Another great day

When Rachel woke up yesterday morning she began to cry a bit when she looked around and realized that things were strange. She calmed right down when Jamie picked her up and gave her a bottle. She seems to be so easy to calm, which is great. She didn't want to be put down all day, so no playing on the floor or in her crib, but I think that will come. I think she is able to crawl, or at least is close to doing it, but we haven't really got to see her do it yet. As long as we are holding her she is happy.

We got to see some smiles from her, and even some laughter when Jamie tickled her. That didn't come until later in the day. Her first smile was for our guide, Mary. She really responded to seeing her face and hearing Mary speak to her in Chinese. Early in the day she spent a lot of time just studying our faces, and I think she was still puzzled by how different we look from what she is used to. It was neat, though, when later in the day Mary was talking to her, and she was holding onto Mary's finger and smiling, then suddenly gave a little unhappy cry and let go of her finger. Mary laughed and said that she had asked her "Do you want to go home with me?" I'm not sure if she really understood that, but it does seem as though she is deciding that she likes being with us.

In the morning we had to go to the notary's office, where me made things official. We had to sign some papers and promise to take care of the baby, to never abandon her, and to love her. We then went back to the civil affairs office, where we gave our donation money, and were presented with an official adoption certificate. The assistant director of the orphange shoook our hands and presented us with a gift. She gave us each an embroidered pouch and a packet of pictures. We were overjoyed when we looked at the pictures to see that they contained shots of Rachel at different ages, and playing with some of the other babies in our group. There were also pictures of sights from Guiping, with some labeling on them that our guide is going to translate for us.

In the afternoon we went as a group to a large department store. I bought a bunch of shoes for both Rachel and Julia. The kids' shoes here are so cute and different from anything we have back home. Of course I had to buy a pair of squeaky shoes! I also bought a hat and outfit for her, as well as a Chinese Barbie doll.

In the evening Jamie and I had a pizza delivered from Pizza Hut. Not because we are tired of Chinese food, just because we were feeling like just relaxing in the room. One of the ladies in our group organized a little birthday party for the babies who were already over a year. She had a cake brought to the hotel and everyone gathered by the elevators. Rachel and I popped in for a minute to visit.

Before bedtime I gave Rachel a little bath in the sink. She didn't like that much so I made it a quick one.

She is awake now and Jamie is giving her a bottle. Time to get dressed and go to breakfast, then at 10:00 we are going to a park.

Harrison, Quentin and Julia, we love you! We're going to call now to talk to you on the phone.