First night together

Wow. What an amazing first day. All of my anxiety from 24 hours ago has been replaced by feelings of love, gratitude and excitement. I'll try to capture some of the highlights in this post.

After having a wonderful congee lunch with our guide, Simon, we went to the Civil Affairs office. The walk from the car to the building and the elevator ride seemed painfully slow. When the elevator opened, we found ourselves in a bright, colorful room with lots of other families. Some babies were crying and others were stoically posing for pictures with their new families. We had to sign a paper saying we would accept guardianship of Wendy for the next 24 hours and then we waited a few more minutes. When she emerged, she was carrying a lollypop in one hand and a custard pie in the other. (She is so our daughter!) She walked toward me and I picked her up with tears in my eyes. I can't even describe the joy of those first moments when our dreams finally came true. Magical seems cliche, but it truly fits. She felt so lightweight in my arms, our tiny rabbit baby. We posed for some pictures and then took a few moments to sit on the couch and begin the bonding process.

We were able to ask an orphanage representative a few questions, and here is what we learned:
• She loves to eat fruit and candy. She does not like milk, but prefers water in a bottle.
• She wakes up around 7 a.m., takes a nap around 12:30 and goes to bed at 9 p.m.
• She was with her foster mom for nearly a year, having just returned to the orphanage about two weeks ago.
• This is the last baby the foster mom will foster because the mom has decided to change careers.
• Her favorite activities include taking walks through the garden and visiting the shopping mall! (She is so our daughter.)

After leaving the Civil Affairs office, we made one stop to buy bottled water and more custard pies like the one she was eating. She appears to love Cheerios and even shared one with Simon when he asked her in Chinese. Then, we went back to the hotel where she began to warm up to us by playing with the magical stacking cups. Maddie is responsible for her first smile and her first chuckle, which sounds so adorable. Most of the time she has looked pretty serious and is just beginning to make eye contact with us as she begins to trust us. She has not asserted herself yet, except for crying a little when I handed her off to Bill. I took her back for just a second and reassured her, then I handed her to Bill with the Cheerios and she was completely calm.

We decided to stay in again, so dinner tonight consisted of Lipton chicken noodle soup, baby food prunes and more Cheerios. She ate all of them readily. Tomorrow, we will try out all kinds of new foods at the breakfast buffet, which resembles a cruise ship. After dinner, she had a bath and seemed completely fine with it, even playing a little with the stacking cups in the tub. Then, we rubbed some baby lotion on her, giving her a little massage, which helps with bonding. Maddie read her a story, and then I gave her a bottle of water and she went to bed without any fuss.

Little things that make me really happy right now: seeing our four pairs of shoes and four toothbrushes lined up together. Yes, our family is complete.