Norah's First Birthday and Father's Day

We started out the day by running the annual Waterloo Classic - a local 3K, 5K, and 10 K race. Norah and Doug ran the 5K and I muddled through the 10K. As Doug reported it, "Norah beat me by a stroller's length." And amazingly, she didn't even break a sweat! After the race we went to brunch with our friend Natalia. Norah and I then gave Doug his Father's Day gifts and then we went to Best Buy. Doug decided it was time Norah finally got the big screen TV she'd been coveting for months. My favourite comment about the TV: "If that's what they got Norah for her 1st birthday, I can't wait to see what she gets for her 2nd!"

Because it was Father's Day AND Norah's birthday, AND my Mom couldn't come this weekend, we decide to have Norah's party the following weekend. But, we still wanted to acknowledge it among the 3 of us. So, we put a candle in her favourite food - fruit cup. At first she was intrigued by the flaming fruit cup, but by the end, she just wanted the damn fruit and got a little testy. As you can see, she's not lost her 'tude!

Parallel Blog

We forgot to mention that when we returned we discovered that Lance (one of the grad students in Doug's department), who was taking care of the house and the cats for us, kept a blog while we were gone. If you're interested in laughing your butt off, please take a look at mojowatch.blogspot.com.

Update: Home for a Month

Well, we were getting harassed about updating the blog by a few people (you know who you are!) and we finally feel rested enough to do it. So much has happened since we returned. Here's some highlights (and you know with me, the list will be wordy, so get comfy if you plan to keep reading!):

Norah woke up 7-10 times every night for the first 3-4 weeks we were home. Boy were we all fun to be around then! We're happy to report that she now sleeps more or less through the night. It's actually quite a fast adjustment - those first few weeks just seemed REALLY long at the time!

Norah and Lisa have been going to the Early Years Centre. This is a community centre with a lot of kids' programs. We are taking a class together and playing in the gym and attending Music and Movement with other kids, including Sara, Doug and Joanne's daughter.

Norah loves the park, especially the swing. She is also quite a daredevil on the slide - no holding her around the waist. We just hold her hands and she slides down and jumps into the sand.

Norah is eating quite well. She likes veggie burgers, tofu, carrots, and cauliflower, among other things. She LOVES (i.e., she bangs her feet and sits straight up with her hands out) fruit cups (the deal is that she gets the peaches and pears and we get the pineapple as compensation for our labour in feeding her) and peach soy yogurt.

Norah's quite a fan of eating out - I guess it was all the practice she had in China. Again, we're amazed at how well she's been matched to us. Her first outing was to our favourite Indian restaurant - she loves curry just like us. We've also been to a couple of Chinese restaurants and the congee is still a big hit with her. Finally, she’s particularly fond of Sunday brunch - we've been 3 times.

We're working on getting Norah a little healthier. She has another ear infection and is just getting over another cold. Since we've known her, she's been congested almost the whole time. Her disposition is still really good though.

We think Norah will be walking relatively soon. She scoots around on her bum and knees, but doesn't seem to be interested in crawling. She's much more interested in standing, pulling herself up to standing, and walking while we hold her hands.

One of the keys to Norah's newfound sleeping success has been our bedtime routine. Doug gives her a bath, Lisa sings a selection of tunes from The Sound of Music, we read a couple of books (one is a book of nursery rhymes that Doug reads in a very William Shatneresque style). Finally, Norah has a bottle while Lisa sings a selection of Simon and Garfunkle songs (Doug turned the light off one night and "Hello darkness, my old friend" seemed like the natural thing to sing - the repertoire expanded from there).

Yesterday was Norah’s first outing to the big city of Toronto. We went to visit Uncle Doyle and Aunt Heather and saw their “deluxe apartment in the sky” (they’re on the penthouse level). We timed it so that we drove there during Norah’s naptime (she likes to sleep in the car). Since we had such trouble with her sleep before, we tried to stay true to her routine (we really love our sleep and want to ensure we keep it!). We had dinner and then changed her into her PJs. Doyle and Heather joined in the singing and story time and then we did our Simon and Garfunkle revival in the car and Norah fell asleep. She stayed asleep when we got home and we transferred her into her crib. She slept right though until 7:00 AM. Yeah!

So, it's been a busy month with lots of changes. At the same time, however, it feels like we've been together forever. Things are great, but it seems like they just continue to get better every day. We feel so lucky to have Norah in our lives. She's sweet and funny, with just enough "attitude" to make her fit right in around here!

