01.07.2005 REFERRAL!!! 03.03.2005 Travel Plans! 03.11.2005 Arrived in Beijing 3.12.2005 More on Trip 3.12.2005 Touring Beijing 3.13.2005 Second Day Beijing 3.14.2005 We Have Maya! 3.15.2005 It's Official! 3.16.2005 Shop 'Til You Drop! 3,17.2005 AM Museum 3,17,2005 PM Mother's Love 3.18.2005 Nanning Zoo 3.19.2005 Green Mountain Park 3.20.2005 Paperwork, Park, & P 3.21.2005 Guangzhou 3.22.2005 Shop 'Til You Drop! 3.23.2005 Last Day in China! 3.23/24.2005 The Journey Home 3.24.05 DFW Homecoming Post or view Messages

Our family is no longer just Zoe and Mama. It is now a family of three! Maya is absolutely adorable! We flew from Beijing to Nanning this morning, checked into the Majestic Hotel, and got ready to meet the babies! We met in the hotel lobby at 3:00 pm for the short ride to the Civil Affairs office. When we arrived, we were ushered into a room with a podium at the front, and prepared ourselves for a speech from the Civil Affairs officer before the "Handing-Over Ceremony." As each family's baby's name was called, the family walked up to get their babies. It was so different from meeting Zoe, which occurred in our hotel, with no real ceremony -- and there was only one baby, Zoe, at that time. Here, as the babies arrived and the families cried, and the babies cried, I started to cry too! Ours was one of the last families called, so we got to see the making of many a family. When the nanny walked in with Maya, I was struck by how much her foster mother must care for her -- she was wearing a beautiful red silk jacket with white fur trim and had her hair elaborately decorated with clippies and bows. She was beautiful! When the nanny handed Maya to me, she came willingly enough and did not cry at all! That lasted for about a minute, and then she looked at me and said distinctly, "Mama?" I knew it wasn't me she was addressing -- she was asking where her foster mom was. That's when she started to sob and scream. Still, she snuggled into me seeking comfort. All I could say was, "It's ok to be sad, it's ok." Not much comfort for the loss of the only family she had known for 10 months. Her foster family sent her to us with a bag full of gifts -- lucky red decorations to hang on the wall of our home, a "wedding ball," which is a distinctive ornament from Guangxi Province, and most precious of all, TONS of photos from Maya's life with her foster family. The first photo in the book shows a family portrait of foster MaMa, foster BaBa, foster sister --who looks to be a teenager, and Maya. Zoe was so sweet meeting her baby sister! She wanted so much for Maya to play with her, but Maya was too sad to be interested. But later in the afternoon, Maya's personality started to show through just a little bit. She and Zoe played together a bit -- Maya is fascinated by Zoe's baby doll, and it's clear she had one at home to play with. We'll look to replace it on our shopping-for-the-babies trip tomorrow. Maya is an incredibly mimic, both words and deeds and facial expressions. When Mimi dropped a ball and said, "Boom," Maya said "Boom" right back! Maya refused a bottle, but ate her weight in those little Gerber fruit puffs! She picked each one delicately out of the container and ate and ate and ate. . . . She was also willing to give the sippy cup a try, though her technique is a bit raw! We took the spill-proof valve out, since she didn't know she was supposed to SUCK at the spout, so each time she drank she gave herself a little shower! After playing for a few hours, we needed to change Maya's diaper, which entailed getting through several layers of clothing. She definitely did not want that; she screamed and struggled and wriggled all the way through diaper change and clothing change. She practically exhausted herself with all of that, and I expected she'd fall asleep, but she hung in there. Maya had a major meltdown just before bed, even running toward the door as if she thought, "If I can only get through this, I can find my way home again." But she did allow me to hold her and rock her and hum to her. She has definitely been making eye contact all day, but this time it was particularly intense. She finally fell asleep in my arms, and I managed to get her into her crib without waking her up. She is sleeping like an angel right now! By no means is the grieving over with. But she is a real sweetheart, and as adorable as can be! I can't wait to get to know more of her personality as each day goes by! This page accessed 1306 times