Today we had a little setback in our plans because poor little David woke up last night throwing up and has been sick on and off today. He seems to be feeling better now and we are so thankful- tomorrow afternoon we fly to Guangzhou, where we will with for the consulate appointment on Wednesday and then for Kailyn's visa to be issued. So today has been another relaxed day- sherry, Sara and I walked to walmart to look especially for a snack trap, which we couldn't find yesterday at the Target like store. Kailyn set hers down on the orphanage visit and we left it there:( I didn't know that bringing the snack trap would become like gold to us. Anyway, we didn't find one and I think the people here rely more on eating small but frequent meals and so snacking isn't a big part of everyday life. There are no sippy cups to be found either. The children use bottles until 2-3 years traditionally from what we've seen.
But I really wanted to record a little more about kailyn, her habits, and how we are getting to know her. This little sweetheart is such a joy. In fact, if i'd known how we'd really feel about her, i think we might have named her Kailyn Joy. She is smiling and laughing now- we've learned that she has some ticklish spots, and she thinks it is hilarious if you put an object on your head and let it fall off. She likes blow kisses on her neck and she'll initiate shaking her head side to side wanting you to mimic her back. Then she'll just laugh and cackle! When she wants to be picked up and you respond with enthusiasm she lights up with a grin:) She is incredibly sweet, but she is also becoming a little more daring in expressing her opinion. Today in Walmart, I had the pleasure to experience for the first time this little angel throw a screaming, back arching fit because I could not let her sit in the middle of the store with people passing all around and bang the baby spoons on the floor that I was going to buy, or let her run free in any direction. Thankfully, she calmed down once we started heading to check out and were moving at a faster pace.
She fell asleep in the stroller on the way back but then she woke up while we were riding up in the elevator. I was standing behind her of course, and when she didn't see me she screamed very loudly. I knew she was scared so I let her see me quickly and she calmed. It broke my heart for her to be scared like that but at the same time it was assuring that she does know that I am supposed to be with her. She isn't supposed to be alone.
Food continues to be an important security item for her. We were prepared for this in our training and books but I really didn't think we would deal with it much because of her age and because I thought she would be mainly bottle fed. But this little princess will eat just about anything. She loves to dig through the snack stash we have in our room and frequently brings me what she wants to try even if she's just eaten a meal. During meals she always needs to have food in her hands while I feed her, and she still sleeps with a container of Cheerios. As long as she has her cheerios at night and she can see me in the bed next to her, she'll go right to sleep.
There is another habit that I want to go back and read about. Yesterday, I was watching Kailyn go over to her stacking cups and she tossed them haphazardly in all directions as she often does, and all of the sudden it reminded me of a chapter I read in one of my adoption parenting books. You can often tell what a child, especially a young child is is experiencing by the way they play, or by what they do with toys. This book described this type of behavior exactly as Kailyn is behaving. She throws and scatters toys, packed luggage,and any objects near her when she gets frustrated. When she is done with something, she often throws it under a bed or in a corner. The book described this as a child's way of expressing confusion in their life or the throwing things out of sight as the feeling of being lost or possibly worthless. I guess this could be just normal toddler behavior, but since she does it often, I definitely plan to keep an I on it and try to learn how to help her feel secure. I know that this is something that we'll address over the span of her life, and that is why it is so important to start helping her understand her life as early as possible, in an age and developmentally appropriate way.
I need to stop typing now, but I want to record how quickly we have come to love this sweet little princess. She brings such joy to our family already, it is like she was just waiting on us to come.
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