CHINA: DAY 7

Monday, November 14th, 2005

08:30pm - China
Hi everyone this is Kristine, I have taken over for Greg while he is attending to Annierae. It's been a rough day for him as Annierae is having some bonding & attachment issues with him (and most other males it seems).

In any case, we had a free day today after a busy Gotcha Day, by the way the adoption was complete yesterday so Annierae is officially ours. Gotcha Day is a very emotional day we had to fly out of Beijing early to Chongqing then we had to complete some paperwork at the hotel before we left for the Civil Affairs Office to meet our babies. It was hard to concentrate on filing out the paperwork when I had discovered there was an update photo (passport picture) of Annierae in the back. She looked so different from her referral pictures and she had HAIR!!! She actually has a ton of thick black wavy hair so I don't have to worry about duck taping bows to her head.

When we arrived at the Civil Affairs Office we had to go up in small groups because the elevators were tiny. Greg and I were in the second round to go up and as soon as the doors opened you could hear the babies. A lot of them were crying, some were in walkers and others were being held by caretakers. We couldn't find Annierae it was so hard to get a really good look at the babies especially through a sea of tears. Annierae was the one who found us or at least Greg. She was in one of the walkers and was watching and following Greg around in the walker. I didn't realize it was her but I kept taking her picture because she was so captivated with Greg. When they called our name and handed us Annierae I couldn't believe it was the little one following him around.

We had our picture taken, put our fingerprints in red ink on the paperwork and then we received the adoption certificate. We left the Civil Affairs office and headed back to the hotel. On the way back Michael our local tour guide handed us a copy of the local newspaper for that day and her finding ad. The finding ad is what is put in the local newspaper after the babies are found for any family members to come forward and claim the child.

When we got back to the hotel we went up to the room and stayed there the rest of the day. We played with some toys and Annierae took her first tub bath and loved it. She took a bottle and went to bed.

Today Annierae had some Congee for breakfast and loved it she is one of the smaller babies in the group but is taking her bottle and eating very well. By the way Nancy she is wearing 6-12 month clothes and they fit well I brought some size 3 shoes and they fit as well. I don't know how much she weighs but after her physical I will post that info. Most of the babies in our group are wearing 12-18 months. All the babies in our group are doing well some of the babies have colds but that was to be expected. Shiyan our Bethany guide told us that the babies at our orphanage are well taken care of and actually receive physical therapy everyday. She said each baby gets 10 minutes of individual exercise for musical development and spend time in a pool floating. We are hoping to take Annierae later for a swim the hotel has an indoor pool.

We are praying for the Bethany families that leave on Thursday for safe travels. Enjoy your time in Beijing we loved the city and learned so much about the Chinese culture.

That's all I have for now and not to disappoint here are a few more photos.






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05:00am - China
Good morning all! Well Annierae slept most of the night. She went to bed around 10:30pm after her first bath here at the hotel. She is definitely a wiggle-worm while sleeping, I'm convinced she explored every inch of her crib and slept at least 5 minutes in each place. She finally decided to get up a few minutes ago for breakfast - which she downed quickly. So our day is starting early and I thought I'd post a few pics from last night.













After Kristine & I eat this morning, were all gathering in the lobby at 10:00am to go shopping with our new daughters - sounds expensive :) I'll post more pictures from Day 7 later tonight our time. For now, back to snuggling Annierae as we get some wonderful quality time early this morning!