Well we arrived in Beijing on the 24th. Boy was that a LONG flight! I'm pretty certain that after this trip with so many flights, we will not be interested in flying again for a while. Poor Colson started getting sick the last 20 min.of the long flight, then had to get on another plane:-( After a few hours of off and on tossing his cookies, he was fine.
We got in late Saturday night, had a very full day of sightseeing on Sunday and left early Monday morning for the flight to Wuhan where we got our Hannah-Banana!
When we arrived at the place where we would meet her, she was not yet there and we learned that they were running late, so a lady had us come into her office to begin some paperwork. This is usually done the next day I believe. Well as soon as we sat down, we turned around to see Guoyi (Hannah) walk in, but they would not let us go. So Colson, Dad, and Mom were the first to meet her:-) At one point during all the discussions with head nannies and such, we heard Hannah singing. She was singing for my mom. She welcomed us all with a willing, open heart and left with us quite easily. It was on the ride after that when she suddenly got very quiet. I looked down at her to find silent tears dripping down her face and jacket. It was heart-wrenching. Once we got to dinner, she continued to cry silent tears that eventually turned into more. She kept saying she wanted to go home. The guide told her that we were her Mama and Baba and would take her to her real home. She continued to tell him she wanted to go to HER home. Can't blame here there! We were prepared for this. It makes sense doesn't it? It's healthy for her to desire her foster mother. It did not feel good to be taking her away from life as she knew it.
It is quite frustrating especially for Matthew, that he cannot understand all the things she says. Apparently she speaks a Wuhan dialect. We believe it is Mandarin, but a "southern" dialect. She understands Mandarin and has begun learning a few English phrases.
After dinner we went back to the hotel. After checking out her surroundings, she pretty much climbed into bed with all her clothes (I managed to get her to let me take off 3 of the 4 layers she had on her body) in a pile tucked beside her and crashed! She is very congested, so she coughed much of the night, but never woke up crying or anything.
The next morning she was quiet until Colson walked into the room (he had slept with my mom in the adjoining room). She gets very animated and playful with her big brother! He brings her some peace and security. The rest of the day was very pleasant, with no tears, lots of laughing and playing and imitating (she copies so much of what we say already). The only hiccup was on the way to the center where we would do more paperwork, she got car sick. We had a barf bag handy and I saw it coming in time:-) She told the guide she ate too much yogurt, but then when we were getting out of the car she wanted to take the yogurt! Mama had to put her foot down on that one!
Inside we met the director of her orphanage. He seems to really care about the children. He said something like, "thank you. In this country she would not have much opportunity because of her vision problems, but with you she will have a lot of opportunities for a good life."
We have learned that Hannah cannot see much at all. This does not stop her! Hannah is: AMAZING, smart, curious, funny, talented, loving and last, but not least...beautiful!
In the evening on this second day with her, she once again got silent and wandered around the room seeming lost...almost like she was waiting for something..home? It made us sad to not be able to help her much. We were also concerned about how she was feeling physically since she was coughing and so congested. Finally she opened up again when Baba (Daddy) opened up the container of play-dough. She and Matthew played and bonded over cheap, Rose Art brand playdough that made a mess:-)
Hannah willingly holds our hands, allows Baba or Grampy to carry her. She also asks for Mama anytime I leave the room for a bit. This is a good sign! Once we were in the playroom with another adoptive family here and Matthew was swinging her in this little baby-like swing and she did not want it to stop. Well Matthew went to leave the room with Colson (who was acting out...imagine that:-). He forgot to tell her good-bye then remembered. He proceeded to come back in the room (I was wondering what he was doing) and walk over to her, tell her "Baba is going, but Mama is right here." It was SO sweet! Of course she probably only understood the "mama" "baba" part but how thoughtful of daddy to come back to tell her he was going! I believe Hannah already has daddy wrapped around her tiny finger.
Speaking of tiny...I cannot tell you how sad it is to see how absolutely bone thin she is! And she is a great little eater. We are guessing (and hoping since it's an easy fix) that she has worms. I'm sure doctor Robert will treat her as soon as we get home! With that being said, she is also very tall for a 4 year old!
Tomorrow we will do an orphanage visit. Please pray that our guide can make her understand that Mama and Baba just want to see where she played and went to school, but that we were getting in the car and coming back together. I'm sure it could be confusing. I pray that it does not give us a setback, but we are not overly concerned. She is very bright!
Everyone else is doing fine. Colson has had a hard time with jet-lag, but is hanging tough.
Ta-ta for now!
