SS's first cavern experience. (Updated)

After the tour, we were discussing how well SS behaved. We have mentioned this many times,but it still surprises us. What kind of fun is being strapped to a sweaty parent for hours, and spending time in a boring, dark showcase of stalactites and stalagmites? We are fortunate that we can do things with our two-year old, and do not want to forget. The attachment concerns aside, we are lucky, blessed beyond belief.

We sometimes wonder if it is her nature, or just a function of how we became a family. We met, climbed on a bus, lived in hotels, ate at restaurants, and toured. Then there's the inevitable long flight home. I have read many blogs about SS's sisters and brothers, and this appears to be common. Our kids are troopers. Is it because we met, then for two weeks lived out of suitcases? Whether our children lived in a SWI or in foster care, they were accustomed to little stimulation. One day they meet their forever family, and enter a vortex of activity. Such a drastic change is a piece of the attachment puzzle. We try to keep things as low key as possible for SS. But, we also enjoy doing things with her. We enjoy looking at her beautiful face, her expression and enjoyment. SS thank you for being a spectacular little girl.

You did not think I would deny you the hotness that is P? Like I said, the littlest spelunker was strapped to me most of the time, thus the presence of my ugly mug.

The Cavern Monster strikes.

And SS brought out the handsome man within.

Having fun while the bus waited for clearance.

I bet you never knew an empty plastic bottle could be such a source of entertainment.

This is funny, we did not expect the tour to be like D*sney. One of our first stops was to pose for a picture. Really low quality, sorry. We purchased the picture for SS in the future; she needs evidence of the things we made her endure for her therapist. We wish it was better quality because the dude took only one shot, and got SS looking at the camera. Then I realized that it is very similar to this picture:

Sniff. Look how little she was, and how little hair she had. This was barely ten months ago. Her little arm is in the same position, and my arms in a very similar place. We really miss China.