Monday, November 5, 2012

Our First Full Day With Our Little Princess

Our princess began to stir this morning after 11 hours of sleep. She had fussed a couple times during the night but by the time we got to the crib she was back asleep.


She began stirring and all eyes were on her.  We were waiting to see those big brown eyes open.



It took a little bit to wake up and open those eyes.  A few kisses from daddy helped! Love that bed head!



Eric fed her a bottle and we tried bath time again. This little girl is NOT a fan of having her clothes off or taking a bath so she was not a happy camper.  But soon it was all over and we were ready to head to breakfast! We found out pretty quickly that Ellie is not a fan of any type of food off the spoon.  The minute a spoon comes her direction she purses her little lips and turns her head.


After breakfast we got to Skype with the kids and they got to see their new sister for the first time.  We got our gifts ready for the officials.


It was then time to head out for the morning for paperwork.  Our first stop was the Civil Affairs office.



There was a flurry of paperwork ...



names signed ...



and the red finger prints were taken!



In the business of the paperwork Ellie decided to take a little snooze on her daddy!


We took our official family picture for her documents.



We then sat in front of the official as she asked us questioned and we promised to love Ellie like our own.  When all the papers were signed, pictures taken and oaths taken Gan An Na officially became Ellie An Na McDonald.  We couldn't feel more blessed.

We saw the orphanage director again at the Civil Affairs office.  We asked some more questions and got some answers but some things we may never know.  Ellie's little hand is all black and blue and they proceeded to tell us that she had an IV for 3 days last week in the orphanage because she was so sick.  They again reinforced that she would get sick easily.  We also have quickly realized that Ellie doesn't like her hands and feet touched.  Our guide said she thinks it is because Ellie didn't have much physical contact and laid in the crib a lot.  We are slowly trying to find ways to touch her little hands and feet and not have her pull away or cry.  We made some gains tonight as Ellie let Eric rub her little hand for a little bit.


Another thing we wanted to find out was if Ellie struggled drinking her bottle.  She doesn't have the sucking thing down correctly.  They said the hole is so big in the nipple at the orphanage she just drinks so no need to suck.  So the answer to that was cut the hole in the nipple bigger.  She has been doing great with her bottles today.



It is just hard to know if we should use the formula she is used to or move her to the formula we took which we know is better for her.  We are trying to mix the two right now.  It seems that her little tummy is still a little off but we really don't have a base line of what is normal for her.  Continue to pray that we would have wisdom as we feed her and know when her little body is sick or just adjusting to this new life, new routine and new food!



We stopped by the market on the way to our appointments in the afternoon for some necessities like water, coke zero and chocolate.


Our next stop was the Police Station to apply for Ellie's passport!


Like father like daughter .... love both of their faces on this picture. 



It was a quick stop.  We signed a few papers and once again made an oath to take care of Ellie no matter what! 


On the way to the Notary we stopped by a park in the new part of Nanchang.  The new Chinese president is getting ready to take office and there is a big ceremony in Beijing.  At different parks they are putting flowers out for this big event.  The amount of flowers in this park were unbelievable.  



They were putting finishing touches on some of the arrangements. 


There were a ton of Chrysanthemums. These flowers represent a life of ease. 


These Chinese symbols meant "double happiness."


I am will you Ellie ... it is a little bright out here, daddy was smart for bringing his sunglasses! 


I loved this view of the old Nanchang across the river.  We are staying over on that side of the river! 


On the way to the Notary Ellie got another little cat nap in! 


We took yet one more oath and signed our final papers. Now we wait until Friday when everything will be processed and we will pick up Ellie's passport and head to the next leg of our journey! 


We got a tiny little smirk as we played before dinner. 


We also had some tummy time to work on building some of those little muscles in her arms, tummy and back.  She actually started making quite a few little noises on her tummy! 


Before we knew it there were smiles.


 As I tickled her we got a big belly laugh.  Twenty four hours after having her in our arms we experienced a moment we won't forget.  We have so many firsts coming for this little girl we can't wait to see each of them unfold! 



We finished with night off with some yummy Chinese food at a local restaurant with our new friends Ted, Betsy and little Ryn.  They are staying at our hotel and little Ryn was the little girl that walked in yesterday before Ellie and made our hearts stop. It was fun to chat over dinner tonight about our journeys to our daughter. 



This little girl has stolen our hearts.  Those big brown eyes are wrapped around our hearts in a big way! 

Good night from Nanchang, China! 

8 comments:

jennifer said...

She is absolutely precious! I am loving following your amazing journey!!

These pics are amazing too!!!

DiJo said...

Julie,
Your pictures are just fabulous!!!!!!! She looks so tiny and sweet! I love how she is bonding with you both already!! She definitely is smitten with her Baba!!!! Is that Hot Pink blanket the Giraffe blanket.. If so, that was the exact same one we wrapped Ruby tight in.. To this day it is so very loved!!!

I have decided that November is the month to be in China. The weather looks perfect!!!!!!

Can't wait to see more of Ellie and Nanchang!!!! Great first full day with your precious daughter!!!!! Congrats on making it official!!!!

Hugs,
Diana

Jennifer said...

Thanks so much for sharing! I love the hairband right after the bath! ...and ALL that paperwork; so glad it seems to be going smoothly. We will be praying you can figure out food/formula/hands and feet issues quickly. She sure seems to be willing to be loved!

Paige said...

I am loving the pictures. Now you and Diana are going to make me take Lisa's class, your pics are just wonderful. She is oh so precious. Today is Madeline's gotcha day in Nanchang too:) I have such wonderful memories of our time in China in November!!

Martha C. Ryan said...

Oh, those beautiful eyes...she is so precious! I followed your journey to Max, and am now loving watching you two add Ellie An Na to your sweet family. Enjoy your time bonding with her~

Martha C. Ryan said...

Oh, those beautiful eyes...she is so precious! I followed your journey to Max, and am now loving watching you two add Ellie An Na to your sweet family. Enjoy your time bonding with her~

Unknown said...

Brings both tears and smiles to my face. She is such a doll enjoy every moment as I know you will. So precious! Your photos are gorgeous!

Kathy said...

I love reading all the discoveries you are making about Ellie. After studying all the details of her photos to learn all you could about her, you now get to finally see her little self unfold before your eyes! How fun to be taking in all of these details that you've wondered about for so long. And I love the photo of her big smile!
I hope that with some good nutrition her health will grow stronger. She looks so tiny! Enjoy your baby girl!!! Sending hugs!

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