Hi Everyone,

Well, it has been a busy couple of days! We have resorted to eating in the lounge area with take out because the interest in Ella Xioayun is too much at meals times and we are trying to avoid the inevitable melt down from the questions and comments. This has helped tremendously and meal time is actually a fun time now. My daughter, as expected, is quite the pro at chop sticks and although she likes to use her fork and knife for the breakfast foods, all the rice and noodle dishes must have chops! :) We have enjoyed some local outings the past few days. We went to a local park where they have some kid rides which was wonderful. Ella Xiaoyun only wanted to go on the fast and crazy rides and because of her size, a parent had to accompany her. Tried to get Aunt Marianne to pony up and go on the rides but she just smiled and shook her head. Needless to say, three days later I still need to see a chiropractor and I lost my sunglasses on the neck snapping roller coaster ride. Worth it to hear my daughter laugh out loud and smile the whole time!! Too funny. We have to protect Ella Xioayun on the outings because since she is older, people want to talk to her and ask questions. This never ends well, so we are still trying to block her! We went to the local zoo which was amazing fun, and Ella Xiaoyun was able to see all the animals we have been reading about. She really liked the elephants and zebras but became really excited to see the show were some local artists were dancing and singing. Yesterday was a visit to another beautiful local park where we saw many people dancing, practicing Tai Chi and playing hacky sack! It is still over 90+ degrees here with about 100% humidity so you can imagine how we all must look during these outings. Completely drenched in sweat! This park had a nice muesuem that had some interactive fun things for the older kids to enjoy. Unfortunately one of the displays was a map of the world and showed the flight patterns to the US. Our coordinator told the older kids the path they would take on the plane, and this was a little too much for little Miss Ella Xiaoyun. I had to carry my 40+ lb daughter all the way back to the hotel from the park which was over three blocks away. Nothing like a mid-day work out! :) Some of the best times for Ella Xiaoyun are at the swimming pool, where she is quickly becoming a very daring jumper and swimmer! We practiced floating yesterday along with kicking and again, there is nothing like hearing her laugh out loud! She spoke her first full English sentence yesterday when we were playing at the pool with the ball. She was throwing the ball for Aunt Marianne to catch, and she said to her "Ready?" and when Aunt Marianne did not hear her, she said " Are you ready?" Wow, that was pretty impressive and she had so much fun! I am able to help her through her melt downs quicker now, and she will actually accept some physical contact with me so each day is a step forward. I am so grateful she is so brave and doing the best she can, and can't wait for her to meet her new family.Hope you are all doing well!