Thursday July 26 and Friday the 27th

We have had two really fun-filled days. On Thursday Indigo and I were just going to hang out at home until a playdate at the playground later in the afternoon. However, after her morning nap, while on the phone with our friend Ellen, we decided at the last minute to have lunch together. I took Indigo out to Woodbridge - first time with me taking her out in the car seat by myself and her not having someone sitting next to her. She was fantastic and seemed to enjoy looking out the window, while devouring a whole Snack Trap of Cheerios. We met Ellen and Sarah Fei Fei at an On the Border for lunch and had a wonderful time together. Both girls were angels. We did experience some rather intrusive questions which was my first real experience with this. The concern is not so much now while she can't really understand what people are saying but later the way people put things could be hurtful. The worst of the questions was posed to both of us and was "do you have any of your own children" well, as everyone who knows and loves me, I am not really one to always hold my tongue so I did tell the lady that these were our own children and that I would not advise her to ask adoptive parents if they have their "own" children. I was asked how much it cost and tried to be vague by saying, it's not inexpensive but was pressed further on this - quite rude. Apart from this, we had a super time and the girls were so good and everybody said how adorable they were etc. We stopped at a store for a short while and then Indigo and I got back on the road. She fell asleep by the time we hit the highway and slept in the carseat for an hour before we got to our friend Robyne's house to go with her to the playground. Robyne, her twins and new baby took us to the their local playground and we had a very nice time - especially the parts where Robyne and I got to chat. Indigo went on the swing for a little while and then I held her going down the slide which really got her laughing but quite frankly she had the most fun playing in the mulch and putting mulch in her shoes. I guess everything is something to explore and she had years to play on the playground equipment not to mention the fact that playing with the mulch seems less nerve-wracking. We got home around 6 p.m. and Daddy was home so we went for a walk with Indigo and the dogs. She ate a good dinner, had a bath and went to bed around 8:30 p.m. It was a fun day!

On Friday, our friend Mary came over around 8:30 a.m. Indigo had a super night and slept until nearly 8 a.m! Mary bought her a fabulous block train toy that Indigo has really taken to. After we fed Indigo the rest of her breakfast, Daddy went to work and Mary and I took Indigo to Starbucks. She was very good there. It was funny because we were in the couches and there was a police officer in a chair near us - she was manoevering her way around the table and going past the police office and she grabbed his thigh to aid herself in getting around - already has a thing for men in uniform! Mary and I had a wonderful visit and catch-up at Starbucks and Indigo warmed up to her very quickly and gave her kisses. We then went to the grocery store to pick up lunch stuff for the playdate I was hosting and arrived back just in time to greet the first of the guests, Kristi and her new daughter Zoe who they have had home in the States for six weeks and we were meeting for the first time - they were arriving home just as David and I were getting ready to leave for China. Zoe is adorable and was so great playing and did not mind the dogs at all. Mary was excited to meet all the people who she has been reading about and whose blogs she has kept up with. Indigo was very good with Mary and let her pick her up. Ellen arrived with Sarah Fei Fei and it's evident that the girls have a strong recognition for each other - probably because they saw each on Thursday but they are comfortable together right away. We were also joined by our friend Toni, who with her husband, are the final couple in our group waiting for their referral. I think it was very enjoyable for her to see all the girls - they are all thriving. Last, but not least, we were joined by Pam with her new daughter Catherine and her daughter Elizabeth. The girls all played marvelously well together and ate a great lunch. Folks left around 2 p.m. and Indigo took a nap. I had to wake her up at 3:45 because she had a 4 p.m. pediatrician follow-up visit. We had a wait but the visit went really well. The doctor said she is better from being sick and her lungs sound clear. She was very generous with her positive comments about Indigo's attachment to us and that she considers her to have very normal development - she sees no sign of anything we should worry about. However, she still said that we should follow through with all recommended developmental testing for an adopted child because we have obviously not had all the marker appointments one would ordinarily have so we have lists of prescriptions for tests of all types - developmental, hearing, sight, we have to collect stool samples for the lab and then all kinds of blood work which is going to be hard on us. She did have a TB test at the office today and I have to take her back on Monday morning for them to check the results. They also recommended restarting all her vaccinations because they feel some were not given at the right times apart and then there can also be some risk that the vaccines were not good because of improper storage/refrigeration etc. Next scheduled appointment with the pediatrian is for her 15 month check up but we'll have all the other stuff to follow up with. She has been playing all evening, had a good dinner, played some more and will hopefully have another good night. Mommy is tired from the activities of today!