Internet? What Internet?

Honestly, we would have posted more this week, but on a good day, internet access is spotty at best. On a bad day, it's mostly nonexistent. It just took me 45 minutes to check my email, and the internet faded out on me no less than six times.

What a difference a few days makes. I cannot believe that Madeleine is the same girl we picked up on Monday. By Tuesday, there were no more bouts of sobbing. By yesterday, she was hugging and kissing me without being prompted and rarely pushing Daddy away anymore. She has been laughing and playing and singing and imitating everything we say and do. When we get her up in the morning or when either of us enters a room, she says, "Hi!" And she waves and says "bye bye" at the appropriate times. We have her saying, "How are you?" and "I'm fine." She is referring to herself as Mattie, the d sound being very pronounced, and she usually responds when we refer to her or call her by her new name. She has already learned a few signs...more, eat, milk, cat, drink...and we've only watched "Signing Time" once. She has learned "Itsy Bitsy Spider" already. She says some of the words, but has all of the motions down. You can see her doing it in some of the pix from yesterday. Still no accidents though she does use "La shee shee" as an excuse to get attention sometimes because she knows everyone will drop everything to get her to a bathroom. We also know that she is smart enough to manipulate us and that she has amazing control, so now, we respond only when we are pretty sure she really has to go. Car rides make her a bit nervous. She gets very quiet and sober when we drive anywhere. We wonder if she is thinking we are going to take her somewhere and leave her, but we keep trying to reassure her that Mommy and Daddy will always be here and never, ever leave her.

Miss Isabel is having the time of her life at my sister's though she has begun to test Patti a bit. She is a toddler after all, and I have no doubt that despite how happy she is and how much fun she's having, she misses home and us. She has learned a few new things as well. Apparently, she likes to give the high five and say, "Alllllriiiiiiight." Patti doesn't know where she learned it, but my money is on my nephew Jake. She also says, "Goodnight boys" to Uncle Bob and Jake when it's time to go to bed. And she and Kailei, the dog, are having a mutual love affair.

As for sightseeing, on Thursday, we visited a tea farm which was quite interesting. I don't get the attraction of drinking hot tea in 90 plus degree weather though. And after the farm, we visited Lingyin Temple, a Buddhist temple in Hangzhou over 1700 years old. It was beautiful.

Today we pick up Maddie's passport and head to Guangzhou.

Few more pics: