Day 2 and it's official!

The adoption was finalized today. The assistant director of Chloe's orphanage was there again and man was she happy to see him. Her face lit up like we have not seen it do for anyone or anything else. The orphanage staff did not need to come back today and it's about a 3 hour drive, but they make the trek anyway. And we are seeing them again tomorrow when we go to Wuxi. They must really want to make sure these 2 babies are in good hands. (The two other little ones in our travel group, Emma and Eli, are from a different city than Chloe & a cutie pie named Jackson.) The orphanage staff gave us a gift today too. It's a traditional decorative piece with two babies on it. It was very nice and I don't think many orphanages give gifts to the families.

Poor Chloe is so sad. And I think not feeling great. She still does not feel fever-y, but she's sure cranky. She has had some happy moments all in J's arms of course. I did manage to coax her over with a banana at lunchtime today but once her belly was less empty she wouldn't let me near her again. At dinner tonight she even threw the piece of watermelon I was offering her into my face. Yep, she hates me. She did warm up to Caleb a little bit at dinner tonight, and he is very pleased about that. He was being so sweet with her, holding her on the bed, and then later helping feed her dinner.

She is going to need some big time PT. J's sis Heather the massage therapist said one side of Chloe's neck is all knots. You can definitely feel the difference between the left and right sides. We are crossing our fingers that she won't need surgery on that muscle, but she has not outgrown the torticollis like we had hoped.

We walked around today after Cupcake's nap. It is pretty darn hot though. We didn't stay out too long b/c everyone was getting grouchy with the heat and the fact that we were all up at 3:30a.m. again this morning. Except Cupcake who snoozed through the night til just after 6am like her schedule said. So after the walk we hit the hotel pool and the girls who work there were all amazed by how well the kids all swim. They all gasped when #2 & #3 jumped right in all by themselves before J and I even had our shirts off. Cupcake went in a little bit too in J's arms but not her head in case she does have a ear infection and sore throat.

We hope to see some more action from her in the next few days b/c she is just so sad and confused right now. Once in a while she forgets to be upset and lets a little smile through (as long as I am not looking at her or standing too close), but most of today she was just plain mopey. And she is pretty far behind thanks to orphanage life. There are 5 babies between our group and the other group that our guide is helping who all have Dec. '06 or early Jan '07 b-days, and they all seem to be very similar developmentally. Cupcake might be the most bummed out though. The assistant director whose arms she practically leaped into today said it is because she is so clever and has such a great memory that she cannot forget the life she's used to and move on yet.

Tomorrow will be interesting. All the kids decided they want to come and see the orphanage so it's going to be a long day in the bus with a real Chinese lunch at the orphanage. It is always a stressful day when new adoptive parents return to a child's orphanage or foster home to visit just after Gotcha Day, but in our case I don't feel like Chloe has really made any progress in the adjustment department, so tomorrow won;t set us back at all. We are hoping that it gives her some closure and comfort to see us with her favorite caregivers and that they will tell her it is okay for her to be happy with us. Oh, that reminds me, I tried to give her a bottle for naptime today, and she bit me on the shoulder. J took over once again and she settles right in.

Hoping for a happier, livelier Cupcake girl tomorrow.