March 23: Last full day in China

Today we had no agenda. Most of the families leave tomorrow, but many left today. We had a leisurely breakfast (for once!) and packed a bit. It was weird not to be on a bus. Everyone says that one of the hardest aspects of this is that we can’t establish a routine for the babies. I think the problem is that they have a routine – get up, have breakfast with a huge group of people, get on a bus and fall asleep. It will be very strange for Norah when we get home. Not only will she have different sounds and smells and lots of people who don’t look like what she’s used to, but it will also be really quiet. Living in a hotel with other babies is what she’s become accustomed to. And no more riding in busses – and she’ll have to sit by herself in a car seat. That should be interesting. She doesn’t like to go for very long without being held. It will be very confusing to her when I don’t take her out of her car seat when she cries.

We went back to the Pearl Market at about noon and bought a small suitcase and a few other small things. We really didn’t do a lot of shopping while we’ve been here – I guess a lot for us, but that’s still not much. We spent the afternoon at Beihi Park. It was gorgeous. We walked around the water. Of course, Norah slept through most of it. She’s slept through most of Beijing’s attractions! Now if only she would sleep at night. We again attracted a lot of attention. People are very friendly, however. One man asked us about the babies and Joanne told him they were from Guangxi. He said, “You are very kind.” Good thing Joanne is a lot swifter than me – she told him that her daughter is a little treasure in Mandarin. I was just so touched that he would think we were kind rather than realize what a gift the girls are to us.

Ironically, we spent our last night in Beijing at Pizza Hut. One of the couples we went with has a 3-year old who really wanted some Western food, so that’s where we went. After dinner, s few of the women got together for drinks. The men had done this the night before, so Joanne thought it was only right that we have our turn. Although we didn’t have the turnout that the men did, it was really nice to unwind just a little. We’re all interested to see how the long flight home will be and are hoping we all make it though without any major incidents.

This will be my last post from China. I’ll try posting pictures again later – no luck for a couple of days now. It’s hard to believe we’ve been here for only 15 days and have only had Norah with us for just over a week. We’re glad to be returning home, but it’s also sad that Norah will be leaving the country where she was born and a culture that is very different from the one in which she’ll grow up. We’ve seen so many changes in her already that it feels like little Jin Xia Hua will remain in China and Norah Xia Hua Keeping Brown will be one of Canada’s newest residents.

March 22: Last time together as a group and Norah’s bully status is confirmed

Tonight was the last time our group was all together. It was our celebratory Peking Duck dinner. Mary had arranged for vegetarian options for us and we ate well – they brought out at least 4 different courses for us. Before dinner we had group pictures. One picture was of all of us together, another of just the babies from our orphanage, and a third of the babies from the other orphanage. For the picture of our babies, we placed the children in strollers because not all of them can sit up yet. The picture taking had barely begun and Norah proceeded to hit Matilda, who was sitting to her right. Matilda is a sturdy little girl compared to Norah’s petite stature, but Norah didn’t seem to notice. After making poor Matilda cry, Norah turned to her left and picked on little Abbey. Finally, all three of them were crying, and of course other babies joined in. So, it’s official – Norah’s a bully. When I apologized to Matilda’s parents, Paul and Paula, they said they didn’t mind because they were glad Matilda had finally met her match!

Some of the group leave tomorrow and the rest of us leave on Friday. It was sad saying goodbye to people, but nice to see everyone so excited to get home and start their new lives. It’s amazing how attached you become to people so quickly. We’ve been like one big family, watching each other with our new babies. We’ve all lived out some of our most joyous and most difficult moments in the presence of each other. It is amazing that we’ve all shared together what is usually such a private process. And to think that we were all essentially strangers to one another just a few short weeks ago. I can’t imagine doing it any other way. Through this experience of a lifetime we share an incredible bond.

March 22: Hutong Tour

This morning we went on a tour of a Hutong area. This is an area that has preserved what it was like in old Beijing. People still live there, however – it’s not just a tourist area. We traveled by rickshaw – one for every two people (plus a baby) because the alleys are really narrow. We had to cross regular streets a couple of times and this was pretty scary – we just went right through the traffic. Norah loved the rickshaw ride. She loves having the wind whipping through her hair. She really is at her happiest when she’s outside. We visited a kindergarten school and got to see the inside of a resident’s house. He served us tea, showed us pictures of his son, brought out his grasshopper and his cricket (how lucky were we to see them both!), and answered questions through our guide. Incidentally our guide’s name was Water and he told us his last name was Loo (not sure of spelling). Isn’t that weird that we’d have a guide named Water Loo when we live in Waterloo? Today was probably our favourite day in terms of touristy things that we’ve done.

