When Time Stood Still

There are almost no words to describe the last 2 days. Except fairy tale. And day dream. And absolutely amazing! We met Ruby yesterday - or "Mode" as they call her and now we do too (for now). She clung to me from the first minute and by then end of the day not only said Mae but also Mommy! She is an absolute angel and she is sleeping soundly in her crib in our hotel room as I type! We had the most amazing day at the orphanage yesterday. We spent about 3-4 hours and it was like time stood still. We had lots of quality time with our sweet Mode, we got to hold and play with her friend Lily, we got to see 2 boys that are going to Wacap families, and we gave all the children new toys. They were so cute and excited! The toddlers were napping when we first arrived, so we went shopping at the Tesco Lotus and bought TONS of clothes, toys, formula, and diapers for the kids. I was dying to blog yesterday but couldn't get a good connection. Tonight I can get connection but can't send email. It's driving me a bit crazy cause I have good news to tell and many pictures to share!!

To Ellie: WE GOT LILY WITH A SMILE! A big, beautiful smile and she looked soooo precious! She got all your gifts and they showed her your picture and she knows about you. I was seriously impressed with the head nanny of the toddler room. She had Lily laughing like crazy! I got lots of pics for you and video, too. Will send you as soon as I possibly can. I know you must be dying for some news from here. Hopefully, we can figure out the internet problem soon! I have her height, shoe size, and measurements for you too!

To Lynn & To Leah - I saw your boys and got pictures! Both adorable and sweet boys. We bought them (and others) remote control cars. They love electronics but aren't allowed so that was the closest thing! Will send you pics as soon as the server will let me send mail.

The nanny in the toddler room had all the kids laughing and Ruby was singing this song about Chaang (elephant) and acting out all these motions to it. It was so darn cute that I could hardly believe my eyes and ears! Ruby hears fine and responded not only to them but also to me! She is doing incredibly well and is bonding already. It's all so surreal! We bought a video today of children singing and doing the Chaang song (and Ellie, I got you one too!)

Then today. Oh, my...today! If I had to write a story about a perfect day and how it would be, it couldn't be as beautiful as this day! She smiled as soon as she saw me today. I put my arms out to her and she came over to me with her arms up for me to pick her up. I went in first and Jeff stayed in the office to finish the paperwork. They let me run in quick cause I couldn't take it another second. I held her and she clung to me, smiled at me, talked for me. She hears very well and talks so cute and sweet! She can count, sing, and today she was picking up new words like crazy! Yesterday she said Mae & Paw, but today she said Mommy a lot more and Dadda and baby and about 5 other things I can't even think of right now. She repeats what we say and do. In the car I gave her a bottle and she slept like an angel in my arms for about a half hour. When she woke up I thought she would be scared or cranky, but no! She looked up at me and smiled! Then she looked out the window with amazement and excitement - pointing to each new thing. Jeff let me really bond with her first. He was so incredible. He took most of the pics and all the video yesterday and today and I held her the most. She wasn't too bad with him and he got some smiles out of her, but she was still clinging to me more and a bit shy with him.

WELL, you should have seen them today! We got this blow up thing that you rock and bounce on. Like a hippity hop. Ruby sat on one while Jeff played with a second one and he had her LAUGHING up a storm! And I mean laughing so hard she had tears almost coming. It was the cutest thing on earth! Then Jeff went over and dipped her foot in the pool and she smiled and wanted to go over. So we dipped just one foot in a bit. She loved it! We sat on the edge and before you know it she was soaked. I had to hold her back from jumping in she loved it so much! Fearless! So we all got our suits on and went for a swim. Well, for a splash, I should say! Stayed on the step but she was really brave and put her arms out for Daddy who took her out just a couple step and then back to me. It was amazing. She really bonded with him a lot today. It was beautiful to see.

So far we have had very little tears. Late this afternoon she we were sitting in the room and she broke out into full crying. I held and rocked her and she cried for maybe 10 minutes. Then we played a bit and was okay until maybe 15 minutes later she started again. This time even harder. Only lasted about 5 minutes this time because my brilliant husband whips out the organic goldfish like duck crackers. She loved them and instantly stopped crying. The poor thing was hungry!!! We forgot about the schedule! Silly new parents forgot to check the schedule. She eats dinner at 3:30 and it was 4 by the time we figured this out and found the sheet. OH! So we went out and had the cook make us some fried rice and she has been an angel ever since. (Duh!) We felt seriously stupid, but learned a good lesson. When in doubt...feed her! :-) We will be following a strict schedule tomorrow!!!

She eats like a champ, is sleeping like a log, and has the sweetest, laid back personality on earth! We are just in awe of her. I have been kissing her like crazy and taught her to kiss with the "mwa" sound. This afternoon at one point we were playing and I kissed her again with a lound "mwa"! She leaned over and kissed me on the cheek just the same!! We did this ten more times back and forth and then she gave kisses to Daddy, too. It was incredible! Such a loving little girl! How much more we love her every second! At dinner she just stopped at one point and stared at me. I smiled and she smiled and we just sat like that for a minute.She smiled at Daddy a lot too. We are seriously feeling like we stepped out of a dream.