Day Five-It’s Official!

We didn’t sleep great- mostly due to our baby girl who would only sleep if she was laying on top of me with her arms wrapped around my neck! Sweet Baby!!! The jet lag didn’t help much either!

We got up and got dressed to head down to breakfast as soon as it opened.

Sweet girl in her pretty outfit! (and her very FIRST hair bow!!!)

At breakfast, she sat on my lap and took little bitty bites of everything that I offered her. She had very limited experience with solid foods so far in her life. At the orphanage, she was getting several bottles of formula a day and once a day, she was spoon fed a small bowl of congee with diced carrots. She ate off of my plate at breakfast. She tried oatmeal with brown sugar, scrambled eggs, hash brown, bacon and toast with blackberry jelly. She seemed to really like everything she tried, but she really didn’t know how to take a bite off of a fork. She just seemed very shy and unsure. But I kept offering bites to her until she stopped opening her mouth when I offered it :) She also drank some apple juice.

Side note: they have the BEST apple juice in China. In all 3 hotels we stayed in, as well as what you can buy from a convenience store… I don’t love apple juice, but it was like I couldn’t get enough of it! It was so light and refreshing. Not thick and loaded down with sugar like lots of the kinds we have here. Yum. I wish I had a big, cold glass of it right now!

Daddy came to her rescue again while Mamma was showering. She was tuckered out and it was still early in the morning! That sweet Daddy wasn’t enjoying this at all… :) Ha! He was wishing we didn’t have to go anywhere so he could just sit and hold her for as long as she’d let him!

It was about a 45 minute drive to the office where we had to do the paperwork to make the adoption legal. Unfortunately I got car sick on the way there… and I felt sick the entire time we were there. It’s not a fun feeling :(

We waited to be called up to a desk and when it was our turn, we stepped up to the desk and were shown some of the papers that we had completed previously to check the validity. We were asked a few questions including, why do you want to adopt this child and do you promise to never abuse or abandon this child and always care for her. Then we signed some papers and Khloe even had to put her fingerprints in red ink on some papers. She didn’t love that part :)

After the interview, we waited to be called again and then were escorted to another room. The agent led us down the hall and into this room where he gave us all of our documents and we took these pictures.

He congratulated us on adopting our new daughter and handed us our official adoption decree. IT’S OFFICIAL!!!

After we left the civil affairs office, we had to drive another 45 minutes or so to sign papers at the notary office. Our sweet driver and guide insisted that I sit up front on the way. So sweet! Khloe sat with her Daddy in the back and did a great job. She never fussed. It was in the 50’s that day and I had the window cracked and had taken off my sweater and my scarf and was just in short sleeves and jeans. The driver just couldn’t believe that I wasn’t cold. It’s not that I wasn’t chilly, but I was feeling so sick that I just needed to feel the cold air! Of course, they were all bundled up like we would be here in the middle of winter with snow on the ground… and it was in the 50’s! In the 50’s at home, it’s nothing to see people in town wearing shorts and/or flip flops :) When we told them that, they were laughing and they just couldn’t believe it!

When we arrived to the notary office, we all got out of the car to grab our things and go in and when I got out of the car and opened the back door to the van, as soon as Khloe saw me, she smiled and reached for me! It was like she didn’t realize I was in the car when I was sitting in the front or something! Sweet baby. She melted my heart. Again. Oh, the incredible love I already had for this little person I’d only met 24 hours ago!

After we were finished at the notary office, they took us back to our hotel. It was only about a 15 minute drive.

When we got back to the room, it was lunch time. Khloe had some baby food and Daddy and I made ourselves cups of noodles and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that we’d bought at the grocery store. We also found oreos, snicker bars, coke, sprite and some other goodies. We were eating that stuff like it was going out of style! For some reason, it all just tasted SO good! :) And we found out that baby girl loves all kinds of snacks and treats!

And would you just look at this sweetness?!

What a difference a day makes!!!! Our first smiles that we captured on camera! These pictures are priceless to us! Our baby girl that we LOVED SO MUCH was feeling safer, beginning to trust us and starting to come out of her shell. The best feeling in the world!!

Last picture of the day:

We really needed some clean undergarments and Khloe needed clean jammies. I had brought 4 pairs but she was sweating SO much when she was sleeping, she was soaking wet after napping/sleeping and we’d already gone through 3 pairs and only had 1 pair left for that night! Never fear! Super Mamma brought laundry detergent for emergency situations just like this!

We took all of our hanging clothes out of the closet and hung the wet clothes on all the hangers. One thing we’d learned since being in China, was how to improvise and roll with the punches. I don’t normally love situations where things aren’t perfect and I’m not in control (Yes, I know it’s a problem! ;) but my husband, my rock, was always there to be cool, calm and collected and keep me calm. As usual! Alone, we are each lacking and struggle with certain things, but together we have it all. We really make the best team! This experience was the most intense and most emotional thing we’ve ever been through together, but it was also the most incredible bonding experience for us as well.

For dinner that night, Daddy walked to Starbucks and McDonalds and brought back the delicious goodness for us to enjoy. Seriously, that was the most delicious fish sandwich and french fries I’d ever put in my mouth! ;) I normally don’t get too excited about that meal, but when you’ve been eating things you aren’t used to for several days, there’s just nothing like some comfort food that reminds  you of home! And the Starbucks…. he brought back a latte and a frappuccino with extra whipped cream too! YUMMMY!!! I had one in each hand and didn’t know what to do with myself! :)

What a great day. Khloe was now officially ours and we are officially hers! FOREVER! Thank you, Lord!!!