Can I Get a Drumroll, Please?!?

Stanzi pooped! A nice soft poo! Oh, thank goodness. I was really worried about her and a little tired of watching her struggle with the task every day. I must say, this morning's poo was a most glorious sight. Never in a million years did I think I'd be so happy about changing a stinking diaper. Ah, my little "fragrant orchid" didn't disappoint. I think our pooping success was due largely to the fact that we've figured out how to get Stanzi to take more fluids. White grape juice (thank you so much, Jill, for the suggestion!). She absolutely loves it, but juice is a bit hazardous from Stanzi's bottle. The orphanage provided us with a bottle for her and the hole in the nipple is huge. The "fast" flow nipples I purchased in the US have visible, but still tiny holes in comparison. If you tip her bottle over, liquid basically flows out. The reason for this is that at the orphanage she was expected to finish a 9 ounce bottle of formula in five to ten minutes. She still prefers this bottle (especially for formula) but it's kind of a pain. I took a small amount of grape juice in it on the plane yesterday. My bag tipped over and within seconds the bottle drained onto my lap. Which brings me to the sippy cup. Up until now she's refused the sippy cup, but she loves white grape juice so much that she's willing to use it. Who knew white grape juice could lead to so many milestones?

On another note, we completed the medical exam today. It was a very interesting experience. Imagine going to the health clinic in New York City, only all of the doctors speak a foreign language (which may actually be the case). And the waiting room contains roughly 40 babies and their parents, not all of them happy about the situation. Add to this 70+ degrees outside and no air conditioning inside. Oh, and did I mention that the waiting room is designed for maybe 20 babies and their parents? All things considered it went quite smoothly, but I'm not gonna say it was fun. I guess we need proof that she's healthy in order to bring her into the US. So the US government requires the exam, but Chinese doctors performed it. What I did get from it is that she's 27 inches long, 18.5 pounds, her head circumference is 18 inches and she doesn't have diaper rash. Good to know.

All in all I'm loving Guangzhou so far. John just went out to get me a Starbuck's vanilla soy latte - yeeesssss. Stanzi likes it, too, although the new surroundings troubled her a bit last night. There's not the same pressure here to cover every inch of the kid's skin with multiple layers of clothing and I think she appreciates that. She's changing every day and discovering new talents she never knew she had. As of today she can sing, dance (with a little help), eat exotic foods, blow bubbles of drool, cluck her tongue, use a sippy cup...well, I could go on and on and I don't want to bore you. Wait, I almost forgot the most important and impressive new talent - she's an amazing pooper.