Day 3 in Nanchang

We arrived in Nanchang on Sunday and have spent two very full days here! We got Coee yesterday, so that was a very intense day with our emotions, being part of 11 other families getting their children, knowing that taking Coee away from all that she knows is so hard for her, and all the other things that go into an adoption of an 11 month old little girl.

Last night Coee cried until about 10:00, her normal bedtime is 8:00. But once she got to sleep, she did great. She is a "loud" sleeper. She "talked" a lot in her sleep and moved around from one end of the crib to the other all night long, but she didn't cry at all. Dillon got in bed with me around 3:00 am, wide awake. I was trying to get him to go back to sleep but he ended up watching her move around in her crib and we both were laughing at 3:00 am!! Dillon gave up on sleeping at around 4:00 so he woke Trey up (didn't know he was going to do that) and they started watching movies and didn't go back to sleep until tonight at 8:00 pm.

Today was a whole different ballgame with her. She was happy, content, and ate good. She seems to take after her big brother Dillon a bit, in that she is very funny. She likes to mimic faces we make, specializing in sticking her tongue out, nodding her head, throwing her head back and - the specialty- an excellent fish face (see picture below). She did get fussy with us when we woke her up from her nap at 3:30 and put her on the bus with us for our trip to Super Wal-Mart! Yes, they have them in China too. If you think the Friday after Thanksgiving is busy in the US, just come to Wal-Mart in China on a Monday! There were 74 check-out lanes. The Wal Mart is three stories, so they have an escalator that you can take your cart on.

We felt like Brad and Angelina, with all of the people staring at us. Most would stare, smile, giggle, wave and say "hi", just wanting us to say something to them. I mean everyone was staring at us!! Trey and Dillon had their own followers, mostly teenage girls. They would stand and stare, giggle and wave. I think it goes without saying, Trey and Dillon were not amused and did not go along with the "Come on, just wave. It will make their day." attitude.

We spent the morning finalizing the adoption of Coee. We first went back to the adoption affairs office to have an "interview" with an adoption official. They took a picture of Coee, Terrell and I for a "family" picture as well as one of just her for her passport. Then, we went to a notary and then to the police department for them to have a record of Coee's face. Three stops, about three hours, it's done. We walked out and I said "That was easy." What I have always heard is true: Once your daughter is placed in your arms, the wait will melt away. Three years, a two inch thick dossier, countless "hoops" to jump through over and over again. She is so worth it! And as of today, it is official............she is our little girl!

When I say "we" did this and that, I mean the group of eleven families traveling with us. We have a guide named Dennis. He is awesome. He does everything from having our bags picked up and taken to the airport to check for us to bringing us the formula and rice cereal our babies are used to, to taking us to Wal Mart to "supervising" Trey and Dillon's hide-and-seek game in the hall, because someone was cheating. (I have no idea how you hide in a hotel hall, but Dillon quit playing tonight because he could never find Trey's hiding place.) Dennis will stay with us the whole two weeks. Trey and Dillon love him and are always saying that they are running down to Dennis' room to see what he is doing. They can tell you exactly where he is anytime of the day.

It's 9:00 pm here and all three (THREE!) of our kids are down for the night. We made Trey and Dillon stay up later than 7:00 tonight so maybe there won't be movies at 3:00 am. Coee fought hard again tonight, but finally fell asleep about 8:45. We have a free day tomorrow, but Dennis has offered to take us to the Pedestrian Avenue where there is lots of shopping and touristy shops. Trey and Dillon are ready to shop.

Thank you for all the comments. We love to read them. Keep them coming!

Love,
Terrell, Michelle, Trey, Dillon and Coee