Making It Official

This morning we loaded the bus again for the CCWA office in order to make everything official.  There, we met again with the orphanage director and notary, exchanged appropriate funds and swore that we will love our daughter forever and never abandon her.  We had our first official picture as a family and Chloe officially became a Watkins.

While this should have been an overall happy meeting, I have to tell you that I have mixed feelings about it.  Although the signing of the paperwork, picture taking, and swearing in was all good, I think it was strange to meet the orphanage officials again...in the same place as yesterday.  It had to make Chloe feel confused.  I wonder if she thought we were bringing her back.  

Chloe and the Huainan orphanage director

In addition, I truly did not enjoy the exchange of money...especially in front of the children.  While I know this is an important step in helping the orphanage take care of the children, I just felt strange.

When we returned to the hotel, we had a nice lunch and visit with Jane, our guide.  She informed us that Chloe was actually cursing in a song she was singing at the CCWA.  Although she assured us that she wasn't cursing at anyone, Jane was upset that she was doing this and told the orphanage not to use her foster family any more.  She also did not like some of the behaviors she was exhibiting, like hitting and kicking.  She said that she had seen many children from her orphanage do the same.  Basically, she said she was unrefined (like an eastern Kentucky/West Virginia coal miner's girl...no offense, her city is known for coal mining) and would need time to learn appropriate behaviors.  Tim and I decided that we have adopted Chloe, the jungle girl (like Bindi, the jungle girl), and she will need just a lot of love and direction.  She's already making great strides.

After Jane's visit and finishing lunch, we headed for the pool.  I wish I would have brought my camera because Chloe loved the water.  Although she never left my lap, she stayed and played, kicking the water and leaning over to wet her hair.  When we went back to the room, she wanted to take a bath, so I put her in the tub.  She washes herself as an old woman would, scrubbing her skin with the wash cloth.  However, I finally got her to sit down in the tub.  (I think she must have previously stood in the river, bucket, etc. to take a bath.)  She absolutely loved it.  Then, she took a nice, long nap.  We had to wake her after 1 1/2 hours.  We definitely want her to sleep tonight!

Enjoying bath time

Taking a nice, long nap

After that, we topped our evening off with our daily trip to the mall and Walmart with our friends, Karen, Jenna and Zoey.  We decided that we needed some American food, so we ate at McDonalds and then had ice cream from Dairy Queen.

Chicken nuggets and fries....YUM!

I guess loving ice cream is universal.

Below are a few things we noticed about Chloe today.

1. She still eats EVERYTHING and wants to make sure she has access to food all the time.
2. She likes to bring all of her toys into bed with her when she sleeps.
3. She woke me up sweetly at 3:30 this morning, rubbing my leg, to tell me she had to go to the bathroom.
4. For most of the day, she still did not want Tim to touch her, but the two had a beautiful moment before bed where she was talking and playing with him.  He was holding her hand, and she allowed him to change her shirt when she spilled water on it.
5. She demanded that I carry her all 3.5 blocks from the mall tonight and sang the entire way.  I'm not sure if it involved curse words or not.
6. I have a feeling that she will be another "fish" like her brother, Kaleb.  She wanted to get back in the tub after we returned home from the mall.
7. I received numerous kisses and hugs today.

Tomorrow is one of our free days, so we're heading to the zoo with Karen and her crew.  It's supposed to be 75 degrees here, so it should be a nice day.

I hope everyone is doing well.  We LOVE reading your words of encouragement....Please keep them coming. 

Gotcha Day!

Neither Tim nor I slept well last night, anticipating our newest daughter's arrival.  Labor for her only lasted almost five years. :)

We met all of the families in the lobby of our hotel at 9:15.  There are two families from the Netherlands, Karen and her daughter, another family from Alabama, and us.  We all had the same look on our faces:  joy, anticipation, and a little fear.  Jane met us in the lobby and told us we were going to the CCAA offices to meet our daughters.  She wasn't sure which orphanages were coming first since many traveled distances to get to Hefei to meet us.

Jane explaining the agenda of the day to us

The front of the CCWA building

When we arrived at the CCWA, we were escorted to a small conference room on one of the top floors.  We all crowded in and a couple of the children were waiting to meet their families.  Then, in walked Chloe "Cong" with the orphanage director and three other Huainan children, one who met her family today, and the other two who will meet their families tomorrow.

 After seeing her, we introduced ourselves and handed her the backpack that the kids helped me fill.

Chloe appeared happy and sat and played with both Tim and me.

She became a little unsure of everything when the orphanage director, nanny, and her friends were leaving, but one of our guides explained to her that we again were her Mama and Baba and she was going with us.  

