McDonalds

February 20^th 9pm

                                          The Bund

What another great day. Our first day, just the 4 of us since we arrived. The other Holt family went to the aquarium with Echo, but we wanted a day just to ourselves  :) So we slept in a little and had a late breakfast. Then we headed down Nanjing Road toward The Bund. The Bund is an area in Shanghai that is made up of a river/canal with boardwalks on either side. The river separates Old and New Shanghai. It's a beautiful area and fun to walk around. We took an under the river trolley ride through a tunnel to get to New Shanghai. We went to Pearl Tower in New Shanghai. We didn't even go to the top of the tower but the views were amazing. Ava walked quite a bit on the observation deck of the tower. She's my little dare devil and went out onto the plexiglass floor with Matt that allows you to see all the way straight down to the ground. I was the only one not brave enough to step out on to it, but it freaks me out!!

Checking out the views from the tower

After the tower, we went to McDonalds to lunch. This is not a normal pick for us but I think we were all craving beef/American food. It tasted so good :) Ava had her first bites of hamburger and chicken nuggets. She loved every bite. I had to work very hard to compose myself while watching her eat at McDonalds. It's obvious that Ava has learned out to eat every possible morsel out of survival and she does due diligence to make sure she gets every morsel. It breaks my heart that there were times when my baby girl went to bed hungry and that she had to learn this trait to help ward off that hungriness. We promised her right then and there that she would never have to go hungry again.

Enjoying her first bites of McDonalds

This evening we hung out at the hotel. We were all so full from our McDonalds that we just made a quick trip to a close-by bakery and picked up a few goodies. Ava also practiced her walking some more. This evening she is needing very little support from us, just one hand on her to help keep her balance. I'm guessing that by the time she gets home, she'll be walking by herself!! Good thing we got that baby gate up ;)

We got lots more laughs out of her today and tons of smiles :) These 2 things melt my heart every time. She also started babbling and singing to us today. Once she started, it was like had saved it all up because she didn't stop talking for hours! She tires to imitate everything we do: noises, songs, gestures and she gets great joy when we praise her for a good job. Ava is definitely experiencing some separation anxiety. She has a difficult time switching from person to person~even if we have all be close by the whole time. She also hates when one of us leaves her sight. We're making progress with this, but I think it is deep ingrained from years of loosing people. We'll have to prove to her that we are here to stay and we are not leaving. And we intend to do just that. We've had so many precious moments already and we have many years ahead of us. Neither Matt nor I can believe or explain our feelings towards our beautiful, baby girl. It's a love that no other and it continues to grow every hour. I have no idea what I would do without her in my life. She's an absolute miracle and blessing.