In the afternoon we went to the Pearl Market. I actually bought a strand of pearls for myself (and for Norah, of course). I’ve always wanted pearls, so it was really nice to find them here at such a reasonable price. The Pearl Market is not nearly as bad as the Silk Market (i.e., in terms of salespeople being aggressive), but after the pearl extravaganza, we didn’t have time to do a lot of other shopping. We had to get back to pick up the babies’ passports and prepare for our farewell dinner of Peking Duck.

March 21: Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, and Silk Market

We left at 9:00 for our daily tour. Today we saw Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City (called this because during the time of the Emperors, regular people were forbidden from entering this area). I think today was the first day that I really felt like I’d like to go home. It was interesting seeing the sights, but I wasn’t as into it as the previous days. It was a lot of courtyards and palaces. At one point, the father (Charlie) of one of the parents (Elizabeth) got lost from the group. We sent out a posse to find him and gave them 15 minute to come back. Charlie came back within about 5 minutes and we had to wait for the posse to return (after rejecting the idea of sending a new posse for the old posse). This gave us plenty of time to hang out and have people admire our babies. Our guide, Mary, told us that one of the reasons local people make such a fuss over our babies is that we dress them so nicely in bright colours. She said that the babies here don’t tend to be dressed so well.

The highlight was the four-star bathroom in the Forbidden City. I was a little dismayed that someone had already thought of my idea of rating the various bathrooms in China. However, I was eager to see what made this one so good. Although it was rather clean compared to most, I think what gave it the edge was the automatic flusher – not something you see on most toilets in the ground. I must say that between the Great Wall and the toilets in China, my quads are getting quite shapely!

In the afternoon we went to the Silk Market. The salespeople are extremely aggressive here. You don’t even make eye contact and they are yelling at you, touching you, and sometimes grabbing you. They say, “Hey lady, you wanna buy nice purse (coat, shoes, etc.)? Looka looka.” Then, if you make eye contact they say things like, “I gave you special price because you have a beautiful Chinese baby.” We didn’t buy much because the salespeople were so whiney – when you talked them down in price they would get very upset with you and tell you that they’d make no money from you or that you were a bad person. I looked at tea sets in one stall and didn’t buy anything. Unfortunately, I did slightly chip a teacup when pulling out another one (it was in too tightly). The woman didn’t care until I didn’t buy from her. Then, when I left, she chased me across the market, grabbing onto my arm really tightly. I finally gave her $10 in Chinese currency for chipping the teacup. It was a little scary actually – she just kept pulling at me and whining. I did manage to haggle pretty well on an outfit for Norah and some shoes. Doug and I used the Good Cop, Bad Cop routine. I acted like the helpless little wife with the big, mean husband. I gave them a price well below what they asked for (like 30% of asking price), told them that he had the money and that was all he would let me spend (see picture above). After they chastised us for being so cruel to them to force them to sell at such a low price, we paid what we offered them. We’re much better at this than we would have imagined. I think it’s because they’re so aggressive – it’s just a game and you know they won’t sell it if they don’t make money on it (one women let me walk away when I severely lowballed her).

In the evening Sara and Norah had a little impromptu play date in the hallway. I’m worried that Norah is a little aggressive. Frankly, all the girls are aggressive in their play. Many of us caved and ordered pizza to our rooms – Mr. Pizza – the finest pizza in China. It wasn’t bad, but it was a pretty small pizza and was probably the most expensive meal we’ve had here. It was nice to have something hot and not have to go out and find something though.

March 20 Pictures

Pictures in order: Norah conked out after her meltdown in the cab on the way home from the zoo; waiting in the Greek restaurant to get into the medical clinic; waiting for the doctor in the medical clinic; panda; Norah looking stylish at the zoo for about 3 seconds before she ripped off her sunglasses.

