All in all, Maya's a good baby. Joe was the first one to hold her when all the babies were given to their families. She didn't cry at all, but just stared at him. She goes to him pretty easily and loves to ride facing outward in the baby carrier. We really can't tell whether or not she has any developmental delays. She sits up unassisted and can actually pull herself into a standing position quite easily. She has a death grip on her toys and her favorite activity is to swing the toys back and forth. It is really cute to see but kind of painful if you are in the general vicinity. Joe has gotten hit a few times in the face by flailing toys while he has her in the baby carrier (note to Quey Quey (her grandma) - please buy some soft hand toys)! As soon as we sit down to eat she grabs hold of anything she can reach. It makes for a challenging meal.
Maya babbles a lot and is very vocal. She is active and likes to be held all. the. time. Even though I am used to holding a forty pound five year old, for some reason my back is really taking a lickin' with this kid. She has some meat on her bones and little chubby legs - it must be the fact that she has a healthy appetite and likes to eat table food. Of course there are a few things she doesn't like, manly having her diaper changed and her first bath with us didn't go over too well either. Last night she was crying a lot before dinner and the only way for us to get her to calm down was for Joe to strap her into the carrier and walk around the lobby stores. She sure is an inquisitive kid.
Everyone is sleeping pretty well except for me. Tonight I got around 6 hours worth of sleep, which is better than the previous night, so maybe I am starting to catch up. I am dreading adjusting to the time change once we return to New Jersey.
We are checking out of this beautiful hotel (The Wharton International hotel of Nanning) and taking a five hour bus ride to Guilin, a city famous for it's beautiful scenery. Our tour guide told us that the hotel isn't as fancy as this one (whatever that means) so I am unsure if I will be able to update for a few days. I will be back on the computer for sure once we fly over to the White Swan in Guangzhou over the weekend.
A few of you asked about Leah's adjustment to her sister. It is going as well as can be expected. This experience is wonderful for all of us, but also extremely stressful. Our first few hours together we had an official girl meltdown (mommy, Leah and Maya). By the time Joe came back from his trip to walmart (think eight men, all with shopping carts, searching through the baby aisles) we were not in the best of shape. That is a whole post in itself and will write more about it when we get home. Joe was able to spend some time alone with Leah in the pool yesterday, so that was nice. For the most part, Leah likes to squeeze Maya's cheeks and pull on her legs in the baby carrier. Also, during our adoption interview Leah told the official that she loves her baby sister. I take that as a good sign.
Tammy - thanks for the offer of sending more 9 month clothes. Actually, I don't think she will be in that size much longer. She barley fits in the footsie pj's now!
Cousin Candice - thanks so much for e-mailing me. I am glad to hear that the Harry Potter book was good (you lucky girl to have read it already). I plan on diving right into it with whatever free time I have once I return home.
I will write again soon!
Joe working on his bargaining skills
Some of the women at the pearl factory teaching Maya how to crawl
