Where To Begin ?

It's been just over a month since I have updated Addie's blog. I think my inability to keep up in a timely fashion has much to do with the fact I returned to work right after Thanksgiving. It certainly was hard to leave this little girl, but I do take great comfort in the fact we have the most outstanding child care provider. She has cared for all of our children, and the loving bond between Addie and Lori is already obvious. Addie Ting seems to enjoy the activity at childcare with all the other children, and while there of course, she is catered to and nurtured by big brother Jo-Jo as well. Indeed they are best of friends, and watching their bond grow has been so wonderful.




While at daycare Addie's walking progressed so rapidly, most likely because of her efforts to keep up with the others. She also has really taken to EATING. In fact the little gal who struggled to swallow only three months ago eats everything in sight. This reminds us of her brother Tommy who just cannot get enough to eat these days. At daycare Addie must always be seated next to Jo-Jo because she has quite a habit of swiping food from others, and it seems just a bit more appropriate if she swipes from her own brother. This week I remarked how she gulps down black olives, drinks English Breakfast Tea with intensity, smacks her lips at lobster, and loves dried strip fish. She coos as she chews on the salt fish, so we know she adores it. Sister Bayley, on the other hand, gets quite perturbed with Ting's fishy breath.

Christmas festivities have been lots of fun with all of our kids. At the childcare Christmas party while her brother cowered in the corner when Santa arrived, Addie bravely marched to his lap and checked out his beard. She seemed so excited to decorate the tree with her siblings and was ever so delicate when she touched our tree. Presents were interesting to her only because of her love for paper and strings and bows. She received lots of dolls for her first Christmas, but she really appears to have an interest in things like blocks, swords, DVD's, or all items used by the older kids.


Actually I should also include that she is infatuated with computers. When she sees her father sit down at the computer, she races to him and rapidly and in quite a rough manner pounds at the keys.


Addie is making some great gains in many areas. She has finally learned two very important signs- MORE and ALL GONE. These simple communication tools are exciting, as they give our little one the power to meaningfully say what she wants. When asked to "patty cake" Addie will travel across the room and grab my hands to begin clapping. It seems that since it was Mommy who taught her to do the game, she believes that she can only do "patty cake" using Mommy's hands. Addie knows how to "give me five" and she jumps by raising her heels when asked to jump. She delights in emptying folded laundry from baskets. When looking at a book and she is asked which picture is the banana, she slaps at the right picture. Pointing is still not something she is doing. Her favorite game this week is the "Up and Down" game. When we say "down" she squats down and when we say "up" she proudly stands straight up. Her language skills are emerging in a very interesting pattern, and we are unsure what this means. So far she has attempted to say "mama, dada, sis, nana, nannie, buppa, up, teeth, kitty, coke, and duck." The strange thing is that she will usually only say one or two of these words in a given day. She will practice those two words for a day and then the next day not say them but practice two different ones. Truly she seems so much happier now than she did three months ago. Without a doubt, we are a blessed family with all the joy she brings.

We still do have struggles that may take lots and lots of time. In addition to Addie Ting's speech and physical therapy, we have been consulting with a social worker who focuses on attachment. After completing a series of activities whereby Ron and I were filmed separately interacting with Addie, we were able to watch the results of the assessment. Though we had not noticed, upon watching the tape, it became immediately apparent that Addie struggles and actually avoids eye contact. She almost fools us by looking at our noses or mouths, and when watching people she looks at the action, but any moments of eye contact are fleeting at best. If our gazes do meet, her eyes are quickly averted. Addie's lack of eye contact is especially apparent when we compare her to other children her age and younger. These children easily make eye contact, even with strangers, while Addie cannot yet do this with those who love her. After reading and researching about poor eye contact, it is clear that this is a trust and attachment issue. Surely it will come, but for now her sweet kisses will have to be enough. Additionally Addie struggles with sleep. At childcare she resists napping and usually falls asleep sitting up. At home she does not nap or sleep alone. At times this is a struggle because her bedtime and my bedtime or Ron's bedtime must coincide. Throughout the night she startles and sits up to check where we are. She then touches my face and kneads my chest and neck with her hands. This cycle repeats itself many times each night. Sometimes the nights are long, but it wasn't so very long ago that many nights were long and I had trouble falling asleep as I lay wondering where she was and who was caring for her in China. Now the comfort of knowing Addie Mei Ting is with us where she belongs, far outweighs her restless nights, and one day we know she will sleep soundly and without fear of abandonment.