March 20: Babies' Medicals and Beijing Zoo

We left really early this morning (7:30 AM) to go to an international clinic to have the babies’ medicals done. It was your typical doctor’s appointment – first we waited in a Greek restaurant and had Chinese coffee and fruit while we waited and filled out, you guessed it, more paperwork. Then we went in smaller groups to the clinic. We waited some more in the clinic and then visited the nurses who weighed and measured the babies. Unfortunately this involved undressing Norah, so the nurses got an earful of her powerful lung action. She weighs about 17.8 kg (hard to tell as she was kicking and screaming so the weight kept changing) – she’s in the 25th percentile for each of head circumference, weight, and height. Then we saw the doctor – she was from Montreal. Turns out that Norah has an ear infection, so we have to give her antibiotics in the hopes that it will clear up in time for the plane ride home. We also have to give her decongestant for her cold. Otherwise, she’s in fine shape – slightly delayed in some things (e.g., she can’t crawl yet), but the doctor said she’d catch up soon. She behaved well for the doctor and she said Norah was good-natured (obviously she hadn’t conferred with the nurses on this!). Five and a half hours later we were all done and headed back on the bus to the hotel. We took 15 minutes to regroup (translation – change diaper, eat Pringles and a protein bar) and a few of us decided to spend the rest of the day at the Zoo.

The Zoo was OK – nothing really special, other than the pandas. The most interesting part was the Special Small Creatures Club (or something like that – I can’t remember exactly, but it was a weird name). You had to pay to get in to this part, but there was a tear in the tent, so we took a peak. The creatures on display were domestic dogs. They had signs for each breed, just like they had signs for the lions, tigers, etc. It was weird to see Cocker Spaniels, Dalmatians, St. Bernards, etc. on display at a Zoo! The other interesting thing is that we seemed to be more interesting to people than most of the Zoo animals! People come up to us constantly. They try to make the babies smile and often tell us to bundle them up better – or just do it themselves. Now, the temperature has been about 18 Celsius for the last couple of days – we still have winter coats and hats on the girls, but that’s not enough for some of the local women. We were warned about this before we left, but experiencing it is another thing entirely. It feels weird to be stared at constantly, have people take your pictures, and touch your babies without asking. I’m sure by the time we leave we’ll be as used to it as Brad and Angelina. Then, just when we’re heady from the fame, we’ll come home.

Norah had a major meltdown in the cab on the way home. She tends to have at lest one of these a day where she is inconsolable for about 10-15 minutes. She just shrieks and flails about. She also tends to choose moments like when we’re in a confined space – e.g., a cab or the bus, so there’s not a whole lot we can do. We were with another couple (Heather and Paul) and their baby (Jocelyn). The poor cab driver started shaking his thermos at us. I think he was saying, “For God’s sake people, give the baby something to eat!” – you can see my Mandarin is getting really good. We made it home and Norah was spent – slept for about an hour. This gave us an opportunity to change her diaper without her screaming. The referral said she was a deep sleeper and we’re happy to say that this is very true in her case.

We actually got take-out tofu last night – a small reprieve from the Pringles, which, as you might recall, we’d already had for lunch. We fed Norah some rice cereal with bananas and she loved it. This helped her sleep a little longer. Doug has been getting up with her at night (this was night 2 where he’s done this) and this has helped with the bonding for him – and has also given me a much-needed break. I still wake up, but my arms get a rest from holding her.

I'll have to post pictures tomorrow - it doesn't seem to be working again tonight.

March 19 Great Wall Pictures

More March 19 Pictrues

Pictures at the jade factory and looking at the seals in the hotel.

March 19: The Great Wall

Today we went to the Great Wall. We first stopped for a tour of a jade factory. These tours are 5% tour and 95% sales job. Of course we tourists all buy things anyway! The ladies are very skilled at putting jade bangles on women – they use a plastic bag to get them on and off and choose the size that they think is right for you. It is Chinese custom for a woman to wear a jade bangle until her daughter is 18 and then she gives it to her to wear. So, I bought one – how could I resist when the woman told us that the colours would intensify over time and that by the time Norah was ready to wear it, it would be worth so much in value that it would be priceless? I did manage to get her down to a good price – for jade that is – jade is very expensive, as it turns out. I drove a surprisingly hard bargain – so much so that the sales lady leaned over after I negotiated with her manager and asked me not to tell anyone else in our group what I paid for the bracelet. The only problem now is that I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to get the bracelet off myself. I am not trained as the ladies at the factory are. And once I’m off my Pringles diet my wrist is sure to get bigger.

