Abigail Xiaosha

The official photo in the adoption office.


Eating formula with a spoon???


Oooo Congee, yummy!

I wish I had a better command of the English language, or that we had more punctuation marks, or somehow that I could describe this experience that we've had today. I've been watching blogs and have seen many "gotcha" moments over the last 3 yrs. but how do you prepare for the moment when a complete stranger hands you a tiny little baby that you've only seen a photo of who will now be your child forever??? I don't really know the answer to that but I can tell you that it was (and still is) rather overwhelming.

So that is pretty much what happened today. After our traumatic morning we arrived in Changsha and our guide Linda and Mr. Jong brought us to our hotel. Shawn thinks the view out the window reminds him of Detroit and I think that Detroit must have better air quality. But, nonetheless, our hotel is nice and if we dare cross the street we may find some fun little shops in the neighborhood.

They gave us about 2 hrs and then we went to the Hunan Province adoption office. We walked into an old, run down building and went to the 3rd floor and walked into a little room and there she was with 3 orphanage workers. I didn't see her face immediately so I wasn't sure it was her. Our guide said something so we looked and there she was. One of the nannies was holding her and so she brought her over for me. She immediately grabbed my hair and was fine for me to take her. She seemed interested in grabbing our hair and faces and was pretty content for a while.

She got fussy after the orphanage workers left and we tried to give her a bottle. No go on the bottle but she was intrigued by the Gerber puffs we brought. She cried most of the way back to the hotel and we've spent the afternoon and evening trying to figure out what she wants. We tried to give her a bottle of formula and when she wouldn't eat the guide called the nanny and she told her that she "used to" drink out of a bottle "when she was little" and now she eats with a spoon and drinks out of a cup. So yes, this is a photo of us trying to give her formula with a spoon - I'm thinking we're going to try to train her to take a bottle again soon. She actually ate it better out of a spoon and was pretty happy - I can't believe that is how the orphanage workers fed her milk.

Shawn finally got her to sleep tonight - she seems to like him to hold her with his hand on her tummy - kind of like our other kids when they had upset tummies. I'm sure she's had a long traumatic day and I hope she sleeps all night long. wishful thinking

She is teeny and darling and sweet - we are so blessed to have a new little sister!

Daniel, Benj, Jacob and Hannah - we miss you so much!! We can't wait to come home and bring Abby - she's a teeny little peanut. I think she is about the size you all were at 3 or 4 months! Crazy huh?? We're going to sleep so we'll call you in the morning - which will be the evening for you. Love You All!!! PS She likes the toy we got her at Target.

I'll try to post the videos to you-tube. If it works I'll let you know. love, Mom