Bath Time Fun

Can you believe that this is the same little baby who cried pitifully during every bath I gave her in China just a few weeks ago??

Home Sweet Home!

We arrived home early Thursday morning. Both Abby and Ruby did so well on the flights from Guangzhou to Narita/Tokyo and then on to Seattle. We all dozed a little bit but were very very tired by the time we got off the plane at Sea-Tac. Immigration and customs were a breeze compared to the last time when we came back to the US through LAX.

Seeing our family at the airport was so wonderful. I swear that the girls all grew 6 inches taller while I was gone! Ruby didn't complain much about being strapped into her carseat for the ride home. She was so enthralled by the Backyardigans DVD that was playing in the car that I guess she forgot all about her confinement.

The big girls are so in love with their new sister. For the first two days Ruby would push them away when they tried to hug and kiss her. But now she loves all the attention. What a change I have seen in Ruby in the past two weeks. That sad, withdrawn little baby who was handed off to me in Guangzhou has blossomed into such a precious gift! She now smiles and laughs all the time. She dances to music and waves at anyone who looks at her. She scribbles with the girls' markers and gets into all their stuff. She is curious about everything, opening every door, drawer, closet, or box that she can. And she absolutely loves her baths!

Now if we could all just get adjusted to our local time zone rather than China's time zone for sleeping all would be right in our little corner of the world.

Five Ladybug Princesses

Ruby -- our newest precious gift

Toy Market

Yesterday we went to the Toy Market. I felt like I was in the middle of an Oriental Trading catalog! Abby was like a kid in a candy store. That place is a bit overwhelming! We had a great time picking out little things to bring home for all the girls and for our little friends.

For the rest of the day we just wandered around Shamian Island. After dinner at Lucy's I took the girls down to the Swan Room to play. It is so satifying to see Ruby having fun there. The first time we went she didn't even get off my lap. Now she runs all over the place. She loves to bring me the big Lego blocks one at a time. Back and forth, back and forth across the room.

We are in the home stretch now. Our oath ceremony is at the US Consulate this afternoon and we leave for the airport very early tomorrow morning. We are definitely ready!

Abby's favorite food here --french fries at Lucy's

After dinner stroll in the park

Go get the Legos . . .

. . . and bring them to Mom

River Cruise

Last night our group went on the River Dinner Cruise. We had a really fun time. As always the food wasn't all that great but it was so relaxing out on the water. Abby was fascinated with all the neon on the buildings and she actually had seconds at dinner because she loved their fried rice (she dislikes Lucy's fried rice).

Ruby was just her entertaining little self the whole evening. It is amazing to think back a week to that sad limp little baby and to then look at her now. She is quite mischievious and she just cracks people up. Everyone has a little game that they play with her. They hold out their arms for her to come to them. She nods an emphatic "no" and then runs to me with her arms open wide and a huge grin on her face. Oh it just warms my heart!!

Abby with her new friend Michael

Doing "Cheers!" as Abby calls it

Dolphins for my Maddie girl

Just Some Random Cuteness

Red Couch

We took the girls for their red couch photos this morning. Our group decided that since it is Mother's Day we really didn't want any screaming babies. So we took individual photos and then a big group shot at the end. Ruby did great until the very end when she decided she had simply had enough of photos.

Orphanage Visit

Yesterday was a hard day for all of us. We were scheduled to leave the hotel at 7:30am so I had to wake both girls up and rush through breakfast to meet Rebecca on time. The van ride to Yangdong SWI took over three hours but Abby and Ruby slept most of the way.

We ended up visiting two orphanages. Our first stop was at the orphange that is right next to Ruby's. Rebecca needed to stop there to photograph and "interview" two children there. I really can't go into all the details of this heartbreaking situation right now here on my blog. But I can tell you that there are two absolutely darling, HEALTHY (previously referred as nsn infants) four year old girls on the shared list.

We then proceeded on to Yangdong. We were warmly received by the director and his staff, given a nice tour of the grounds, and told a bit about the new two-story wing that is being built. Ruby was a bit unsure about being there. She refused to allow any of the staff to hold her except for the assistant director. This is the same woman who was holding Ruby in some of the earlier photos that we have of her. After our general tour, we were allowed to go upstairs to see where Ruby's bed was. This was the hardest part for me. It was also very hard for Abby as many of her preconceived fantasies and dreams of her life in her orphange were instantly shattered. Twenty-eight infants were in that one tiny room!

The director and his staff took us to lunch where we enjoyed fabulous food. We then drove to Ruby's finding place and were able to photograph that. Again this was very hard for Abby as she is trying so hard to understand why she isn't still living with her birth family in China.

