The indoor park was amazing!!! Lots of fun padded toys that swing and bounce. Ainsley and my friend's daughter had a great time. Sofie was very quiet at first and just sat and took it all in. Eventually she started a game where she would lay down and want to be tickled and then she would come and jump on Mommy for a hug!! By the time we left she was playing chase with me, Jim and Ainsley and climbing on top of the toys. It was the first time in public where she hasn't completely shut down.
She has also stopped eating everything in sight as I think she has now figured out that food is always going to be there and she has some control over it. Mealtime is now a game of sorts so she won't always eat when we do. She also has this "game" where she lays down on the floor on her back and cries a soft cry to see if someone will pick her up. She will lay down anywhere at all, she is not picky. Children who have lived in an orphanage have a very limited concept of what a Mom and Dad do and how a Family operates. It changes the way in which you parent the child at least in the beginning. Right now, it is all about showing her that no matter what, Mommy and Daddy will be there for her even when she is faking it and lying on the floor of a Walmart in China!!!
Sofie is truly a joy! She is a very busy little girl and very quick, you can't turn your back on her for an instant or she is gone. She is also fiercely independent and a tad stubborn, just like her Mommy :) She has the best laugh and smile. Her laugh is one that come from deep within her and is truly genuine. She smiles with every fibre of her being and EVERY muscle in her face. Her whole face lights up when she smiles.
Last night we tried a bath for the first time. Most children in orphanages have never had a full bath or shower. Hot water is limited and they do not have any heat in the orphanage so it is usually a sponge bath. Ainsley got in the tub and Sofie watched her very closely. We tried to get her to play in the water or to take her clothes off but she would have none of it. She suddenly grabbed the wash cloth from the tub and started giving herself a sponge bath as if to say "this is how you do it." She was obviously in charge of her own bathing needs. So, we had a bath in the bathroom, not in the tub, and with all of our clothes on!! She was quite proud of herself. She watched Ainsley finish her shower and then promptly walked over to her suitcase took out her pj's and proceeded to get undressed, finally, and get ready for bed :) She also tried to change her own pull up today too! Got out the change pad, wipes and a diaper and then tried to get the one she was wearing off. We think she is totally potty trained, but, she WILL NOT sit on the western toilet so we have decided not to push her about it until we get back home. It is easier too for right now to have her in a pull up:)
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