Guaranteed By Thanksgiving

This week my wise Uncle Lawrence's words had reason to be ringing in my ears. You see, when we brought Little Addie Ting Ting home just two months ago, and she could just barely sit up, and she could really not hold much weight on her legs, it was Uncle Lawrence who kept remarking how she really was quite strong, while the rest of us shook our heads at how weak she seemed. When we commented how sad it was that she was delayed and didn't know how to communicate or give good loves, Uncle Lawrence claimed she was one of the smartest babies he had met. I just rolled my eyes and said, "Sure she is." One day after we had been home just a week, he said, "I guarantee she'll be walking by Thanksgiving!" Considering that head control and sitting were just emerging, I replied "Yeah right." Well, Addie Mei Ting decided to prove me wrong and her Uncle Lawrence right. Just a few nights ago she was playing with some of Jo-Jo's handcuffs, and I remarked how they were dangerous toys, and I would be taking them away. Just as I said this, she stood up in the middle of the floor and took several wobbly steps. From then on those wobbly few steps have turned into more and more steps, though she is very cautious and still trying to figure out the balance thing. She has a wonderful bruise on her nose from her first major fall, and her physical therapist said I could keep trying to promote crawling, but it looked like Addie was going to do things her way.

Here is a short video Ron made to document how thankful we are to have Addie in our lives and home at last with her brothers and sister where she belongs.

And the answer is "NO"

Most often when I think of November, I think of cool days and cold nights, turkeys and pies, and of course giving thanks for family and friends. This November something else also comes to mind, because November is National Adoption Month.


Not flesh of my flesh
Nor bone of my bone,
But still miraculously my own.
Never forget for a single minute,
You didn't grow under my heart,
But in it.

anonymous



Another week has flown by, and Addie Mei Ting continues to surprise us with all she is learning. She has developed a great love of shoes. Several weeks ago, she started just by playing with laces, but this week she loves putting her own feet in anyone's shoes that are available. On Saturday, Addie enjoyed visiting with many, many people at a baby shower for her soon to be cousin Natalie. The way she enjoyed playing with the presents and pulling on the bows and ribbons, lets us know that her first Christmas at home will be a magical one. In the eating department, Ting Ting has decided that she likes to use a spoon by herself. Now, she cannot quite get the spoon into the dish and get food on it, but once someone gets the food on the spoon, she snatches the utensil, and in the mouth it goes. This is quite an accomplishment considering just several weeks ago, she freaked out whenever a spoon came near her mouth. Mobility-wise, we are getting faster scoots across the room, some pretty good balance while standing, and a few steps here and there. She is also showing improvements with her fine motor skills as she plays with toys and especially blocks. And of course we cannot forget to mention Ting Ting's new fascination with shaking her head "No" at EVERYTHING. The kids get quite a kick out of it when we ask her "Do you love Mama?" or "Are you a good girl?" and she vigorously shakes her head "NO."

Smiles, Some Standing, and a Very Slimy Nose

Addie Ting Ting continues to grow and change each and every day. Indeed she is still a mighty serious girl, and we are still bombarded with the question by both strangers and acquaintances, "Does she ever smile?" The answer is "yes" but only in the very safest surroundings and with familiar faces. To be sure, it is a most precious smile. Addie is also making big changes in the amount of time she is willing to spend on her stomach. This week she is doing a tiny bit of a scoot on her bottom and then into a crawl position and then a forward flop on her belly. It is extremely awkward looking, but the important thing is - it is movement, and we think she rather likes the idea of being able to independently move, even if it is just a bit.






Addie is doing better in the eating department as well. She has decided on two favorite foods this week. Banana is number one. Number two we discovered quite by accident when dining out with Nannie (Ting Ting's great grandmother). Nannie ordered graham cracker pie with lots of real whip cream. Little Miss Addie quickly moved into attack mode, grabbing both the spoon and plate from Nannie. Her smacking lips and pig-like noises were quite entertaining.



Addie is doing more and more standing now. It seems that her muscle strength has improved a great deal, but now what really is the stumbling block is balance and slow reflexes when falling. We have great hopes that piece by piece the walking puzzle will eventually fit together. Oh and certainly another first for Addie has been her first American cold. It has lasted and lasted, and every day she wakes in the morning with a slimy nose, and despite boxes and boxes of tissues, she still usually has that same slimy look at bedtime.