The trip back to the hotel went well and she adjusted fairly well to her new surroundings...until Tim left to exchange some money.  This was the first of her two melt downs concerning her Baba leaving and her staying.  She pulled on her shoes, put on her coat, and attempted to leave with him.  When I wouldn't let her, she cried and called for Baba until he returned.

We also could not take any clothes off of her; she wouldn't let us.  Hefei was relatively warm today (in the 70s) and she had on long under ware, a long sleeve shirt, thick pants, snow boats, and a heavy jacket.  It wasn't until our guide came in and talked to her that she agreed to take her coat off.  We then presented her with a new outfit, and she then gladly stripped down for us in exchange for her new outfit.  (What girl doesn't like new clothes?)  She then informed Jane, our guide, that she wanted new shoes too.

Inspecting her tiny body (She is very tiny and undernourished.), I noticed approximately seven layers of caked dirt on her.  When Jane asked if she'd like to bathe, she told her that she bathed yesterday and she would do it again tomorrow.  (Yea, right.)  She was so dirty that her neck itched.  Jane and I tried to wash her a little with a wash cloth and water, but she definitely needed more.  However, I resolved to give it some time.

We took a trip to Walmart and bought her pink new shoes that she picked out and bananas and apples (two fruits suggested for the kids).  Then, we headed back to the hotel and I coerced her into a bath.  I just had to remove at least the first layer of dirt from her.  We then ate at the hotel's buffet and came back to the room to talk with family.  She had a lively conversation with Hannah, her older sister, blowing her kisses, waving, and giving her the thumbs up.  Shortly after, she fell asleep.

Chloe, asleep after looking at the photo album of her new family

Here are my few observations about her from today.

1. There are two things she did incessantly:  talk and eat.  I do not think her speech problem is a big issue.  Most people understood her...including her new parents.
2. She wanted to eat ALL...THE...TIME.  We finally had to hide food/take it away from her.
3. She acts more like an orphanage kid than a foster care kid in some ways, hoarding food and her things.  This could be though because she doesn't trust her situation and us completely yet.
4. When she gets tired of walking, she turns her feet out like a ballerina.  She has no meat on her bones, so I'm not sure if this is due to her lack of body fat.
5. She is a girl who definitely knows what she wants and how to ask for it.  We had several demands throughout the day.
6. She definitely wants me more than Tim at this point.  She wants me to pick her up, cuddle her, etc.  However, she likes her Baba to be close by.
7. I received three BIG kisses and many hugs...the sweetest part of my day.

Hope all is good with everyone on your side of the world.  Tomorrow she will become officially ours.  We can't wait!

Thank you all for your encouraging posts!

Thank you so much for leaving words of encouragement and kindness to us on our journey.  While I don't have time right now to respond to everyone individually, know that both Tim and I read them all and really appreciate your thoughts.  It makes us feel closer to home.

I can't wait to share about today...our BEST day in China. :)

We're Not in Beijing Anymore

Today, we left for Hefei, the capitol of Chloe's province, Anhui.  We met in the lobby of the hotel at 8:00 a.m. and all of the families that we toured with, four total including us, plus another family that just joined our group shared a bus to the airport.  Now, this was the same bus that we took when we toured Beijing, perfect for four or five families, but not so perfect for five families with luggage.

Here is a shot of our luggage, with Jenna to the left and Amy to the right, before we loaded the bus.

Here is all of our luggage piled into the first two rows of seats on the bus.  Note:  the bus driver, whom we never saw after he entered the bus, is in front of all the luggage.

Amazingly, we made it safely to the airport, abet the bus driver not being able to see out the rear view mirror (I'm not sure they use these anyway in China.) and a couple people sharing seats.  It was sad to say goodbye to some of the families, but I am excited to see them in Guangzhou with their new children.

Here's a picture of the back of the bus. 

In addition to saying goodbye to some of the families we met, we also had to say goodbye to Cindy, our fabulous guide.

Our flight on China Eastern was only two hours, but they served us a hot lunch.  It was basically uneventful other than having an obnoxious European sitting close to us.  He complained about everything.

When we arrived in Hefei, Jean/Jane was there to greet us.  We are not quite sure which name she goes by yet, but both are listed on the paperwork we have.  She was very nice, helping us check in and prepare paperwork for "gotcha" day tomorrow.

The Holiday Inn in downtown Hefei is very nice.  The rooms are spacious and there is a pool on the sixth floor.

I tried to get a picture of the room before the beds were sat on, but it didn't happen.

There was a young Chinese girl swimming when we went to check out the pool.  She did not know what to think of us.

Our hotel from the street

After we settled in, we joined Karen and her daughter, Jenna, for a walk to Walmart and a mall a few blocks down the street.  One of the biggest differences I noticed between Beijing and Hefei is the number of foreigners.  In Beijing there were many; in Hefei there appears to be very few.  We did receive a few stares and not many people spoke English.  Next time when we go out, I'll definitely bring my translation app or book.

