We have poopy diapers!!

Never thought I would ever hear myself be so happy about poopy diapers!! But our little ladybug finally had a bm today. It had been 3 days since we became a family and we were getting a little worried that she hadn't had one yet. Although we knew that this could happen...with all the stress that they go through and the anxiety and all the changes, this type of problem can also be a trust issue. They won't allow themselves to go until they feel safe enough. We've read this about many other people's children, it is still disconcerting when it's your child. We had been giving her apple juice, and water, and some fruit to help move things along, and today when we got back from our sightseeing tour, she was pushing really hard when she was in my arms, and you could tell she was trying. So I rubbed her stomach, and got her knees bent up on my chest and talked her through it to help her. Poor little duffer...but when she did, she was so much happier, and I was so happy and so was Daddy. We had to help her out a little bit but it worked-probably too much information for you all, but it was a big deal here!! :)

Avery has really opened up even more between yesterday and today. A totally different little girl, with new achievements everyday. She can now, blow kisses with sound, clap her hands, click her tongue, motorboat her lips-really good at this one, Daddy has taught her well!! She can wave, and has the cutest smile you've ever seen!! She mimics Gary's every sound. She has opened up to Gary a lot today. She'll put her forehead to his, and touch his cheek, and allow him to kiss her neck, and blow on her neck, and belly. When we feed her she will now offer things to Daddy too not just Mommy. She is really starting to warm up to him. Gary can't hold her yet, but we're getting there, a little everyday. But big strides today in the Daddy arena!!!-YAY!

We had a sight seeing day today. We went to the embroidery museum. Changsha is well known for their embroidery. There is a small museum, and our guide took us and translated what the curator was saying. We learned about all the different stitches and how long some of the stitches take to do. One of the pieces took 2 artists 2 years to finish-just stunning!! Then in the back of the museum is a store. A lot of the pieces are very expensive, but we bought a decorative wooden piece that had a embroidery of 2 pandas on it for Avery's room. We also got her her silk Asian dress from the same store, it's adorable!! From there we went to a park. The park was really interesting, we both said it reminded us of Central Park in NYC. It had a lot of tree shaded paths, with people playing cards, and musicians playing their instruments, Huge shrubs of bamboo, interesting trees & birds, ponds, ornamental benches, and statues, and Asian temples etc. A huge koi pond with thousands of koi fish all different sizes. It was really interesting, but it was at least 96 degrees out today with a heat index of 109. Extremely hot, and Avery will not sit in a stroller without screaming, so I had to carry her the whole way around the park. I love carrying her, but the heat did me in, and I couldn't keep up with our guide and Gary very well, but I did it. Even Gary was impressed on how well I held up in the heat, and carrying her. If you know me...me and heat don't get a long at all, and I have a tendency to get really dehydrated extremely fast. But we packed some powdered G2 and took one of those with us, and a cold bottle of water, and I stopped twice to sit and drink, and to make sure Avery had enough fluids in her, didn't want her to get dehydrated either.The little duffer did really well!! We were all soaked through our shirts, and Avery through her dress when we got inside for lunch though.

After lunch we had to stop to a children's store to get her some clothes, she is definitely in size 6-9 months with emphasis on the 6 months. She is tiny, long, but tiny. We got her 4 dresses for not much money at all. I had been looking in my Hannah Andersen catalog before we came, and her size in that catalog is a 70 or 80, and thank goodness I knew that because the sizes here are the same way. The women in the store kept giving me bigger sizes and I kept refusing them...politely. I wanted something to fit her the size she is now, so we can wear them for the rest of the trip. We only have a few outfits that will fit her really good right now that we brought with us. Most of the things we brought are too big. We haven't been able to do laundry yet, just rinsing out in the bathroom, so the extra outfits will help out a lot.

Avery made huge strides today. She played on the floor with her toys while Mommy got changed and picked up the room a little. She didn't freak out when Mommy went out of sight for a minute to the bathroom. She actually crawled today, and had some tummy time-muchly needed! She pulls more than crawls, and favors her right knee when she does crawl, but we're working on it. But...she will walk with assistance with one hand, and you should see the little duffer go!! The expression on her face is priceless when she gets up off the floor and gets to her feet. She is so amazed and thrilled with herself, her little feet just go go GO!! We were doing laps around the room, giggling the whole time. She has opened up to us so much in the last few days, she is as smart as a whip, and is beginning to trust us so much more. She is starting to understand that Mommy & Daddy are staying, and she is staying with Mommy & Daddy. It has been so rewarding to see her progress. Simply Amazing!!

Please know we are getting everyone's emails, and blog comments, and facebook comments. We aren't publishing the comments on the blog, and can't respond to facebook while here. But know that we are receiving them. We keep reading them over and over and it makes us feel connected while we are here. Thank you to all the Moms that understood my "hard" day and shared their stories of their "hard" days with me...it was exactly what I needed to hear.

I will post this and break up the other posts separately.

Sorry the posts are so long but the blog is also my daily journal of what happened each day. I am also writing in another journal when I have time...a little more personal. But it helps me to get it out here first...

Talk to you soon!!

With Love to all,
Alli, Gary, and Avery!! :)