Breakfast in the Bathtub

Everybody has had breakfast in bed so why not breakfast in the bathtub? Grace and Julia were up by 5:00 this morning. Alyssa was not. So the girls went in the bathtub to watch a little tv and have a before breakfast snack. At the other end of the bathtub is a "flat screen TV built in. Definite not what we would call a flat screen.

It's Official

Today, April 16, Fu Hao Ling officially became our daughter in the eyes of China. She is now Alyssa Faith Braxton. All the paperwork was completed this morning. We just have to go get her picture taken at the police station this afternoon. On Friday we will be able to pick up her passport.

Alyssa is starting to come out of her shell. She is laughing and talking. We still have yet to see her cry. She was quite fascinated with all the driving around this morning. We haven't found a food she didn't like. For breakfast she had gruel(I think it is like congee which reminds me of very thin grits), eggs, and bread. She is much more babyish than Grace was as this age. She won't feed herself unless you put it in her hand.

After completing the paperwork today we went to the R Mart, similar to Walmart. We were able to get a few things for Alyssa. Dallas was so ready to get back to the room. Both times we have adopted from China the guide has rushed us through this trip. We would love to browse and decide what we would really like to get. Instead we are rushed and feel frazzled after we are finished. There was a McDonalds outside the mall. We were able to get food to bring back to the room. Dallas ordered me a chicken sandwich but that is not what we got. It was some unidentified meat. Dallas had to give me his sandwich because I don't eat unidentified meat even from McDonalds.

Now everyone is asleep except Zachary and me. We had hoped if we took a nap than we wouldn't crash so early tonight. Unfortunately Zachary and I couldn't get to sleep. Big mistake. Now that it is almost time for everyone to get up I feel like I could sleep.

Director Zhou from The Fuzhou Social Welfare Institute with us. The sign behind us says Jiangxi Adoptions, wish we wern't covering it up.

Introducing Alyssa Faith Braxton

Alyssa arrived at 4:00 with Director Zhou, his wife, and his wife's friend. Alyssa walked right in but just stood there. The kids and I tried to engage her in playing but she was not interested. After about 30 minutes the director,wife, and friend left. Alyssa did not cry, still hasn't.

We changed Alyssa's clothes because she was scratching constantly. The clothes were obviously new so they may have been bothering her skin. After applying some lotion she seemed a little better.

We fed Alyssa a bottle. We knew before coming that at 2 she is still using a bottle and formula. We will most likely try to discontinue formula use when we leave her province. At dinner we ordered room service. Fried rice with egg and French fries were big hits.

Alyssa had her first bath as a Braxton. She enjoyed it until it was time to wash her hair. At this point she was cold and almost starting crying. We quickly got her out of the tub.

By 8:10 we were all ready to crash especially me. I had already fallen
asleep several times throughout the evening. Alyssa drank a bottle, laid in her crib, and went right to sleep.

Alyssa is particularly fond of Zachary. No surprise there. By the end of the night he had her laughing and playing.

What a major difference from the experience we had with Grace. We are sure at some point the grieving will begin.

Alyssa's Coming To Our Room At 4:00

We have arrived in Nanchang, Jiangxi. Our facilitator, Lily, picked us up at the airport and brought us to our hotel. We are staying at the Jin Feng Hotel. Our room is "Wow." I think we have the presidential suite.

Alyssa will be brought to us at 4:00 p.m. It still doesn't seem real. Are we really in China? Zachary agrees with me that it seems so unreal. Reality happens at 4:00.

I had forgotten how much I love China. I don't know what it is but I just love being here. I remember now feeling that way last time.

Next post will be all about our new daughter. It won't be long.

Shanghai from Our Hotel Room

Shanghai

We arrived safely in Shanghai. Shan picked us and gave us a quick tour of the Residence(need to check to make sure I have the name right). It was built by the French. It's now houses many restaurants and shops. Next we went to The Bund. There is lots of history at this park on the river. At night it is all lit up so we walked the 10-15 minutes down there. Very pretty. We were going to try little local chinese place on the way back but then passed a french bakery. We bought a loaf of bread and came back to the room to have peanut butter sandwiches. Everyone was exhausted so it worked out well.

Please excuse how we look at The Bund. This photo was taken almost 24 hours after leaving home. We went sightseeing straight from the plane. You will notice we are wearing the same clothes as the day before. Sine it was late in the day there was no time to freshen up.

Fu Hao Ling soon to be Alyssa Faith Braxton

After a few hours of sleep I am ready to go. Whenever I travel out of country I always have this problem. For some reason I require much less sleep in a foreign country.

This morning I am praying for Fu Hao Ling. This will be her last night sleeping with her foster family. She most likely has no idea what is about to happen. In the early afternoon she will be taken from her foster family in Fuzhou City and brought to Nanchang. Will she be sad? Will the foster family be sad? Praying for them all. What is a happy occasion for us will most likely be heartbreaking for Fu Hao Ling and her foster family.