August 15

Today, we had most of the day free.   Our appointment to apply for Harper's Chinese passport wasn't until 3:30pm, so we had some time to just hang out as a family.  We have seen some signs of grieving in our sweet baby today.  This morning, she was a bit forlorn and would gaze off into space.  She was likely missing the nannies who cared for her and the friends she had at the orphanage.  We looked at a photo book from the orphanage, with lots of photos of Harper over the past few months.  Many of the photos contain pictures of her friends.  That seemed to perk her up a bit.

Later, we went to the playroom in the hotel.  There were two other adopting families in the playroom.  It was nice to visit with some other people going through this experience.  Both of their new children were about Harper's age, so it was fun for her to play.  She was a bit timid and mostly wanted to watch the other kids from Momma's lap.  We were so proud when she shared her favorite pink ball with another little girl!  She frequently clings to this ball, and when her playmate reached for it, I wasn't sure what reaction we would see.

Today was Harper's first real bath.  We anticipated that it would be a traumatic experience for her, so for the past two days we had only taken a quick shower.  We knew that orphanage children aren't bathed in a tub.  They are usually just given a quick sponge bath.  We tried to make it less traumatic by putting in some toys, and with Mommy getting in the tub too.  Harper did not like it at all!  She was even crying out "Ayi!  Ayi!" which means "Auntie!  Auntie!".  That is what the children call the nannies at the orphanage.  It was heartbreaking to see her tears and hear her cry out for someone other than Momma or Daddy.  On the other hand, we were relieved to finally see some tears from our girl.  The tears show that she had bonded with some of the nannies from her orphanage, and this was a great sign that she will be able to bond and attach to us.

Fortunately, she was easily consoled after some dancing with Daddy.

She ate LOTS of noodles for lunch today.

After nap time, we went to get her passport.  She loved this hair bow!  When she saw herself in the mirror, she had the hugest smile!  Every time we would pass a mirror, she would get a huge grin on her face.

After supper, we decided to introduce Harper to ice cream.  There is a McDonald's near our hotel, so we grabbed some Oreo McFlurries.  So far, we've been able to order in restaurants by pointing at pictures on a menu.  (Most fast food workers don't speak English)  Ice cream wasn't on the picture menu at McDonalds, so I typed "ice cream" into a translator on my phone.  I showed the phone to the girl helping us, and rather than reading the Chinese symbols on the phone, she read the English part.  She said, "Oh!  You want some ice cream?" in very clear English! 
Harper was a bit unsure of the cold texture at first, but decided that she did like ice cream.

In the photo above, you can see some peanut butter and cereal.  Another adoptive family was checking out of the hotel, and brought a big bag of water and food by our hotel room.  All of the families here are so kind!  We have been so blessed to meet so many great families!