Such a good baby!

Today we toured the Xiangjiang Safari Park with two other families from our adoption agency.  It was 95 degrees and 86% humidity and we stayed for about 4 hours.  Harper was such a trooper!  She never complained at all.  I won't say the same thing about Daddy!

At the beginning, we rode a train through the safari area.  The animals were really close!

Later, we saw the pandas!

Harper was having a good time despite the heat!

Today, she decided that she is big enough to hold her own bottle.

After the safari, we cooled off at the hotel and played with our new safari animals.

We played with our purse and decided that talking on the cell phone was really fun!

We played some ball.  Harper loves to cheer for herself every time she throws the ball.

We played with our stacking cups.  Harper loves to put a couple of Teddy Grahams in one of the cups then transfer them back and forth between cups.  In the past, she would only eat them if I fed them to her.  Today, she decided to feed them to herself!

Tonight, we found a little Irish pub near our hotel.  The food was excellent!  While we waited for our food, Harper played with her MagnaDoodle.

Harper is such a good baby!  She just hangs out and has a good time, no matter what we are doing.  She only got in a 10 minute nap today, but was still happy and playing all the way until bedtime.  We are so incredibly blessed to have this little girl in our lives!

 

Happy Again!

Harper is back to her happy cheerful self!  She woke up giggling and has spent much of the day laughing (although it might not show in the pictures below)!

Today Harper had to pass a medical examination before she can be approved for immigration into the United States.  We had to move through 4 different stations -- picture taking, height and weight, ear nose and throat, and general examination.  Fortunately, we were one of the first families there so things moved quickly.  Before we finished, there were about 30 families waiting.  Harper does not particularly like it when people are in her space.  She also does not like anyone except Mommy and Daddy to hold her.  I thought she might like some of the Chinese ladies to hold her since they would look more familiar to her, but when anyone else tries to take her, she clings to us!  Of course we love that!

Checking height and weight

General medical exam-- this was the final step and she was definitely ready to go!

There was a bit of a holdup during her general exam, because the doctor could not understand why Harper is a listed as a special needs baby.  Currently, it is only possible to adopt Special Needs children from China.  "Special Needs" encompasses a wide variety of diagnoses.  (We have chosen to not publicly disclose Harper's particular special need for several reasons.  First, we feel that this is Harper's personal health information and if she chooses to share it at some time, then she can.  Second, we are relatively sure that her current diagnosis is incorrect.  Third, we don't want people to form expectations and stereotypes based on her diagnosis.  Finally, please be assured that she does not have a contagious disease of any kind.)   We were a bit worried as the doctor spoke in hurried Chinese to our guide.  Finally, we were allowed to leave.  After we got outside, I asked the guide what was going on.  She said the doctor was concerned that the diagnosis on the initial medical forms was wrong. We were relieved that she signed off on the papers and let us go.

Back at the hotel, playing with Daddy

First time playing with Magnadoodle.  Maybe a lefty?

Playing ball-- Harper learned to throw today!

On the way to blow bubbles.  The hotel has an 8 story waterfall!

First time eating pizza!  We found a great place called Oggi's Pizza near our hotel.  The pizza was some of the best I've ever had.  Now Shawn wants to every meal there!

Here is a video of us playing patty cake after a diaper change!

Sad day

Today was a sad day for Harper.  She seems to be grieving the loss of her nannies and friends from the orphanage.  It is heartbreaking to see her upset.  She had such an empty look for most of the day.  She mostly just wanted to be held and snuggled.  This grieving is a normal part of the transition.  It is actually a good sign.  It shows that Harper has bonded in the past, and will bond again.  Actually, she is already very bonded to Shawn and I.  I think part of her sadness today is because Ashley is gone.  Ashley had to return to the USA today, because school starts on Monday.  We are so thankful that she was able to come to China for part of the trip and share in the experience of adopting her baby sister. 

The pictures say it all for me.  Harper was just sad today.

We visited Shamian Island today.  We didn't stay long. because Harper wasn't feeling up to it.  The US Consulate used to be on Shamian Island, so many adoptive families would stay there.  The Consulate has moved to a new area now.  The number of international adoptions has decreased dramatically since 2007, and as a result there are fewer tourists on Shamian Island.  Many of the shops and hotels have closed.  We tried to take a picture of Harper with a statue on the island, but she didn't want to pose today. 

We ate lunch at the famous Lucy's restaurant.  It serves a wide variety of American style food.

Fortunately, there were some moments today where Harper was happy.

