China 2014 - Day 6 {Changes}

~Tuesday, May 6, 2014~

His mercies are new every morning! What a peace we felt this morning. Beilyn woke up without crying, which in itself seemed like a small miracle. Alex put her in bed with us and she snuggled quietly with me for a little while. It was the first time she snuggled so contently next to me and seemed to feel comfortable.

We skyped with the girls and Beilyn got excited when she saw them on the screen. She seems to love little kids. We also have noticed that she makes a sound like ge-ge when she gets excited...which makes us realize now that she didn't really repeat me on Gotcha day, but it made us feel better at the time. Seeing the girls after such a rough night was encouraging too. They were so talkative and funny.

Beilyn just had a different sense of calmness about her this morning. She still cried some but was easier to soothe.  At breakfast, she sat quietly on my lap and let me feed her a little. One of the staff ladies came over and said, "She seems much happier today!" I think it was her way of saying she was glad she wasn't crying and disrupting everyone's breakfast again. ;)

We have noticed she seems to seek sensory stimulation, as she does better outside the hotel room and likes to be touching things or looking out the window. So we took the stroller outside and after a few tears, she decided the stroller was pretty cool. Momma thought it was amazing, as I'm getting worn out from holding her all of the time. We walked down to the square again and of course she was touching everything...cars or mopeds as we walked by parked vehicles, the leaves on the trees, her crackers, etc.  It's probably hard to see in the pictures but she keeps little crackers clutched in her hands most of the time.  Alex bought her a little pinwheel from someone in the park. It's perfect because it gives her something to hold and something to watch that's moving.

Notice the pacifier. We were trying everything to encourage her suck reflex but she just chewed on it.

Because she was being so calm, we walked and walked all over the city. I love walking the side streets especially. The people and culture here are so interesting.

Notice the guy turning to stare at us. We seem to get stared at more this trip than last time?

As we passed by an alley, I saw this adorable girl sitting there. When she saw us, her eyes lit up and she ran to the gate to see us. So cute. She was being shy though.

We ate lunch at Papa John's again and Beilyn sat happily next to me playing with her new toy. Notice the prune in her other hand. Always chewing on something too. It was so enjoyable to actually eat lunch and see her at rest. (The day before I had a few bites at breakfast and that was literally it.)

The August 1st Square where we walk around a lot. It is so pretty lit up at night.

Trying to keep her content, we just kept on walking! This was at the People's Park. It is beautiful!

They just celebrated their Labor Day on May 1st.

We took a taxi home from the People's Park and our driver was c.r.a.z.y! The traffic is always packed here and yet he would gun it and zig zag through other cars, honking all the way. He went the wrong way down a street, clearing a path as he went and then he drove down a moped lane. I looked at Alex and told him I was getting sick. He whipped into the hotel parking lot at full speed and came to an abrupt stop. As I'm trying not to vomit, Alex exclaimed, "That was awesome!" He gave him a giant tip because he was so impressed! ;)  Alex said he felt like he was in a scene of a movie.

This is for my Brynna. I knew she would think it was cool. ;)

Simply an amazing moment. She was playing so contently between us and I stood up to get the camera and she kept playing without screaming that I had left her! Now, we still had PLENTY of crying but we are focusing on the good this post!

We decided to get Beilyn a hat at Walmart. She loved them! We laughed at her and she'd grin even bigger. :) This was almost exactly 24 hours after she and I had our major grief session the night before.  Standing there in that moment felt like a giant sigh of relief. To see that life can feel normal again. He doesn't leave us or forsake us.

I only cried twice yesterday which was a vast improvement... and once was because I was simply in awe at the peace and affection He was giving me for Beilyn. There were still many times of anxiety but at one point when I was holding her in the afternoon, I thought, "I love this baby."

Alex and I talked all day long again as we walked all over the city. One thing is for sure, I married the right guy. We have so much fun together. We still aren't sure what Beilyn's future holds but the Lord blew us away with glimpses of His great power and goodness! Many rough spots but lots of great ones too. So thankful to see her funny little personality emerging!