GOTCHA DAY!!!

I can only say, that so far, this day could not be any better! After a very anxious morning, we headed to the Civil Affairs office and waited about an hour for Miss Junie to arrive with one of the staff from the orphanage - she was brought by the director of children's services; he said that she is very popular! They had a big party for her leaving, and 2 of her friends cried this morning as she left : ( One of the kids crying was her friend Lin Lin who you have all seen in photos here before!

I can't believe how cute she is - she had on a little floral print and lace dress and her hair was done up in the usual crazy style. She walked in holding one of the dolls we had sent. She looked around for a second while the director and our guide told her who I was, and then I offered her the doll I told her I would send! We played with it together right away - taking off its shoes and socks again and again. We played for quite a while while the guide asked the director the questions I had brought with me. She is adorable, beautiful, funny, and so smart!!! She examined everything we brought with - photos, toys, paper, crayons. She teased me a bit by not sharing her snack with me - and we got some great smiles that way. It was so hard not to cry in front of her, but I held it off! After a little while she let me pick her up and we continued to play, while Sarah took about a hundred photos for me! I signed some paperwork showing that I have temporary guardianship of her until tomorrow when we will return to the office and make things official. In the cab she busied herself taking photos of me and Sarah while we drove back to the hotel. Sarah and our guide Wendy went out to pick up some food while we stayed in the room to play - we shared a banana; a Chinese word I actually know! We played with the Nintendo DS, listening to phrases and words outloud. She has repeated Mama for me, but not really called me that, and repeated the word "bed" after we said the Chinese word. She is just amazing me! She has let me carry her around and asked to be picked up to get a better look at the computer.

She is a bit taller than Quinn, but sleeps with the same little noisy breathing : ) She immediately said jie jie (big sister) when we looked through photos of the girls. She has used the bathroom with my help, stuffed herself full of food with no help at all, and is now sleeping in my bed for her naptime! We are headed out to Walmart when she wakes up so that we can pick up a few things - apparently she drinks a bottle of milk at bedtime, and I did not have a bottle with me! I think a new pair of shoes is in order, too!
WOW!!! Photos to follow.