WHAT WE DID TODAY

I've spent about 30 minutes trying to download three photos, but for whatever reason it's not working right now.  It's 1:22 am in China right now and I'm wide awake.  We have chosen to have Ava sleep between us and that girl is on the move most of the night.  I'll be very lucky if I make it back home with all my teeth! ;)   When Ava woke up on Monday she had a look on her face like....Hey, I didn't dream this...You guys are still here.  We played with all her toys on the bed for quite awhile and it wasn't long that her Daddy was able to FINALLY hold her.  Ava still prefers her Mama when she is upset, but she will let Daddy hold her and carry her too.    This child LOVES food!  I was chewing a piece of gum and she was trying to pry my jaw open to get to it!  She is loving her cheerios!  We tried to make a bottle of formula with rice the first day, but she shakes her head no.  She only wants real food and she also is drinking out of a sippy cup.  Our guide says not to worry about feeding her the formula as long as she is eating solid food.    Ava is one smart little cookie.  She is very reserved when she is first around you....You can tell that her little wheels are turning and she is taking everything in.  She will watch everything outside the bus window and point with one little finger.  She looks back at you to see if you saw what she saw.  Too cute.   She has really come out of her shell today.  Smiles are easy to come by and giggles too. She will grab my hand and put it on her belly for me to tickle her!    When she had a piece of crusty food on her hand, she pointed to it making a little humming noise.  She wanted her Daddy to wipe what it was off of her. He also wiped her one little foot and she quickly lifted her other foot for him to take care of that one too!   Ava is so close to walking.  She grabs you hand and makes it known that she wants to stand up.  Her face just lights up and she is so proud of herself.  I'm so happy that we will be able to witness her first steps.   We went downstairs this morning to meet with the director of the orphanage in our hotel. Because of the swine flu, we're not allowed to visit the orphanage.  We went back to the same room where we were given the babies.  The director came in and sat and told us about the orphanage and the foster families in the area. Out of our entire group, Ava was the only baby that had spent time in the orphanage.  I was really sad and kept thinking to myself how my girl got a raw deal, but then I heard more.  He said that La La had a nanny that was so sad that she was gone.  The nanny called him a few times yesterday wanting to know how she was doing.  She really wanted to come to the hotel yesterday, but the director didn't think it was best.  He took a photo of us to show her that La La was happy. I started to cry in the room....It was such a wonderful feeling to know that my daughter was loved.  Ava had 3 nannies at the orphanage, but the one nanny she was closest with. The nanny would take her how quite often to sleep with her at night.  We were able to get the name of the nanny and also the nickname she had for our girl.  In English it means, "little boy!!"....The director said she called her that because Ava was quite extroverted.    We went to the Civil Affairs office later in the afternoon.  We had our interview where we were asked if we liked our baby.  J and I quickly said that, "We LOVE her."  The interview was only minutes long and then we signed our papers.  On the China end of things, we're FINALLY Ava's parents.    We then went to the police station where we had Ava's photo taken for her Chinese passport.  Then it was back to the hotel.  Our group was meeting to go to a local Chinese restaurant, but we decided to eat in the hotel instead with Pug Mama and BD.  Both Pug Mama and I were exhausted and were looking forward to an early bedtime.    I fell asleep about 8:30, but woke up at around midnight.  The beds are very comfortable here, but our little girl is moving constantly at night.  I can't stand the thought of putting her in the crib....She spent so much of her life without us there.....I want to be there for her now.  I just don't know how long one can live without sleep??!! ;) Tuesday we go to the notary office in the morning and then to Walmart.  I hope I'm able to post photos soon.