March 28, 2005 (about 12 hours after the previous post) ADOPTION DAY!!! Hi Family and Friends, Well, the long awaited day finally arrived! The group rode together to the adoption facility, and the babies arrived around 11:00am. The orphanage director and a few of the workers presented the babies one at a time to each parent, but it was still complete chaos. Leah cried hysterically from the time she was given to us for about an hour. She would look at either of us and burst into relentless sobs. It really was quite heartbreaking. I think she was just plain terrified of us, but after about an hour, Rich was able to calm her and keep her from crying. She still didn't want to have anything to do with me for the next few hours and would start to cry each time I took her or looked at her. So Rich got to play with her for the better part of the afternoon. It wasn't until we went back to the orphanage facility at 3:00pm that she would look at me without crying. She seems to be slowly coming around as time passes, and she will let me hold her now. She looks good, and her 9-12 month clothes fit her perfectly. We figure she weighs around 17-18 pounds. She has already drunk some from the bottle (formula and some Chinese rice mixture stuff), eaten these little finger bite crackers, and had some mashed potatoes from the KFC (located inside Wal-mart). She had on 5 very thick layers of clothing when she was given to us and was sweating to death. Leah has already been to the Chinese Wal-mart and did very well. We went there on our way home from paying our fees to the Chinese government officials. She even rode in the little buggy without any problem. She is very inquisitive and likes to watch everything. The Wal-mart here was just too fun! It was packed with people and everything is in Chinese, making it challenging to find what you need. The store is absolutely crazy!!! She is sleeping soundly right now – thank goodness! I'll post some pictures of the babies from our group, as well as Leah. Baby Eden still refuses to have anything to do with Tina and will only stay calm with Tim. We had 3 babies in our group that preferred the men over the women. One baby has a slight fever and isn't feeling too well, but seems to be getting better now that she has been given some medication. Overall, they appear very healthy and well taken care of. It must have been difficult for their foster moms to give them up. They are all between 10 & 13 months old and just as precious as can be!!! Rich and I are exhausted after the emotional drain of today's events. We are hoping Leah will sleep for at least a few hours so that we can get some rest too. One of us will write more later. Love, Heidi & Rich   New Parents with Orphanage Director     My Sleeping Beauty   Leah Scared to Death     Lori and Lily     Group 106 with Babies     This page hosted by