blog post 1.21.13

What a day!  We woke up at 4:30 to be picked up by someone from Little Flowers at 5:10am!!  Poppy & her ayi were there to greet us and they were both cheerful :)  We managed to (barely) squeeze our luggage & ourselves into the small car with them and we were off to the airport!

When it was time to board the plane, we met the other Bethany family traveling to the Henan province... we are getting to know them and appreciate having them for travel buddies!  They are adopting a fun little 7-yr old boy with Down’s Syndrome.  We can’t help but think of our nephew, Joshua when we’re around him... they are so much alike!  It’s going to be an interesting week!!

We drove straight from the airport to the Civil Affairs building where we were supposed to “meet our children.”  Since we brought our daughter with us, it felt rather odd... especially when we were surrounded by several other families with other agencies meeting their (mostly crying) children.  Poppy just kept staring... and occasionally commenting on the ones that cried the hardest.  She kept a close eye on her ayi and wanted to be held most of the time (by her).  

At one point, her nanny needed to use the restroom so she slipped away quietly to do so.  It only took 1/2 a minute for Poppy to realize she was gone and she began wailing.  Andy was gone making some copies, so I was on my own trying to get her to settle down.  It didn’t go very well.  As soon as her ayi came back she settled, but was even more set against letting me play with her.  Then another time, her ayi walked into the crowd a bit where Poppy couldn’t see her.  We tried to tell her (and point out) where she was, but WenWen didn’t listen.  She kept walking until she’d decided her ayi must have gone and the wailing began a 2nd time.  This time Andy scooped her up and took her straight back to her nanny.  I was beginning to wonder how many “separations” we were going to go through!  We were at Civil Affairs between 9:30 & 10, but the orphanage staff from PDS (her current legal guardians) didn’t arrive until noon!  Once they came, Poppy’s ayi slipped away.  I hugged her and told her thank you... she is a dear woman.  During this time, Poppy had finally started playing (following other children around & playing toys) so she actually didn’t notice for quite a while.  But when she did, she pouted her little lip so big and then she started crying... but this time it was crying, not wailing.  She was sad, but she let me talk to her and she settled back down.  She would start up again every few minutes, but we were able to settle her fairly quickly... until we went to the van - and she saw where her ayi had sat... and then, it was over.  Oh, she cried so hard that I didn’t think she would stop... but after several minutes, she did.  And then she quietly drifted off to sleep as we finished our short drive to the hotel.  Wow.

Once we were in our room, babydoll woke up.  I was trying to lay her down without waking her... and let’s just say it didn’t work out as planned :)  So, we let her up and started talking.  She teared up a few times, but never cried.  Bless her sweet little heart!  We ate a few snacks and then decided to head out for lunch.  We went next door (from our Holiday Inn) to the Crowne Plaza & enjoyed a nice meal there.  Afterwards, we walked around the hotel and finally came back to the room to settle down with some Baby Signing Time (mommy & daddy were seeing cross-eyed!).  Sweetie was acting ready to nod off too, so we decided it was time to start the long process of getting ready for bed... bath time, bandage change, food & drink time.  Normally, these things could be done in the morning, but we need to be at Civil Affairs (again!) early and we want her washed up and ready.  She had a fun time in her bath and we enjoyed it too :)  Sadly, there were some new blisters after our big day, so we had to “pop-pop” (as she calls it) with a needle (to drain the fluid).  Hopefully tomorrow will be better :)  

We are absolutely loving having our little parrot :)  She repeats everything - and she has the sweetest, tiniest voice!  & I especially crack up when she’s starting to be a stinker and I say “be nice” - and her countenance changes as she sweetly repeats “be nice” ... what a doll!

I am not looking forward to going back to the same Civil Affairs office, but I AM looking forward to adding this little sweetheart to our family... officially!!

Random side-note:  we had been told by our agency that we would not need money for the adoption expenses until tomorrow (so we could change currencies in province)... but we needed it today... and there was no time for a bank stop.  Thankfully, our guide was able to have an associate bring RMB to exchange for our USD (at today’s bank rate - for both couples)!  What a relief!!!