March 4 Adoption day

Some days are just days but adoption days are big deals.

The morning started out on a high note. We had a great breakfast and learned a lot about etiquette but not too bad at all. After breakfast was over, Sean backed up on his own, unprompted to sit in my lap. Compared to less than 24 hours, that was pretty huge.

We were able to Skype with Sarah, Kristin, Cole & Emma. We didn't get video but they did. We met Missy, our guide, to go do the paperwork at 8:30 (we were a little late). Lia insisted as usual on taking her walker. She does not want to use the wheelchair. Everywhere we stopped, she walked in.

We first went to the civil affairs office where the adoption was finalized. They each made hand prints on their papers. We forgot to photograph Sean's so we did a fake shot. Sean told the guide he lied in the photo. Oops. What are we teaching our children!

At the passport office, the walk is up a steep ramp for a long distance. Lia raced up the ramp with her walker just to prove she could. In the passport office she was totally exhausted. So she hitched a ride down on a pig (see the photos).

The final stop was the notary. It was a quick stop but Lia stayed in the car and was (fake) sleeping when we returned.

We offered to take the orphanage director and her aid to lunch but it was a good distance to the restraint so we made Lia ride in the wheelchair. She pouted all the way and wouldn't eat. The orphanage director coaxed her to eat a little by telling her it was an insult to Dad who was paying for the meal. We learned that she also explained that she didn't want to be a burden on mom and Dad's back for having to push her around the block all the time.

Later in the afternoon we were finally alone, no guides, no directors or nannies, it was just us. We had some time to learn a bit about each other and had a bit of instruction time and even a moment of discipline for an energetic little boy. Our first ever and he took the 15 seconds of private time pretty hard.

Then we walked down to one of 2 McDonald's within half mile of the hotel. Because of the distance we took Lia in the wheelchair. She didn't complain but again, she wouldn't eat. After review of the events of the day, Doll suggested we go to Google translator. We explained that we knew before she came that she had difficulty walking and that we were ok with that. We wanted her to be as independent as she could be but for safety sake sometimes the chair was better. She seemed to feel much better. We also were able to explain that she was our princes and that she and Sean are good kids. We love them forever and only want the best for them. This was great for them and us and we highly recommend this to all parents. The speak button is a life saver as neither of our kids read much Chinese.

Life knows on and we are having a wonderful time. The kids are amazing, though at times it is a bit overwhelming and tiring. However, we all sleep good. Hope this makes it to the blog before too long.

Love to all,

Craig