This is Becky...
Lyla is sleeping right now. She is has been sleeping through the night 8am -8pm and she takes a 2-3 hour nap...exactly what I was hoping she would be doing! It's wonderful! Today we have made progress! Lyla has had a lot of energy today. I taught her "Lyla" and "Mommy" and she pats herself and me. She also now knows how to nod her head Yes and shake her head No, except she does it all the time! She has been crying when I leave the room. She has really bonded with me and I love it! She was on her tummy today and I held out my arms and said 'come to Mommy' and she was laughing and crawled right into my arms! It was so wonderful. She says "Mama" also!
Paul has been spoiling her and rocking her to sleep. It is beautiful to see him singing and rocking her, but she totally is manipulating us because at the orphanage, they just laid the kids down and they were all quiet, and in 1 big room! When we lay her down, she cries! Hmmmm.... I did notice today that she likes to make sure we are still there. It breaks my heart. When we are wheeling her in the stroller, she keeps looking up or back at us to make sure we are there. When she is falling asleep, she keeps opening her eyes to look at us and then she closes them, if we move and she can't see us, she cries. She laughs when she sees us in the morning. She is the most tempermental of the two other kids here, but I think it is funny. I was so uptight with Sarah and Jarrett but with Lyla, I am just relaxed and so thankful to be with her.
One thing another family and us noticed is that the kids just play with 1 toy all day. Lyla has a rattle and she holds onto it for dear life ALL DAY!! A little boy came up to her and tried to take it and she held on tight with both hands and growled at him. He gave up! She can be picked up or be riding in a stroller and she is clinging to it the entire time. She only lets go after she has fallen asleep. It's so funny....wait till she sees our playroom! The other family's son does the same thing! I remember I was constantly picking up toys that Sarah and Jarrett dropped off the side of their strollers because they got tired of them.
People keep giving us "double takes", especially seeing Paul walking with a little Chinese baby. I stopped counting the other day. To the younger generation, you would think we were Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. People actually have taken our picture...like we don't know what they are doing when they nonchalantly stand next to us while someone snaps their picture. The older generation looks down on adoption because of pride. It is a sign of a poor economy and they don't want the Chinese babies to be "lost faces" in the world. They take pride in who they are and want the babies to be raised here in China. Today, for the first time, I saw one lady with 2 kids!! Our guide said that people could "apply" to the government to have another child if they wanted to...isn't that sad?
We had a great day at a beautiful lake and a silk factory. Our guide is wonderful and always gets us back in time for lunch and naptime for the kids. We are always free in the evenings to wander. We have tried some great food and some "mystery" food. Our favorite so far is a little Chinese Dumpling place around the corner of our hotel. We have been there a couple of times in the last 3 days and we only pay 10 RMB (about $1.50) for 6 dumplings. The dumplings are bigger than the size of your fist and we can't even eat all of them, but we just like to try the different ones they have.
I love the deals we get here! I got a leather belt for $1.50 the other day from a vendor. Paul and I have gotten the knack of bargaining. I talke someone down from 180 RMB to 50 RMB yesterday!! Wooohooo! We did notice that namebrands (unless it is a knock off) are just as much here as they are in the states, but if you don't care about the name (like my belt), you can get a great deal!
Thank you for your e-mails and facebook messages! She is truly a joy and we cannot wait for her to be home.
We leave in a few hours for our flight to Guangzhou where we will spend most of the next week. Until then!
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