...spoiled, or at least I'm trying!

I have to say that I was a little tentative when we adopted AK (even though it took years...can't say I'm great with change), and it took no time at all for me to become completely enamored with her and so of course I am probably more excited about Inara because of AK!

Recently, something interesting has happened over the last few days and it's really wonderful! I've spent more time with AK and she's really growing up fast. I sometimes get jealous that Julie gets to spend all this intimate time with AK -and now, with Inara- so I'm so happy to have AK gravitate to me in the last few days as our family is adjusting and really enjoy her extrodinary intelligence and see how such an interesting girl is blossoming. Much of my adoration is drawn to the little things: noticing that there is no 4th floor on the elevator, strong determination to read everything, big smiles, her sayings that are perhaps beyond her maturity, but they are so situationally appropriate, and on, and on...

I love all pictures of AK, so it was hard to pair down, so here are some recent ones that I like, and yes, I know they are in a blog for Inara, so I hope you all appreciate also. We had a couple approach us the other night -grandparents of an adopted Chinese girl- who were just taken with not only thier daughter but both AK and Inara. This trip is about Inara, and she gets many smiles wherever we go, and we just get so many smiles also for AK that I wanted to add to Julie's incredible blog (I'm always intimidated to add to Julie's blogs because she is more eloquent than I am).

Cheers,

E

um, exec suite, plz?!

We ended up in Bejing after a fairly easy flight from Nanjing -we were a bit worried about how Inara would take it, but she giggled through take-off and landing and even napped a bit! At our new hotel in Bejing, the simple math was obvious, although I felt somehow I was being dupped when the Marriott offered a current, "deal" for an exec suite. So, price 1 with no breakfast or exec suite, free breakfast for less than 2.5 (charged for AK). Anyway, turns out that not only do we get free breakfast and hors d'oeurves, but free drinks...like, real, get-me-happy-at-sea-level drinks. Oh, and free internet in the exec suite to save on that $18/day charge, although regulated a bit by the Great Firewall of China so stil have to workaround for this blog, gmail, netflix, etc.. AK had her own king last night and although I was a bit sceptical that it was worth it, she somehow optimized her body sprawl and took up an unexpected amount of space for her size. Today, we saw the forbidden city. We walked there (about an hour) and after figuring out the stroller we grabbed a taxi on the way back and swam in an opympic length pool for a couple hours and tomorrow we see the Great Wall. Inara has been a trooper. She laughs all the time and is becoming more aware of AK, Julie and I and loves walking and hugging. She elicits many smiles and is very determined and quite resilient. Akasha is still adjusting to the family shift and very good at verbalising the feelings she has, although we are trying hard to spoil her a bit during this transition, she is doing amazingly well. Ok, so back to the exec suite...

Thursday, March 31 - Nanjing Free Day

We were very relieved to have a day in which to do nothing but spend time with girls. AK has begun feeling slighted by the attention given to Inara which we knew would happen. So, Eric and I took turns having one-on-one time with AK, today. I took AK on a boat ride through Nanjing and a rickshaw tour of the city. Here are some photos from our day! We are off to Beijing on Friday so we will not post until Saturday.

Wednesday, March 30 - LianYunGang Orphanage

Today, we traveled to Lian Yun Gang to see Inara's orphanage. I wasn't sure what to expect and was concerned for my girls. I knew the visit would add to Inara's confusion and that the effect on AK would be significant. Both of those concerns played out but the visit was also profoundly amazing. Inara was loved. I mean, really loved. The orphanage staff came out in groups to greet Inara and it was clear that she had a special place in their hearts. She was all smiles seeing everyone who had cared for her and the staff beamed as they passed her from person to person. We were treated to a lunch with the director. It was the most spectacular Chinese food we have eaten yet. The staff was kind and we could see how well the orphanage was run, how well cared for the children were, but, most importantly, how connected they were to the children.

Inara's orphanage is largely funded by Half the Sky and we learned that it was Half the Sky that funded her surgery in Beijing.

Here is Inara giving us a tour of the play room.

What was fun to watch was how Inara would grab AK's hand and take her to the toys or her crib.

Inara with her best friend who has also been matched with a family in the US. We hope to be able to locate them so we can keep the girls in touch.

It was a very emotional day being at the orphanage. Most of the children at the Lian Yun Gang orphanage are special needs children and some severely handicapped. But everywhere you looked there was art and crafts of the children hanging from the walls and ceilings, pictures of them with their nannies, and toys. The place was a flurry of activity and laughter.

Yes, she was most certainly loved. We feel so luck that she had so many people who cared deeply for her and took such good care of her. She is such a well-adjusted, developmentally normal kid and we now know why.

Hipster 6yr old

My hipster daughter kept us all laughing on the trip to and from the orphanage. It was worth the 8 hours in the car, and both girls did amazing!

March 29 - Nanjing

It's all about AK.

Eric and I are background noise in Inara's world, for now. She is obsessed with Akasha. As long as Akasha is holding her hand, she is content going any where. Akasha is who can sooth her, make her laugh, and transition her into new environments.

Today was rather relaxed. We met with the Chinese officials this morning who made our adoption official :) We wait in Nanjing until they issue Inara a passport and then we are off to Beijing.

Inara saw her Nanny again this morning which sent her into a little bit of a state. But, I am also realizing that we are not feeding her enough which may have also been the issue of her sullen state.

Inara is an eater. That is for sure. She ate a whole small pot of steamed egg custard with oyster sauce and a whole bowl of duck liver/duck blood soup. I think she might have eaten more than Eric at dinner tonight and afterwards, she could not have been a cheerier child. Yes, she needs food and apparently, lots of it. :)

Speaking of food, I don't think there is any part of the duck I haven't eaten, now. I had duck hearts with steamed beans the other night. This morning, for breakfast, I had braised duck feet. And, then duck liver/duck blood soup for dinner. Don't knock it until you try it - the duck feet were amazing.

Tomorrow morning we are off to Inara's orphanage -4 hours away. We will be gone all day so this will not post until Thursday.

Note: getting around, "the great Firewall of China" is pretty interesting, although relatively few workarounds and having tech support in-tow is pretty handy.

Gotcha Day, March 28 - Nanjing

It is 5 AM and I am here in bed watching my two babies sleep. They are beautiful. I love listening to them breath. I wonder what they are dreaming about; Akasha my serious child and Inara who in one day has already revealed that she is a comedian and an incessant giggler.

Inara mourned the separation from her nanny for about 4 hours. It was so sad to hear her wimper and look around hoping her nanny would appear. She cried for “mama” and it wasn’t me she was crying for.

And then, as we got ready for bed and snuggled with the girls, Inara began to smile. First, her smiles were for Akasha. But, soon, she infected herself with her own smiles and she could not contain the Huanxin, elated joy, that is her.

It was about 8 o’clock that the outright goofy antics began that I did not know a 15 month capable of. She began teasing Akasha and then teasing me and giggling when we played along. And, she did the most surprising thing of all, she snuggled into me and stayed that way until she fell asleep.

When she woke at midnight, I expected her to begin crying when she looked around and realized she was still in the strange environment in which she dozed off to. Instead, she began playing, laughing and snuggling some more. She crawled over to check on Eric – he smacked his leg and when he moved she gave a satisfied giggle. She nudged AK to see if AK would wake and play, to no avail. So, she simply propped her feet upon her sisters belly and leaned against me to play and snuggle. She finally ran out of steam at 1 o’clock and drifted back to sleep. I wonder what other wonderments today will bring . . .