Gotcha

Yesterday we got Naomi!! We met her at the Civil Affairs Office along with at least 20 other families. It was noisy and chaotic and HOT. Many of the kids were crying while parents shook toys, talked to them and did what they could to make their babies stop crying. It was overwhelming for me, I cannot imagine how these little children were feeling!

Naomi was also very overwhelmed and tired. She let me hold her when we first got there. She would reach up and touch me, smile and lean in as if for a kiss or to bump her head against mine. Her nanny was also there. It was hard to see her nanny crying and sad - she would have to walk away from time to time. Made me sad too.. I think that Naomi was cared for and maybe even loved by this woman. They had gotten her a new outfit and shoes to bring her in. Cute, pink and, again, hot. We stayed for about 30 minutes before heading to Walmart to get a few supplies.

Walmart in china is like our Walmart but times 3 or 4. Yesterday was Sunday so our guide said it was especially busy. If it had not been so crowded, it would have been fun to stroll around and check things out. However, I don't feel like Celine is a stroll around type - she is all business. Eman bought a box of Oreos with pink filling, maybe strawberry? We also got some little cracker snacks and formula. Naomi wanted nothing to do w the bottle Eman made her. She made a disgusted face and promptly spit the nipple out. She will, however, drink water from a sip cup. She did not like the pumpkin congee that Celine picked out for her, either. She ate a piece of bread and a gummy vitamin. We also gave her one of those puff things that babies eat and she cried with it hanging out of her mouth. Guess those are a no-go too..

We gave her a bath before bedtime and she seemed to enjoy herself, but had a grip on the handle. She is very nervous to fall backwards. She let me wash her body and get her hair wet without a fuss. She started to complain though as I was rinsing the shampoo out. She was very happy to be snuggled up into her towel after bath time. She sat with eman while he dried her and would stare at him and then smile. He absolutely won her over before bed. He laid her down next to him and played peek a boo and "booped" her nose. She would laugh and then reach out her hand to boop Eman's nose, noise and all. She is an amazing mimic and picks things up quickly.

She also likes the stacking cups I brought. Both Eman and I have had fun playing with her with those. It didn't take her long to figure out how to stack them together or to set them out in a line. We handed them back and forth, stacked and unstacked while Eman got dinner. Then she played again with Eman.

Please pray for continued bonding - today we go back to the civil affairs bldg to do paperwork. We will be there all day, for the most part. We will see her nanny and the other orphanage worker again to ask more questions. Naomi also has a yucky sounding cough that we were told started on the train ride here. She has had a couple flegmy coughing sessions during the night, but hasn't seemed to wake up from them. I am praying that neither eman or I get sick too and that hers goes away quickly.