She's Ours!!
This was Annie's official adoption day! We started out at the hotel breakfast buffet. It was interesting to see what she liked and didn't like. The things she didn't like got placed by her on my plate or in a bowl or cup (we'll work on that later :) I gave her a choice of three little dresses to wear on her special day, and we picked out a bow to go with it, which only stayed on for brief moments, but at least long enough for photos!
Ming Ming picked us up at 9am and we were off to a small store that took our official photo for the documents.
Next we went to the Civil Affairs Bureau where we did paperwork and a brief interview in which they asked what our intentions were for our daughter. Ming Ming had me check over the document one more time before they made it official. She said that if there was something wrong on it we would have to fly back to Shanghai to have it corrected before completing the process in Guangzhou. No pressure here! We had our pictures taken with our documents as an official family, and then we had to take another 30 minute ride to the notary's office.
On the way back to the hotel, Ming Ming had our driver drop us off at Nanjing Road, which is Shanghai's biggest pedestrian shopping district. Stephen loved the architecture that we saw there! Annie has decided that she really likes to be carried around, which is great for bonding, but that girl is heavy! It was a bit chilly, so we headed briefly into a department store, and then over to a McDonalds, where Annie tried out her first happy meal. She was not impressed. She liked the fries, as they were a conduit for the ketchup, but after a bite of the chicken nuggets, they went back into the box. (Can't say I blame her! We'll try Chick-Fil-A when we get back home!)
Next we went into a children's department store with 7 floors of anything you could ever think of for kids. (It's a good thing they don't have this back home, or I would definitely need restraint!) At the top floor was the toy section. Annie found a little lego play table and we let her have fun with the blocks for a while. Then we walked around and enjoyed watching Annie checking out all of the different kinds of toys available. Stephen had cruised ahead at one point and found a doll section that he thought she might like. And boy did she! These dolls were kind of like an Asian barbie, and there were several different ones to choose from. I let her pick out whichever one she wanted, and oh, was she so happy and proud of that doll! This was the first treasure that she's ever gotten to pick out on her own, and it makes me all teary eyed now to remember her taking it to the lady to purchase it, and then carrying it in it's special bag with such joy. She usually walks between me and Stephen holding both of her hands, but this time she wouldn't let Stephen hold her hand because she was holding onto her pink bag with her 'Wa Wa' (Mandarin word for doll). On the taxi ride home she kept moving it around to different places making sure it was safe.
Back at the hotel Annie played with her new doll for a while, and then we tried lying down for a bit. She had been up since 5am, so I knew she must be tired. I slept for a bit, but I don't think she did! Stephen said that she got up and went potty all by herself while I was zonked out. She has done great with telling me she needs to go, even when we are out and about! Stephen told me yesterday evening that he is amazed at how well she is doing, and that she always seems happy. I know that might not always be the case in the future, and it could be that she doesn't want to show us any other emotions right now. I was thinking yesterday about how busy she is all of the time, and how it almost reminds me of having a two year old around with the way she gets into everything and touches everything she comes across. Then I realized that in a way, she is like a two year old! Two year olds need to touch everything and get into everything because it is all new to them, and they need to take in how everything feels. Annie has been so limited on what she has experienced and the physical things that have been in her life. It's all new to her!
She really is fun to play with! We play with stickers and balls, dollies and my little ponies on and on at the hotel. It is going to be interesting to add Wyatt into the equation next week! I really can't tell a whole lot about his personality (except that he is adorable) from the two videos I have seen of him, so it will be fun to watch those two come together as new siblings! Then back at home we will have the three amigos (I hope!!!)
Ming Ming picked us up at 9am and we were off to a small store that took our official photo for the documents.
Next we went to the Civil Affairs Bureau where we did paperwork and a brief interview in which they asked what our intentions were for our daughter. Ming Ming had me check over the document one more time before they made it official. She said that if there was something wrong on it we would have to fly back to Shanghai to have it corrected before completing the process in Guangzhou. No pressure here! We had our pictures taken with our documents as an official family, and then we had to take another 30 minute ride to the notary's office.
On the way back to the hotel, Ming Ming had our driver drop us off at Nanjing Road, which is Shanghai's biggest pedestrian shopping district. Stephen loved the architecture that we saw there! Annie has decided that she really likes to be carried around, which is great for bonding, but that girl is heavy! It was a bit chilly, so we headed briefly into a department store, and then over to a McDonalds, where Annie tried out her first happy meal. She was not impressed. She liked the fries, as they were a conduit for the ketchup, but after a bite of the chicken nuggets, they went back into the box. (Can't say I blame her! We'll try Chick-Fil-A when we get back home!)
Next we went into a children's department store with 7 floors of anything you could ever think of for kids. (It's a good thing they don't have this back home, or I would definitely need restraint!) At the top floor was the toy section. Annie found a little lego play table and we let her have fun with the blocks for a while. Then we walked around and enjoyed watching Annie checking out all of the different kinds of toys available. Stephen had cruised ahead at one point and found a doll section that he thought she might like. And boy did she! These dolls were kind of like an Asian barbie, and there were several different ones to choose from. I let her pick out whichever one she wanted, and oh, was she so happy and proud of that doll! This was the first treasure that she's ever gotten to pick out on her own, and it makes me all teary eyed now to remember her taking it to the lady to purchase it, and then carrying it in it's special bag with such joy. She usually walks between me and Stephen holding both of her hands, but this time she wouldn't let Stephen hold her hand because she was holding onto her pink bag with her 'Wa Wa' (Mandarin word for doll). On the taxi ride home she kept moving it around to different places making sure it was safe.
Back at the hotel Annie played with her new doll for a while, and then we tried lying down for a bit. She had been up since 5am, so I knew she must be tired. I slept for a bit, but I don't think she did! Stephen said that she got up and went potty all by herself while I was zonked out. She has done great with telling me she needs to go, even when we are out and about! Stephen told me yesterday evening that he is amazed at how well she is doing, and that she always seems happy. I know that might not always be the case in the future, and it could be that she doesn't want to show us any other emotions right now. I was thinking yesterday about how busy she is all of the time, and how it almost reminds me of having a two year old around with the way she gets into everything and touches everything she comes across. Then I realized that in a way, she is like a two year old! Two year olds need to touch everything and get into everything because it is all new to them, and they need to take in how everything feels. Annie has been so limited on what she has experienced and the physical things that have been in her life. It's all new to her!
She really is fun to play with! We play with stickers and balls, dollies and my little ponies on and on at the hotel. It is going to be interesting to add Wyatt into the equation next week! I really can't tell a whole lot about his personality (except that he is adorable) from the two videos I have seen of him, so it will be fun to watch those two come together as new siblings! Then back at home we will have the three amigos (I hope!!!)
Congratulations, Annie Offer! Love you already.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE seeing your updates! I spend way too much time extra online watching for them :). Annie is absolutely precious! And that 'official' picture where she is looking up at you is positively the sweetest thing I've ever seen!
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