We then went to the Great Wall and climbed and climbed and climbed and then we climbed some more. Norah fell asleep in my arms on the bus, so Doug wore the carrier and we put her in it while she was still asleep. At this point Doug declared that “all Hell would break loose on the Great Wall” when Norah woke up to find that she was with Doug rather than me. Doug and Norah climbed to the point where most people stop, Norah had a bottle to psych herself up, and then they kept going. I went ahead of them to navigate the steps for Doug. Let me just say that the Great Wall is one looong wall! It goes on forever. Doug bought a t-shirt that says, “I climbed the Great Wall” - we couldn’t find one for Norah that said, “I slept through the Great Wall.”

We got home and a bunch of us went to see the seals that are in our hotel. Norah liked the seals but loved the running water in front of the seal tank even more. We were all pretty tired, so after another Pringles dinner (Norah had formula, in case you were concerned), we went to bed.

March 18: Norah is 9 months old!

Not much to report for this day. Norah has been sick and now Lisa is too. It's our first day back in Beijing after arriving late last night. Norah had her picture taken for her visa so she can enter Canada and we did yet more paperwork for her. We chilled in the afternoon to see if we could feel better for the excursion to the Great Wall tomorrow. Stayed in for dinner - Pringles again. It's the official food for Adoption Tour 2006 - I'm sure the local stores must stock up on them when new parents come to town. I think we all buy them because we actually know what they are and we can read the label. Interestingly, they're imported from Belgium. There's not much food to be found around this hotel - it's not located in a great area. I think I'm going to write a book when we get back - the Pringles Diet. It will be all the rage with the celebrities and maybe I'll be on Oprah. A tailor came to the hotel to measure us for dresses, jackets, etc. They will be custom-made for us out of 100% silk. I'm worried the dress I ordered won't fit once I'm off my Pringles diet.

Just one photo of Norah in her birthday suit.

March 17 Pictures

Blog wouldn't post pictures again, so we're posting them separately today. Pictures are of the following: Sara taking her first steps with Joanne and Doug; Norah walking (sort of) and showing off the sporty outfit that Lisa got as a gift from her students; Norah, Lisa, and Doug with the local guide, Glen, before leaving Nanning; Norah sitting in a highchair for the first time; Norah on the plane and loving it.

March 17: Beijing Welcomes Norah

It was a day of firsts today. Norah sat in a highchair for the first time, she stood with some assistance (ok it was a lot), Sara walked for the first time, and all the girls took their first flights. It was also the first leg of our journey from Norah’s old home to her new one. It was a long flight, but Norah was a trouper, she played for the first half of the flight and slept for the second half. Their was a new bed waiting for her in Beijing, unfortunately she doesn’t seem to approve-which is why we haven’t posted for a few days. We’re tired.

March 16 Pictures

We can't tell if the pictures from March 16 were actually posted, so we're posting them separately here. Not sure what order they'll be in, but we are posting the following: Orphanage Director and nannies waiting for us at the front gate; Welcoming at the orphanage; A picture of the new orphanage building; One of Norah's nannies talking to us with the assistance of our guide Glen; A nanny giving Lisa a diaper changing lesson (she rushed over when she saw Lisa was changing a diaper-she put the diaper on backwards....or we do every time)

March 16: Trip to Guiping Social Welfare Institute

Today we took a long road trip to Norah’s orphanage. The landscape was gorgeous on the way there. Didn’t get many good pictures though because we were going pretty quickly on the bus. It was a crazy bus ride – 11 newly adopted babies and their families on a bus traveling in southern China with 1.5 lanes. The rule of the road was the biggest vehicle gets to go first-that was usually us. The driver honks and the other car gets out of the way, regardless of which direction it is going in.

It was a very emotional day for all of us. This is something that we will share with Norah when she is older. There is not much that I want to say that is appropriate for a blog. The orphanage is in a very poor region. We had to walk up the road to get to it. The good news is that our children were in a new building, which was clean and bright. We got to see where our babies had slept and played. We also met the nannies and the orphanage director. It is obvious from the behaviour of the nannies that the babies were well cared for. Our group put together money and bought the orphanage a water heater, which the director proudly showed us. We were also greeted with a bounty of fruits, tea, and cookies and the director organized a lunch with us and the nannies. We finished the day in Guiping City by going to the finding spot for each baby, where each family could spend a moment.

