Look What I Can Do

Free Day

Today is our last full day in Chongqing. Our guide Sophie is going to pick up the kids' passports, but there is nothing else on the agenda for today. As proof that this is indeed a special trip, Kevin agreed to keep things low key today so that David can eat and nap on a semi-normal schedule.

David is eating more and more every day. I think as he feels more comfortable, his appetite is coming back. Last night we had dinner at a Sichuan restaurant, and Sophie ordered steamed egg for the kids. He ate half his body weight in egg and was pretty disappointed when it was all gone. (Roger and Kari, if either of you can figure out how to make steamed egg, we will be forever in your debt.) He hates fruit. If you manage to sneak a piece in his mouth, he shakes his head "no" pretty adamantly and tries to spit it out. He loves his veggies, egg, noodles and rice, probably not a big surprise.

Tomorrow it's off to Guangzhou, our final stop, where we'll get David's American visa.

He heard I was talking about his refusal to feed himself, so he decided to prove me wrong with some puffs today.
Duke class of 2029
Using toys as weapons
On a walk near the hotel

Little Emperor

The Chinese have a term for spoiled only sons under the one child policy. It is Little Emperor. I think we might have one on our hands. We are growing increasingly suspicious that David was a bit spoiled with his foster family. Though he has all the skills necessary to finger feed himself and has done it on a few desperate occasions, he would rather bend over and lick a Cheerio of our hand than pick it up and put it in his own mouth. Today he was in his stroller while we visited Ciqikou, he kept leaning out of his stroller, looking back at me, shouting "eh!" and sticking out his tongue when he wanted a snack. If I offered one for him to feed himself, he would throw it on the ground. We were also warned by one of the nannies at the orphanage that he is a hitter. She couldn't speak English, but it was pretty clear what she was trying to tell us when she pointed at David and started slapping everything in sight. He hits mostly when he is excited but has done it from time to time when he's not getting his way. He slapped the ground with both hands so hard when we were playing ball yesterday, that he accidentally whacked his head, too. Look for us on Supernanny in a couple of years.

Candied fruits at a shop in Ciqikou.

Kevin, who clearly does not share my fear of burns, lighting incense at a Buddhist temple in Ciqikou.

David loves to watch us throw the ball up in the air. Then when we hand it back to him, he looks up like he's trying to figure out how to do it himself. So cute.

There was minimal napping today due to our schedule. David crashed for about 20 minutes before dinner and was a beast at the restaurant.

Sweet Dance Moves

Dianjiang

If we had any doubt about how we feel about our little man (and I don't think we did), the trip to the orphanage today made it very clear. We left the hotel a little before 9:00 for the 2 hour drive. The second we got out of the car, at the orphanage David started to cry. He cried longer, louder and harder than we have ever heard him. (I realize that's only a couple of days, but they've been pretty traumatic days.) He was absolutely inconsolable. We found out that he left foster care a week before Gotcha Day and was returned to the orphanage. I'm sure he thought we were bringing him back again. It was heartbreaking. He didn't stop screaming until we were several miles down the road and his tummy was full of milk. Still, I'm glad we had the chance to see where he spent his first months and take pictures for him to have as he gets older and has questions about where he is from. The orphange also gave us a cd with children's songs they play for the babies, so we're happy to have some familiar music to play for him at home.

We made up for the traumatic morning with a really great afternoon. He learned to play ball today--actually roll/throw it back and forth. His accuracy could still use some work, but this is a big improvement from licking the ball, which is all he's done up to this point. He was very proud of some of his throws and even clapped for himself a couple of times. He is also loving pulling to a stand and walking with his hands held. He's making more sounds every day. Sometimes when he wants something he will shout "eh!" like he's from Brooklyn, and when he wants someone's attention he screams "yo!" It's pretty hilarious.

Kevin feels my thank you yesterday was insufficient and would like me to say thanks again for all the comments. We really enjoy reading them every day when we check the blog. We're glad we can share this with everyone at home.

On the road to Dianjiang

Enjoying some lunch

Playroom in the hotel

It's Legal

Well, our harmonious time is over. We returned to the civil affairs office this afternoon, and the adoption is legal.

We actually had a really great night last night. David slept from 8:45 until 6:45. After breakfast this morning, we went with one of the other families to a local market to buy more diapers and formula. The supermarket in China is an experience in and of itself. We saw live chickens, ducks, frogs (sorry Tracey), turtles and eels. David fell asleep in his stroller on the way back and had a nice morning nap. Unfortunately, his afternoon nap was interrupted by the picture taker at the civil affairs office who not only demanded that David be awake for our official photo but poked and prodded him for several minutes to get him into just the right position. He is now a very crabby boy. It's off to bed soon.

All the other families are doing great, too. It's really amazing to see how resilient these kids are.

Tomorrow we're taking a tour of his orphanage in Dianjiang, about a 2 hour drive from Chongqing.

Thanks to everyone for all your support!

Check out our mad face.
David loves water bottles.
Hanging out at the civil affairs office.
Bath time is no fun.

Harmonious Time

The long wait finally pays off. Instead of labor, here's how I spent the last hour before we picked up David.

The Chinese call the time between picking up your child and finalizing the adoption "harmonious time." Our harmonious time began this afternoon at 2:30 at the Civil Affairs office in Chongqing. There are four other families in our travel group, and we all went up to the 14th floor together to meet our children. It was quite a scene. There are 3 toddlers, including David, a 4 year old boy and an 8 year old girl.

David is great. Totally adorable with an enormous, flat head. Every time we've told him that we are "mama" and "baba," he has cried. He fell asleep on the way back from the civil affairs office while we read "Go Dog Go", but that didn't last long. We've enjoyed a snack of prunes and Cheerios, but he is shaking his head "no" at his bottle. So far we've learned that Cheerios are his favorite toy (great grabbing by the handful and dropping all over the place), he can walk with his hands held (though not particularly well) and, according to the daily schedule we received, his bedtime is 10:00pm. Not for long. I hope.

At the civil affairs office

Bus ride back to the hotel

I've been at this for almost an hour. The computer is being very uncooperative. More pictures tomorrow. Sorry I couldn't add more.