| Day 4 - 2/7/2012 |
Wow, I'm not going to lie. Today was tough, full of lots of highs
and plenty of lows. As has been the case since we got here we
got up super early this morning. Bill got up around midnight and
Tyler and I got up around 3. Tyler has been super good though.
He wakes up early and always chooses then to do his
homework. Vivian only woke up a couple of times during the
night to cry a few seconds and then fall right back to sleep. She
woke up around 5, but snuggled with me for about an hour
before deciding she was ready to really greet the world.
After breakfast we headed out at 9:30 am again to head back to
the civil affairs office to talk with the officials and finalize the
adoption. The paperwork we signed yesterday was only giving
us rights as temporary caretakers overnight. Today we officially
became a family of 4 and were given our official adoption
certificate. She is now a member of the Rose family!
The deputy director of the orphanage was again there and had
brought a few more things for us, her vaccination records, some
Chinese children's music, and a little photo book of Vivian over
the years. We were surprised by this, but so thankful to have a
little bit more of her history to share with her when she gets
older.
and plenty of lows. As has been the case since we got here we
got up super early this morning. Bill got up around midnight and
Tyler and I got up around 3. Tyler has been super good though.
He wakes up early and always chooses then to do his
homework. Vivian only woke up a couple of times during the
night to cry a few seconds and then fall right back to sleep. She
woke up around 5, but snuggled with me for about an hour
before deciding she was ready to really greet the world.
After breakfast we headed out at 9:30 am again to head back to
the civil affairs office to talk with the officials and finalize the
adoption. The paperwork we signed yesterday was only giving
us rights as temporary caretakers overnight. Today we officially
became a family of 4 and were given our official adoption
certificate. She is now a member of the Rose family!
The deputy director of the orphanage was again there and had
brought a few more things for us, her vaccination records, some
Chinese children's music, and a little photo book of Vivian over
the years. We were surprised by this, but so thankful to have a
little bit more of her history to share with her when she gets
older.
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After our meeting we did a little shopping in order to get Vivian some clothes that will actually fit her.
Nothing really caught my eye and the cost of clothing has really gone up in China, but I had to get her
something so I pieced a few things together.
get her to nap while Bill and Tyler went over to KFC. Yeah, we've had KFC for lunch 2 days in a row,
but the KFCs here are nothing like the ones in the States. Yes, they have the fried chicken and the
mashed potatoes, but the coleslaw is something totally different and they serve things like soup,
rice bowls with spicy chicken and mushrooms and traditional Chinese favorites like egg custard
tarts. It was funny because Jane mentioned to Bill that KFC has the best egg custard tart in China.
Are you serious? A fast food chain has the best traditional Chinese food? She was right, they were
awesome, but enough about KFC.
I managed to get Vivian to lay down for a nap after a bit of a crying fit, but she only slept for maybe a
half an hour, not her normal 2 hours. This made for a very difficult afternoon. We basically stayed in
the room all afternoon. I cuddled with her on the chair for a while in the hopes that she would fall
asleep again, but no such luck. She seemed to be OK for most of the afternoon, but as the day wore
on you could tell she was getting tired as she was getting clumsy and fell over once. Around dinner
time we decided to head out and eat. When we got to the restaurant she started crying off and on
which made us try to get done as soon as possible. Anytime she saw a waitress she would start to
cry. I think the outfits they were wearing reminded her of her nannies at the orphanage. Then she
would see a little girl or boy walk by and start to whimper. I think they reminded her of friends back at
the orphanage. Poor thing. Then once we left the restaurant and got back to the hotel and on our
floor she stated screaming uncontrollably. And I kid you not when I said she screamed. She nearly
broke my eardrum as I tried to get her our of her clothes for a bath. After the world's quickest bath
with the screams reverberating off of the tile walls we got her into bed and managed to get her to
relax with a warm bottle. She konked out not long after that.
Bill and I were prepared for the fact that this adoption was probably not going to be as easy as
Tyler's was. She's a bit older than Tyler was and has forged some seemingly impenetrable
relationships with the nannies and children there. We knew bonding would probably take longer to
happen because of this. We were hoping for the best, but expected the worst. I don't want to say it's
been the worst case scenario, but when you're running on lack of sleep and your child is screaming
so loud that you're sure the neighbors think you're beating your child it sure seems that way.
Tomorrow is going to be tough as well. It's the day we'll be visiting her orphanage. It's a 2 hour trip
out there and we'll spend about 40 minutes there before turning around and heading back. We're
really looking forward to and are hoping by some minor miracle that we don't have a total meltdown
like we did today.
This video below is from yesterday during our first meeting at the civil affairs office. She has the best
belly laugh and the loudest scream, but I think I'll spare your ear drums and not film her screaming.
Darn that Year of the Ox personality!
Nothing really caught my eye and the cost of clothing has really gone up in China, but I had to get her
something so I pieced a few things together.
get her to nap while Bill and Tyler went over to KFC. Yeah, we've had KFC for lunch 2 days in a row,
but the KFCs here are nothing like the ones in the States. Yes, they have the fried chicken and the
mashed potatoes, but the coleslaw is something totally different and they serve things like soup,
rice bowls with spicy chicken and mushrooms and traditional Chinese favorites like egg custard
tarts. It was funny because Jane mentioned to Bill that KFC has the best egg custard tart in China.
Are you serious? A fast food chain has the best traditional Chinese food? She was right, they were
awesome, but enough about KFC.
I managed to get Vivian to lay down for a nap after a bit of a crying fit, but she only slept for maybe a
half an hour, not her normal 2 hours. This made for a very difficult afternoon. We basically stayed in
the room all afternoon. I cuddled with her on the chair for a while in the hopes that she would fall
asleep again, but no such luck. She seemed to be OK for most of the afternoon, but as the day wore
on you could tell she was getting tired as she was getting clumsy and fell over once. Around dinner
time we decided to head out and eat. When we got to the restaurant she started crying off and on
which made us try to get done as soon as possible. Anytime she saw a waitress she would start to
cry. I think the outfits they were wearing reminded her of her nannies at the orphanage. Then she
would see a little girl or boy walk by and start to whimper. I think they reminded her of friends back at
the orphanage. Poor thing. Then once we left the restaurant and got back to the hotel and on our
floor she stated screaming uncontrollably. And I kid you not when I said she screamed. She nearly
broke my eardrum as I tried to get her our of her clothes for a bath. After the world's quickest bath
with the screams reverberating off of the tile walls we got her into bed and managed to get her to
relax with a warm bottle. She konked out not long after that.
Bill and I were prepared for the fact that this adoption was probably not going to be as easy as
Tyler's was. She's a bit older than Tyler was and has forged some seemingly impenetrable
relationships with the nannies and children there. We knew bonding would probably take longer to
happen because of this. We were hoping for the best, but expected the worst. I don't want to say it's
been the worst case scenario, but when you're running on lack of sleep and your child is screaming
so loud that you're sure the neighbors think you're beating your child it sure seems that way.
Tomorrow is going to be tough as well. It's the day we'll be visiting her orphanage. It's a 2 hour trip
out there and we'll spend about 40 minutes there before turning around and heading back. We're
really looking forward to and are hoping by some minor miracle that we don't have a total meltdown
like we did today.
This video below is from yesterday during our first meeting at the civil affairs office. She has the best
belly laugh and the loudest scream, but I think I'll spare your ear drums and not film her screaming.
Darn that Year of the Ox personality!