it’s official–she’s one of us!

We got up early this morning to skype with the kids, then snagged a delicious breakfast downstairs before Amy got us on a bus and headed back to the Civil Affairs office for our final meeting with the adoption people.  We had to meet with the Civil Affairs office, followed by a judge/notary.

Annabelle sat in on both interviews.  As the Civil Affairs officer was asking questions, Annabelle said something to her in Cantonese.  The CA officer told us, “She says she loves you already.”  *insert sound of heart melting here*

We answered a few quick questions (Why do you want to adopt her? Why China?  Are you pleased with her?  Do you promise to never abandon or abuse her?), then signed the paperwork officially making Annabelle our daughter!  How cool is that?!

We made our way to a combination grocery store/department store to pick up a few essentials for us

and the Roux family, then headed back to the hotel.  Lauren and Marcus Roux came down to our room to hang out and play with Annabelle for a little while while their parents tried to get little Sophia eat/sleep. Lauren wanted to help Annabelle learn her colors, so she made a little flashcard with the colors and their names.  Lauren pointed to red, and said Red.  Annabelle repeated her, then went on to ramble off Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, Black, Brown, Pink, and was close on White and Gray!  Not too shabby…

We decided to venture out to a local park to burn off some energy.  The park was great!  Loads to see and do, plenty of kid friendly places to stop and play, and a big, man-made lake complete with boats to rent.  Annabelle wanted to drive, so I let her!  We had a blast running around with Dave and his kids, while Stephanie and Sophia stayed at the hotel.  Annabelle took a ton of pictures as we walked around.  She’s got a pretty good eye for pictures.

We decided on Chinese (go figure) for supper, and stopped into the restaurant in the hotel with the Roux fam.  Annabelle ordered some huge rice noodles with goose–the noodles were about 1/4 inch thick, and terribly difficult to grab with chopsticks!  It was hilarious trying to dish them out.  Most of the food was good, but I ordered some spicy beef dish that made our lips numb after they stopped burning!  What about dessert you ask?  How about some McD’s ice cream–again…

Kim taught Annabelle to play Trouble, and she proceeded to kick our booties in a thrilling game.  Kim’s just getting her out of the bathtub now, and they’re settling down on my bed to watch the Bee movie with Chinese subtitles.  It’s 8:30, and I suspect that Annabelle is winding down, almost ready for bed.  She slept solidly last night, so we’ll keep letting her sleep with Kim.

We have a 3 pm meeting with the local police tomorrow to get Annabelle’s passport.  I think we’re going to the local zoo Thursday.  We hear really good things about the zoo, and there seems to be a lot to do in Guangzhou.

Please pray for our new friends.  They’ve adopted a 12 month old baby girl with a cleft lip, and little Sophie is having some trouble adjusting.  Pray that she gets on a good schedule soon, that she bonds with the Roux fam, and that things settle in for them.  You’d love them if you met them.  We are so blessed to have some friends on the trip.  We’re making plans to see them some time in the next year.