It has been a month since we returned

I can't believe it has been just over a month since we returned from China and things are looking better and better each day. Shayna has developed a great deal of trust in us and knows that we are always there for her. Even though she still cries when we step away from her and wants to be carried as much as possible, she already sleeps through the night in her own room (probably better than we do), and when she wakes up, she plays with her toys and "talks" out loud for a while rather than cry like she used to.

We enjoy taking family strolls to the local mall in the evenings, checking out the baby clothing stores, eating dinner (it's easier than eating at home) and having coffee/tea. A couple of days ago we walked into the coffee shop and shortly after we left we realized that Shayna "borrowed" a package of cookies from one of the shelves and was playing with it. I ended up going back and returning them. At least she could have picked out cookies that we liked rather than these awful ones. We thought it was pretty funny. She seems to think that everything she sees and wants is hers automatically. Yesterday we went to the local social security office to apply for her social security card. She was patient most of the wait (a couple of hours) but kept trying to get her little hands on the toy that the little girl next to us was holding. What she usually wants to play with most of all is the car keys. We try to compromise on the house keys in order to prevent her from pressing the "panic" button on the car's keyless entry remote.

The messiest times are when we feed her yummy jar food in between her formula meals. She always reaches for the spoon or the jar and most of the time the food ends up on her face and clothes rather than in her mouth. She doesn't seem to mind.

Gimmee that spoon...

Like my new toy?