Mommy's Corner

You have to love my wonderful husband! As I read his entry for today, I know all of you (ok maybe just the women!) are saying to yourselves..."ok that's great but where are the details about Emilia"?? And, "Tom, those are nice pictures, but we know what you look like and we want to see more of Emilia!" Am I on the right track?! I apologize because I don't have the camera with me to download more Emilia photos, but I promise more once we get to the White Swan Hotel tomorrow.

Daddy and Emilia are at dinner as I type. They have spent most of the day together since I was not feeling well and spent most of the time in bed trying to get over some nausea. Nothing serious, but I definitely want nothing to do with food or any smells that allude to food. I'm really paying more attention to keeping myself hydrated since I think this may have something to do with it.

We were very fortunate in our first two nights with Emilia. Everything went fairly peacefully and she was sleeping straight through. It was on the third night that we ran into a really rough night with her. MAPS did a very good job preparing us for these potential episodes, although I don't know if one can ever be prepared to listen to a baby cry from the depths of their little soul with pain and fear. With that said, it is a positive sign that Emilia is letting all these emotions out and she may continue to do so through the entire time we are here or it may pass within a night or two. We may also re-encounter it once we get home. This is part of the reason why we didn't have a chance to update you yesterday, it was just a long, tiring day for all of us.

Overall, she does very well through the day with her bright little personality and busy, busy nature. When night comes and it's time for bed, she becomes very agitated and clingy. Initially, she was going to both of us equally, but as of the last couple of days, she is definitely a Mama's girl. To the point, that she will not lay in her crib but will only settle down when I've laid her on top of me to fall asleep. Even when we think she is in a deep sleep and we go to put her in the crib, she wakes up and starts to get upset all over again. Needless to say, she has literally slept on top of me for the last two nights. In the morning she is fine and we go on with our day. I think because today she spent more time with Tom, she seems to be bonding quite well with him once again.

This little baby of ours is very curious and pays attention to every last detail. Not much gets by her and she has a very determined nature. From the photos, you've seen that she has the most irresistible smile. When those cheeks puff out and those eyes get all squinted up, well, whose heart wouldn't melt?! My favorite thing about her is her laugh. I think I mentioned she has a raspy voice, but I don't think I mentioned that it is also deep. So think of this raspy, deep little voice speaking gibberish and combined with her laugh which comes in short little bursts of sound, it's just wonderful to listen to!

I never knew how one could fall in love so immediately and completely until now. She makes me smile constantly and amazes me with her strength and resilience during this period of time. What an incredible little trooper!

The other thing I just have to mention pertains to the referral photos that we received (you can see them earlier in the blog). When we first received them, we all thought that her feet looked very long and thing, but didn't know if maybe this was attributed to the angle of the camera. Well, I can assure you it was all angle! She has the most adorable short, fat little feet!!! I want to take a picture of them because they are so cute (ok, is that an example of foolish things that mothers do or what?!).

Our baby is also not quite the petite little child that we all probably expected. She is quite solid, strong, and pretty much on track in this respect for her age. There are many babies in the hotel with their new families who are Emilia's age and she's definitely one of the "sturdier" girls! I think her nanny may have been sneaking her extra rice and noodles because she has very evidently eaten well.

We are also quite grateful to her nanny (ies) because regardless of whatever surroundings she was in in the orphanage, it is apparent by Emilia's nature that she was well taken care of and paid attention to. Thank goodness!

Well, I will leave you with that for now since I want to get back to the room before Tom and Emilia so we can prepare her for bed. Say a little prayer that each night gets better for her.... Once she is in bed, Tom and I also need to pack since we are leaving for the airport at 9:30 a.m. to catch our 11:55 to Guangzhou. Last stop before home --- yipppeeeee!! We absolutely cannot wait for you to meet Emilia in person!