Jo-Jo and Addie are truly becoming best friends. Bayley and Addie are already fashion sisters in their matching pajamas, and brother Thomas continues to touch our hearts with comments about the adoption. Just tonight he added, "It is so wonderful that God gave us this perfect child so filled with curiosity."

A Little Ladybug

Happy Halloween- Bayley and Tommy picked out this little ladybug costume for Addie months before she ever came home. At the rate she has been growing it was a tight fit, but a definite must for her costume considering that ladybugs are a good luck symbol to those who are or have adopted from China. Trick or Treating was quite a challenge with our crew. Addie decided she wouldn't ride in her stroller, and Jo-Jo decided he wouldn't walk, and so we pushed a heavy stroller with a 4 and a half year old bat, and carried a pretty hefty ladybug, all while trying to keep up with Bayley , the corpse bride, Tommy, explorer Samuel Champlain, Myah, the vampire, Brynn, a real spooky creature, and frightful looking but friendly witch, Anna.





Addie is making some very positive steps forward, but her many therapies require lots of time. Sadly she did have a few scary medical issues with her bowels that needed immediate attention, and perhaps we are now on our way to some less scary days with her not passing out when it comes time for having a poopy. Last week she visited the daycare she will soon be attending and really seemed to enjoy watching all the kids. She even gave a few kisses to some children. Super exciting, is the way she now enjoys looking at herself in the mirror. It sure is cute to watch her kiss herself in the mirror. We now have a toddler sized medical walker from Addie's physical therapist. Clearly Addie Ting wants to walk and hopefully her muscles will cooperate soon. She is so proud after she walks across the kitchen using her walker, and she is very impressed when Jo-Jo does wheelies with her walker.





Bath time is becoming much more fun for Addie with all the splashing, and since she bathes in the sink, Jo-Jo has changed his pattern of tub or shower bathing to sink bathing.



At last she stole her Mama's diet coke. Coke was one of Jo-Jo's first words. Will it be one of Ting-Ting's too? She is now looking around and glancing toward the floor when asked "where's the kitty-cat?", so it seems there is some receptive language starting to emerge. Also when we are snuggling in bed, and I ask if she wants her bottle, she sits right up, and looks toward the door as if to say-"Yes-go get it please."



Oh and if trying to drink diet coke wasn't unhealthy enough, she ended the week by having her first Reeses Peanut Butter Cup. After a doctor's appointment in Bangor, she went to meet her Aunt Becky and Timmy at their store. While there I tried to feed her a healthy lunch, but she opted to raid the shelves of candy. Auntie didn't say "no."

Meet Virginia and Some Apple Cider

Can I get one of those too?




Enjoying a great Red Sox game!!



I like cows just like Jo-Jo!!

Meet Virginia -She never compromises-Loves babies and surprises- Wears high heels when she exercises-Ain't that beautiful-Meet Virginia

Lyrics by Train

All my other babies loved lullabies, but not Addie. Addie's Nana thought she should listen to some classical music, so we tried that, but she wasn't too thrilled. Quite by accident we found what she does love for music. You see Miss Addie Ting hates to be in her car seat. After a few minutes in the car she begins to scream. In an effort to distract her one day this week, I pushed in a CD and "Meet Virginia" came from the speakers, and Addie instantly quieted. When the song ended, she screamed again. I went back to "Meet Virginia," and once again there was total silence. I mentioned this to Tommy, and several days later when Tommy and Addie and I were in the car she began her routine of protests. He tried one of his favorite songs in the CD player. It didn't work, so he skipped to the "Meet Virginia" song, and the silence was instantaneous. So odd, but at least it works.



This week Addie had her Physical Therapy, and we are happy to report that our PT did see improvement in her leg strength and in her bending and hip rotation. Balance is still very challenging for Addie, as is finding strength to support herself on her arms in a crawling position. During our Speech Therapy this week, our speech therapist was very amazed with Addie's progress in terms of eye contact and interaction with others. Addie made teeny tiny steps forward in her swallowing, and we will stay patient in this area. We are working hard to find ways for Addie to use those mouth muscles, beyond bottle sucking. We also had the wonderful opportunity to meet with an infant mental health social worker to discuss attachment issues. She introduced us to an attachment massage program which is really wonderful. One very exciting step made this week was brought to our attention by Bayley. When we first met Addie one of her self soothing behaviors was a head rolling behavior that most likely provided her with stimulation in the orphanage. Bayley mentioned this week that she had not seen Addie do this in some time, and it's true. Hopefully this means Ting is finding family to be a better means of being soothed when upset or stimulated when eager to explore.


