And Now A Word From Lori

Since this is the first night that Lori has been able to put the baby to bed without her, I thought it was time that she post her thoughts about the trip:

Hello everyone, I know you are dying to hear from me.  Well needless to say I have had this little spider monkey literally attached to me at the hip.  That is all better now!  The other mothers and I call it the Velcro Baby Diet--we are all losing weight carrying this extra 20 lbs and skipping our own meals to some extent.  

I do have to say that I like her a lot!  She is precious and full of personality--one that we see a little more of each day.  I have had the good fortune to see up close a lot of her firsts--her first kiss!, two sign language words (more--which she uses a lot) and all done, and finally her first sleep through the night-at least for us.  I truly think she is crazy about Brad--she is just keeping it to herself right now.  But we all know your first love is your Mom--everything else comes along soon after.  

China is great.  You feel very close with the country and the people--not just because you have a child from here and  because we are learning so much about the culture, but because of the Chinese people's sense of personal space.  There isn't much.  Everyone likes to come very close to me and to Brad and Audrey.  They want to touch and hold your baby and do not feel it is odd to try to do so.  Mainly they are curious as to why white people have a Chinese child.  You would think it was a common site, but in a country of 1.3 billion--few really see so many children adopted out to others.  The one child policy is just a fact of life and no one seems to resent it or feel marginalized by it in the least.  There are a few ways that a person can qualify for two kids--be in a minority race (90% of the country is Han--the rest something else), be a government employee or have a very dangerous job, some countryside families who have dangerous jobs and a few other reasons.  Most do not qualify and the fines are unbearable, so abandonment is the only alternative to the punishment for two.  I can't believe someone would leave this sweet little girl or the many, many others I have seen in our hotel.  There are a few boys too, they are all considered special needs however.  

One truly amazing sight was at the City Office a few days ago--there was a family from Spain and they were adopting 3--triplets!  They said it is truly rare and the girls were about a year old and perfect.  Can you imagine someday 3 little Spanish speaking Chinese girls--life is so amazing.

Well I will sign off for now. One rule for sure--when baby rests, momma rests.