Tuesday,
July 5, 2011
CONSULATE APPOINTMENT AND DAY OF REST
We had Callie’s consulate appointment this morning , where we
delivered all of the paperwork we’ve been collecting throughout
our adoption journey in order to apply for Callie’s visa to go
home. Our guide should pick it up sometime tomorrow, I think.
Her swearing in ceremony was a bit different from Maili’s, since
we were in a smaller room than last time with about 12 families
instead or 30. We were the 2nd family called so we got in and
out fairly quickly.
We had arranged with our guide to go to the Safari Park Zoo
after that, but the kids were already getting cranky and it was
only 10:30 in the morning. So we decided instead to postpone the
zoo and return to the hotel in order for everyone to get some
much needed rest and a better attitude. It would appear that we
made the right decision, since it is now almost 4:00 PM and they
are all still sleeping ( naptime started before noon today)!
So, since I don’t have much to share from our exciting day I
will share instead some of the things we have learned about
Callie so far:
• She answers easily to Callie but still refers to herself as
Allie
• She has a deep, raspy little giggle that is so infectious you
can’t help but join in
• She has a wicked sense of humor and cracks herself up
imitating Maili and Holt. She can mimic Holt perfectly and it
often sounds as though we have an echo in the room
• Like Maili, she has her own little term for passing gas. It
sounds like BZZZZT. As in, “ Allie BZZZZT” This one is always
accompanied by lots of giggles
• She adores all things girly and pink and she loves jewelry and
hair accessories, the more the better. She begs daily to get her
ears pierced.
• She is a very fast learner; she has already learned all of the
signs and words from the Signing Time videos we brought, and
when she can’t remember the word she will use the sign to get
her point across.
• Her Chinglish is comical at times; she was insisting in
Chinese that Holt take a nap, to which he replied “ Holt BU shu
jou” ( Holt no sleep) her response: “ Holt YESSSSS bu shu jou.
Right NOW”
• She may be tiny, but she’s feisty. This girl is a diva with a
BIG personality. No need for us to worry about her getting
stepped on or overlooked because she’s so small. She makes her
presence and her opinions known. And she has VERY definite
opinions.
• She has known love, and knows how to give it. We had been
concerned about her ability to give and receive affection in the
beginning, having spent the vast majority of her six years at
the orphanage. This is so not the case. We fully expected that
those were things that we would have to teach her, as we did
with Maili. Not so with this one. She freely gives hugs, kisses,
and snuggles, and seeks us out to get more, often stopping what
she’s doing to climb up in our laps and give us a spontaneous
hug and peck on the cheek before going back to play. We are so
grateful to her foster family and American orphanage volunteers
for the love they showed to her in her early years; no doubt it
is what has made all the difference.
• She has accepted us unquestioningly and unconditionally as her
family from day one and we are still in absolute awe at the way
she has begun to bond with us already. She gets along equally
well with Maili and Holt and they truly enjoy each other’s
company, which is more than we could have hoped for.
• She must have read all the attachment books before we picked
her up, ha ha. All of the things you’re supposed to do to
promote attachment in a newly adopted child are the things she
initiates on her own. Feeding them from your spoon and sharing a
snack together, making up silly songs to sing to each other
using the child’s name, encouraging eye contact and sharing a
laugh, making your own special bedtime rituals that you do
together each night, she thrives on those things and looks
forward to them. Maili and I have always had a little routine at
night where I fill both of her hands with kisses and she puts
some under her pillow and the rest of them in her heart. Last
night bedtime was hectic and I forgot to give her the kisses.
Callie came running into the room with her hands outstretched
going “Mama, Nite Nite”. and pantomiming putting kisses in her
hands. Such a sweetie.
• Although her file is an alphabet soup of scary medical terms,
we have come to the conclusion that there is nothing at all
wrong with her heart. It’s as big as all outdoors and it loves
just fine. And we couldn’t ask for more than that. |
These two never stopped dancing
today
The three musketeers
Made for the stage
Holt is tired of this performance
Still dancing |
