Tips for Bonding

You know, because after one week with out a lot of success, I am extremely experienced in this area and am choosing to share my wisdom with all of you.

Tip #1: Never lock your newly adopted daughter in a hotel room by herself.

Even if she appears to have never even realized you were gone and the entire episode was an accident that occurred while your husband was out running an errand and you were simply moving your luggage out into the hallway for the bell boy to pick up when the door shut behind you. Even if your husband appeared 30 seconds later to open the door for you, Never Ever do this.

Tip #2: Never, ever lose the one thing that brings your child comfort.

Let's say your newly adopted daughter came with a blue wash rag that she sleeps with every night and sniffs when she needs an extra measure of comfort. Never lose this valuable, precious piece of material.

You will only make things tougher on yourself.

And if you decide to throw caution to the wind and actually go against these stellar, wisdom-filled tips...

Come see me. I've been there too.

Very, very recently.

And I'm pleased to say, bonding is still possible, even if you violate my savvy tips.

We have had a good day in Guangzhoa. We went to the zoo. It was hot. You can tell how thrilled Suhn was to be there.

On the way home from the zoo, Suhn fell asleep on the bus. She slept while we carried her through the lobby and up the elevator. She slept while we entered our room and laid her in her bed.

Then she woke up and proceeded to babble and play in bed while her daddy and I slept.

And after that, we bonded. We laughed and played and she actually called me ma ma!

Then we went swimming and she spent more time with me during those two hours than with her daddy (I'd show you pictures, but they don't allow them at the White Swan pool!).

And then the wall came up again. But that's okay because we had ourselves an honest-to-goodness moment!

It was a good day.

I gotta say I am a little concerned about losing her rag. The first week she never let it go. Now that she is more comfortable with us she will forget about it for a time. But with nighttime approaching and a 14 hour plane ride on the horizon, I'm a little nervous. I am praying all the bonding we've been doing helps compensate for the loss of that little rag.

You can pray with us if you'd like! :)