way. One time, I watched Camille just walk around the entire inside of the house as I followed her from about ten feet away. She didn't know I was behind her, and I observed her walk all around ... looking into each room ... running around the kitchen table ... going in and out of the toyroom .... all with a huge smile on her face. I wonder what she was thinking.
During dinner, Camille was literally falling asleep in her high chair. She'd rub her rice-filled hands in her hair and fight to keep her eyes open. So, before she fell asleep, we gave her a bath and put her to bed. Again, we simply gave her a bottle, lied her in the crib and told her to go to sleep. We walked out of the room, and she put herself to sleep.
After that, Reg and I talked about how blessed we really are because this transition has been 
about as smooth as possible. I know it's super early, but so far there have been no meltdowns, no constipation/diarrhea commonly associated with newly adoption children, no illnesses, no complicated adaptation issues at all. Just the typical child rearing issues you'd expect from having an 18th month old. Today, she didn't hit, whine or throw a toy. I don't know if it's her personality or the way the orphanage raised her ... or a combination of both ... but she is such an easy going kid, we feel a bit spoiled. Needless to say, we also feel truly, truly blessed.BTW, we still haven't adjusted to the time change. We were so sleepy today, we just had to take a mid day nap. In fact, it's now 2:50 a.m., and we've been awake for over and hour and half. Camille is also still on Philippine time. She woke up at 1 in the morning, so we sat her in our bed and layed out about ten books for her. She'd pick up a book, open it up, and babble out loud pretending to read. She had a blast doing this, giggling up a storm. I'm just glad the other kids didn't wake up from all the giggling and singing she was doing.
Oh well ... I should try to sleep. Good night.
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