As a family of six we enjoyed our first weekend away. We met Ron after his Friday technology conference and headed to Southern Maine to stay with Jeremy and Suzanne for a few days. Friday night everyone went to Jo-Jo's favorite place- Chucky Cheese's. Jeremy and Bayley were way over the top trying to accumulate record amounts of tickets. Tommy was thrilled with the safari games. Jo-Jo went from game to game with a huge smile on his face and, yes, Addie seemed to enjoy herself as well. She actually loved the kiddie rides. Saturday we ventured to Poland Springs for our traditional visit to Pumpkin Land. With pig racing, jump houses, a giant corn maze, and hayrides there is something for everyone. Jo-Jo was a wild man, and became quite the fan of the zip-line. Tommy and Bayley enjoyed hay bale jumping and the haunted hay ride. Addie clearly loved the animals, especially the goats, so it looks like our reservation for two goats for spring was a great idea. At lunch she ripped up the french fries, turned her nose up at the Gerber puffs, but attacked me for a sip of warm apple cider. Well that one sip turned into many-she loved it!!





Clearly as we venture into the next week we know that life is good as long as Addie has apple cider and "Meet Virginia" on hand.

Grins and Goats

Looking at the calendar it is hard to believe that next week will be the one month mark for Addie joining our family. Bayley and I first met Addie on September 16, 2008. Looking at the pictures from that day and thinking of how she appeared and how she is today, really is amazing. Addie is still very closed and many, many hours of her day are spent quietly observing the world around her. When out and about, people comment about her sad little face and ask why she doesn't smile. We don't know the answer, but only know that grins are reserved for only the most special occasions, like games of "Duck, Duck, Goose" with Jo-Jo, "Hippopotamus Hunting" with Tommy, and "Pulling Hair" with Bayley. She is not enthusiastic about practicing walking, and though we hope to strengthen her muscles with floor time, she absolutely detests our tummy time sessions. Crawling looks like it just may not happen, but she sure does have a very proud expression on her face, when she grasps our hands and pulls to standing. Without a doubt she really has made remarkable progress. I am the lucky recipient of the sweetest kisses ever. This week Ting is taking some tastes of food, mainly ice cream at Nannie's, and fresh squash at Nana and Buppa's house. She is allowing some tooth brushing, but is still hesitant about having a spoon near her mouth. Most exciting, Addie is actually swallowing some tiny bits of solid food. Soft blueberry Nutrigrain bars seem to be a favorite.

She is so funny about her bottle. When I offer her juice she is really not interested, but when she sees the Vanilla Pediasure drink, she is excited and makes very assertive vocalizations. This week Addie Ting has gained over a pound. She now looks around the room with a unique expression of anticipation when she hears Bayley, Tommy, or Jo-Jo's voice. She has learned to cough whenever Ron pretends to cough. She loves having Ron kiss her neck, and though she doesn't smile, she looks at him and makes a short mmm sound, meaning do it again. Just last night she seemed interested for the first time in a game of peek-a boo. The phone is also of great interest this week. Twice today I watched as she put the phone appropriately to her ear and uttered a most definite Chinese greeting of one kind or another. Her Uncle Lawrence bought her a walker which converts to a walk behind stepper. She seems to enjoy this, and hopefully her confidence in standing will grow.

On the sadder side, Addie is very scared of patty cake, and any clapping noise. Doors slamming also produce an odd response. I cannot help but wonder what these fears stem from. The more I read about the effects of living in an orphanage the more I am able to understand Addie's behaviors. Truly her mannerisms when upset, tired, curious, and excited do have a different quality to them and leave us wondering, until I get to the next chapter in a particular book on children raised in orphanages and then the behaviors are explained.

This weekend Addie met more cousins, and really seemed interested in them. Today was Open Creamery Day at the Painted Pepper Goat Farm. We took all of our kids, and there met friends Elizabeth and David and their newly adopted daughter, Abigail, from China. Jo-Jo loved the goats, Bayley loved the horses, and Tommy was in heaven as he wandered from pen to pen sharing some rather obscure facts about goats to anyone who would listen. Addie was a bit surprised when a goat decided to nibble on her dress. She had better get used to it though, because we ordered two goats for the spring. Do you think 5 ducks, 2 cats, 1 rabbit, 2 dogs, 1 lizard, and 2 goats qualifies as a farm?

