Enjoying our second day with Mia Qi Chen...we can't take our eyes off of her




Mom and Mia learning together (Mom's learning Chinese, and Mia's learning English)








4-7-10
Matthew says: Mia got her first look at the big wide world today when our guide suggested we go with her to the Chinese Wal-Mart where she fell asleep in my arms. We really needed to buy clothes and socks for her, because we had no idea how big she was when we were packing to come over here, and filled our biggest suitcase with stuff for her. We are hoping that she doesn’t get spoiled and think that she can pack this much when we go on other trips with her! She is the smallest one in the family with the biggest luggage...Papa thought this was a bit foreboding. Feeding Mia is another adventure unto itself. Because they don’t have Cheerios here, Mia was completely new to them. When Mia wasn’t sure what we were trying to put in her mouth, she would turn her head away, and we would have to sneak it into her mouth. After it was in there though, she loved it. Now this has begun to be a game, and unless she is really, really hungry, you have to chase her mouth around with a spoon, and force the food in through her smile. She does fit right in with her appetite, and thinks she has as big a mouth as me too. Whenever you feed her with one of those big, high sided, Chinese spoons, she scrunches up her face and tries to get her mouth around the whole entire thing, something I even have trouble doing. She is already eating solid food, and drinking out of a glass, although she takes two bottles a day. Mia is hilarious when you try to let her have a drink. She opens her mouth as wide as it can possibly go, and then looks like she is trying to fit her head into the cup. She tips her head down so far onto the glass you are holding; you have to lift her head to tilt the glass enough for her to slurp a little liquid. She is a very cute and cuddly little princess already and is comfortable with any of us holding her. We have been arguing over Mia privileges, but I always seem to get the ‘on the road nap’ shift when she develops a ‘jello’ consistency and you have to carry her 20- some pounds around with you for hours on end. The bright side is that she thanks you by drooling all over your shirt, but you can also always tell yourself that you are her favorite too.

Maria says: Mia is as precious as could be! I will admit that she seems somewhat shell-shocked today. I am trying hard to refrain from making any assumptions about what orphanage life was like for her, but I am virtually certain that she is not accustomed to 6 pairs of adoring eyes staring at her all day long, kissing her adorable cheeks, jumping to her beck and call at the slightest little whimper, elbowing and jockeying for position to be the next person to hold her. I tried to tell the boys that we need to try to give her some space so she can get accustomed to all the new faces, but it's futile. I don't blame them...it is hard to resist an urge to want to smother her with hugs all day long!

Dale was horrified that our first outing with Mia was to the Chinese Wal-Mart. Our guide suggested we go...I'm not sure if it was because she saw the outfit we had thrown together for her when we had to return for paperwork signing yesterday afternoon, or if she takes all her American families there. I just had to take a picture, which Dale tried to confiscate...he gave me strict orders to be selective with who I show it! (Consider yourself lucky if you are actually reading this before it gets censored!)

Just to clarify my comment about the outfit we had thrown toether: when the boys and I left for our trip almost two months ago, I had a whole suitcase packed for Mia before we left (diapers, wipes, formula, etc.) I didn't choose any specific outfits for her, but simply instructed Dale to go through one of the bags of clothes our friends the Ross' passed along to us (thank you, Rosses!), and choose a few outfits to throw in. He picked out an assortment of very cute skirt/top combos, but there were no tights, socks or shoes in the bag. We were given strict instructions by our guide to cover all exposed skin except for her face. So, when we returned yesterday afternoon, we had her in a cute two piece jumper dress outfit, which we stylishlly placed over her purple pjs (which the orphanage had dressed her in when they brought her to us), because they were the only thing we had that covered her legs and her feet.!