Adoption is complete!

I think I forgot to mention before that we are traveling with a great family, John and Andrea Howorth, and their new baby Natalie. They are from Oregon. I am so happy to be going through this whole experience with them, they are the nicest people and I think we are really helping each other out. So many things are lost in translation with our guides and at restaurants so it's great to have people to laugh with (and cry with).

Alyson made huge strides today. This morning she woke up mad as heck that these strange white people were still in her room but by this evening she was like she's always been in our family. This morning Daddy was still the hero but she tolerated me ok. Just tolerated, but that is more than some families who experience complete rejection for several days/weeks. By this evening she actually reached out to me to pick her up. Daddy wasn't in the room so she didn't have a better choice but still it was huge. Actually this morning she fed me a cheerio too so we were already starting to be friends then. At lunch we were at the hotel buffet so Michael kept getting up and getting stuff and everytime she lost sight of him she would scrunch up her face like she was going to wail but she just wimpered until she could see him again.

Our girl is an eater. She snacked her way through most of the day and ate like a champ at lunch and dinner. She really likes the gerber sweet potatoe puffs. I forgot what it was like to eat with a 15 month old. The need for independence and wish to feed oneself with silverware coupled with the frustration of not really being able to feed oneself. Bailey is going to be camped out at her high chair for sure. She is still taking a bottle of formula in the morning and evening but she's real clear about when she's had enough. She let me hold her and feed her her bottle tonight and it was really sweet. Michael was sitting right there too but she let me do it.

She is so beautiful and has such a smooth doll face. Everyone around here thinks she's a boy though. Maybe I'll try a hair bow some day this week.

This morning we went back to the weird pseudo civil affairs office/apartment to actually finalize the adoption. It was a lot of paperwork but our Holt guide and local Yunnan guide were great about explaining it all and making sure we understood what we were signing. It was very organized chaos but it went fine. For Alyson's part she had to put a red footprint on the paperwork to seal the deal.

We found out at this meeting a little more about Alyson's history. We found out that when she was abandonded she was indeed found with a note. The orphanage is still refusing to give us a copy of it. They said that the note only had her birthdate on it but they will keep it on file and maybe someday Alyson can return to Kunming for a visit and request it herself. Yeah, I'm not going to hold my breath on that one. They also said they did not have her surgical records. They said the hospital would not relaese them to the orphanage. I asked if our US doctors could request them from the hospital and they said probably not. They are so strange and secretive about stuff. After some pleading and a few tears I finally gave up on both the note and the medical records. Good news is she looks healthy and her open heart surgery scar looks really good.

We also found out that her foster parents are farmers, thus her dark tan. She is used to being carried in a back carrier while the foster parents worked outside. The foster parents are in their 40s and have a middle school age son.

We're supposed to be getting translated copies of her "routine" tomorrow. Yeah, that will be helpful. At that point we will have had her for over 2 days, I think we've got her routine figured out. Just add that to the list of things that are a little off about this whole process.

After the adoption registration we went to get her passport photo then back to the hotel for lunch and a nap then back to the passport place to actually apply for her passport. It was a busy day. We had dinner tonight at a place called the Bluebird that has many western dishes. It was really good.

Well that's plenty of gabber, here's some pics:

sleeping beauty this morning, still in the clothes from when we got her yesterday. She was fighting us so hard and grieving so much that we didn't have the heart to strip her down and change into pajamas.

Me and my kids. Kids, plural. I have kids :-) Did I mention she's a thumb sucker? Big time. It's very sweet though. A little nap on the bus
The weird civil affairs office

The red ink footprint

Snacking. Did I mention that she is totally attached to this blankie? It's satin on one side and super soft on the other. I'm pretty sure it was a gift from our Holt secret pal awhile back. She attached to it right away last night when she was so distraught. She kept rubbing the satin between her fingers and bringing up to her face while she was sucking her thumb. We haven't gotten it away from her since.

Some men playing cards outside the passport building.






Our big girl is almost walking by herself. Pretty unsteady still but it won't be long. She's wearing the squeaky shoes that she was wearing when we got her. The shoes we brought are way too big but we're going to the Kunming Walmart tomorrow so we'll buy her another pair of shoes.

At the Green lake park near our hotel. Andrew is doing so well through all of this. He loves his Mei Mei! He's really doing well with being dragged from boring appointment to boring appointment.

A group of musicians in the park. Andrea and I took the kids for a walk in the park while John and Michael went for a run. That was some forced bonding for Alyson and I and I think that's when she really turned the corner towards accepting me.

Clean baby! She had her first bath tonight and seemed to like it pretty well. We kept it kind of quick so she wouldn't be overwhelmed but I think she's going to like tub baths just fine.

Farewell for now from Kunming :-)