She is ours!

The front desk of the adoption affairs office. Today we completed the China side of our adoption. As far as China is concerned - She's ours!!!

Sitting on the red couch at the White Swan.

All over the island there are these interesting statues. I'm not sure if they are ones that were added by the many foreigners that lived on the island or if they were originated by the Chinese but they are pretty funny.

The streets are all lined with trees. All the roads are one way. It creates a very nice oasis in the middle of the large city. Just across the water is downtown Guangzhou.

This is on the opposite side of the island looking out onto the Pearl River. This is a nice little park. I like walking through it because there are always interesting people. There is music coming from loud speakers and the couple on the left side of the picture were dancing. There are lots of older people playing badmitton or sitting around tables playing games. I always see the same woman standing on the waters edge doing exercise.

This is the view from our hotel window. These trees are so beautiful. They have large red blossoms on them.

Today we met Cordelia at 10:00 and headed to the Adoption affairs office of Guangdong. There we completed the adoption paperwork. First they had us take a picture together. Then we had an interview with the director. They asked us if we were satisfied with the child, which sounded strange. We said, "of course." Kevin tried to add another year to each of our ages. I had to set him straight. The director just watched us argue over whether he was 37 or 36. We had to promise to never abuse or abandon her and to provide an education for her. Then we went in to the notary who asked us a lot of the same questions. It was all really short. But now she is our baby officially. Yay! Tomorrow we will meet a driver to take us to apply for her passport.

We then came back to the hotel and tried to get Haylee to take a nap. The first few days that she was with us she would just lay in the crib and fall asleep. I was thinking it was a piece of cake. But now she doesn't go down so easy. She stood up in the crib and started to cry. It is hard to know how to handle this as I'm worried about bonding. She finally went down. I decided to go out and look around a little while Kevin stayed at the hotel with her. It was fun to explore and everyone is so nice. Many brides come to Shaiman Island for their wedding pictures. We see a half a dozen brides every day. It is fun to watch them in their beautiful dresses. Many wear very western looking dresses but there are also many that wear more traditional dresses. I bought a few things. There are so many shops and hard to know if you are getting the best price. When I got back we went to the White Swan to meet up with some other families. We took pictures on the red couch and then walked down to Cow and Bridge - a Thai restaurant. It was okay but not as good as yesterday. Our guide, Cordelia, brought her two year old daughter. She was really cute. She liked to mix the water and noodles and stir it up. Fun to watch her work. Haylee is showing more of her personality. She is very stubborn and does not like to be told "no". (But honestly - who does?) Last night she was acting silly and crazy. She is really walking around and wanting to get into things. Today she was a little weepy and sad. It broke my heart because there was not much I could do for her but rub her back and try to comfort her. I wish I knew what was going on in her little head. This whole thing must be so confusing. But I do feel like she likes us. Today at the adoption office she was looking for me. When she turned the corner and saw me a big smile came across her face. She ran over to me and put her arms up for me to carry her. One of her favorite activities is to get the stacking cups we brought and bang them against the furniture. We are trying to nip that in the bud because it certainly won't fly at home. At times she is restless and I can't blame her - there isn't much to do in the hotel room. However, when we go out she is really good. Day by day we are learning more and more about her.