Birthday party for Ellie....Wednesday, July 20th, Day 3

Meanwhile Nina and Gracie have been planning a big birthday party for tonight. Their new friend Ellie has turned 9 today and the party was planned to the last detail and held in Gracie and Nina's room where the two have created quite a party atmosphere complete with balloons, snacks, and rice crackers (a favorite among the girls and babies alike). Our little family of four families gathered with babies and snacks to celebrate. It really does feel like a big family. We are certainly in this together, sharing in each other's moments and joys and struggles...supporting....it is a surreal experience...but of course, so is this whole experience...and having one another makes it even richer.

Wednesday, July 20th: Day 3: Babies

Babies! Our wonderful little group of four families met in Hing Kong and have been on our journey to our little ones together. Monday introduced four beautiful baby girls into our lives. Since then, we have shared formula, diapers that didn't fit our little ones, switched clothes with each other because our babies sizes were little like we expected, and shared stories, big successes and milestones for our little ones (each day brings miraculous changes), and poopy diaper stories. Emma, Jenna, Morgan, and Stella are the little darlings that have changed our lives these past 3 days.

The oldest of the little ones is Morgan. She and Emma are orphanage sisters. Morgan is a beautiful little one who is keeping her mom and dad on their toes. She has a sweet tooth we have discovered and with such a change in her little life at 18 months, a few extra sweets is okay. She likes to play games with her food and it is pretty cute when she does because she gets a smile that well, if you are the one to get it from her, you would want to do it over and over again.

While Morgan is a picky eater, Stella is the adventurous eater. She is discovering new foods every moment. And the girl knows what she wants. Stella is 13 months and the new member of the Braddock family, our dear friends whose oldest Nina is Gracie's orphanage sister. Stella began her life in a foster home and the difference is obvious. She is right on target developmentally and is in fact directing her parents quite well with her famous directorial point to all things needed including pointing to dirty diapers just in case her parents miss the odor in her britches. Stella is running for president someday...you know, when they change that whole have to be born in America thing.

Jenna is adorable and the youngest in age. She is a tall one at her little 8 months and has this sweet bottom tooth grin that melts you. She is also an orphanage sister of Nina and Gracie's...although I am happy to be able to say she lived in the new facility. She is playful and adores her mommy. She is eating solid foods which is wonderful at 8 months here. You can see she is very loved by her new mom, dad and sister.

And our Emma. She is 12months, but more like the age of 6 month old and the same size as one as well. Developmentally, she is the youngest and has yet to hold anything more than her Auntie blankie corner and our fingers. She is gaining strength to hold her head a bit now but her neck isn't strong...but her smile...oh that smile is strong...and it tells me a lot about her inner strength and our Emma is going get there just fine I think. She is also the affectionate bug. She loves to put her hand on my face or caress my arm. See loves to hold her sisters fingers and loves daddy.'s big broad chest for tummy time. And often I look down while holding her and catch her simply staring at my face and right into my eyes and then when I smile and her eyes focus, she gently smiles back.

4 babies. 4 sweet personalities. 4 stories. 4 places in their growth. 4 families in love. 4 beautiful flowers blossoming before our eyes.

Jie Jie and Mei Mei

Three became big sisters this week. Jie Jie as big sister is called in Mandarin. It isn't just a big moment for mom and dad but also for those becoming big sisters for the first time. Lots of questions. Will I be a good big sister? Will mom and dad still have time for me? What will she be like? Will she like me?

Each big sister had their own questions about what was happening. But becoming sisters is pretty incredible...and a sisters' relationship is unlike others....there is something about it that only sisters can really understand. And well, right now, they are each getting started, finding the answers to all their questions...but if not already, very soon, they will have that thing...that indescribable thing that sisters have and only sisters understand....I think it is already starting....

Happy Sister Day, Ellie, Nina and my sweet Graceanna.

Baby Stella and the Braddocks

Our dear friends, the Braddocks, joined us in this journey to get our daughters. Their daughter Nina and our Gracie were adopted together and were orphanage sisters. together we met our second daughters. Here are a few snapshots of the new member of the Braddock family, adorable Stella.

Adoption Day, Part 2

While we waited in the large darken waiting room for the other families to finish their adoption process with the registrar, I caught Gracie walked around the room pointing different chairs and walls and talking to herself. I asked her what she was doing. "well," she said, "I am remembering...". From the photos and videos she had watched and looked through a hundred times. "you sat here reading to me...and this room...this is where they gave me to you. This is where I cried a lot...". I listened as her memories of the stories told and pictures and videos she had seen a hundred times took form in the actual place. I had meant to do all that with her this day, but little Emma was my complete attention knowing Gracie was content to flit about with Nina and her new friend Ellie. But for these moments we talked. While at the center both days Gracie hung close to us. While in the room where we had received Gracie we signed all the final papers, assured once again our dedication to little Emma, Emma was all smiles and facial expressions that had lacked the day before. Her little eyes desperately trying to widen and focus on my face while I held her. So silent. Just staring into my face or that of daddy auntie, sissy and cousin when they would appear close enough. The notary who said he was a bit shy of his English (I told him nit worry as it was far better than my Mandarin) asked us all the important questions about address and family, livelihood etc. Then asked about our first daughter. He then looked up to see her...and said to our rep how beautiful she was...how beautiful. Yes...beautiful...inside and out. They commented on the striking similarities in the girls. Then, he asked why we chose to adopt again from China, a question from the paperwork he was filling out. We gave a two or three sentence answer about our family, our first daughter, the connection they would share...all true, but really, it is so much more too....so much. With the dusting wait of 4 more years staring us in the face years ago, I suppose we could have switched long ago and avoided the long long wait for this day. And for some, that was the right thing for their family. For us, we didn't even consider it...no, our hearts already were tied deeply to this place...to this home of our first daughter...to it's culture, it's children...it's earth. I looked down into the face of this quiet little one staring as vest she could up into my face and tears welled up...five years gone, melted away, this was where we were meant to be...this little one who we were meant to love and adore. Her little hand found it's way to mine while Matt finished answering questions and we handed over our gift thanking him profusely. Who do you thank really? Who do you thank? A country, a place who cared for her, each one who made the moment possible...a birth mother.... As I write this recalling that day, Emma has finally coughed and cleared her poor little lungs that struggle each time she eats and she is now content wandering into a beautiful morning nap. Today, we will visit the Buddhist temple on our own...without our guide but with our little group of families who have grown quite close over the last few days. We want to go there...a place we went with Gracie. It is not a tourist location. But we go to pay tribute to a culture really, a place our daughters called their home...and to see the turtles saved from becoming turtle soup... ;)

