Hotel Happenings and Getting to know Macie and Maeleigh

This is what happens when you spend a lot of time in a hotel room. :)  You have to get creative about finding ways to make it fun.  Someone started making play dough mustaches and we all got a little silly. Macie really didn't want anything to do with it though.

What we've learned about Macie:

*She can't seem to hear much from what we can tell.

*She is pretty serious most of the time, but has a silly side too.

*When she gets excited or wants to tell someone something, she uses a noise that sounds a lot like Donald Duck.  She just might have a nickname already. :)

*She has excellent facial expressions that will be perfect for when she learns ASL!  

*She cries quietly and it sounds like a cat meowing.  She cries easily and can stop crying easily if you just give her something- a cup of water, a snack, etc.  When she gets upset, she bounces/or pushes her hands and feet up and down.  

*She LOVES to jump, climb, and run.  She's a bruiser..literally!  We plan to ask about the major bumps and bruises on her forehead, but after a couple days with her we think we know how she got them.  She is not really steady on her feet and runs into things easily and falls down more easily.  

*She's very brave and adventurous and not afraid of much, except going to bed and the dark..at least right now.

*She snores.

*She is starting to like taking baths, but it doesn't appear that she has taken baths much and if she did, it was possibly very different than the way a child in the US would take a bath.  She does not like her hair to be washed- water on her head/face.

*She does not enjoy having her teeth brushed and it appears she rarely had them brushed.  She's likely going to need a very LONG first teeth cleaning appointment, possibly sedated, and it's likely she's going to have quite a few cavities.  Her actual teeth positioning looks pretty good though.

*She is very sweet and kind. 

*She shares well.  

*She's mellow and easy-going. 

*When inside, she's pretty passive and doesn't do a whole lot of anything. 

*When outside, it's like she comes alive!

*She makes Evan laugh very hard and he just adores her already.

*She doesn't care to have her hair done.  She pulls out hair bands and bows.

*She is bonding with both of us, but seems to prefer mom a little bit more.

*She seems quite smart and will probably pick up sign language and other concepts fairly quickly. She's already picked up a handful of signs: mom, dad, and car.  We're working on a bunch more, but she doesn't have them down quite yet.  She'll soon learn that everything has a sign.

*She's much younger acting in many ways.

*She's the younger of the two girls by five months, but she is taller, heavier, and has bigger feet.

*She is loving having her picture taken and now poses all the time.  She puts her hand out and that's her signal: "Mom, take a picture of me!"

*She likes to eat and will eat most things. If she doesn't want it or like it, she'll shake her head no.  She likes to be hand fed, but can eat independently too.

*She is not yet potty trained- wearing pull-ups for the time being.  She did go on the toilet once for us.  She likely just needed someone to teach her.

*She does not like to be tickled, but does like to have her back rubbed.

*She will scratch my back or pat my back when I hold her, especially when she's upset.  So cute!

*She has a dimple when she smiles. :)

What we've Learned about Maeleigh:

*She's a charmer!  Anyone who sees that smile is going to fall in love with her. :)

*She's smart.

*She's definitely been taught how to do things and be independent. She likes to get her own clothes on, brush her own teeth, brush her own hair, etc.  

*She is quiet most of the time and has the cutest little voice when she does say something.

*She has an adorable laugh.

*She doesn't say a whole lot- may have a language delay.  

*She's trying to repeat some words in English- says mama, dada, and Evan pretty well.

*She's bossy and a bit of a stinker.

*She knows how to work people.

*She can be pretty rough.  She sometimes grunts and then puts her hand in a fist and hits.  We're working on breaking that habit. ;)

*She likes to do things the way she wants to do them and to take charge of a situation.

*She is not good at sharing at all.

*She loves taking baths and seems to know what you do in the bathtub and likes to do it herself.

*She likes brushing her teeth and seems to know how/has done it before.  She has nice looking teeth.

*She has the thinnest hair I've ever seen.  It's so long too!  She likes to brush her own hair and often uses her hands to clear her face of any hair- it's so cute when she does it.

*She is bonding to both of us, but seems to prefer Rick a little more.  It is clear she adores him. She likes being held by him, holding his hand, and loves to rub and pull on his arm hair. ;)

*She LOVES to jump.  If we have neighbors below us, they may not like us because she likes to jump and plop on her butt on the floor and on the bed and off of the bed even.  

*She is SUPER flexible and has good balance.  She can do the splits, put her foot in her mouth, put her legs up over her head.  Future gymnast?!?!?  We were told Liuzhou is known for gymnastics.

*She is the older of the two girls by five months, but she is shorter, lighter, and has smaller feet.  

*She is potty trained, but needs help on the toilet.  She likes to just pull her pants down when she needs to go- that's her signal for now!

*She is a good eater and will eat most things.  She loves meat and noodles.

*She loves to be tickled!

Both girls LOVE bubbles, playing with play dough, coloring, going outside, being held, and getting flipped by dad.  We love our girls and we can't wait to learn so much more about them over the next coming days, weeks, months, and years. :)

Tomorrow we are getting up early to meet our guide at 7 a.m. in the lobby to catch a 8:00 train to Liuzhou.  We are all going to go back to the orphanage and get some pictures of where the girls were found- outside the orphanage gate.  We plan to try to meet a few kids who have families in process for them.  We have two packages from two of the families.  We are hoping to meet a few waiting kids, but not sure if that will happen or not because agency staff were just visiting the orphanage a couple of days ago.   We plan to have the girls and Evan and Lena hang out with our guide in a separate room while we meet the foster parents to ask them some questions.  We'll do lunch on our own and then potentially go to the foster families' homes to see where the girls spent their first couple of years.   One of us will likely stay with the girls and go to a park or something.  We're just not sure we want them to have to go through the leaving all over again and go backwards in our attachment.  It's so hard to know what is best/right sometimes.   I have this feeling something is not going to go as planned tomorrow and they are going to see each other.  

Please pray that we have a safe train ride to Liuzhou and then back to Nanning. Pray that we are able to meet the matched children for their families and that we might get to meet even a few of the waiting kids.  Please pray for our meeting with the foster families and that we learn a lot from them and that we will hopefully be able to visit their homes.  We will learn so much from that experience.

Tomorrow will be a special, but long day.