We spoke with a nanny who cared for Norah and found out that Norah had been fostered for about half the time before we received her. It turned out to be a twelve hour day which ended with a chorus of screaming babies on the way back to Nanning—Norah led the pack and on a few occasions had a solo.

March 15 Pictures

These didn't post the first time. Pictures are of the following: Norah in her JLo outfit, one of her on the bus in her cute little hat, one of Doug and Norah at the top of the tower we climbed (it was very windy - isn't it sweet how she looks while Doug's protecting her!), and one of Doug H. and Joanne and Sara getting swarmed by a group of young girls asking questions and admiring Sara.

March 14 Pictures

Oops - pictures didn't post the first time. Here's one of Norah happy not to be unencumbered by clothing, us after the ceremony where we received our official adoption registration card, Norah making funny lips (does this a lot), Doug, Norah and I posing for a picture with the birthday cake for the one year olds (practicing for the real thing in June).

March 15: Much Progress

Today was a much better day than yesterday. We started with a bath and breakfast and then went to visit a park with a big tower with hundreds of steps that we all climbed. It was a great view. We also fed some fish (carp to be specific - I know this will be important to Rick), who went crazy fighting for the food. We then went to a famous Buddhist temple. In the afternoon, we walked with Doug, Joanne, and Sara to another park not far from our hotel. This place was gorgeous - it had a nice little lake, lots of flowers, and bridges. Norah slept through the whole thing. We also bought some squeaky shoes for her - these are worn by Chinese children - they squeak when the children walk, which they love. Good news for adults - you can remove the squeaker at any time and put it back in when you want.

Tomorrow promises to be perhaps the most significant so far. We will travel to Norah's orphanage in Guiping and visit there. We may get to meet the nanny(ies) who cared for her and we will also visit her finding spot and Guiping City. This is a 3-hour bus ride each way, so it will be a very long and emotional day for all the families.

Here's a list of what we've learned about Norah so far:
Things she hates: Having a bath, getting her diaper changed, laying on her back, laying on her stomach, getting dressed
Things she loves: The outside, other children, the water fountain in the hotel, her little piggy toy, her bottle, chicken (yes, you read that right) congee, cheerios, playing with spoons and chopsticks
Personality: People have commented that she is "shy" or "quiet". This is in contrast to many of the babies who smile a lot and squeal and like to be tickled and cajoled. We just think that she has discerning taste. She likes to take her time and size up a situation. She is very observant and is always watching others. Once she warms up though, she can be quite a little charmer. It's amazing how this matching process works, because I'm well aware that I've been described the same way (minus the charming part!). And certainly Doug is typically described as quiet. It's also neat that she loves people watching so much - very apropos for the daughter of two psychologists.
Progress Report: Norah smiled at us today - at us and not at someone else (unless there was someone behind us!); Norah sat by herself without crying - she played with us like this for a good half an hour; Norah ate mashed banana, peaches and chicken congee in addition to drinking her bottle; Norah made it for an entire day in the same outfit; we all ate outside the hotel together for the first time (Doug needed to take her for a few spins in the stroller, but we managed); Norah and I took a spin in the HipPanda (the carrier we bought for her - my back says thank you!); Norah let us put shoes on her (OK - she screamed the whole time, but once they were on, she seemed to enjoy them and played with her feet all day)

Just a few pictures - not sure of the order or if they are even posted - the Chinese is throwing me off tonight! One is of Norah in her JLo outfit, one of her on the bus, one of Doug and Norah at the top of the tower we climbed, and one of Doug H. and Joanne and Sara getting swarmed by a group of young girls asking questions and admiring Sara.

March 14, 2005: It's Official!

We had a bit of a rough day today. After less than 24 hours with our babies, we had to go to the Notary Office to finalize the adoption. This involved waiting for quite awhile and then an interview with an official who asked us basic questions such as our level of education, salary, etc. We also had to promise such things as to never abuse or abandon Norah and care for her as our own. This went fine, except that Norah began to shriek right before it was our turn to go in. She needed a bottle and we didn't have time to mix her one before it was our turn. I think the poor official felt badly for us. I could barely hear her questions over Norah's screaming. Regardless, she let us keep her anyway! We then went back to the same hotel where we received the babies. Another official made us make similar promises as the first. This was done as a group ceremony though. Then, the director from each orphanage (there are 2 different ones in our group) came up and gave each family a gift from the orphanage (as though Norah wasn't enough!). We were all quite thrilled and surprised to receive a set of pictures - some of Norah during her time in the orphanage and some of the city where she's from. I've never heard of this happening before so it was very unexpected. Needless to say there wasn't a dry eye in the place. It was an amazing gift.

