Ten Bits About Bella.

1. She is teething something fierce. She spends at least half the day with her hands in her mouth. It doesn't help that she hates having teething gel massaged on her gums. She also hates having teething tablets that have been dissolved in water put in her mouth.

2. When she's in a good mood, she loves to make all kinds of noises with her mouth...she puckers and makes clicking and sucking sounds. Yesterday, she started babbling spontaneously. She sounds like what I imagine a Teradactyl would sound like.

3. Yesterday we had a "free" day...no structured activities, so we took her to the hotel swimming pool. At first she was a little unsure, but then she seemed to enjoy it. You can hold her by her middle, and she paddles her arms. She hasn't figured out the leg thing yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if she learns to swim very quickly. SK says her little one piece brown floral tank is the most revealing swim suit she's ever allowed to wear. He has started singing "Burkaville".

4. She smiled at us quite a bit on Forever Family Day, but I think that is because she didn't relize she was leaving her nanny and getting stuck with us. On Days 2, 3, 4, and 5 with her, there were no smiles....just serious cotemplation and mild curiousity about us. On Day 6, she started smiling, laughing, and giggling. She makes us feel like a million bucks.

5. At first, she refused to eat. She went completely nuts when anything went near her mouth. Then she went through a phase when all she liked is amoxicillin in a oral suspension liquid (although she still screamed when the medicine dropper came near her mouth), which the doctor traveling with us prescribed for a possible ear infection. Finally, she has begun eating. We stopped giving her what the orphanage instructed us to, substituting whole grain rice cereal for the rice powder that she had at the orphanage. At first we cut a large hole in her bottle nipple, but once she started feeding well, we went to a much smaller hole to make sure she develops her mouth muscles (the latest size hole is only slightly bigger than the hole in a fast flow Playtex rubber nipple). She still isn't interested in any kind of solid food though, including Cheerios and fruit puffs. SHe wants absolutely nothing to do with congee. Once, she almost ate a bit of steamed egg, but I think it will be a bit before she gets comfortable with solid food.

6. She loves to look at herself in the mirror. She takes after Baba that way!

7. I think she has big feet for her body. I thought for sure she would take a size 2 shoe, but the two pairs I brought from home don't fit. We bought her a pair of size 3 red squeaky shoes on Thursday, and while they are a bit big, they work.

8. She is getting more and more curious by the day. This is fun to watch, even when she is trying to squeeze my nose off my face, poking me in the eye, pulling on my hair, and shoving her fingers in my mouth and pulling down on my lower jaw.

9. She loves to stand if you hold her hands and dance with her. I sing her "Shake Your Groove Thing" in honor of Mya, Cheryl and Bruce's daughter. I also sing her "Dancing Queen".

10. It's pretty clear I have been replaced as the girl that SK loves the most. And that's just fine with me.

Tomorrow, we are off to Guangzhou. I want a hamburger. Badly.