Playing with her stacking cups

Playing ball with Daddy

Playing Patty Cake with Momma

Harper has already experienced great loss in her life.  She lost her birth family and now is experiencing the loss of familiar caretakers.  She will struggle with feeling safe and secure and she may lack the ability to trust that we will meet her needs or be a permanent presence in her life.  Shawn and I will continue to meet her needs quickly and consistently so we can form a strong and healthy attachment.  With time, we are sure that she will be able to trust us and know that we will always love her.

August 16

Today was a wonderful day!  Harper was so happy!  She was full of smiles and even laughed out loud a few times.  There were no signs of grieving. 
We went to the purse market today. I'm not sure I can even begin to describe it!  There are 20 buildings, each with several floors that are stuffed with purse vendors.  There are thousands of little purse shops.  Ashley and I could have shopped for hours!  We hired a local guide named Ann to show us around.  She tried so hard to teach us how to bargain for a better price, but we were no good at that!  Everything was so cheap, I wasn't ever successful at bargaining.  We also went to the watch market.  It was very similar.  There were thousands of watch stores.  It is illegal in China to sell knock off products.  When a watch vendor asked if we wanted to see Gucci, Bvulgari, Tag, and Rolex watches, we said "OK."  He said we would have to go to a separate office.  We followed him down a back street and into a building with hotel style rooms.  There were watches everywhere!  His knock offs were very good quality, but he wanted a lot of money for them -- about $300 USD each so we didn't buy any.  It was fun to see this part of China.

First time in sunglasses

 Playing with sissy

Harper is definitely my girl!  She loves clothes and shoes!  Every time we change into a new outfit, she likes to look in the mirror.  She just smiles and smiles at herself!

 Harper is starting to eat more solid foods, but still has a couple of bottles each day.  Momma loves feeding her and hopes she continues a bottle for a while longer!

First time for Mexican food!  This little girl really is a Scott!  She LOVED it!

This evening, Harper spent about an hour playing with a yogurt melt.  She isn't really interested in many toys!  She would take the yogurt melt (which was very sticky from being smashed in her little hand) and place it in the bottle lid.  Then she would take it back out and start over!

First time in Mizzou gear!  M-I-Z!

 

What a busy day!  Harper continues to be an excellent sleeper!

Harper is really bonding well with us and we are so thankful!  This little one has been through so much and she is still so kind and happy.  We just love her to pieces!

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!

Our first full day with Harper!

Harper is such a pleasant baby!  She has made huge strides in attaching to us.  I'm so happy to see that she understands that we love her and will take good care of her.  Today, our adoption guide tried to hold her and Harper didn't want to go to the guide.  It was obvious that she wanted to stay with Momma.  Later in the day, Daddy got the first smiles from Harper!  He was dancing around the hotel room with her.  I'm pretty sure she was laughing at him, not with him --- but he got to her smile a lot!!  She loves Ashley very much too, and is often looking around to find Ashley and see what she is doing.

Harper slept 12 hours last night.  I was worried that she must be getting hungry, so I finally woke her up this morning.  When I tried to wake her up, she covered her little face with her arm.  It was sooooooo cute!

At breakfast, we learned that Harper isn't picky about her foods.  She is pretty unsure of most solids, but was willing to try anything.  She ate very well!

Today, we went back to the Civil Affairs Office to complete the adoption.  The procedure is to keep the child overnight, then return the next day to answer if you feel the child is satisfactory.  We gave a resounding YES to that question!

After her nap, we decided to go to Trust Mart which is the Chinese Wal-Mart.  It was a great opportunity to try out my Ergo baby carrier!  (Shawn absolutely hates this product, but I think Harper likes it!)  Please excuse how sweaty I am.  Have I mentioned that the humidity level in Guangzhou is over 98% every day?

We finished the day with some time at the pool.  Harper was not really a fan of the pool.  She stuck out her pouty bottom lip (apparently that sign is the same in Chinese and English) and it was clear that she wasn't excited about swimming.  She did like watching all the other kids play.

What a perfect first day as a family!

Mexican Food in China!

We have found excellent Mexican food in China!  There is a restaurant called Tekila's just down the street from our hotel.  We decided to eat there for lunch before our appointment to meet Harper.  (Sorry this post is out of order.)  Our family LOVES Mexican food so we were super excited to find it in China!

Ashley & I being silly with our chips and spicy salsa!

The chicken enchiladas were wonderful!

As we were eating, a huge thunderstorm popped up.  We had to hurry back to the hotel because it was time to go meet Harper!  There was no way we were going to be late for that!  I had a small umbrella in my purse, so Ashley and I made it back without getting too wet.  Things didn't work out so well for Shawn!

We will definitely be going back to Tekila's.  Next time we will take 2 umbrella's.  I sure hope Harper likes Mexican food!