This December

day 3...Seriously it has it only been 3

 

Day 3
Seriously, is it possible it has only been three days?
Today was a rainy ( actually wet snow) gray, ugly day so our outing to the park was canceled.
We ventured a block away to a Shopping Mall. Clearly Annie has not been shopping before.
Every mannequin was attacked, many almost toppled. The escalator was a huge hit and cause Buck to turn white in fear as she
lunged forward. When she had no ide what to do with herself she would drop to the floor. Light pink pretty outfits are not practical for
outing in public places. A stroller would help but Annie flat out refuses to even spend one second in it...until it is her idea!
After pushing a empty dysfunctional hotel loaner stroller through the streets, lifting it over barricades, up stairs we gave up.
 Tim pushed the stroller turned shopping cart as Annie help mop the floor with her body in every store.
We found a Pizza Hut for dinner. The waitress and waiters did not speak English but assured us we were getting a great deal on
buying the pepsi ( no diet coke...UGH!) by the pitcher.
Annie thought the cheese was another type of noodle as she pulled it off the pizza.
Upon leaving the restaurant she abruptly wanted IN the stroller  ( which would have been nice hours before)
She only allowed this if Tim pushed ( so she couldn't see him and if i walked along side her and help her hand.
More giggles and laughter tonight and then an abrupt sobbing. She let me hold her and rocked her until she fell asleep.
Kim

Day 2 is done!

It is the middle of the night here and the little sweet heart is sleeping next to me like and angel!

 She is, day two, more comfortable "expressing her will." Hates nap time. Today she threw her panda ( that she always clings to) and her pillow with our photo on it. ( clearly THAT was intentional) She then proceeded to inch her way down the end of the bed while little by little kicking the pillow and panda til they fell off the bed. She did finally sleep and woke up happy.

Tonight she wanted more and more of the little puffer treats we brought. When we finally had to said no she let us know that she expected them and knew where we kept them. When she didn't get them she slip her body to the floor to pout.

Two minutes later,Molly had her laughing so hard she would fall over playing ball and being silly. She even went with Tim tonight to get milk for her good night ritual. ( which is easy as opposed to naptime)

Tonight at dinner she went from a serious deliberate eater, shove as much in as fast as you can, to having fun and more relaxed dining thanks to Molly. "Mowally" as Annie calls her, taught her to  suck in a long noodles making a slurping fast motion. She thought this was the funniest thing she had ever seen and could emulate it immediately. This lead to picking noodles up with her fingers, tipping her head back and trying to drop them in. If they flew all over her face and down her neck, all the better! The giggles were infectious!

Every time she finds a pair of my glasses she has to put them on over and over again. She has now mastered the glasses mounted on top of her head pose. Tim says it will be a matter of time until she starts patting her head, chest and frantically looking around the room for glasses as her mother is noted for.

Just some photos

China Time : 6:50 pm Tuesday

Just some photos of Annie hanging out at the hotel.

Back at the Hotel

China Time: 2:25 pm Tuesday.

This is a picture of Annie Kate after we returned from the official adoption on the Chinese side. Our guide was quite surprised when Annie just threw up her two fingers as the picture was being taken. Our guide said that in China it stands for not only victory, but also happiness. I don't think she is pulling our leg.........Annie does seem quite happy with us, except at nap time, which is going on right now.........

It's Official

We have just come back from the Office of Civil Affairs where we signed the official documents meaning Annie Kate is legally and permanently ours!

It was interesting her reaction being back in the room and setting where we first met her.

 In short, she was a wild women!  Would not get off my lap, which is fine but she was also like a wet noodle. Then she was on floor, refusing to stand, rolling on the floor, arching her back but all in a laughing (testing) way. She wasn't crying but it did strike me as she was stressed. Her pink pants and shirt were filthy from rolling on the ground.

Back at the hotel she was herself. Singing to the music on her ipod...thank you so much Kelly Zang and Kate Hillis for the cd's.

Naptime soon... we'll see how that goes!

Having Lunch

It is now Monday at 3:00pm in China. This is a picture of Molly and Annie having lunch in the restaurant here at the hotel. We had a wonderful lunch as we all get more comfortable with Annie and more so, her with us.
Kim is in the process of trying to get Annie down for a nap and she is struggling a bit. As much as the orphanage tried to prepare Annie for our arrival, this has to be so confusing for this little girl. We will just continue to try to comfort her, and she will soon realize we are not going anywhere without her......I hope she is OK with that.

We've Got Annie!

This picture is from 4 hours ago when we were leaving the Civil Affairs Office with Annie Kate! How can love be this instantaneous? This is the most precious thing you could ever imagine. We can't wait for Timmy, Meaghan, Teddy and Daniel to meet their little sister. We are so lucky to have her!
She cried for about 15-20 minutes when we first received her, then things calmed down a bit. We got back to the hotel and she really got more comfortable with us. Within a couple of hours, when Kim would leave her sight she actually called out "mama". She pronounces "Molly" really well, but is having some problems pronouncing "Buck" :)
She is so smart and figures things out so quickly. The challenges you might think she faces with her right hand quickly vanished as she tore through the Toys-r-Us store we brought with us........She stops at nothing.....and figures it out.
Right now things are calm, but we understand we could be in for more stormy weather as the night progresses. Thank you for the prayers. They are being heard.

Almost there!

Awake and getting ready.... how does one dress to meet your new child?
Standard uniform repeated 4 times was an ugly hospital gown. Fourteen years ago the attire was upgraded to  clothing I had been traveling in for  54 consecutive  hours.

Today: what gorgeous ensemble shall I wear?

Maybe a ball gown to mark this uniquely special occasion or should it be athletic wear to enable me to go the distance....maybe something in between!

2.5 hours to decide.

Love you all,
 Mom

Twelve hours and counting

We have arrived in Hefei after two more planes and more people than I have ever seen in one place in my life.

Our guide, TingTing, was waiting for us at the airport. She has already won our confidence. She is warm, kind

and seems to have everything under control.

Our hotel is beautiful and very comfortable. Buck did a great job.

TingTing  was at the Hefei SWI (orphanage) two days ago and had taken pictures of Annie (XinTian) on her smart phone. She 

had a huge smile on her face as she was surrounded by "her friends." Ting Ting said she has been told we are coming to get her but all agree,

at her age, likely there is little comprehension of what that actually means. 

My heart breaks knowing how much we will certainly initially frighten her tomorrow. I hope and pray she will soon understand how much we love her and will always take care for her.

Molly has been practicing her Mandarin and is quite good. She has been working hard to calm me down... a task beyond anyone's control.

Everything is set, we are as ready as we will ever be...deep breath...here we go!

Annie Kate, we cannot wait to meet you, hold you and love you as our own.

 

Made it to Hong Kong

After a 17 hour flight we made it to Hong Kong last night. It is now Sunday morning and we need to catch two flights to get us to Annie's city of Hefei tonight. We are getting close!

Here are some Pics and a Video of us just before taking off to China!

Trying to get our head around this adventure. Packing , getting all the mounds of paper work together, getting Annie's room ready,Molly in her new room...but it will all get done...or not. Just praying she will have as easy an adjustment as possible.

Thank you Tim

Thanks Timmer for setting this up! It looks great. I am testing it now, so we are ready when we leave.

Only days til the Journey begins!