June 24, 2008
Our Princess had a rough night....which
means so did we, but we made it through with
team work and she is still sleeping as I type
6:37 am. She had been a little more active
all day and ran a low grade temp in the am,
but for the most part had a good day...she
really goes with the flow. Finally around 9 pm
she was settled enough for sleep, it was a bit
harder getting her down but I should have also
went down, instead Mommy stayed up until like
10:30 pm so when she woke up at midnight it
was like "EYE YEI YEI" but Mommy gave her a
minute no go picked her up...wet diaper. So
then we went thru the whole bedtime routine
finally back to sleep almost rem...bam...up
again at like 1:30 am so this time no wet
diaper, in hindsight I think the room was too
cool. She played on the bed in the dark for
like 30 minutes...I made 1/2 a bottle she took
it and then we rocked and sang and finally
about 2 something she was back down. Mel and I
were out like lights....It is nearly 7 am now
and she is still sleeping. We were both up at
like 6 am, we had our sleep out.
I will backtrack a bit now. Yesterday am she
had a low grade fever so after breakfast we
both stayed in and she had a good nap and some
fun playtime. Mel went with the group to a
local village. He said it was sad...most
likely representative of the type of community
most of the girls in our group are from. He
took alot of pictures which I will share. When
he came back I was in the midst of a
"organizing overhall" so he played with Ellie
Lu and I continued to prepare for our
departure on Friday and what we will need
first upon arrival in Guangzhou.
Oh forgot some parenthood humor....apparently
our girl is semi potty trained, sounds strange
but here they teach them very early the nanny
whistles and holds the baby over the pot and
they will pee or poo. Well our little one gets
fussy only when she needs to pee or poo
apparently and not having this whole rhythm
and whistle down we have had a few lets say
accidents. What appears to happen is she gets
fussy I began to change the diaper and find it
dry but only after pulling it away and about
that time she lets it rip...so far we have had
3 of these...let's call them Ellie Lu geysers.
Prior to yesterday nobody or nothing had
gotten wet, yesterday she christened our bed
twice so it then became necessary to allow
housekeeping to clean the room.
Picture this...trying to explain to
housekeeping to change the bed...they kept
thinking it was her bed, finally thru the
interpretation of the front desk they
understood. While they were cleaning we all
went to the lobby for some ice-cream and
walking around. She does not like to
sit...wants to be moving ALL the time. I even
catch myself bouncing back and forth...when
she isn't in my arms. This morning as I was
rolling my hair and sprucing up my face I
noticed I was rocking. Then while sitting I
did it again...parenthood vertigo...
We had an easy afternoon but no nap, she was
charged and in full gear squealing and playing
and just a total entertainer. We met the group
for dinner at 5:30 pm and walked to a nearby
restaurant where the chef is from Texas. What
comfort for all us parents! Mel had pork
snitzel and mashed potatoes and I had chicken
soft tacos. I fed Ellie Lu her first fruit
with us ...apples and gave her a bottle. She
wanted no part of this sitting in a
restaurant. I put her in the pack/ergo and
went out on the sidewalk and paced. What an
amazing experience seeing the locals come and
go...we were quite the spectacle for them.
Three ladies came up and spoke Chinese and
smiled and just loved her...I waved by to them
it was very precious almost spiritual. You can
only imagine all that went thru my mind
observing a world so very different and in so
many ways the same. It was almost like being
in a movie....she loved all the activity and
only if I could capture part of it. Honking
horns, a maze of cars, bicycles, pedestrians a
few dogs on the sidewalks and no traffic
lights but all of this in organized chaos.
Many looked at us I am sure not knowing why
this "non-asian" woman had this beautiful
asian baby...I don't think the locals really
know about International adoption.
I went back into the restaurant and danced
around with the "princess" and then Mel's food
came. He ate it in record time and then mine
arrived and he took her back out on the
sidewalk and was able to experience a bit of
while I described earlier. He commented on how
much she enjoyed the activity. We walked back
to the hotel with another couple and their
baby as it was getting close to bedtime for
both of them.
I asked Mel to describe Ellie Lu in 5
words....energetic, pistol, self centered,
sweet, and cutie-pie. The self centered part
is she knows exactly what she wants and
doesn't want and really I think strong willed
would possibly be a better adjective. I would
describe her as...fun, engaging, sweet to the
core, beautiful inside and out and funny...pee
your pants funny. I can not imagine a child
more fitting to us had we created her
ourselves...she is us thru and thru.
Firsts:
• first teething biscuit, she was like a chain
saw with one tooth whittling it down...Em and
Mel
• first fruit...apple at dinner Em
• first hat...Em
• first headbands...Em
• first dress gingham ladybug...Em
• first full nights sleep 6/23
• first tough night 6/24
Thanks so much for ALL your prayers and well
wishes…they mean the world to us.
Love,
Em and Mel |
Buddha Belly!
Cutey Patooty!
Ladybug Lovely
Local Village
She loves the camera
Sleeping Beauty
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