Wake up was wonderful after Alia and we all slept really well for the first time. After all of her sickness she woke up with a wet diaper that made us so excited (signs of not being dehydrated). She drank two whole bottles of formula and ate two bowls of congee (over cooked rice) which made us so excited, she is getting her appetite back and holding down her food (a big "first" for us!).
At breakfast, as Brittney carried her around, Brittney noticed her singing softly at almost a whisper. It was the most beautiful sound. Then she surprised us again by waving and saying bye-bye at another child. She didn't end her tricks there, later imitating an adult who was blowing kisses.
We had our first road trip, traveling over an hour near her birthplace of Anshun to an ancient village called Tianlong. It is a well preserved Han Chinese village with wonderful traditions and cultural relics. Alia especially enjoyed the short "opera" they performed in costume and all of the singing and dancing that went with it. We loved watching her sit on the wooden bench next to daddy and focus in on the whole play. During the bus ride she mostly cuddled and slept on us, hopefully a good sign of a peaceful 14 hour plane ride in our near future.
Alia is also clearly taking steps of attachment. She cried several times for ma ma, reaching out for Brittney when she woke up or when she was scared. She is a cuddle bug and loves being held. We are so thankful for these promising signs of attachment. She still easily goes back to dad (some adopted children do not, but simply choose/attach to one parent or another) and dad loves his cuddle time too. She is making more eye contact and diligently looks for mommy and daddy whenever we walk away. When she gets tired she simply rolls over into our arms or backs into our laps to be held. Sweet moments.
She also loves to hold things. It is so amazing to watch how she has learned to use her hands and fingers differently. She really enjoys keeping crackers in between her fingers, almost afraid of not having any food (common for children from orphanages). She can pick up even small things as we learned when feeding her bits of pizza crust (first pizza! A true Carl loves pizza!). She is even good at sharing food when asked, for we are trying to teach her to share, trust, and know that she will always have enough food.
Bath time was still a bit traumatic, but bed time was great! She also enjoyed her first Christian and princess music, going to bed with some praise and worship. We are so thankful for all of these firsts. It was an incredible day and we treasure all of those prayers we know have been offered up. We love you all and can't wait to introduce you in person to our precious Alia!
Many have wondered why we have to stay in China after our adoption is complete. Well, the reason is summed up in one word. Government. Both the US and Chinese governments still have several steps of documentation, passport issuance, visa issuance, and medical exams/tests before we are able to journey home. We are counting the days until our departure next Friday. See you soon!
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