**** this post had seven pics but our internet was not up to the task****
Sunday Ya-ya got a family! Ya-ya is what June is called here (first name 2x). Today was adoption day where we told the officials, " yup! We want to be her parents." Today was 10 months to the day since we received preapproval to adopt June (which confirmed that we could move forward to adopt her specifically.)
I made a little board book ahead of time to explain to Ya-ya that she had a family coming for her and that she would ride a train with her nanny and come to the hotel to stay with Mama and Daddy (Baba in Chinese). In the book I illustrated this panda and told her we will have a panda and lollipop for her. I also drew Daddy and Mama wearing the clothes we wore today. I wanted to describe some things very specifically so she would know some of the things to expect. When I got out the book she showed me her panda and pointed to the panda in the book. It was so amazing that she made that connection.
Her nannies must have done great job preparing her because she was ready to meet us and was able to identify us both. When asked who Andrew was, she said right away "Baba!" We are just so excited that she really seems to "get" what is happening. Though I am betting she thinks we live in the hotel and that Jie Jie (big sister) just lives in the phone. Ha ha.
Imagine my surprise when Ya-ya instructed me what to do with the stickers and when I finished my task she gave me a big thumbs up! Smarty pants girlie. We were told she only had a few words. She is much more communicative in Chinese than I expected. This is a wonderful thing because it means that she does have the framework for language and it should transfer to an ability to communicate in English.
She makes wonderful eye contact and is very social. I read that her orphanage director makes a point that the children receive touch and eye contact daily. I believe it based on how cuddly and comfortable with eye contact she is. Ruth was delighted to hear that June is an extrovert because Ruth loves to talk and can't wait to take her mei mei (little sister) under her wing. Speaking of Ya-ya's extroversion-- we were told that she knows the name of all 30 kids in her group at the orphanage. I was impressed again what this says about her language and also her social skills.
To the far left is one of Ya-ya's regular nannies. She has taken care of her for 4 years. The other woman prepares the paperwork at Weifang CWI. We asked about June's 2 best buddies and she said their paperwork will be prepared soon and maybe they will be able to be adopted next year. One is a little boy with Down Syndrome and the other is a girl with a special need they didn't specify. Andrew will visit the orphanage on Wednesday and I hope he can take pictures of them both so we can advocate for them. Both the nannies and our guide felt it is too hard on the kids to leave the orphanage a second time so we took their recommendation and I will stay here with Ya-ya when he goes.
Today we were busy with paperwork for the morning and then spent some of the afternoon with our wonderful guide, Missy. She took us to a tasty wonton restaurant across the street from our hotel and them stayed and chatted with us while June napped. We requested Missy specifically because we had heard wonderful things about her. If you adopt from Shandong province, get her info from me. You won't be disappointed.
While the temperature in our room has been a bummer (80 degrees due to the unseasonable warm weather and no AC on until April or May), the space in the suites at Crowne Plaza is fantastic. The beds are comfy, especially for China, and the location is great because we can walk to a grocery/department store and also to the park. Don't bother getting the club level upgrade, the evening snacks are minimal (think airplane food in the US) and so I wish I would have just gotten a suite with breakfast instead.
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