Day 3, making Progress and Audrey Gags at the Walmart in China

Made in China, the tag says. We went to the Walmart today. There are two things in this world that you can almost guarantee that no matter where you are, they will be near...no matter the remote place or the culture...they kind of make the world a smaller place...Walmart and Starbucks...okay, I never saw one in the Masai Mara but my guess is Nairobi has them....well, this isn't your typical Walmart with the elderly gentleman greeting you at the door and handing you ano verdicts cart for your oversized purchases...their are none of those happy faces cutting prices...there are American baby products lime Huggies and Johnson baby stuff...and if you know the packaging colors you can identify the Enfamil packaging written entirely in Chinese. There are Barbies. Since Matteo makes them here it is only fair they are sold here too. But this Walmart is way cooler than Walmart back home, because here there are about a hundred varieties of mushrooms in bins, young smiling girls dressed in retro dresses of sherbet colors offering samples of brightly colored juices, and there are skinned ducks and other critters on ice. Audrey almost lost her junk. That may been my favorite part, walking though the food aisles with Audrey. My little cousin is quite expressive. We did find all our baby needs and then a load of snack foods to feed our ravenous bunch. Emma was quite a hit with the customers and employees alike. Occasionally, a well meaning smiling lady would come by and to ouch her feet or pull her head toward them to see her face, smile and nod or speak to me in quick Mandarin tones. Gracie and Nina drew attention everywhere they went. People approaching and asking if they were ours. Yes, proudly so. " Beautiful. Beautiful girl" was mostly what we could understand from our very limited Mandarin skills. No matter where we are, we draw stares, sometimes just stares, but mist if the time, smiles and interaction with her our little and big girls. Gracie has decided she needs to work on her Mandarin more as many approach her talking in Mandarin and her eyes widen unsure of what they are saying.

Meanwhile, Emma is making huge steps in just two days. She is alert rather than asleep or staring into nothingness all the time...although the staring is still there at times. We cuddle a lot. She loves. She may be behind in a lot of ways but affectionate she is amazing. She reaches for my face and touches it, hods my hair gently, wraps her fingers around ours, especially sissy's and muzzles in close...as close as she can possibly get. She struggles in some other ways, but bonding has been beautiful.

Tuesday: Adoption Day!

I am not sure what was going on in the rest of the world Tuesday...for that matter, I haven't known what is going on in the rest of the world for days....Tuesday morning, I awoke early with Emma. She had nor gone to sleep her first night until almost midnight, long after her daddy had fallen into a deep sleep. It was an ea.ry morning appointment with the welfare institute. When we arrived where we had received our little ones only a day before we entered with little ones we felt we had known much longer than 24 hrs. The building was empty this morning. So different than the wall to people crowded in the hallways and crevices of each corridor, sitting, napping or playing with their new babies. There were nit the noisy sounds of cries and laughter...it was quiet except for an occasional echo from our babies' sounds. We lined up quickly for the family photo for the official adoption registration. Officially, it is for parents with the newly adopted child. We knew this was going to cause a bit of heartache fir a certain big sister. So, falling the official one Gracie joined us for our new family photo. That's when it hit me. We were now a family of four...well, we were moments away from officially being a family of four. We were quickly shepherded in tot the registrars office where the legal proceeding for the adoption take place. It was of course the same room we had been in 7 years ago. And although I only sent two days at that clinic 7 ago I knew it so well. We sat once again at the tab.e with the same registrar and she looked over our paperowork. She paused to look up at Emma and Gracie and said with such surprise that they looked alike...so much alike. And they do. Gracie took great pride in this of course. The registrar asked her where she was from and she told her. It was a bit surreal to watch Gracie carry on a little conversation with the woman who made her adoption official. She looked over the paperwork and said, "are you happy with her? Will you promise to love her, care for her and never abandon her? ". We said that we promised. Yes, we live her. And then with that we placed our thumb prints in the red ink and signed the adoption papers and then little emma's tiny foot was placed in ink and sealed the deal. Gracie, sitting next to us began to get tearful. We had promised her she would be able to be a part if the moment... Another paper...our souvenir, we had wanted to place her fingerprint in. The. The registrar did. Something so beautiful. She took Gracie's hand and placed it in the ink and then on the back of the paperwork for us, next to her sister footprint she brought her hand..but before placing it on the paper she said, "do you promise to love her and be a good big sister". And Gracie said, yes.