Posting comments and other stuff from daddy...

Hi all,

Just a reminder that you will not see your comment posted on the blog UNTIL WE GET HOME. We do get your comments in an email, so yes, we do get them and enjoy reading them. They help tremendously! Please do not resubmit your same comment over and over- it just fills up our inbox! :)

Also, please leave comments here on the blog, not on our facebook wall(s). A message in facebook is fine, but please don't post messages on our wall until we get home. Our status will change when we , so you will know when we have access again!!

Please keep the comments coming! They really do help us feel connected to home. We are enjoying our time in Avery's homeland and soaking in her culture, it really is fascinating, but we are also anxious to get home and show our baby off! She loves being out and about (probably a nice change from being cooped up in the orphanage for so long) and is quite the character! She is adjusting well to us, but we will see how she reacts to her new environment when we get home before we open our doors to everyone. It will be another big change for her, and it took a few days for her to let her guard down to us the first go round. We will be following her lead.

She has been ours for a full week now, and when we look back on the first photos we took of her she looks so different. She looked smaller a week ago. But she has been eating like a truck driver everyday, so it stands to reason I guess. (No offense to truck driver's out there!)
Her eyes are a deep, deep, DEEP chocolate brown. Unless the light is just right, it is hard to see her pupils. Her eyes are big pools of love, and has perfect tiny lips. She has really long, straight eyelashes and the cutest smile. She is a happy baby, but has one heck of a temper (like her dad)!

At lunch yesterday Frank and Selina, our guides, mentioned that Avery has a large forehead, which in China is desirable, as it is believed that the child will be smart. Of course every parent thinks their child is the next Einstein, and we are no different. She is very inquisitive. If I make a sound, she will stare at me intensely, you can see the wheels turning in her mind, and then will mimic the sound. She has a knack of figuring out how to shape her mouth, how to move her tongue, etc to make the noise. She's already taking after her daddy in that regard.

The past day she has been singing and cooing more. It's the cutest thing, because you can see her getting more and more comfortable with us. She's letting her guard down and revealing more and more of her personality. She loves music, which is good. We've been playing music whenever we can. She'll be dancing soon. :) She doesn't cry hardly at all when she's being changed now, and we went from a once every 3 days pooper to a 3 times a day pooper- another sign she is relaxing around us. Looks like more wipes and diapers are in order later today at the friendship store. We may be cutting it close!

Heading out for lunch and shopping in a few and to see some more old Chinese culture. A little soggy today, but we'll manage. More pictures and posts to come!

Love to all,
Gary, Allison, and Avery
(posted by daddy!)