Paperwork Day

May 29, 2012

-Annemarie-

Just a quick note to say hello and give an update on how we are doing. We spent the morning back in the Civil Affairs office doing paperwork. Matthew slept ALL NIGHT last night, from 8pm until 7am. Wow! I don’t think Maya or Sam ever did that, especially the first few nights we had them.

Matthew is not showing much interest in solid foods (although the woman from the orphanage reports that he eats them regularly) but he loves being fed a bottle, so we’re sticking with that for now. He’s doing SO well—such a sweet boy with kind brown eyes. He continues to suck his thumb, and he’s really mellow. But he’s also starting to engage with both Aaron and me. He likes to raise arms up and down: “Up and Down,” we say as we hold his hands, and he grins at us. He’s also taken to holding our hands and trying to walk around. When I think of all he’s gone through the past 48 hours, I’m amazed that he’s as solid and steady as he is. We are giving him plenty of hugs, kisses, and snuggles—virtually all the time, except for sleeping time. It feels like making up for lost time in many ways.

We’ve been so encouraged by all the other folks here adopting children. Today at the Civil Affairs office, I had a wonderful conversation with a family from the Netherlands who are here adopting their third daughter. It was neat to hear about their process (very different from ours) and imagine their adorable daughter growing up speaking Dutch instead of English.

We are thinking about changing hotels this weekend, and moving into the downtown area to The Garden Hotel. It’s another hotel recommended by our agency, and there’s really no reason to move except we think the change might be good for us. We’re in Guangzhou 11 nights all told, and we think a little move and new space in the middle might feel really good. Plus we’ll be in the same hotel as other WACAP families and can possibly do some meals or activities with them.

Just wanted to also give a little shout out to Sarah Gao, who is our WACAP guide here in Guangzhou. She’s fantastic—so patient with all my questions, so good at the process and guiding us through, and also so fun. We actually hope she comes to Seattle again soon so maybe she’ll come visit us. We get on so well with her, and it’s wonderful to have someone who can translate for us and help us navigate this journey.

That’s all for now—Matthew’s sound asleep in his crib (mid-day nap) and Aaron’s watching soccer (AGAIN!). We just had cheese and crackers for lunch, as we’re a little tired of eating out, and we plan a walk on Shamian Island and a trip to the playground this afternoon. A pretty relaxing day for us in all.