Loving our little monkey

Yesterday we spent the day getting to know our little monkey.

My mom was dying to shop, even though we have told her that Beijing is the place for bargains, so off we went to Wal-Mart right after breakfast.

Wal-Mart in Guangzhou ended up being the place where Mama and Ailee began bonding. There was a point in time when we were shopping that Ailee was inconsolable. I ended up holding her to try and console her and while I did, I sang softly to her. She placed her cheek right against my mouth and then that was it – she was a Mama’s girl from then on. She didn’t let me put her down during the rest of the shopping trip or even for the rest of the day.

I felt so badly for Paul – he had done such an amazing job with her for the first two days and he was really enjoying his special time with Ailee. On the other hand, it was nice to be able to get to know my little girl and give her kisses and snuggles.

On our way home from shopping, both girls fell asleep. We were able to put them to bed for a nap and then we had a short nap ourselves (well, Paul slept while I read). We had an appointment to get Ailee’s passport picture done and as Maelyn was still asleep, we asked Grandma to babysit and the three of us went to the appointment on our own.

While at the bureau, I handed Ailee to Paul so that I could get out some paperwork out of the backpack and she started to squirm in his arms. She then called out for me, “Mama.” Her first word!!

When we got back to the hotel, Maelyn was still asleep. This was probably a good thing as she was very, very tired and cranky – lack of sleep was catching up to her. Although, it wasn’t so great when she wouldn’t go to bed before midnight last night!!

When Maelyn woke up we took Kyle and the girls to the playroom in the hotel. Paul chased and ran with the kids for over an hour and wore them out. Ailee started to discover playing with toys – and once she started, she couldn’t be stopped! She played games where she handed all the toys in front of her to me, then wanted them handed back. Then, she would do the same with Maelyn and Grandma.

When we returned to the hotel room, I brought out the stacking cups. Any adoptive family totally understands the magic of the stacking cups. Ailee went to town with them! She stacked and restacked those cups so quickly and furiously that I couldn’t help laughing over and over again. Yan Yan really engaged with us and spent a lot of time smiling and giggling. It was wonderful to see!

Other things we discovered about our little girl is that she loves to rock back and forth. When you are holding her and she can get her feet planted anywhere, she will forcefully use her feet to get you to rock. She loves it! This girl also loves her food! And she has decided that she is way too big for a bottle and has kicked them entirely. Yan Yan will only drink out of a cup.

The cutest thing ever is that when she is tired, Yan Yan will put both of her thumbs in her mouth and cross her fingers – still trying to get a picture of that one! This girl is a sleeper and goes down regularly for naps and bedtime.

We are loving Ailee more and more every day and it has been wonderful to see her personality start to come through some of the fear and anxiety that she has been feeling.

We love you, Yan Yan!

Maelyn’s drawing of Ailee…