One Week At Home

Ron and I were discussing how many people commented about reading the blog. It really was wonderful to stay in touch with family and friends even though we were half way around the world. Also we cannot say enough how much we appreciate all the love and support and encouraging words shared with us by so many many people. Certainly the purpose of the blog was initially to keep everyone up to date on our progress with adoption and then to introduce everyone to our China girl. What Ron and I also discussed was keeping up to date with the blog with the purpose now to be as a memory book for Addie and for us. I remember how diligent I was keeping Bayley's baby book up to date when she was young. I was not nearly as on top of things when it came time to do Tommy's baby book. Now the question is - "Does Jo-Jo even have a baby book?" Well, yes he does but there are way more gaps in there than should be the case. I guess with more children time becomes crunched, and hours to spend documenting milestones are no longer available. Knowing this, it seems that the blog will be our way of creating a baby book for Addie.

So Addie has been home with her family for one week, and we are already seeing changes. The little girl who would just sit in silence wherever she was placed is now a girl who immediately looks to see where mom is. She is so very quick to raise those arms and turn her hands in a very clear "pick me up please" motion. Though most parents are discouraged with a child always wanting to be held, I must say that this is different. She really wants to be held, and knowing that the first 18 months of her life did not include holding, we are more than happy to oblige. The little downturned mouth that initially made no sounds, is becoming more and more vocal each and every day. The cats, her siblings, the telephone, songs on the radio, and people now evoke great vocalizations from Addie. She still does not smile much at all, but the intensity of her curiosity in the world around her grows every single day.

This week was a big one medically speaking for Addie. Several days of blood work were exhausting for us to watch and for Addie to endure. With low muscle tone, one's veins collapse easily, so getting all those vials was next to impossible. She is drinking Pediasure to combat her poor nutrition and anemia, and we are hoping for no lasting effects from the melamine formula. She began physical therapy this week, and our PT is encouraged that Addie will learn to crawl and walk with practice on her part and patience on our parts. Speech therapy will begin next week, and because she cannot swallow solid food we hope to gain knowledge of ways to help Addie make this transition to a diet that includes more than liquid. Addie is also visiting the chiropractor for cranial sacral therapy in an effort to help with the flatness of her head. We hope that with all the expertise these people can share with us, Addie will make gains in all areas of her development.

In terms of family living, we have had a great week of getting Addie familiar with those who love her. She met many cousins, and had her first play date. She is most interested in ducks and cats and dogs. She enjoyed a wonderful hike up Pigeon Hill on Saturday. She hummed and chatted as we passed the many colorful leaves on the way up the mountain. At the top when the other kids dove into PBJ sandwiches and chips, Addie sank those sharp teeth of hers into her first banana. She then had fun ripping leaves from branches within her reach. Addie had more firsts at her great -grandmother Nannie's as she devoured a Klondike bar off the fingers of her Aunt Janie. To wrap up the weekend, Addie and Daddy and Jo-Jo and Tommy planted fall bulbs. She was very inquisitive and Jo-Jo kept saying, "Ok Addie Ting Ting- we did the daffodils, now we'll plant the tunas." He meant tulips, but she never knew the difference.

So Good To Be Home

We're home at last. Including flights, and layovers and more flights, our travel time was a little over 37 hours. It was absolutely exhausting. The flight from Hong Kong to Newark was 15 hours and 40 minutes and little Addie did an awesome job, with no crying. However she did not sleep but three of the fifteen hours. She wanted to be held, cuddled, and entertained. I didn't mind thinking she would at least sleep during the long 9 hour layover in Newark. I was wrong. She seemed totally wired and did not sleep. Bayley on the other hand slept for 8 hours on the floor on the plane, and then she dozed on and off on the floor of the Newark airport. The funny thing was how Bayley would just plop anywhere on the rug in the airport, and it always seemed her head was on a coffee stained spot or whatever else we can imagine the stains to be. Finally at 12:38 am we landed in Bangor, and Addie met her Dad and her wonderful brothers.

We all crawled into bed sometime around 3:30 this morning, and then the crying and screaming began. It lasted for hours. Perhaps some of it was fear, but the major problem was again severe constipation for Addie. Today Addie had a very good day meeting many new people in her life. Everyone is quite surprised by her delays, as she does not seem like an 18 month old in any way. Her muscle weakness is quite severe, and she has every sign of a frightened and very neglected little girl. While in China I chose not to criticize her care for fear the blogs were monitored, but now I can clearly say that her level of care was atrocious. The flatness of her little head tells much of the story which included day after day of just being in a crib on her back. When offered toys she has no idea what they are. She rarely smiles, as if she doesn't know how. With all this said, there is something in her eyes that lets others know she is very much interested in the world and just needs lots of love and patience as she figures it all out. Her head is constantly moving in attempts to seek out what antic a particular sibling is up to. She hears every sound and makes small soft noises in reaction to things she loves.

