Finally Home with Cai Yun!

So sorry that we were not able to keep you better updated while in China or so far upon on our return.  It was a very long trip in China, with little free time and not good options for uploading photos without our laptop.  We were exhausted yesterday when we finally arrived to our apartment over a day late (around 2 pm on Sunday, September 9th) with another delayed flight Sunday morning and trying to allow Cai Yun get acclimated to her new digs (she goes through everything like she is the FBI!)
Cai Yun is a true delight.  She has surprised us both with her unquenchable spirit and vibrant personality.  Her heart seems very ready to be part of a forever family - she has been so accepting of us and seems to relish our love and adores Max and his humor.

Cai Yun is very much like having a baby...her life (and now ours) revolves around a continuous cycle of sleep, eating, WC (bathroom) and attending to basic needs like being too cold or hot.  I think this is pretty typical of a child "from a hard place," but she also mixes in a lot of silliness and at times defiance - which shows she is already feeling pretty comfortable around us.  She seemed to be impatient that our stay in China kept going and seems very happy to be finally here in the US.  We are all battling jet lag and are sad that Max starts his new rotation next Monday.  I'm not sure what we will do without him!

We do appreciate your prayers and love for Cai Yun.  God obviously holds her very dear and so do we.  We love you and will try to keep the updates more regular and the photos more accessible - I'll add a few more for now...




August 27, 2012 (our Gotcha/Forever Family Day):  Shortly after finally meeting sweet Cai Yun... she was startlingly thin, but beautiful and lovely with her big eyes and broad smile.  Her first words to me were (in English) "hello Mother, I love you."

August 27, 2012:  From the first time Max picked her up, Cai Yun visibly relished putting her arms around her daddy and being carried in his arms

 August 27, 2012:  We could not believe how ready Cai Yun was to show her love to us

August 28, 2012:  We love the portraits that Cai Yun captures of us with those skinny arms and little hands holding out the camera!

August 28, 2012:  at Zhengzhou's Adoption Registration Office, where our adoption of Cai Yun was finalized!

August 28, 2012:  After a very long day of trips to the Zhengzhou Adoption Registration Office, the notary office, a scurried trip to Cai Yun's orphanage city of Zhumadian (six hours on a crazy van ride roundtrip) to apply for her Chinese passport and a very heart wrenching visit to the Zhumadian Social Welfare Institute (Cai Yun's orphanage), we arrived back very late to our hotel and Cai Yun downed a huge serving of beef noodles, strawberry milk, and ice cream!  This was after talking about noodles nonstop for the last hour of our drive back from Zhumadian and even telling the van driver that he looked like a fat noodle!

August 29, 2012:  Finally able to relax a bit at a lovely nearby park in Zhengzhou...Cai Yun's first wish was to take a paddle boat ride

 

Driving Miss Daisy...I mean Miss Cai Yun

 August 29, 2012:  Cai Yun is very proud of her beautiful long black hair and after letting me do it the first morning, the poor thing decided it was best to take over that job.  Every morning she works on a new and original creation!

We also love when she lets it hang down!

 August 29, 2012:  Max will deny it, but it is obvious that Cai Yun simply adores him!  She just loves playing with Max and teasing him.  The silliness escalates to new levels when the two of them go at it!  Cai Yun is always on his case for his course whiskers that are too rough to her soft checks when she hugs or kisses him.

August 29, 2012:  One of Cai Yun's favorite pass times is using Max as her Barbie head for experimenting on fashionable do's.

September 4, 2012:  We feel like Cai Yun has always been part of our family.  She brings a lot of joy, a few tears and moments of feeling perplexed or out of control, but so many more smiles and times of laughter.

September 4, 2012:  This tiny 40 pound nine year old girl has one BIG personality!

September 4, 2012:  Our lovely Cai Yun in her traditional Chinese dress that was a parting gift from one of the orphanage workers...just one of the tangible testimonies that she was truly loved.

September 5, 2012:  Cai Yun is always finding a way to tickle mommy...even in the back of a zooming taxi cab!  She often goes for under the arm...

September 10, 2012:  Cai Yun seems to ultimately find a way to always smile, laugh and be silly, even when she was at a dreaded pediatrician visit at Duke today.
 

September 10, 2012: For now, Cai Yun is opting to sleep by mommy and daddy and always wants to snuggle with little Sweet Pea and Rembrandt, who seem very pleased to accommodate her!