That courage thing...

Before we adopted, it always bothered me when people mentioned how “courageous” of us it was to adopt internationally. I never considered this decision to be courageous. Now, it’s an entirely different story! I’m still pretty sure that the courage they were talking about was not quite the same thing that’s needed here, but yes, in retrospect, it is definitely courageous, and not for everyone. You fly halfway around the world, they hand you a baby you absolutely don’t know, send you back to a hotel room, and add crazy schedules, stress, new foods, new smells, new language, and a new environment... Instant parenthood of a very frightened child: yes, you do need some courage.

Still, through all this, the rewards are unbelievable! We’re all tired, some of us are sick (I’m not, S is a bit...), most of the babies are sick, and still, we’re still smiling, still joking around, and still in awe of all those beautiful girls we now have. This is so definitely the trip of a lifetime!

Yummy is changing daily, step by step, each one a cause for celebration. She sleeps a bit better, is easier to comfort, smiles and babbles readily, only cries when she is hungry, whines a bit when tired, can sleep on the go, and best of all, puts out her arms to be picked up! We’re getting to her so much better, to understand her rythms, her likes and dislikes. She is just amazing, such a sweet soul... We’re absolutely, completely in love, and have to watch it in the mornings, because it is so much more fun to play with her than to get ready for the meeting times! Another thing: our guide showed us today how to correctly pronounce her Chinese name, and the look on Yummy’s face when she heard it was priceless! We’ve successfully managed to say it in a way that she can understand, because each time, she quickly turned her head toward whichever one of us was saying it, with a smile on her face. Oh, we’re getting good at this parenting thing! ;o)

S is the most amazing dad, so caring, so involved, and totally seduced by this tiny, beautiful girl. There is so much to do, you really need to work as a team to make it through this, and we’ve been doing pretty darn good!

We arrived in Beijing late Saturday night (she slept through the entire flight!), all of us quite exhausted. Beijing is amazing, but I miss Nanchang and its more traditional feel, and its gentle, smiling people. The hotel we’re at is nice, but full of tourists, Europeans and Americans, a lot of them on retired group tours. One of the couples in our group was bluntly asked how much their baby cost! They also miss Nanchang...

We visited the Summer Palace yesterday: it seemed that all 18 million Beijing people and half of Europe were there... It was a gorgeous Sunday afternoon, so I guess people got out. Today was the medical exam and the embassy. Yummy came through it with flying colors, at 50th percentile for head circumference and height, and 10th percentile for weight. She has a cold, nothing major.

Tomorrow is the Great Wall, then the pearls and jade markets (helloooooo shopping!!! :o) with two friends of mine joining us for the visit, as they are traveling in China now.

I'll leave you with a few pictures from the last days, before going back to my glass of wine... The cutest ones are always with Dad! :o)

Watching the action from the bus: always a favorite activity!












At the temple









Lunch with Dad












Love that face! So much...