Our China Journey Continues......

I haven't been able to blog the last few days. I've really had my hands full with Rosie and Alexander took quite sick on Thursday. He basically hasn't eaten since then. I started giving him some antibiotics yesterday, but I think it is viral, I will probably know more tomorrow.
I also started Rosie on antibiotics. All the babies had heavy congestion when we got them - lots of coughing and rattling and also some loose stool. For Rosie I waited a couple of days to see what would happen but when she started tugging on her ears, I figured I better get the amoxicillian in her. It may be the time of year because Robert is now sick too and he never gets sick. He has a terrible cough which rips his chest apart each time he coughs. I will be so happy to get home-or at least to the States.
Even though we've met with some sickness, we are still really enjoying ourselves, it is nice just being together and admiring Rosie. I'm afraid the boys haven't gotten much of my time, but as things normalize, things should equal out a bit more.
Rosie is changing rapidly. We really think the first 2 or 3 days she was depressed. She gets this look come across her face that is like a mask dropping into place. I guess it is her coping mechanism. The last few days though she has really lightened up. We've seen lots of smiles and some laughs too. That was worrying us because they say; the first day tears, the second day smiles, the third day laughs. It took us a little longer.
Another thing that we were prepared for but hadn't anticipated how difficult it would be; her sort of rejection of anyone but me. We consider ourselves somewhat experienced with adoption and we know that one of the first rules of bonding is that the child must bond with mom - first. If she bonds with mom then she will be able to bond with others too. If she doesn't bond with mom, forget it.
However, she pretty much rejected Robert and the boys. Wouldn't let them touch her at all, would push their hands away, or turn her head away when they spoke to her. It was heart wrenching. Especially for Robert. After all the wait and anticipation, to feel so rejected was really tough. It didn't seem to comfort him much that all the other fathers were experiencing the same thing. I learned this morning that several of the fathers were actually experiencing depression. However, today we seemed to show some improvement. I noticed it with the other fathers too. Today Rosie played with Robert and let him hold her and when she became antsy at dinner, he picked her up and carried her till she calmed down. I was pleasantly surprised. We are on Day 6 with her today.
She is a little mimic and tries to do everything I do. She watches everything and everyone and then copies as best she can. Today she was singing Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes, but saying "Waa, Waa, waawaa" for the words. She also loves PeekaBoo and finds herself so amusing when she tricks one of the boys by holding a cheerio out to them and then withdrawing it at the last moment. She is a sweetheart and so adorable.
When we came to China I expected my 6 ft 6 inch husband to be the center of attention, but he has hardly created a stir. All the Chinese people want to know about Rosie. They stop and talk to her, ask us lots of questions we don't understand. When we get someone who speaks English they always ask her age and then are shocked by her size. Sigh. I guess we will have to get used to that for a while.
She is 21 months old now and I think she weighs 18 lbs. She is pretty tiny. Some of the 12 month clothes that I brought do fit her, but many are too large. She still falls down a lot and definately toddles as opposed to walking. She falls over easily like a 5 month old. Today she was sitting on the bed and just fell off; really like a small infant. When she is walking she takes lots of falls and still holds her arms out airplane style, I presume to keep her balance. She will also still loose control of her head and kind of fall backward. With all that said though, she is quite independent and wants to do everything herself. We think she is so smart and just marvel watching her learn and grow right before our eyes in such a short period of time.
We are in Sanya today. Our schedule got kind of messed up because the children's passports weren't ready in time. We leave for Guangzhou tomorrow to stay at the infamous White Swan Hotel - well known amoung adoptive families. Our consulate appt is on the 13th, we get the visas on the 14 and fly to Dulles on the 15th.
I feel like I've been on Biggest Losers the last week. You would think that being a vegetarian in China would be the easiest thing in the world but no such luck. We've had lots of difficulties. Luckily, we've had big breakfast buffets in all our hotels so Alexander, Daniel and I have tried to really fill up. Most days that has been either our only meal or very close to it. Robert and Max, on the otherhand, have been enjoying lots of fresh and delicious fish.
Thank you again to everyone who is praying for us, rooting for us and thinking about us. We can't wait for you all to see our beautiful daughter.