We went to a department store in the afternoon. I bought a couple of new outfits for Norah, as she has been quite "productive" since she's been with us and we've had to make many clothes changes. Many of the babies are having problems in this regard, so we're quite lucky. She's also a great eater, although she mostly sticks to her formula. The evening was rough. I was only working on a half-hour of sleep from the night before and Doug was quite sleep deprived as well. We also have found it surprisingly difficult to find vegetarian options in China and the lack of food was taking its toll (Thank God for the 34 protein bars that we packed - I'll be very surprised if there will be any left by the end of the trip). It was an emotional day and Norah is quite "pettish" as her description suggested. I can't even imagine how her little mind is processing any of this. We capped off the day with a 1st birthday party for all the babies who had already turned one before being adopted. Apparently many schools get children to bring in a picture from their first birthday, so one of the parents ordered a cake and a picture was taken of each family with the cake. Norah fell asleep at the party, and she won't have her 1st birthday until June, but we got a picture taken anway. We all went to bed early. Norah woke up a number of times, but we all managed to get some much-needed sleep. I should also mention that Norah was fine with Doug holding her today, so my arms got some rest and Doug's lower back got a workout. Norah will not allow us to put her down, which is fine by us, but tiring. We haven't weighed her yet, but she is much chunkier than we were expecting - this is a good thing though.

Not too many pictures from today - forgot to download most of them and I'm too tired to do it now!

March 13: The Big Day!

Today was Gotcha Day - the day all our families received their babies. It's just after midnight in Nanning. Doug and Norah are both asleep. I'm pretty tired but wanted to post a few pictures. The day went quite well considering how stressful it was for the babies. They were bussed from the orphanage, which is about 3-4 hours from here. We all waited in a conference room in a hotel and the babies were brought in by their nannies. The families' names were called and we were given our babies one at a time. Norah was very quiet for a few minutes and we thought we had a "deer caught in the headlights" kind of baby. Then she started screaming and we realized we had a really angry baby. She refused to let Doug hold her and barely tolerated me. I can tell you that she is quite strong and arches her back well! We've learned quickly that she lets you know when she wants something. She cried herself to sleep and we all went for a 15-minute bus ride back to our hotel. Unfortunately, we had to have our official family picture taken (for her paperwork) and they had to wake her up for this. She was not pleased. We took her to our room and she sucked back a bottle petty quickly. Many other babies refused to eat, so we were lucky - and she didn't mind the bottles we brought. We took her out into the hallway and discovered that she's very sociable. She loves other children. The Rodmans have their son Ian with them (4 years old, I think). She loves him. She gets excited when she sees him and claps and coos. She also likes to pull other babies' hair (that's a form of sociability, isn't it?) and isn't happy when we make her stop. She ate some cheerios and then we took her for a walk in her stroller in the hallway. She fell asleep in it and slept through us getting dinner. She then woke up long enough for us to take her out of the stroller and put her on the bed. Doug was so empathic that he slept with her. She woke up about 3.5 hours later, screamed bloody murder for a bottle and drank it and a bit of another one. Then she fell asleep again (oh, and need I mention that Doug did too?). So, all in all, not bad.

So far she wants to be held all the time (except for her little stroller jaunt) and will only let me hold her. I think she prefers me because I'm female, however, when she looks at my face and sees that I'm not someone she's used to, she cries. Doug fed her her second bottle tonight, so we'll work on the holding tomorrow. My arms are already killing me - I knew I should have worked on the upper body strength before getting here! Tomorrow we process the actual adoption paperwork. Right now we're in what they call the "harmonious period" where we have her, but she is not legally ours yet. Tomorrow we make it official.

Here' a couple of pictures - one of our group in out hotel before leaving to get the babies, the other of Doug and I receiving Norah.

P.S. I hope this posts OK - the computer and Internet is in Chinese and I'm just guessing at things based on their placement and colour!

P.P.S. We can't see the blog from here or read comments, so if you want to communicate with us, please email. You can press the link on the blog that says email and the message will come to my account.

Gotcha Day Pictures

Pictures are: Norah being sociable in the hallway, Norah when we first received her, Doug and Norah - 1st sleep of the night, Norah in the stroller, Norah with her stuffed piggy (which she loves to suck on)