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Today has been a great day. Lydia changed a lot just in the course of the day. We didn't have to be anywhere this morning, so for the first time since arriving in China we were free to sleep in. Lydia slept for 12 hours and Sydney for 11. I am convinced that Lydia had never had solid food prior to Tuesday. She didn't know how to eat from a spoon. I think they put puréed food in with her formula. That is not a criticism to the orphanage because she has been very well cared for and well fed.
 Anyway, this morning she took a bottle of formula and then had some yogurt and a few bites of oatmeal at breakfast. At noon she wouldn't take a bottle so I tried baby food. She devoured apple sauce and then had some prunes (still having poopy issues). In the afternoon we had birthday parties for two of the babies in the Swan Room (I'll tell you about the Swan Room in a minute). We had mango cake which was actually very good. Lydia liked the cake, too! It had mangoes on top and she ate those, too. I just gave her a little but she would have liked more. Then at dinner time she wouldn't take the bottle again but loved baby food carrots and had some of Syd's mac and cheese.
Wow! This isn't congee!  For the sake of her tummy I was trying to keep her on the same foods that she had in the orphanage and slowly introduce new foods, but I think that's out the door!
 She still isn't letting anyone hold her but me but she isn't afraid of Kyle anymore and loves to play with him and Sydney. By the evening I was able to put her down and leave the room while Kyle and Syd played with her. Sydney fed her tonight. She has been a wonderful help and has been very understanding of Lydia's clinginess to me. Syd has also been able to help some of the other families with their babies. Deb is the single mom whose mom fell and broke her leg in Beijing. Syd sat by her on the flight to Guangzhou and they got well acquainted. Syd was her shopping buddy in the Carrefour store and has helped her with her baby. They picked out nail polish at the Carrefour store and Deb gave Syd a manicure yesterday. The Gerdes baby is still having a pretty rough time and wants to be held all the time and she will actually let Syd hold her. I think that has given them a little relief and it makes Sydney feel special. Sydney really doesn't like Chinese food much. She hasn't complained too much but was pretty disgusted when she bought a bag of Cheetos and they turned out to be chicken-flavored. The look on her face was hysterical! Tonight we ordered in pasta from Danny's Bagel and she got mac and cheese. She hasn't been that happy since McDonald's night. Ha! We decided tonight that Lydia doesn't think we're aliens anymore. Sydney said that she is looking at us with love, and she is.
 She is smiling more and more all the time. Kisses always make her smile and what an adorable smile it is! She sticks out her bottom teeth when she smiles. She is absolutely precious!!!!
 We visited the Swan Room today. It is a playroom set up by Mattel just for adopted babies. It has lots of toys and plenty of space to play.
 Lydia really enjoyed it and we were able to go this morning and then again this afternoon for the birthday parties. Also, Mattel gives each adoptive family a "Going Home Barbie." It's a Caucasian mom with an Asian baby. It is really special. The weather here is cold and rainy. We did go out and visit a few of the shops here. The shopping is incredible. We bought Lydia a pair of squeaky shoes today. They squeak when the child takes a step. They are very cute.
we need to talk about what they are putting on our heads!" 
Business-wise, we went and applied for the babies' visas today. I am very impressed with how easy our agency makes this for us. Shiyan, our guide, tells us what to bring, we load up on the bus and are taken wherever we need to go. She accompanies us everywhere and tells us exactly what to do. It's been great. We got our certificate of adoption today that shows that Lydia is ours. It's a good thing because we're not giving her back!
Love,
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