Sydney...oh yeah, Great Wall, too

Hello-

Sorry that we missed a day but it's amazing how quickly the time goes when you're having fun! We spent the previous day climbing The Great Wall.....I thought that was the best part of the trip so far but today topped the charts!! Today (6/26 over here), we finally met Er Wei. She was very slow to warm and didn't want us to pick her up or touch her at first. She is definitely a Daddy's girl and took to Donny and Alycia really quickly. Within a matter of a couple of hours, her caregiver and the orphanage director were gone, along with everything else that she has known. We stopped to take her passport photo on the way back to the hotel and the rest of this day we don't have anything scheduled.

Sydney is sleeping right now and Donny and Alycia have taken off to find Pizza Hut. It's also amazing how quickly you get homesick for the things that you know! We found a market last night, thanks to another adoptive family here, and loaded up on Pringles, Oreos, and Diet Coke. We've decided that it has been fun touring China but now we're ready to be home! It will be good to have some time to let us all adjust though before we have to leave.

Sydney is quite a little character. So far she has shared her feisty, playful side and her loving, gentle side. She likes to throw toys and giggles when you put things on your head and tip them off. The communication gap is tough, so we're hoping she picks up some English words soon. We're also working on our Mandarin words but our pronunciation is not very good! We'll try the picture cards after she wakes up from her nap. It's difficult to read any cues from Sydney, like when she is hungry or tired or has to use the bathroom.....she just takes what you offer and uses the toilet when you sit her on it. Hopefully, she will have us trained to her schedule pretty soon.

She seems to be in good health other than a little, loose cough. She has some old bug bites and a scratch on her leg. She is making me nervous when she keeps scratching her head but I don't see anything other than a dry scalp. We've only been with her for a few hours now so that's about all I know of Sydney for today.

We're counting down the days until we can see you all again!