Day 4

Today we went to 3 government offices & did paper work...well Mom did. This morning when we were getting ready, Lili tried to get in the tub by herself! It was so adorable! We went to Walmart, Ithink it was kinda' yucky because it was wet at the bottom of the escalator,they tried to fix it by putting cardboard at the bottom. So what they ended up with was wet cardboard! Love, Mckenzie
Hi everyone,
Thanks for the posts on the blog and the e-mails. I wish we could respond but we still cannot send e-mails. Mckenzie seems to be over jet lag. She slept last night from 7-7 and I had to wake her up. We both woke up feeling well and did not feel dizzy and nauseous. Lili slept well.
...Like Mckenzie said Lili loves baths. She was excited this morning to see the water running. She does go the bathroom on the toilet when she is put on it but I don't think she is totally trained - better than not at all.
We met our guide in the lobby at 9 this morning and walked across the street to the Civil Affairs Building. Our adoption is final (yeah) as far as China is concerned. We did a lot of running around town with the guide to get things finished, went to Walmart for diapers, KFC for Mckenzie's lunch and back to the hotel. The weather is cold and rainy(for those of you coming soon - plan on it being really cold - the office bldgs are not heated like Beijing - the hotel is and the cabs are but other than that plan to be cold - I wish I would have brought more hand warmers). Our hotel is as nice as we've been in before.... kind of makes me feel bad because it is so nice and beautiful. The food is also good (for all of you traveling here soon). We gave the orphanage director our donations today (and the camera for Mae Ellen). The director is very nice - she said good bye to Lili and Lili blew a kiss (I'm told this is how they say good bye and does not mean kisses like it does to us). I don't think we will be going to the orphanage - definitely not inside. It sounds like they are not allowing it and are enforcing it more now - I heard other families from other agencies being told this today as well today.
Lili is still really quiet today. She has made a few noises and is very busy. Mckenzie and I agree that she is another Mia (my sister's 2 year old). I feel bad for my mom when the two of them get together at her house :) Won't that be fun :) She is really clingy to me today... Poor Mckenzie keeps trying to hold her but she cries when she does. She is not a fussy baby (so far) just really quiet (unless Kenz picks her up). I have her in a 12 month outfit today and it fits her really well. She is a gatherer and collector... it is amazing how many things she can hold at a time. Also, she eats really fast.... shoves food in and stores it in her cheeks. It has been great today getting to know her. Pretty weird that we haven't even had her a day yet but the love we feel for her is so much stronger than even yesterday. She is a doll. I am excited to see how she unfolds during the next few weeks and months. As much as I hate being away from my family I think it is really good for us to be here and to only focus on her ... hopefully, she will become more and more comfortable with us. We feel extremely blessed and are grateful for her.
Well... new posting... just as you are getting up we are getting ready to go to bed. Our Monday was good and hope yours will be also.

At noon today our guide dropped us off at the hotel and we vegged the rest of the day (napped as you see in a few of the pictures) For dinner we ordered room service (because we don't know where else to eat) of fruit and rice - both nights we have ordered this plus one more dish just to try but the extra dishes each night have not been good choices). Lili is opening up little by little. We are getting more smiles tonight and she let Mckenzie give her a bottle and she is not crying when Mckenzie touches her. We had to go to the market a minute ago because the diapers we bought at Walmart were more like female pads and did not have sides... luckily we found diapers like we are use to - not sure how effective the others are...???

Hope all is well. Tomorrow we are doing a little touring. Please keep the posts and e-mails coming :)