She explored the outdoors today with her grandfather, and once again loved the grass. She slept so soundly and relaxed on her great grandmother's bed, and then had her first messy chocolate cookie upon waking. She played a special foot kissing game with her Uncle Lawrence, and every time he would stop, she would lift it up for him to kiss again. She hummed at her Uncle Jeremy and loved tinkering with the pens in his pocket. Clearly, she has so much to learn and much catching up to do, but today was a very good day for the start of her new life with us.

The picture is one taken by another couple as we put our sweet girls on the famous White Swan red couch in their traditional Chinese dresses.

We've Been Flooded

Things are a bit crazy here now. We woke this morning, and I didn't hear the wind. I said to myself that things or the typhoon must have passed in a different direction. No such luck. The heavy rains in the night flooded the island we are staying on. Business men and women are forced to walk the streets in water up to their knees. The same shops we bartered in last evening are flooded, with water damage to much on their shelves.The bad thing is that the typhoon hasn't really arrived yet. So we are very unsure what this means if more rains are on the way. If we flood even more, I fear we won't be able to leave the island for tomorrow's flight to Hong Kong.

This afternoon we are heading to the U.S. Consulate appointment off the island by bus, and we hear that for the moment the waters have receded a bit. Our Living Hope friends were not as lucky. Their daughter had a medical exam scheduled for this morning, and they were forced to walk in the knee deep waters to the clinic. Based on their report it was truly scary, as the water brought out giant earthworms. Dead cockroaches were floating everywhere, along with feminine products and other unmentionable things. I am horrified. As a precaution this family started their antibiotics. Hopefully Bayley and I and the baby can avoid the water, but even if and when the sun comes out we are told to stay off the streets, because they are still filled with germs.

On a positive note, Addie is not stressed at all- as long as she can have the whole box of Ritz crackers.


4 hours later - we are back from the Consulate. It went well and we were told they will get us to our flight no matter what. We leave the hotel at 5:30 am and hopefully this is our last post from China. We can't wait to bring Addie to her home and meet family and friends in just a few days. Our total travel time from leaving the hotel here until we reach Bangor is a little over 30 hours. Yes!!! We're coming home!!

Barbies, Bowels, and Bartering

Yes today has been filled with Barbies, bowel issues for Addie, and bartering once again for Bayley. Today all the babies who came to the White Swan yesterday received their complimentary Mattel Barbie carrying a Chinese baby girl. We showed the doll to Addie, and she flung it to the floor. Probably because she couldn't identify with me not looking quite enough like Barbie. In the playroom today, Addie again was frightened of the toys but did seem very intrigued by an older boy's temper tantrum. One toy we predict Addie will like is a puppet. When Bayley puts a sock on her hand and makes noises, Addie is quite amused.

The main issue today was that Addie had not had a bowel movement since last Friday, and she was not comfortable. Probably it is the iron in the formula, but as you know we are not changing from the American formula. At last tonight, we had a true explosion. It freaked Bayley out. Addie is resting much more comfortably now.

Moving right along from bowel explosions to food, we can say that supper this evening was wonderful. We went to Lucy's, known for its American cuisine, and I had the BLT that was in my dreams several nights ago. It was delicious. Bayley dreamily ate her fried chicken and french fries, and Addie smacked her lips often on her grilled cheese. We enjoyed dinner with the other Living Hope family we met in Beijing. Their little girl is adorable, and like us they were incredibly pleased with the food.

After dinner Bayley had another wonderful bartering night with the vendors along our street. She is so like her Uncle Jeremy. We now have enough Chinese fans and chopsticks to last quite some time. In the shops Addie makes very quiet humming noises as she reaches for things on the shelves. Yesterday she pulled several candy bars from the display counter at the 7-11 store. This evening she pulled at any dresses we strolled by. While on the street, we heard news that a typhoon is headed our way this evening and tomorrow. Winds are expected to be strong with very heavy rains. Hopefully things will be clear and not delay anything with our flight for early Thursday morning. Our big event tomorrow with be an oath ceremony at the U.S Consulate, and then packing all those fans and chopsticks Bayley has accumlated on market days.

We are counting the hours and thinking of home.