You Only Get What You Can Handle!!

This is my mantra for this trip. Boy, Maggie is a wild card. She is a very happy, nutty, silly baby 90% of the time, but that last 10% is something else. She has some quirks, this baby. The biggest is: Maggie will go to no one but me. No one. The China Team (our guides) speak to her in Cantonese and she hides her face in my shoulder. She will not let anyone hold her for more than 10 seconds without shrieking and throwing herself violently in my direction. Her Dad can hold her on occasion, but he must be walking and it isn't fool proof. In case you aren't reading between the lines: I am on whenever Maggie is awake.

Maggie is very active. It is as if she is making up for all that time she spent in her crib, right now. Today. She is going to get in a year's worth of activity. Today. She wants to walk everywhere. She loves her squeaky shoes and enjoys nothing more than squeaking around in them using me as her pull toy. (I think I need to lose those squeakers.) She is always at the edge of her stroller seat, looking for a way to get out. Incidently, she did get out while she was strapped in. We were in our room, getting ready to leave. I heard this loud crash, followed by crying and sure enough, Maggie had crawled out and fallen down. I had the 5 point harness on her, so this was quite an accomplishment. This activity level coupled with the fact that Maggie will not go to anyone but me, leads to exhaustion. I told Maggie's Dad tonight, I am afraid of my family leave. This kid is going to wear me out! All that said, the impish grin, wild hair and absolute silliness leave us loving her more everyday. You can't help but to love this kid. Trust me.

Maggie's Dad is a big help. He bravely takes over Maggie whenever I must have a break. He has done countless hall laps with Maggie in the stroller to settle her down. He carries all of our stuff, since I usually have Maggie in the sling. I am completely dependent on him for food. He gets me food at the buffets, he goes out to get the take out, he orders from Danny's Bagels. Thank goodness he is so supportive and doesn't take any of Maggie's favoritism personally.

We finished up all the US paperwork today. Our facilitator will take it to the embassy in the morning. Our appointment to complete the US process is at 3pm tomorrow. After that, Thursday is a waiting day as the US embassy is closed for Thanksgiving. We get our Visa to head home on Friday. We can't wait to get home with our little spitfire and introduce her to her big sister. We know they will get along famously after "an adjustment period". That is it from China for now!