We are officially a family of four!

I am sorry we haven’t posted sooner. We have had a rough couple of days and we don’t have free and easy Internet access here at our hotel in Chongqing. We arrived here yesterday morning (Monday) and checked into our hotel. We had a couple of hours to unpack and “get ready”, whatever that means. We headed over to the local civil affairs office and after waiting just a few minutes they began calling family names at around 4 PM. I think we were the second or third family of our group of 11 families to receive their child. One of the Nannies was holding Avery who was dressed in a cute yellow and pink outfit with matching yellow shoes. She started crying the moment she was handed to me (as was I a bit), and she was very, very unhappy with all this. She tried to push and turn away from me and was clearly looking for someone else to save her from us. I knew that this response was likely and truly healthy as she shouldn't be happy to be handed to strangers that look, smell and talk completely different then she is used to, but it doesn’t make any less heart breaking when I just couldn't console her. Add the fact that it is extremely hot and humid here, in fact the nickname for Chongqing is Furnace city, I was a mess. I think it only took about 30-45 minutes for everyone to receive their child, sign a form (we returned today for the rest of the paperwork) and head to our bus to go back to the hotel. But she cried the whole time. She did finally stop when we got on the bus and it started moving. Back at the hotel, Camden & I spent the next hour getting to know her and showing her a few of the small toys that we brought for her while Doug handled a mountain of paperwork. Camden was very sweet with her and said, “I am so happy that we have Avery. I love her already.” That of course melted my heart but today he has a little less patience with her on and off crying. She did warm to Camden and I and even played a bit with the toys. But sadly that changed when Doug returned from doing paperwork. She doesn't care much for him and cries when he trys to hold her, get to close or even talk to her. I know this makes him a little sad. She did sleep well her first night, 11 hours straight, which was definitely a blessing as we really all needed a good night sleep. Today was another roller coaster ride, with lots and lots of crying (some from me, lots from her). Her emotional state (as was mine this morning) is very fragile and in a moments notice change from being somewhat content (and almost a little happy) to very unhappy and inconsolable. She is clearly grieving...I believe for a beloved nanny. From the information we have it looks like she had one particular nanny that took care of her. She doesn't want me to leave her sight or to even be put down so that makes everything more difficult. But I am happy that at times I am able to console her. Although she was clean when we received her, we decided to give her a little bath in the hotel sink as she has many mosquito bites (or is it scabies? Sami..how can you tell the difference?) and wanted to clean them and put some medicine on them. In our paperwork we were told that her favorite activity is a bath. Well, let me just tell you that it certainly isn't her favorite activity currently. :) On the bright side, we made some progress today...baby steps. Once we got the bottles a little closer to right which was difficult as the orphanage feeds them a combination formula/rice cereal bottle at a near scolding temp, she is starting to eat a little more but not a lot. Doug did hold her for about 5 minutes while following me around and she didn't cry and Camden even managed to get our first couple of smiles and laughs from her between the tears.

A few things about Avery...

She is very pretty, very light skinned and very tiny. She is not super skinny but just very petite. She has room to grow in the 9 month clothes we brought and sadly most of the 12 month clothes are to big for her. She is not the youngest baby in our group but she is by far the smallest. She has very little hair. It looks to be about the same amount that Camden had at a year of age. Unfortunately, her upper body is not that strong and she can't sit unsupported for long. It is a little strange to hold a child of her age who doesn't seem to completely support herself. But I think some of that is that she is in shock and hasn't eaten a lot. She was showing some spunk this evening, eating and playing a little more and was pushing up a bit while on all fours. However she will not eat any table food which is a little concerning. We were told that she was eating some congee (rice/water mixture) and mashed fruits but is seems hard to believe based on her responses. She makes great eye contact with us and likes to touch my face (Camden's too but not you know who's) and put her fingers into my mouth which is positive. But unfortunately, she seems to have a bit of a cold so that will probably spread through us all. She is spirited and lets us know what she likes and dislikes. Strangely, when she is fairly content (or dare I say happy) she sticks her tongue out. Doug thinks she might be related to Gene Simmons, as it is an impressive tongue. I hope not. She has also babbled just a little bit which as mostly been when watching Camden. I just knew that she would take to him and it is sweet to see.

Here's a few photos from the last couple of days...

The first few moments together:

Back at the hotel getting acquainted:

Day two a little bit happier...

Finalizing the adoption in the eyes of China:

Our group: