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July 21 (pre-Amy)
July 21, 22
July 23
July 23, 24, 25
July 26
July 26, 27
July 28, 29, 30
July 31
August 1
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Hi all -
We are offically Amy's parents! Woo hoo! But let me start where
I left off...
Mark and I went to the grocery with our travel group to pick up
formula and some bottled water. (Future travelers - remember to
get the scoops with the formula - they come separate from the package)
We knew the babies were coming at 7, so we got room service and
nervously ate. We met in the elevator foyer at 7 and got
extra pictures of Amy, which included her with her foster mom
(FM) and some orphanage staff. In one of the pictures, she is *standing*
on her FM's hand - she's not holding on to anything - just balancing
herself there. We also got a note that Amy was found with, as well
as answers (in Chinese) to all of our questions sent to the orphange.
Finally the elevator doors opened
and the babies (6) and the aunties/staff came pouring out of the
elevators. Mark and I could instantly pick out Amy because of that
shock of hair. The orphanage worker (pictured below) who had her
held the rattle we sent, as well as a bag of formula and the disposable
cameras we sent - one full of pictures, one unused. And trust
me, she's not as big as her referral pictures made her seem. She
is tiny! The babies were given to their parents one-by-one. Mark
and I were last and the staff told us (in one of their few English
words) that she walks. When I held her, she started crying. Mark
held her, too and the crying continued. She cried when the orphanage
director held her, when she was back in our room and the agency
coordinator held her - probably cried for another 25 minutes after
we met and then finally cried herself to sleep.
Amy laid on my chest on the bed and all of us slept (did I mention
that the beds are 2 singles? and hard as a rock would be an understatement?)
She woke up to a bottle and diaper change around 2 am and then went
back to sleep.
We had an early day today, as we had to be out the door at 8:30
for our appointments. Amy screamed at the potty-training thing and
screamed at the concept of a bath. She just wanted to stay touching
Mark or I and definitely keep both of us in sight. We got her dressed
and went to breakfast. She ate congee (rice porridge) and scrambled
eggs and smiled for the first time. She also started her thing of
standing on our laps. I'm
sure she could walk if we could put her on the floor to try, her
legs are so strong!
The
group then went to the Registration office. We had a simple interview
where we promised to always love and take care of Amy and we signed
and fingerprinted lots of times. We also got to ask questions of
the orphanage people, where we learned her nickname at the orphanage
and that she was in foster care for at least 4 months.
We then went to the Notary's office where we were asked our wedding
date and our educational background and promised to always love
and take care of Amy. That visit and signature made it official
- Amy is our daughter, finally!
We rested in the afternoon and went shopping later. We got a ton
of stuff at a WalMart-type store and then went to a department store
for a rattle and shoes. We found people who spoke English, so it
wasn't difficult to navigate. We ate dinner with some people we
met here who get their baby tomorrow - another congee dinner (ick).
Mark rocked her to sleep tonight and when I left, they were both
sleeping - Amy on his chest. She craves contact with us, and we're
happy to hold her. We tried the Baby Bjorn carrier and she freaked
out, so we hold her, switching off as it's stinking hot here.
Tomorrow we're going to the People's Park. We're getting blessings
from the Buddhist monks there and spending the morning doing whatever
you do there (I'm not sure what it is, but I'll tell you tomorrow).
Signing off from China (where it's 9:40 pm on Monday - so that
means it's 8:40 am Monday CT, I think)
Beth, Mark & Amy |