One of the many high rises that houses apartments for Hefei's residents.   In this picture, the water looks relatively clean, but in reality it's a lovely shade of unnatural green.

Tim, Jenna, and Karen on our way to shop

This is the front of the mall.  Walmart is on the corner; notice the advertisement with Nicholas Cage as the star.

The weather is significantly warmer than in Beijing.  It must have been in the high 60s - low 70s.  

The mall had a mix of Eastern and Western stores, like Sephora, Crocs, Calvin Klein, etc.  The attached Walmart was like a Super Walmart, only larger, at home.  It sold everything from TVs to children's clothing to live sea food.  The only thing that it did not sell is medicine.  I bought an electric toothbrush because Tim "borrowed" mine after he left his on the plane.  I had some very helpful workers trying to interpret what I was saying.  (It's hard to mime electric toothbrush.)  We finally found some in locked cases, similar to what stores use to lock DVDs or video games down in America.  I guess electric toothbrushes are a hot commodity.

At the front of Walmart.  That is actually the Walmart greeter on your right.

They sold bins and bins of rice at different prices.  I honestly could not tell the difference between them.

We then ate at a Pizza Hut, which had an interesting menu.  At what Pizza Hut in America can you order pizza with salmon or a mix of seafood on it?  Tim ordered fried squid and we shared a Hawaiian pizza.  Yummy!

A page from the menu at Pizza Hutt

We meet in the lobby at 9:15 tomorrow to travel with Karen, Jenna, and three other CCAI families (two are from the Netherlands) to meet our children.  I just can't wait!  Tomorrow we will truly be a family of six.

The Jade Factory, Great Wall and Olympic Park

Today was another packed day, and we truly enjoyed being tourists.  The Great Wall was approximately 1 1/2 hours away with traffic.  (The traffic in Beijing, even on the weekend, is killer.  Approximately 24 million people live here.)  On the way, we stopped at a lovely jade factory and received a lesson on how jade was cultivated and carved. 

One of many workers carving the jade

The jade balls that they are working on are actually two balls within a larger ball, representing the three generations of family.  Some had three balls within a larger one.  We bought a small one to take home.

We learned that jade comes in many colors and there is hard and soft jade.  Hard jade is used to make jewelry and soft jade is used for carvings.

This is the souvenir Tim really wanted...a jade tiger.  It only cost approximately $70,000.  We would have to have bought it another seat on the plane. :)

After the jade factory, we made our way to the Great Wall.  It was truly awe inspiring.  I made it to the first stop on the difficult side, but there was so much pressure in my ears, I had to then make my way down.  The scariest part was actually going down because the steps are so steep and uneven.  There were also a lot of visitors there today and walking around some that stopped for breathers was a little scary.

The right side of the Great Wall was not as steep as the left.

Tim and me before climbing the Great Wall

We made it up to the first tower.  At that point, the pressure in my ears was making me too dizzy to go any farther.

I thought this was a funny sign...

The steps were so steep it was like climbing up and down a ladder.

Tim doing his "Rocky" move at the top

Our view of the other side from the top

The right side was a little less steep than the left.

This is where we climbed.

After the Great Wall, we stopped at a lovely Chinese restaurant for lunch.  They brought us fish that was the entire fish, eyes, head, and all, along with other dishes.  We enjoyed, but really liked the restaurant yesterday better.

Then, we stopped at the Olympic Village on our way back.

This is a series of hotels developed for the Olympics in the shape of a dragon.

We're standing in front of the "bird's nest," the Olympic stadium.

You can catch a glimpse of the traffic in Beijing.

Our final stop was to an acrobatic show.  The show was much like a Cirque de Soliel performance in the states.  The acrobats were wonderful and I had popcorn and chocolate covered sticks (like thin cookies) called Pocky as snacks.  I really enjoyed the Pocky.  (You know I'm a chocolate lover.)  Below are some pics of the show.

Tomorrow, we're taking a morning flight into Hefei, the capitol of Chloe's province.  On the eve of leaving Beijing, I want to share with you a few thoughts on some things I've learned thus far on the trip.

1. Drivers definitely have the right of way.  I think it is perfectly okay for them to run over pedestrians.
2. Going to the bathroom in the "squatty" potty is more complicated than you think (if you are a girl).  You definitely need to have the perfect amount of squat and angle to be successful.  (I am proud to say that I was successful at this feat.)
3. There appears to be a shortage of toilet paper in Beijing.  At times there is a community roll, where you take a few squares before you enter the individual stalls, but often there is none in the dispenser.
4. It is perfectly okay to spit on the sidewalk, on the streets, etc.  You see nice, respectable old women do this.

Can't wait to post from our next location!  We are getting closer and closer to meeting Chloe!