Trip to China
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Wednesday, July 18, 2007 Oscar is beginning to come out of his shell slowly. We actually got to see him act like a true toddler this afternoon. He loves to play with Chris. Chris tries to hide and Oscar tries to find him, and when Chris pops his head up, Oscar just rolls around on the bed giggling. I love the sound of my son’s laughter. It melts my heart when he smiles at me. His eyes have this mischievous 2 year-old sparkle to them that make me realize once he starts to fully become comfortable with us, we are going to have our hands full! We are so thankful, though, to finally be his forever family. This is the greatest gift anyone could ever receive. Here are some little quirks about Oscar’s personality. He falls asleep every time we are in the van. He hates to have food on him and will quickly point if any food falls on his hands while eating for me to wipe. He picks up all the crumbs from his food and hands them to me. When he is nervous or anxious, he takes his hand and rubs the side of his neck and his ear. His little 2 year-old mind is working a mile a minute to try to figure out things. For instance, he likes for me to open my water bottle and hand him the cap. Then when I am finished drinking he likes to try and twist the cap back onto the bottle. He likes to wave goodbye to the waitresses in the hotel restaurant. They all love him and he loves the attention from the ladies…go figure! I have been carrying Oscar in the Ergo carrier. Yes, I know I am crazy for this since it is nearly 100 degrees and horrifically humid in Wuhan, but he won’t let me put him down quite yet and this helps make him feel more secure. So we are both hot, but he seems very content in the Ergo. Hopefully by the time we get to Guangzhou, he’ll try the stroller. I will say that I love the Ergo and think it is an excellent carrier. I highly recommend it even in the dead of summer! We went to visit the orphanage today for a tour. Dr. Chen was very gracious and allowed us to visit certain areas of the orphanage. One of the former directors was also at the orphanage and she was very helpful for us. She noticed Oscar’s cough and quickly escorted us to the medical floor of the facility. One of the pediatricians checked out Oscar and provided us with 2 medications. We are very grateful since the Tylenol cough and cold medicine does not appear to be helping him. Over 600 children live at the Wuhan orphanage with 50% in foster care. The orphanage appeared pretty empty while we were there. We went into the baby room where we were not allowed to take photos. There were maybe 6 babies in the whole room. Apparently Oscar had spent time in this room when he first came to the orphanage before going to foster care. Dr. Chen said that Oscar was sick a lot before having his cleft lip surgery. Most all of the children at Wuhan orphanage are special needs or older. Six of the older children scored very well on their college exams and will be attending college in the Fall. The orphanage staff said they are very proud of these children. The orphanage is very large with a music room, physical therapy rooms, playrooms, classrooms, and a clinic. We were very impressed with the staff and the conditions at the orphanage. The most important part of this visit came when I asked to see the original copy of Oscar’s birth note that was left with him when he was abandoned. The photocopy we received we could tell had been cut off so we were curious about what the remainder of the note said. Dr. Chen allowed us to see the note and Ivan, our guide, translated. I do not want to go into detail on what the note said because I believe this is personal information that Oscar can choose to share once he is older if he wishes. Suffice it to say, the note offered Chris and me great comfort and brought tears to our eyes. Oscar was definitely loved by his birth parents. We are so thankful for this information and hope that it will provide some sense of comfort to Oscar when he is older. Sadly, Dr. Chen would not allow us to have a full photocopy of the note. We did take a photo of the note and our guide said he would fully translate it for us. So at least that is something. As I said, we are just extremely happy to have this information.

Oscar and Ma Ma Outside the White Swan Gates to the Wuhan Children’s Welfare Institute Orphanage Playground Oscar and Ma Ma in Front of Statue at Entry to Orphanage Oscar’s Finding Spot the Hakou Long- Distance Bus Station Oscar Lounging Around

Next stop was the finding spot. Visiting here after reading the birth note was even harder. Since Oscar was asleep in the Ergo and traffic was extremely crazy (when isn’t it in China?!?), Chris and our guide went inside the bus station and took a lot of photos. An employee questioned them as to why they were taking photos, but our guide explained and Chris was allowed to continue photographing the area. Oscar is an amazing sleeper so far. We hope he stays this way once he is home with us. So far he takes an afternoon nap for 2 hours and sleeps through the night. He does actively dream so when he wakes from a dream he looks to me and cries a little, but then calms right down and back to sleep. He also takes little mini naps whenever we are in the van. Tomorrow is some more site seeing with Ivan. We will visit a museum and the Yellow Crane Tower. We are expecting another hot one tomorrow. Thanks to all of you for signing the guest book. I just love opening up my email and seeing all of your messages for us. Your words are all so heartfelt and meaningful and I know Oscar will appreciate them as he gets older.

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