Gotcha!

If you smile at me I will understand, cause that is something everybody everywhere does in the same language. - Crosby, Stills, and Nash; Jefferson Airplane, Wooden Ships

......and smile he does!

With butterflies in my stomach we headed over to the Civil Affairs office at about 1:00 this afternoon. We were the first to arrive. Shortly after we got there a nanny and orphanage director arrived with a little girl who was going to be adopted today also. Brian and I anxiously awaited Wen's arrival and carefully watched out the big window waiting for him to arrive. Then, there they were, two women holding each of his hands turning the corner. They came through the doors and Wen walked right over to me! I offered him a little stuff monkey, but he was a little unsure of it. I think he wasn't sure if it was real! Then I pulled out the trains....he loved them. He continued to inspect EVERYTHING in the room! He even tapped me on the arm and pointed to the baby across the room. He was very curious about everything around. He was accompanied by the head nanny who told us that he is very smart. We quickly came to the same conclusion. He imitates everything you do and you only have to show him once how to do something. He's even learned how to work the remote for the T.V.!! When he arrived he was wearing a hearing aid in his left ear. The nanny said "mama" and he quickly repeated it. So it seems that he does have some hearing and is benefiting from his hearing aid. He also seems to really like wearing it. I'm glad I didn't have to fight that battle. I asked about the hearing in his other ear and they told us that it's about the same. Needless to say as soon as possible he'll be wearing some top of the line digital hearing aids- in both ears! It doesn't seem like he has a lot of expressive language at this point. I also think he may need glasses! He tends to hold things very close to his face while he examines them. So we'll definately be getting his eyes checked too. He also has a bit of a cold.

While we were at the Civil Affairs office we needed to go upstairs to take a family picture. I put out my hand to hold his and he immediately took my hand and started walking with me! He then let me pick him up and carry him up the stairs. We came back down, asked the nanny a few more questions. They presented us with two books filled with pictures and information about him. We will definately need to get that translated right away. They also gave me a braclet made of little crystal balls and told me that Lianyungang city (where he is from) is know for their crystal. Needless to say I was extremely touched by the gesture. Then it was time to leave. The nanny waved to him, blew him a kiss, and he in turn did the same. We left the office with him in my arms :)

Just before getting back to the hotel Wen fell asleep (he probably needed to close his eyes too so he couldn't see crazy driving that goes on here!). He was only asleep a couple of minutes when we got here. Brian carried him out of the van and brought him up, but he didn't stay sleeping. We got back to the room, our guide showed him the potty, and then took Brian down to the grocery store to get some snacks for him. She was very concerned about us feeding him! She told us what to order from room service and that she thought we should give him an early dinner....which we did! Boy can this boy eat. He ate 4 wontons and two bags of cookies! He even shared his cookies, feeding one to each of us. In the room we all played and were constantly amazed at how incredibly smart he is. He also is very proud of himself when he figures things out and turns to you with the biggest smile on his face. He smiles a lot and has the cutest little dimple in his right cheek! Through the night he spontaneously said "mama" and he will repeat it every time you say it to him. He also has wonderful fine motor skills. We were very impressed with his coloring! He colors the smallest little things on the page and pretty much stays in the lines! We also gave him a bath tonight. He was wearing three pairs of pants (two quilted and one regular, three shirts (two quilted and a sweater), and a jacket!!!! Tomorrow I will post a picture of them. I didn't want to lay them on the bed to take a picture and have him want them back on! Another funny thing to note, when he arrived he was holding a Mentos candy in his hand. He held on to that thing all the way home, through his bath, and the whole time we played, until he finally asked Brian to open it! At about 7:30 we could see that he was getting tired and was starting to look a little sad, so we shut the lights. That's when he started to cry. I held him on the bed, rocked him, and rubbed his back. He only cried for about 5 minutes, and at one point looked at me and smiled :) He quickly fell asleep. Here are some pictures from the day! I am wiped out, but thankful for a good day, and thus far easy transition, and hoping for a good night's sleep!

Our first glimpse of Wen turning the corner

We meet at last! Not too sure about the monkey!

He loves those cups!

His first bath. He was much skinnier without all his layers of bulky cloths!

Having fun with Dad

Look at that smile....and that dimple!

Have you ever seen a three year old color this good???