A Day of Breakthroughs

This Chinese New Year is not only called "The Year of the Pig", but it is according to the locals a very special Year of the Pig called The Golden Pig. This means that this is supposed to be a particularly prosperous year for everyone. Keira's foster family contacted Aggie and wanted to tell us that they are glad that we have adopted Keira although they miss her very much. With this being the Year of the Golden Pig, they feel that it was destiny that she become part of our family and go to the States to have a prosperous life. I for one am truly grateful for them and plan on sending them periodic updates and pictures. Of course, for translations, we'll have to depend on my friend John from work or Margaret! She has been a complete bottomless pit now that she has gotten more used to us and has bonded more with us. We call her our little Golden Piglet!

This morning she woke up with a big smile and got to spend some bonding time with Daddy. Today was a big breakthrough in that it was the first time that she let Dan give her the bottle. Keira and I also have a little routine where when she drinks her bottle when she wakes up, she puts her feet up and I kiss her feet and rub her legs with baby powder. This morning, not only did she let Dan give her the bottle, but the second she started to drink, she raised her feet up to his mouth for him to kiss them like Mommy does. I really enjoyed watching them have such a wonderful moment like this. We went back to the park today and Keira actually stayed awake! She got alot of "Oohs!" in and pointing since there were alot of pretty colorful red lanterns and flowers as well as babies running around. Dan and her rode a ride and although there was a moment when she was scared and cried a little, not more than a second later, she was pointing things out to Daddy on the ride.

When we came back to the room, there was a little battle of wills. It was time for Keira's nap and although she was really tired (you could tell with how much she was rubbing her eyes fighting staying awake) she kept fighting it. This has gone on for the past couple of days, so Dan decided that now was the time to start her getting used to her crib. He brought her over to the crib and laid her in. Boy did she fight it! He stayed with her the whole time so that she knew that he was there and wasn't leaving, but he was determined to get her used to the crib now before we get to Guangzhou and home. It was hard for me to see because I just wanted to pick her up and give in like I always do. After a bit, we switched and I stayed with her until miraculously, she finally relented and fell asleep. Boy what a battle! She didn't go to bed crying and we were there with her, so she knows that we still love her. She actually was even singing a little before she finally dozed. No matter, it was still very hard to do.

Keira, I know that one day you will be reading these notes, so I want to tell you that seeing you cry broke daddy and mommy's hearts. We love you very much and even if sometimes, you aren't getting what you want, it doesn't mean that we love you any less....we love you more and more each day.

Tommorow will definitely be a challenging day as we are flying out of Guiyang and heading to Guangzhou to finalize the adoption before heading back to Beijing then HOME HOME HOME! Hopefully Keira will do good on the plane. It's really hard to say how she might do...guess time will tell! Anyway, wish us luck that she will have a good first flight without Dan and I pulling all of our hair out before we land in Guangzhou! :)