Gotcha Day!

We have Harper and she is just precious!!!!  She is very serious and interested in everything.  We made it through the Civil Affairs Office with no tears (from her or me!).  Everything went very smoothly.  Because Harper's orphanage is about 8 hours from Guangzhou, we were one of the last families to meet our child.  It was actually very calm and quiet at the Civil Affairs Office.  About 20 families were leaving just as we arrived.  When we got to the CAO, we could see Harper in another room.  She looked out at us and seemed to possibly recognize us from photos we had sent to her. She is very inquisitive, so maybe she was just wondering who we were. 

After a few papers were signed, we were allowed to take Harper from the orphanage nannies who brought her to Guangzhou.

We brought a few toys with us and Harper immediately latched on to a pink rattle ball.

We asked the nannies when Harper had last eaten, and they said 11:00.  It was nearly 4:00, so we offered her a bottle.  She drank it all within 3 minutes!

After a few more papers were signed, we were ready to go!  We took our first family photo.

Back at the hotel, we played for a while.....

Posed for some pictures...........

Then took a quick shower..........

We played a bit more and when Daddy started to make a bedtime bottle, Harper was too sleepy to wait.  (Notice the pink ball! She clung to it all night!)

We couldn't be more pleased with our precious little bundle!  She is very calm and sweet.  She is interested in everything.  It appears that she has not eaten much real food.  The nannies said they fed her congee (an oatmeal like porridge) and soup.  The nannies also told us she has 16 teeth, so we tried giving her a few solid foods tonight.  She seems to like tasting them, but is unsure what to do with the food once it is in her mouth. She really enjoyed chewing on a slice of an apple, but didn't appear to know how to swallow it.  Something tells me that daddy will be introducing her to donuts in the morning! 

Thank you all so much for your prayers!  I think Harper is doing as well as possible under the circumstances.  Other than a small heat rash, she appears to be very healthy!  We are so thankful for this blessing!