The entrance gate to Yangdong SWI

Outdoor play yard

Laundry drying area. The new two-story wing under construction is in the background. It will house the older children on the second floor and will have an indoor playroom and library on the first floor.

Ruby with the assistant director

YunTai Botanical Gardens and More

This morning we went to the YunTai Botanical Gardens. As with my previous trip there, they were beautiful but HOT! At least this time we didn't get caught in a thunderstorm so we were able to have lunch in the great little noodle house next to the gardens. I took tons of photos but honestly I am just too tired to sort through them all tonight.

At 2:00 this afternoon we had to take Ruby to the medical exam place to get the first round of Hague required immunizations. She received two shots and will have to get three more on Saturday. The place was completely empty and they offered to do Ruby's official medical exam while we were there, even though it was scheduled for Saturday. It was nice to get that out of the way. When we go back on Saturday with our travel group we will only have to get the remaining three immunizations and can then go back to the hotel.

We had some major breakthroughs today. We got our first SMILE! She only gave us one but its a great start. I got her to eat a little banana, congee, and scrambled eggs at breakfast, two big bowls of congee at lunch, and another bowl at dinner. Bottles and formula are a definite no-go so we are just sticking with the sippy cups for water. Ruby also played much more today and had a great time dumping cheerios into stacking cups with Abby.

Tomorrow is going to be a long tough day. We are leaving at 7:30am to make the 3.5 hour drive to the Yangdong SWI. I am praying that this won't be too hard on Ruby (or me for that matter!). Also I hope that it will be a positive experience for Abby.

At the YunTai Botanical Gardens -- trying to stay cool in the shade

Ruby is finally feeding herself some snacks

Abby love the gardens -- especially all the fish in the ponds

Sisters playing together!

Baby Steps

Today we had lots of baby steps -- both literally and figuratively.

Ruby woke up much less sad this morning. We still haven't seen a smile but her cries today were generally ones of anger rather than the deep sadness of yesterday. When our guide picked her up she whimpered and immediately reached for me. But boy was she mad at me when she had to go to bed tonight!

She drank a complete bottle of formula/rice mixture first thing after she woke up this morning (the first one since we got her). She also polished off a big bowl of congee at breakfast. Unfortunately that is about all the food I could get into her today. But it was more than she ate yesterday and I have been able to get her to drink water fairly well.

She still wants to hold something in each hand all the time. But today she actually started banging the things into each other. She spent time turning them over in her hands and looking at them, even occasionally chewing on them. She even built a little tower with her stacking cups. She crumpled up a piece of paper and spent 15 minutes inspecting a McDonald's french fries box. Also when we went to the play room this evening she rolled a ball back and forth a few times with Abby! Finally she is beginning to play and interact a bit.

Ruby also took her first literal baby steps for us today. She is very wobbly and quite pidgeon toed. She stands with her legs as far apart as she can get them. Many times she forgets to move her feet forward and just steps side to side in the same spot. It is so cute!! She prefers that I hold her hand (actually her wrist since she has something in her hands at all times) but also did venture a bit on her own.

Tomorrow we are going to the Yuntai Botanical Gardens. It will be nice to spend some relaxing time outdoors after three days of official business in stuffy offices.

After a bath this morning -- which she hated by the way

Grieving

I'm sorry I haven't been able to post much yet. Ruby is grieving so hard and I really need to be with her. She is the most precious little soul. So tiny and fragile and sad. Abby has been such a wonderful big sister. She plays little games with Ruby and doesn't get at all discouraged that Ruby only sits there silently and doesn't respond at all. Abby just keeps on talking so sweetly and shows Ruby how to play.

Receiving Ruby

We arrived at the Guangdong Civil Affairs office around 2:30. There were quite a few other families there -- I would guess around 12-15. The room was a bit stuffy and I could feel the anticipation in the air. It was so wonderful to look around and see so many families waiting for their little ones.

Ruby arrived very shortly after we did. Rebecca gestured to me to come over to her on the other side of the room. I was about half way there when I saw Ruby being carried toward me. As she was handed to me she started to cry. She only cried for a few minutes and then completely shut down.

Our poor baby! She is grieving so hard. She hadn't uttered a single sound for almost 24 hours. And just now she began crying the most heart-wenching cry I have ever heard. As I sit here holding her and wiping the tears and sweat from her sweet face I just want to cry right along with her!

On our way to Civil Affairs -- two thumbs up from Abby

Our first glimpse

Abby with our wonderful guide Rebecca

A very scared little girl