Tuesday,
September 19, 2006
Today was a very special day because we can now officially
say that Mia
is
ours! Our adoption is complete and we will
spend the
remainder of our stay here completing the US citizenship
process. We
began
the day at the civil affairs office in downtown Nanchang to be
interviewed
and fill out more paperwork. We had a brief moment when all the
girls
were
awake so we snapped a couple of pictures. They are all so
adorable.
Our
original group of twelve separated Monday when we all flew to
the
province
where our children were living. Four other girls besides Mia
lived in
the
same orphanage, and one more from another orphanage in Jiangxi.
Six
more
sweet babies now have families - God is so good!
Andy and I are enjoying getting to know this charming baby that
we call
our
daughter. She is very timid, and likes to be held - always. She
had a
fever earlier this morning and slept on and off most of the day.
After
a
dose of Tylenol and some teething gel (she has one perfect
little tooth
making its way through her bottom gum!) she seemed to feel a
little
better.
We finally got her to eat something this evening and even got a
couple
of
laughs out of her. Mia is content snuggling mommy or daddy at
this
point
which I am thankful for because we are told that Andy is
probably the
first
man she's ever known. Many Chinese babies will have nothing to
do with
their new fathers because of this. But really...who could resist
Andy?
Mia
is a great sleeper (11 hours last night without a peep!) and a
not-so-great
eater, but we're working on that. She hates the stuffed elephant
that
I
brought for her from America but loves the noisy toys we
purchased at
the
Chinese Wal-Mart this morning. (Just when I was REALLY starting
to
feel
homesick - a Wal-Mart!) She's quite a bit underweight for her
age but
we're
working on that. I actually had to force feed her with a dropper
earlier
today because she refused to eat or drink for nearly 24 hours.
We both
think she'll have a healthy appetite once she's more comfortable
in her
new
environment. She doesn't enjoy bath time but loves to watch
football
in bed
with her daddy (I have know idea how Andy swung that one). She's
fairly
weak so we're already doing our version of baby physical therapy
right
here
in our hotel room! I know what Dr. Gee will say when he sees her
in a
couple of weeks, "she needs more tummy-time". We just want to be
prepared -
ha! Her head is still pretty wobbly, but her legs are really
strong.
She
does a funny "fish-face" when she's unhappy (diaper change,
feeding
time,
etc.) We're falling in love with her by the minute and hope she
feels
the
same about us. Thanks for your prayers.
Jen |
Nighttime laughs with Daddy
Civil Affairs Office - almost done!
Six little angels for six lucky families
Bored with interviews, paperwork, etc. -
Mia slept through the
details
finalizing her adoption.
|
