All is Well with Abigail!

 

Meet our happy baby Abigail!

An hour after arriving at our hotel in Nanchang, it was time to go get Abigail! The foster mother had made a special trip to bring her to the Civil Affairs Office herself, which means Abigail didn't go back to the orphanage before meeting the adoptive parents like most fostered babies. The foster mother even tucked a special note in Abigail's pocket so that we may contact her later. (I'd like to get some pictures from her of Abigail's first nine months of life.)

She had Abigail dressed in brand new clothes and had her hair pulled back in a barrette. It was obvious that Abigail was very well cared for and loved.

Abigail has been very content. She's already flashing a smile. She sat in a high chair at dinner without a cry. She was busy moving around Cheerios and Puffs and a napkin with which she seemed to try to wipe her mouth. She ate several bites of congee (thick rice soup), but is just sipping her bottle right now. She went to sleep in just a few minutes of me putting her down. The foster mother left information in a report that she liked the crib to be rocked or shaked a little when going to sleep. It worked like a charm!

The only time she fusses is when someone walks around the corner of our hotel room to the bathroom. At first it was just when Doug was out of sight. But now it appears that she wants all of us in the same room together, because she cries when Natalie and I leave the room, too. But then again, she never cried once when we got up to get our food at the dinner buffet.

Natalie likes making faces at the baby and trying to make her laugh. She is already adjusting to sisterhood. But after about 15 minutes after sitting around and admiring the baby, she said, "What are we going to do now?" We explained that this is kind of what you do with babies. She said she was already bored.

Bless her heart! Natalie has gotten used to a lot of activity here in China. Yesterday we toured the Great Wall, a Cloissone Factory, Summer Palace and a Jade Factory. We were sightseeing from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. We were slowed down literally by unbelievably huge crowds and horrendous traffic. I'll go into more detail later. Evidently lots of people are in Beijing for an upcoming holiday, May Day. Then we had to come home and repack for the next day.

I'll have to post our Great Wall pictures and experience in another post. Hopefully, tomorrow.

We are all over the moon with Abigail. We feel so blessed that she is so healthy -- did I mention her Michelin Man legs? Oh, and that I should have lifted weights before I came. She is a super chunk, or at least that's what Doug calls her.

My legs were already shaky from my limited climb up the Great Wall. Now my arms are, too, in just a few minutes of carrying her. She'll give me a daily workout!

Really, we couldn't be more lucky!

I want to say thank you to everyone who has e-mailed with support. It makes all the difference. I also need to explain that we can't see the blog or its comments from here in China because it is blocked. We e-mail our posts and pictures to the United States and they are added to the blog there. But we can read our home e-mail.

Once again, thank you to everyone. For now, you'll have to enjoy only pictures. But one day real soon, we'd like for you to meet her, too!!