Day 2 as a bigger family

So much to tell and so little time.  We are traveling as a group of 4 families with 2 tour guides, Sissy and Grace (who are so helpful, kind, and love all the kids) so we have some scheduled activities.  Then we have new babies who are all on different schedules because all of them were fostered with different families (except for 1, Mei Lin, who will live in a suburb near Seattle, and is Eliza's "sister" because they were fostered together).  And Jackson is on his own schedule and still needs to eat well, and nap, to function (especially with the time change).  Long way of saying -- keeping up the blog without a lot of time and little access to my computer's been tough.

We left Guangzhou at 5:30am and flew to Nanchang in the Jianxi provence of China.  We arrived at the Galactic Peace International Hotel and about an hour after arriving (and our rooms only ready for 10 minutes) we were called to meet our children for the first time.  The babies were in a conference room with a glass wall so we could see them before they were placed in our arms.  We spotted Eliza right away -- and that was the only time I allowed myself to get emotional because I didn't want to scare her (video to follow - I won't try to describe it).   After paperwork and fingerprints at the hotel, we had about an hour with Eliza to get ready for our appointments at the Chinese Ministry and other government offices (with the baby) to be interviewed and photographed -- make things official.  We had an early group dinner.  Honestly, it was a crazy whirlwind of a day.

Eliza seems really alert and is surprisingly happy.  This is a huge change for her and she's been all smiles and connects with us.  Robert turned to me after 4 hours with her and said "it feels like she's always been our baby."  She's very long but tiny -- just shy of 18 pounds.  After 1 false start, we got her formula and bottle the way she likes it and she hasn't stopped eating.  She even ate congee for breakfast this morning. She was lying on our bed playing day 1 and we were pretty sure she couldn't turn over.  Day 2 she is rolling all over the place.  Not sitting up yet, but looks like she's close.  1 bottom tooth coming in.  She is very calm and happy.  Day 1 her voice and cries were soft and like a kitten.  Today she is vocalizing like crazy with Jackson.  A big loud voice.  She's so happy to engage with him.  I think having him here has really helped her transition.

Jackson is stroking her hair.  He's laughing with her a lot.  And he doesn't want to be apart from her.  He is definitely regressing a little but just what you'd expect.  He's been so good with her and completely gets that this is his sister.  All the guides think they look alike.  He loves traveling by bus.  He loves the food.  He loves the pool at the hotel, sleeping in a big boy bed (that btw is as hard as a floor), and just seems to be taking in the adventure of it all.

We took a walk after dinner last night through the streets of Nanchang.  Jackson (amazed and awake) and Eliza (sleeping) in strollers and the 3 grown ups pushing and talking in the busy city.  Blade runner meets Mad Max is the best way I can describe it -- street vendors, makeshift stores, lights everywhere.  Everyone was staring at Jackson.  They can't stop looking at him.  The curls and his looks draw so much attention (no one even looks at the foreigners with a Chinese baby).  People on mopeds were driving on the sidewalk and leaning over to get closer to him.  It was really wild.

Today we went to a typical supermarket/store (Target-like) in Nanchang.  Again, there were some crowds gathering to stare at us.  It was a lot of fun to shop and have no idea what we were buying.  We were worried it might be too overstimulating for Eliza but she slept for 45 minutes once we got inside.

If I don't start uploading pics now, I won't get to it so I will finish later.  I just want to get down as much as I can -- so I don't forget anything (then I will go back and fill in the details).   Love to all from China.  Day 2 really has been amazing.  We all fit together and it just feels right.