Day 6 Day 1 with Scarlett (aka Tong Tong) Tuesday, 8/9/16

Our first night went much better than we’d expected. Scarlett fell asleep on her own in her crib (it’s a pack-n-play), and slept there from 8p-midnight. She woke up fussing, so I picked her up and brought her into bed with us (with the bottle that is her pacifier). She slept off and on- she rolls around a lot and would wake up fussing from time to time until I put the bottle in her mouth. Nathan and I were up at 5am, and she slept until 7am. We got her dressed and headed down for our first breakfast together. This experience was similar to dinner. She lit up and really enjoyed her meal. I love watching her advanced eating skills. She ate with an adult sized fork and would not let us feed her at all, except to help her stab food if she’s struggling. Her foster grandma did such an amazing job with her in this area!

Nathan and I were able to enjoy our meal and have 2 cups of coffee (the coffee at our hotel is amazing).

After breakfast, we got our things together and headed to meet Kasumi and our driver to head back to the adoption center to finalize the adoption. The orphanage representative (I don’t think she’s the director) met us there. Scarlett fell asleep in my arms while and slept for the entire 1.5 hours that we were there.

It was nice- her and I sat on the couch with a fan on us while daddy took care of the paperwork (after years of being the paperwork patrol, I was happy to let him handle this). We got Scarlett’s finding ad- the ad that was put in the Chinese newspaper to try and find her parents when she was a baby. It’s neat to have this. It’s in black and white, but it’s her 3 month old baby pic. We also got her Chinese vaccination record. It’s in a little book like the ones my kids got as newborns from their pediatricians. I can’t read it, but it’s neat to have! We also got our adoption certificate and donation certificate. The adoption center gave us a gift for Scarlett- the fabric from one of the ethnic groups here. I’ll ask our guide more about it so I can tell Scarlett what exactly it is! They made me wake her up so we could take a pic with the orphanage director and officials. She did good despite and fell back asleep after the picture. The orphanage rep was concerned about why she was sleeping so much and was asking Constantine to translate for her. I guess I just assumed that she takes a morning nap, but not according to the rep from the orphanage. She said something about us feeding her too much… I explained to her that she didn’t sleep great for her first night and was probably exhausted from all of the craziness of the past few days. She was nice about it, but I wonder if this woman has kids of her own?

Being the only family here from our agency has its advantages. These appointments would take much longer if there were other families with us, but because it’s just us, we’re in and out pretty quick! The other advantage is that we can be more flexible with the schedule and do whatever we feel like. I do wish there was another couple with us, but we’re enjoying this time as a threesome!

After the appointment, we went back to the same restaurant from lunch yesterday- it’s right by our hotel and so delicious! This time, Kasumi came with us, so she knew just how to order. We got 3 dishes- a beef dish, an eggplant dish, and a chicken dish. All were amazing, and miss Scarlett enjoyed herself, too. She kept pointing at the adult sized chopsticks, so we gave them to her and boy was that fun to watch! I’m amazed at her fine motor skills. She can teach us how to use these things (we’re getting pretty good at it now, actually). After lunch, we headed to Walmart- it’s about a 15 minute walk from our hotel. The sidewalks are crowded with people and scooters parked everywhere (the mo ped kind). People have alarms on them- it’s funny. I could sit and people watch here all day. Seriously, so entertaining! It was interesting trying to maneuver the stroller up and down stairs as we had to go through the underground shops to cross the streets- this is a unique experience that I won’t forget! It was sunny and hot here but not too humid today- felt a lot like a Kansas summer day. I guess I’m used to the humidity, but to many it’d be pretty humid, I guess. We walked along a river front to Walmart- the view of the buildings was just so beautiful.

We picked up pacifiers (hoping to get her to stop using the bottle as her comfort- so far not working, we got bottled water (can’t drink the tap water here), some small eating utensils for Scarlett since she doesn’t use her hands to eat and everything is adult sized, big chopsticks to bring home, and a suitcase we can use for souvenirs. It was so nice to have Kasumi there with us. She is so helpful with carrying things- doesn’t need to be asked, just knows what to do. She does keep trying to hold Scarlett. She’s just trying to be helpful, but I told her that with our adoption training, we’ve been told that only Nathan and I should hold her, feed her, etc… until she attaches to us. It’s a tough position to be put in because I know that she just wants to be helpful and I don’t want to hurt her feelings, but I need to do what’s best for my baby.

We walked back to the hotel- we were all super tired and sweaty by the time we got back. We laid Scarlett down for a nap and this is when I write in my journal or work on the blog posts. They aren’t posting on the internet very good, but I think I can post them in Guangzhou. When she woke up, we ventured out to find the Irish pub that another adoptive family had told us about. Kasumi explained how to get to that area, too- there’s also a pizza hut and starbucks there. Today was the Chinese Valentine’s Day, so the streets were lined with people. It was so busy! We were right there in the thick of it. It’s pretty different being in a country where you don’t speak the language and there are no other Americans around! We were approached by an older man that clearly wanted to know what we were doing with Scarlett. Most people just stare, but this man was more aggressive. Nathan luckily had this card that our agency had given us with the explanation about why we are here. It basically says, “We love China and are here to adopt our daughter. We will teach her about her heritage.” The man smiled, gave us the thumbs up and walked away. Phew! It definitely made me uncomfortable though. We kept walking and walking and realized that we must have passed it. We turned around and came back to an intersection where I just had a feeling we needed to turn. By this time I was so sweaty- I was baby wearing Scarlett. And all 3 of us were hungry. Not far down the road there it was. Starbucks, pizza hut, and across the street an Irish Pub. We walked in and… bliss!! They were playing American music, they spoke English, and we could read the menu! I had a cheeseburger and fries, Nathan had some bbq. Scarlett had her first French fry. She loved it, of course!

We got back to the hotel later than we wanted to, and Scarlett was wide awake and playful when we got there, so we called the kids. Her and Chase had some fun interactions- they were mimicking each other (one of her favorite things), and Chase more than happy to entertain her. She has the cutest little laugh and voice. We can’t understand what she’s saying, but she’s talking to us a lot. She was so full of joy- we cherish these moments when she’s bonding with us. We got Scarlett to bed around 10pm, and we weren’t far behind her. We did a lot of walking today. A lot. I can see why the Chinese are mostly so small- their diet is super healthy and healing, and they walk a lot!