Day four with Maggie

Today was our fourth day with Maggie. She was a little cranky today... we think she is teething. Even though she was a litte under the weather, we still decided to go on the tour in the morning. Maggie slept in the stroller the entire time. In the afternoon, some of the Moms decided to do a little shopping while the Dads stayed with the babies. Shopping in China (without the assistance of our wonderful travel guide Freda) is an experience I will never forget. One of the Moms had her baby with her and we had MANY locals stop to talk to her. Of course it was very difficult to communicate, which was a little scary. Some of the locals get persistent when they see our babies because they think that we "underdress" them. In China, they put multiple layers of clothing on the children - to the point where the kids can barely move. Then us Westerners come along and dress them in one or two layers.... and the locals are quick to tell us (in a language that we do not understand) that we need to put more layers on them. These situations can be sometimes difficult and stressful... mostly because we have no way of communicating with each other.

Also, I realized today that it is near impossible for me to bagain for anything! So I am defintely going to pay full price for anothing I buy. Ohhh well....!

We were really missing home today. Brent especially is finding it hard, as the Moms have done a few things together, and the Dads have stayed behind in the hotel with the babies. There is a lot of down time on this trip... which is great for bonding with the babies, but not so great if you are looking forward to getting home with your newest additions. To make matters worse, my DVD player is not working on my laptop, so Brent is not able to watch any of the shows or movies that he brought with him. That is really too bad... as it would make the time pass for him. The good news (for Brent that is) is that Maggie likes Daddy much more than Mommy.... so, of course, he is bragging about that every chance he gets! He loves it. It is so touching to watch them form this bond, especially since Brent had to work so hard to establish that with Gracie. The only time Maggie cries is when she is tired or hungry, or when Mommy tries to kiss or hug her. She will let Daddy do it (with only a little resistance) but screams if Mommy tries. To be honest, I am finding her rejection really hard. I know that it is very common in international adoption.... but I had hoped by now she would at least like me! Ohhh well, I will have to work on that when we get home.

We did not take a lot of pictures today, however I did manage to get a few cute ones of Maggie! I'd better sign off until tomorrow.... love from China...