Tuesday, June 28, 2011
ADOPTION DAY
Today we returned to the Civil Affairs office to officially
adopt Callie. We had to answer questions from the official
asking if we were certain that we wanted to adopt her and
promise never to abuse, neglect or abandon her. I was a little
concerned she wouldn’t understand when the orphanage officials
who brought her to us yesterday showed up, but I was worried for
nothing. Callie smiled broadly at them and greeted them with a
hug, then returned to her seat between Maili and Holt. She put
her thumb on the ink pad and placed her thumb print next to ours
on the adoption decree, smiling as her photo was made. I don’t
know if she understood the significance of what was happening,
but she was certainly happy enough to participate in the process
and leave with her forever family.
She has continued to be just as happy and easygoing today as she
was yesterday, and she’s become very affectionate with us as
well, giving us the sweetest hugs and kisses when we least
expect them. Holt continues to be the primary object of her
affection, and she will frequently take his hand and stroke her
face with it or take her hand and stroke his. Last night we took
her shopping at the grocery store near our hotel, where she
giggled as she tried to convince us to buy her little snacks and
treats. She would get so excited over every little thing, and
would spontaneously hug and kiss me while I was pushing her in
the cart. She loves to parrot back to us everything we say to
her, and she is so smart and such a fast learner that I think
she will learn English in no time. We had been a little
concerned about the language barrier adopting an older child,
but it hasn’t been an issue. She is very good at getting her
point across, and she has the funniest sense of humor when she
is making fun of things we do that she finds strange. When she
saw Jamie putting several packets of sweetener in his coffee,
she pantomimed tearing open packets and shaking them into her
drink, saying “baba” and giggling wildly. She let me know in no
uncertain terms this morning that she did not appreciate the way
I was styling her hair. She evidently prefers a much greater
variety of hair accessories adorning her her hair than what I
was offering. I tried unsuccessfully to style her hair with a
single bow on top like Maili prefers to wear; she was very
insistent that I wasn’t using nearly enough ponytail holders and
bows and that she preferred the more elaborate style that the
orphanage nannies apparently gave her. She would feel around on
top of her head, shake her finger at me, and run to the mirror
and shake her head. We finally compromised on three, but she
made sure I knew that she wasn’t happy about it. I had to hide
the bag of hairbows, she kept trying to sneak into my suitcase
and add more. She has very definite opinions about what she
likes. Every time we passed a store with earrings today, she
made certain I knew that she wants her ears pierced like her big
sister’s. We will definitely take care of that when we get home.
She also insisted that I buy her a rhinestone tiara hair comb ,
and she promptly perched it on her head like the princess she
is. If I didn’t know better I’d think she’s been taking lessons
from Princess Maili.
She doesn't seem to want any of us out of her sight, and when
Jamie left the table to visit the breakfast buffet this morning
, she yelled “Baba, Baba” until she spotted him across the room,
then she went running to him, took his hand and led him back to
the table, pointing at his chair and ordering him to sit down.
She has wanted him to carry her a little today, since she does
seem to get out of breath when we walk a lot. We were told by
the orphanage officials that she was taken off her heart
medication because her heart was doing ok, so it will be
interesting to see what the cardiologist has to say when we
return home. She seems to be pretty healthy, aside from getting
out of breath easily with strenuous exercise. She is very tiny
and petite, appearing more like a 3 or 4 year old than the same
age as Maili. She came to us wearing bloomers that were 9 months
baby size and they were almost too big. No doubt she will grow
quickly when we get her home, although probably not as quickly
as Maili, who grew 8 inches in two years! At any rate Maili is
thoroughly enjoying being the big sister, although there are
moments when she needs a little extra attention from Mom and
Dad, which we gladly provide.
It’s been interesting to note Maili’s reaction to being back in
China. She wants so badly to speak Chinese, and I can tell that
it upsets her not to be able to respond to the people who try to
talk to her on the street. She has learned exactly one phrase in
Chinese, and she uses it often: I don’t speak Chinese. I am
American.” She seems a little sad that she can’t relate to all
things Chinese any more, and when I asked her how she feels
about being back in China, she said “It’s weird, Mom. Just
weird. I need to learn Chinese.” She has requested that she be
allowed to take formal Chinese classes when we get home and I’m
planning to check into it, since it seems important to her. She
doesn’t even prefer Chinese food anymore, and has barely eaten
anything but American food since we’ve been here, with the
exception of the dumpling house, which she thoroughly enjoyed .
Callie, on the other hand, seems to enjoy just about any type of
food, although she does appear to have been very well fed and
doesn’t overeat or hoard food like Maili had a tendency to do in
the beginning. She seems to be a good sleeper as well, going
down easily for bedtime and naps and sleeping soundly in the bed
with Maili. They both took a 4 hour nap today after sleeping
well last night.
We have been truly blessed that Callie’s adjustment so far has
gone so incredibly smoothly; she is an absolute joy and it is
amazing how obedient and easygoing she is. We had prepared
ourselves for a difficult transition, and so far she has just
blended into our family beautifully with barely a ripple. No
doubt things will not always be this easy, but we are thankful
that at least our time in China has been an awesome experience
so far. Thanks to all who have left comments on the guestbook ,
we treasure all of your well wishes and prayers and I know
Callie will too when we share them with her one day. Keep them
coming! |
Making it official
On the way to the Civil Affairs office
First photo as a family of 5
Noodle girls
Loving on GeGe
Looking at family photos
Our Callie
Happy girl |
