Pigtail Pies & Messy Monkeys: Medical appt visit and more

Today has been a full day. We had Ao Fang's medical appointment this morning, and she was a champ. I think she actually enjoyed the hearing and vision testing along with the questions the dr was asking her about what parts of clothing were, solving math problems, names of object, etc). Part of the medical exam is getting blood drawn for TB testing. The child did not even flinch, but rather watched in total curiosity. I was so impressed with her! After the medical appt, our guide took us a sightseeing a bit, then took us back to the hotel. I bought my first ever OTC drug today..... allergy medicine, which I forgot to pack! It's all in Chinese, so thank goodness for the guide!

Some friends who live in China had to come to GZ (Guangzhou) today to renew their son's passport. They came and spent some time with us and it was nice to visit with them!

The kiddos enjoyed the outside playground today and LOVED it!! Jadyn and Annika are bonding so well now... I love to watch them interact.

<3 I will post some videos in a bit. I love to hear their laughs!

We have started introducing our English names (Mommy, Daddy, Jadyn, Eli, etc) to her. She LOVES to write and can read and write in Chinese. Today, she and I were playing where I would draw a smiley face and she would copy it. I would draw a heart, she would draw a heart. I wrote MAMA... she wrote mama... and BABA and JADYN and ANNIKA. And today, she said her new name! I think she is starting to connect herself with her new name too. I said "Baba Daddy" and she repeated. "Mama Mommy" and she repeated. I pointed to Jadyn, who she calls "Jie Jie" which means Big Sister and I said "Jie Jie Jadyn"...she repeated. I said "Mei Mei ("little sister who she knows is her") ... Mei Mei Annika"..... and she repeated!

:) It was the most precious sound to my ears!

We also experienced Annika's first crying/upset episode today since Gotcha Day too. We are not sure what caused her to react this way, but we were talking to some friends and she went and hid in our bathroom and wanted them to leave. It was a very very hard moment watching my girl cry and panic and not want to move as I scooped her up in my arms and comforted her. We tried to figure out what triggered it, but we couldn't understand her. Daddy came and scooped her up into his arms and comforted her while I took Jadyn down to play with our friends. It took her a long while to calm down. We tried to translate what she was saying, but never could figure it out. Someday she will have the words that we can understand. For now, we continue to love on her and let her know she's safe. Though it was a really hard time for daddy and I to watch her like this, Jay said the good in this is that she has her mommy and daddy now and we are here to comfort her when she is scared and love on her. She has done great this evening and enjoyed playing outside with Jie Jie Jadyn.

Tonight, we received news that someone in Jay's company passed away. It was a very tragic loss and the company is a family and they are all hurting. Please pray for Jay's work and all those who are now grieving this sad loss. Jay is heavy hearted tonight and grieving.

I finally got my computer up and running here in China, so I can finally include pictures in my posts!!

12-13-16 She is ours forever!

Adoption Finalization Day!

Taiyuan, Shanxi Province