Lil' Miss Priss

Some notes on Miss Virginia Grace...

Our little girl has become quite the communicator. Last night, I was waiting to walk Grace around the halls until after we skyped with Carter. Apparently, she was sleepy and ready for the routine because she picked up my shoes, brought them to me, and then went to the door to wait for me.

Don't you just love the frills on the back of her shorts?? So perfect for our little priss.

Another adoptive mom told us that our little princess has "Empress eyes." According to her, Chinese royal empresses had eyes that slanted downward and were considered very beautiful. Consequently, all Chinese parents wish for their daughters to have such eyes. Who knows if it's true, but we have noticed that the most common comment we receive from Chinese people is "She is very beautiful." Hua, meaning "beauty," was also chosen to be part of her name when she was brought to the orphanage.

Speaking of royalty, Miss Grace can be quite demanding at times. We had learned a while back that most of the kids from Kunming's foster village are spoiled. Don't read that as showered with love and attention (though I'd think some are). Spoiled translates into undisciplined. In fact, many Chinese parents don't believe discipline should start until 3 or 4 years of age. So we don't think Grace has ever heard "no" in her life. Today, as we were dealing with yet another screaming tantrum from a "no" we HAD to give, I felt God pricking my memory. Of all the prayers for Grace that I lifted to God's ears, the most repeated one was that God would protect her spirit throughout all the parental/caretaker disruptions and any neglect. Today, as Virginia Grace fought to get her way, we realized how strong she is. She still has a mind of her own. And a will of her own. Her self-preservation instinct survives. Her spirit hasn't been broken. My prayer was answered! And as I thanked and praised God for that, I realized that I'd take her fits any day over a broken heart with no desire to stand up for herself.

Another self-protective instinct that is still thriving is Grace's hoarding of food. On the bus ride back from the zoo, she kept one fist full of puffs while continually asking for more with the other hand. The whole time, she would only eat puffs from one hand and wouldn't eat the ones she held so tightly in her other palm. And if I tried to hold some in my hand, she would work to pick them all up....this reflects the competition she felt with the other kids. Grab the food and protect it or go without. We hope she'll soon realize that we're not going to steal her food and she will have more than enough.

And finally, our lil' priss (who I must praise for now keeping her bows in 90% of the time!) LOVED the Guangzhou zoo today. She couldn't get enough of the animals. We didn't catch any great pictures today because it started to rain at the zoo, and then we spent the afternoon at the consulate for the oath (no cameras allowed). But here are some from our morning adventure....