Today we finalized the adoption and Josie is now officially ours according to PRC! Yesterday we had signed a 24 hour guardianship agreement as they have us wait a day as a kind of "trial run" before the adoption is permanent. While waiting Josie had a major meltdown and so I took her outside of the building. A large number of Chinese people were quite disturbed by her show and came up to talk to her so she kept it up for some time. (I had made her take the Cheerio with her right hand, which she is quite capable of doing, hence the drama.) The children here seem to be given whatever they want and are not told no according to what I have seen. She has quite an adjustment ahead of her. This evening she pushed down her little friend we were visiting, so Daddy put her in his lap. Another meltdown. These next few days may be a battle of "I'm more stubborn than you are" and she has an advantage being in China where so many are sympathetic to her. But I am getting off-topic. I meant to say, "hurray!!!!!!!! She is ours!!!!!!!!!"
And I should also add, we started to see a happy little girl this afternoon. I laid down with her at naptime and she talked and sang a song and vocalized more than we'd imagined she could (hey, she doesn't know what "shhh" means!). After our rest, she was all smiles and giggles. Yesterday there was only a rare smile and we had to work for it! Also, Grams will be glad to know her first English word was "giraffe." We were looking through a book of animals and she said it three times! Her first Chinese word was "mama" which is what the nannies call themselves.
In an ironic twist, on the day she officially has her family, we went with our guide, Min, to visit her "finding spot." I so wish I could post pictures right now but that will have to wait a day. We took a taxi to the "gate" which turned out to be a little street with 3-4 story buildings. A group of men were playing a card game on the corner. Another corner held a little garden for sale with two elderly gentlemen and a dog standing guard. The gate was actually a door into one of the buildings. In the window were ducks ready to be sold and inside was a butcher store. There was a little ledge along the window beside the door on which I imagine she was placed. As I took pictures, several people began to gather around and Min showed them the finding ad. The butcher store was there two years ago but Min didn't tell me if the people inside remembered An Hong. One young woman held Josie's hand and told us she loved her name and was quite taken by her story. Four or five of the people inside came in. A grandmotherly lady told us we should have Josie's legs covered (it was the first time we'd ventured out without every inch covered on her; we'd been worried she'd dehydrate with all the sweat!). More and more came, though they backed out of the pictures. We hope word will somehow get back to the birth family (assuming they are unofficially known; which is quite possible). I am so thankful to have had this opportunity. Only one other family in our group was able to visit their son's site.
And on a lighter note, we had McDonald's for dinner tonight. We just could not handle the other smells today. We had a quarter pounder with cucumbers and a spicy sauce. It was very good. Josie likes fries. Unfortunately, we had to dump the drinks out since we couldn't communicate that we didn't want ice. We've been very careful to only drink sealed water bottles and not eat any uncooked fruits or veggies we couldn't peel. So far so good! I am still light-headed and dizzy some, but I assume I am missing something from my usual diet and hopeful I will figure it out soon.
Chloe, we found a traditional Chinese dress for you today (in pink of course) and have a light blue one for Josie. Michael, we are trying to find a good outfit for you, too. We have to barter for them and I'm quite sure we are being taken. But most of us don't mind so much because the cost is still minimal. Today, for instance our taxi ride to the finding spot and back (across a town of millions, mind you) was a little over four US dollars. McDonalds costs about the same though ( :
Tomorrow is a museum and a tour of Josie's orphanage. Pray she is not frightened by the return or confused by it. Next day our group plans to go to a park and then perhaps a brocade museum (Nanjing is famous for it). The next day it is on to Guangzhou for a week of waiting for the US to issue Josie's visa.
And I should also add, we started to see a happy little girl this afternoon. I laid down with her at naptime and she talked and sang a song and vocalized more than we'd imagined she could (hey, she doesn't know what "shhh" means!). After our rest, she was all smiles and giggles. Yesterday there was only a rare smile and we had to work for it! Also, Grams will be glad to know her first English word was "giraffe." We were looking through a book of animals and she said it three times! Her first Chinese word was "mama" which is what the nannies call themselves.
In an ironic twist, on the day she officially has her family, we went with our guide, Min, to visit her "finding spot." I so wish I could post pictures right now but that will have to wait a day. We took a taxi to the "gate" which turned out to be a little street with 3-4 story buildings. A group of men were playing a card game on the corner. Another corner held a little garden for sale with two elderly gentlemen and a dog standing guard. The gate was actually a door into one of the buildings. In the window were ducks ready to be sold and inside was a butcher store. There was a little ledge along the window beside the door on which I imagine she was placed. As I took pictures, several people began to gather around and Min showed them the finding ad. The butcher store was there two years ago but Min didn't tell me if the people inside remembered An Hong. One young woman held Josie's hand and told us she loved her name and was quite taken by her story. Four or five of the people inside came in. A grandmotherly lady told us we should have Josie's legs covered (it was the first time we'd ventured out without every inch covered on her; we'd been worried she'd dehydrate with all the sweat!). More and more came, though they backed out of the pictures. We hope word will somehow get back to the birth family (assuming they are unofficially known; which is quite possible). I am so thankful to have had this opportunity. Only one other family in our group was able to visit their son's site.
And on a lighter note, we had McDonald's for dinner tonight. We just could not handle the other smells today. We had a quarter pounder with cucumbers and a spicy sauce. It was very good. Josie likes fries. Unfortunately, we had to dump the drinks out since we couldn't communicate that we didn't want ice. We've been very careful to only drink sealed water bottles and not eat any uncooked fruits or veggies we couldn't peel. So far so good! I am still light-headed and dizzy some, but I assume I am missing something from my usual diet and hopeful I will figure it out soon.
Chloe, we found a traditional Chinese dress for you today (in pink of course) and have a light blue one for Josie. Michael, we are trying to find a good outfit for you, too. We have to barter for them and I'm quite sure we are being taken. But most of us don't mind so much because the cost is still minimal. Today, for instance our taxi ride to the finding spot and back (across a town of millions, mind you) was a little over four US dollars. McDonalds costs about the same though ( :
Tomorrow is a museum and a tour of Josie's orphanage. Pray she is not frightened by the return or confused by it. Next day our group plans to go to a park and then perhaps a brocade museum (Nanjing is famous for it). The next day it is on to Guangzhou for a week of waiting for the US to issue Josie's visa.
