Today started early again (4:30 am). just excited to see what the new day would bring. The boys and nanny were up early as well (not quite 4:30 though). We all had to wait for the little angel to wake up at 7:00. right on cue. We all slept well though. When Chelsea woke up she was very groggy and needed a diaper change. even after a few minutes of being awake, she had trouble keeping her balance. We dressed her for the day in a cute little pink sweatshirt type dress with white polka dots. Could not forget the bow in her hair which she is very proud of. She looks at her bow in the mirror and checks to make sure it is there. Throughout the day she would take it out a few times just to get us to replace it. One of the little games she plays.
After we all got ready, we went to the 17th floor for breakfast. The boys ate a huge breakfast. Cayden had at least 4 scrambled eggs. We all enjoyed the best bacon of the trip so far. Chelsea ate bits of scrambled egg, a few very small pieces of bacon, and of course cheerios. Graham brought her a strawberry milk/yogurt which she drank through a straw and loved. We finished up with breakfast and went back to the suite for FaceTime with many family members. We had some trouble with connections so we were not able to make all the calls we had planned but it was nice to see our family members and visit with them.
at 9:30, dawn and I met our guide (kelly) and took chelsea back to the civil affairs office to finalize the adoption. She loved the experience, probably because she got to show off her charm to a few new folks. We had noticed that Chelsea seemed to repeat certain words that we could not understand so we asked Kelly if chelsea had been speaking Chinese. kelly said that Chelsea speaks a lot of Chinese. Kelly mentioned that when chelsea was first brought in to the CA office yesterday, that she was asking all sorts of things pertaining to what she was seeing the other children doing at the CA office. We had noticed that Chelsea had focused on Kelly while she was making phone calls in the taxi. Paying attention to the conversation because she obviously knows more Chinese than english. (She had a coupe of "aunties" in the orphanage that spoke to her in Mandarin, the other in cantonese) She has learned many english words in the first 24 hours with us. We completed the appointments at the CA office committing to the adoption and making it final. We then went shopping for some clothing items for her. We were looking at shoes for her as it is apparent that the girl has her own tastes because 2 of the 3 pairs of shoes we liked, she would not let us try them on her. She would hide her foot and shake her head. She obviously liked one of the pair so of course we bought them. Also bought a few other items before she started to get tired as it was nearing her nap time. We went back to the hotel for her afternoon nap between noon and 2:00. Mom handled putting her down. She loves her mother very much. THere is an enormous amount of chemistry between those two.
During nap time, I took the boys to lunch. Cayden wanted McDonalds (which is directly across the street from our hotel and is open 24 hours). Graham was tired of McD and asked if he could have KFC. We brought Cayden and his nuggets (and curly qs - yes they have curly qs at the mcdonalds in China) back to the room for him to enjoy with nanny and mom. Then graham and I set out on the journey for KFC. We learned that it was too far to walk so we took the subway for the first time in china. We had to work together to figure this out. the subway entry is right out front of our hotel. Had to figure out that we needed to purchase tokens and which direction to go.
This was not easy because the subway terminals are a maze of subterranean markets with thousand of people and twisting hallways. He and I had to concentrate on our path while trying to figure out which turn-styles to take and how to make them open. We got on the right train heading in the right direction and got off at the correct station. THen we again had to navigate a maze of underground markets and hallways that twisted and turned endlessly. we finally reached the street level and found the KFC. It was good mostly because we were starved by the time we reached it. We ate and got Nanny a roasted chicken dinner that included rice and a sauce that looked like étouffée (from KFC). Yes we are getting robbed in the US with the limited menus. I had noticed on the map that there was a sports store near the KFC so Graham and I found it in hopes of getting soccer balls for our visit to the orphanage on Thursday. No luck-the store had 90% badminton racquets and other related equipment. Still neat to see and we felt accomplished by even finding it. We followed the breadcrumbs back through the subway system. Graham could have done this by himself and almost did. BTW the subway tokens look like green poker chips and cost the equivalent of 33 cents for each person.
By the time we got back Chelsea was up from her nap and ready to play. she stacked the little cups that dawn brought while we all watched intently. She really loves the cups and played with them at least 30 minutes at a time. She laughed with us and cut up but is very "stationery" she does not have to move around much to be active. She sits in one place and plays for long periods of time. No real chasing her around. She entertained us all evening then went to dinner on the 17th floor of the hotel where she continued to charm others at the nearby tables. SHe loves to eavesdrop on the Chinese conversations. She is eating well also.
Came back to the room and it was bath time (which she loved). Mom really made it fun for her (in the bathroom sink). Took lots of pics. Cayden helped with the bath. The boys have been very helpful with the new sister. Fetching her things and helping keep her out of trouble. She got her lavender johnson's baby lotion and pjs. I fixed her bedtime bottle (which is the only time she gets a bottle) and dawn rocked her to sleep. Mom has already figured out how Chelsea likes to be put down so it was seamless. She is sleeping soundly in there now in her playpen with Cayden asleep in our bed next to her. graham is sleeping with nanny tonight. The boys really like to spend individual time with nanny at night.
Dawn and I are getting organized for tomorrow, comparing notes on the days experiences, then to bed.
Chelsea's personality is extremely charming. I cant wait to visit the orphanage because i am certain she is missed there. We are very lucky that she has bonded so quickly to her family. We prayed that she would be ready for us and she definitely was to say the least. Words really cant describe but i'll try. She can blow kisses, fakes a cough for amusement, shakes her head sweetly in protest, waves bye bye, covets her bow in her hair, loves her reflection, does not like to get water or juice on her clothes (not even a drop), learned to hold on to our finger while walking (she prefers mom), is not a morning person, does not care about tv, eats anything but slowly and deliberately, loves having a bow in her hair, gives her daddy sugar, and is absolutely crazy in love with her sweet mother. Could not ask for anything more. She is perfect just like our boys.
Thank you God for having a bigger plan than we could ever realize.
Luckiest Daddy in the world.
Back to Dawn: here are some pics. I will fill in on details tomorrow. We visit the orphanage tomorrow morning. She is awesome! So sweet and smart.
Our THREE babies!
Hmmmmm, what are these?
Sent from my iPad
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
No comments:
Post a Comment