More Pictures and Videos

What a difference a day makes! She has been the best baby! She slept for 12 hours last night and woke up this morning wanting snuggles. We had a terrific lightening and thunder storm last night also, which was freaking Monica out, but MaryAlice slept right through it!! That's my girl!

We did better at breakfast with our plan of action...have food available when you put her in the highchair to prevent meltdown. She had egg, porridge, yogurt and watermelon. After a little morning nap and bath, we then did a little shopping. Susan, we found that "From China with Love" shop and found some beautiful things. I'm sure I'll be going back!

Our excitement for the day occurred on what was to be short bus ride to the passport office. Half way there, our bus got pulled over by the police for delinquent tags! They had set up a "tag trap". We never figured out why they didn't just give him a ticket and let us be on our way, but our guide called in a back-up bus that arrived 30 minutes later and she also called the passport office to let then know we were on our way. I could tell she was a little stressed over this turn of events, but she handled it like Johnny on the Spot and moved to plan "B". The appointment at the passport office took all of 10 minutes. It's hysterical to see us get off the bus on the busy streets in Guangdong. The driver and our guide block traffic so that the scared Americans with Chinese babies can exit the bus safely. Crossing the streets in China is and art form, or more like playing Frogger. I did learn one lesson though...always pack a bottle with a Thermos of hot water and formula packet, even if you think its going to be a short trip!! Luckily I had some juice and crack (I mean Cheerios) for MaryAlice. She was a real trooper in the heat, while being contained in her baby carrier, also known as the infant torture device. She was described on her paperwork as being a "quiet baby", but that is not the case! She babbles all the time and on the trip to the passport office, we sat next to another baby from her orphanage that is 2 weeks older. They babbled and screamed at each other like two old Chinese women haggling over a purchase.

All the babies in our group seem to be attaching and adjusting well. MaryAlice is doing great with her eye contact and had a blast sticking her fingers in my mouth and patting my face. She keeps an eye on me and will start to "tune up" if I walk into the bathroom or out of her sight.

After getting back to the hotel from the passport fiasco, Monica and Marcia brought back some chicken congee for MaryAlice and a salad for me from Lucy's. Lucy's is a well known restaurant among adoptive families that are craving some American food! I know it's a little risky having a salad, but one of our travelmates has had two and is still okay, so I took a chance. It was so nice to have a fresh salad.

I've included some videos from the day I met MaryAlice and one from tonight. It takes awhile to upload the videos to YouTube, so I only added two for now. It is amazing to watch how scared MaryAlice was how much she has come out of her shell in 24 hours. She is so close to walking, that I bet we'll have that skill checked off by the time we get home. She can stand on her own if her legs are spread. In the video, she looks like a crab! For some reason the second half of the walking video didn't upload...no worries...her head plant on the cabinet didn't phase her! She is strong! Changing her diaper while she squirms is an Olympic event! Trying to hold her feet up with one hand, while I position the diaper with the other hand is tricky to say the least!!

That's it for tonight. Tomorrow we go to a park in Guangzhou for a couple of hours and then have the afternoon to ourselves.