Day 5 Chengdu City

Today we were off to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. Chengdu is known for their Panda research and breeding around the world. The atmosphere was beautiful and calm. The weather was bit cooler, 59, but still is not the same cold as at home. Brian was in his usual short sleeve shirt and I had on long sleeves. The first couple of days our guide worried about Brian wearing short sleeves and being cold. The park was not very busy so we were able to take our time and enjoy the scenery and animals. We ran into an American couple who lives in China. Their mother was there visiting and we spoke to her for a minute. It gave us a glimpse of how Faith will react to people speaking in English to her. She raised her brows and just stared at them. Faith is doing so well adjusting to us, we are constantly amazed. I think it will be really hard on her when we leave all that sounds and looks familiar to her. We are going to have to really be aware of her needs once home. After we visited with the Pandas we came back to the hotel. Brian went for our usual feast of dumplings. Faith fell asleep on the drive home and napped a little longer at the hotel. Nap was a little earlier so afterwards we hung out playing and then went out for dinner at a famous Hot Pot restaurant. It reminded me a lot of the Melting Pot at home. Instead of cooking things in cheese you cook your meats in a soup. We ordered two soups; one mild for Faith and the spicy for us. Louise was great helping us order and cooking the food. We ate Beef, Meatballs and Vegetables. Brian and Louise ordered Stomach and made me try one tiny, tiny bite. I only did it so they would leave me alone! It just had the flavor of the soup and was a little chewy. No point if you ask me. Your meal comes with rice and a dipping sauce. The sauce is like an oil with minced garlic. We weren't crazy about that part. I am glad we tried it, neat experience and fun atmosphere. We realized today that Faith eats too much. We have never had a child with this problem :) We are going to monitor her food more closely tomorrow. We feel she may be eating for comfort. We know she has always eaten well. In pictures we always noticed how her tummy stuck out. BTW, she has a cute little belly. After dinner was bath and bed. We skipped bottle because how much she ate at dinner so it was harder to soothe her to sleep. She didn't sleep as well. Brian has been working at night but tonight the computer light woke her up. We are ready to get to Guangzhou because we have a suite and will be able to get more done while she sleeps. The next morning I read in the bathroom for an hour while she slept.

Random notes about Faith!
Shoes:The first couple of days we had a hard time keeping shoes on her little feet. The 2 new shoes I brought were too big and the ones the FM had on her were 2 small. She high step when walking and kick her shoe off. I think we put them back on her 100 times. Finally on the morning of day 4 I pulled out a pair that were handed down from a friend. They have 2 straps and fit perfect. They may not match all of her outfits but they will work. I am debating buying the famous squeaky shoes in Guangzhou. Faith is an active little girl so that would be a lot of squeaking.
Bows: Faith hair is cut so that the front part is longer and can be put up in the popular pig tails. Her bangs automatically go to the side since the FM always had then pulled up with a barrette. So when her hair isn't fixed like this it looks messy. I am sure the locals think, poor child, that white women has no clue what to do with that child's hair. The pigtails are adorable but when I went to pull her hair up to fix it she rubbed her head and starting speaking in Mandarin letting me know real quick it wasn't going to happen. Today I was able to get a small bow to stay in her hair all day by putting it on the top of her head versus to the side some. If it is to the side a little when she rubs her ears she will feel it and pull it out. Hair will definitly be a work in progress!
Name: The first couple of days we called her by WuLei. Now we will call her WuLei followed by Faith. Eventually we will drop WuLei. I always wondered how we would handle this but we just kinda figured it out as we went.
Bath: I figured out the bath thing. When it is time to get out, I drain the water and show her..no more, time to get out. This solved her getting upset. People in China will bath their children sometimes twice a day during the summer since it is soo hot. In America sometimes the one bath children get during the summer is called a pool.
Development: Most children from orphanges or foster care are developmentaly delayed. We have not seen any of this in Faith. I am not saying she is a prodigy but I do feel she was very well taken care of in this area. The Chinese man we spoke to in the park mentioned how well she was walking. He said his daughter was not getting around that well at her age. We noticed her legs to be somewhat bowlegged but that can be very common and should grow out of by age 3. Louise said the Mandarin that Faith speaks is very clear (Mama, Baba, I want, ByeBye). This is great news considering her special needs. She mimics very well; actions and vocal. JibberJabbers alot, so cute. She has started grabbing our hand to lead us to what she wants. Is easily distracted from fussing. Uses her hands and spoon well. Plays with toys appropriately.She loves to play PeekABoo, clapping, playing with bubbles, reading books and throwing the ball. Emotionally, we sometimes wonder if she is doing too well. We only saw signs of grieving the first day. I am eager for the International Adoption Clinic's input and to talk to my friend Amy E.
Today when we were playing I would grab her hand and kiss it, after a couple of times she would grab mine and kiss it. This was the first time for her volunterily kiss me...even if it is my hand and even if she was copying...I saw it as her getting more comfortable. Bottling is taking some time. At this age it is done for bonding. I am wondering if the FM just gave her the bottle and she could walk around and play. She wants to be looking at something and has a hard time to relax. Right now we are just working on her sitting in my lap. Also, it depends what she ate that day as to how long she will stay interested in it. So well see if that improves as we watch her food more closely. She had another dirty diaper so that good ;)
No time to edit, sorry if my posts are choppy :) I probably can name the 5 people who read the whole post...long and detailed but I don't want to forget anything about Faith as she blossoms in her family! If you know me well you know I did the same for the boys!
We already love Faith soo much. Adoption is so amazing. We honestly, truly love her like we do our boys. I love to hold her and cuddle her the same way I do them. Her smile brings us the same joy. She is perfect! Such a sweet, spunky, adorable soul. Thank you God for your many blessings, you truly amaze us.