A Little About Ava "Bei Bei"

Ava is TINY! She is 21 months old and the 18-month clothing I brought for her is falling off of her. She has a pretty bad raw place on her leg where they had her diaper sinched down so tight and you can tell it has been there for a while. She kicks and screams when I put medicine on it, but I think she knows I am only trying to make it better. After meeting with the orphanage directors, we found out that Ava, or Bei Bei, as they call her, has a very out going personality. They said she adapts well in most situations and is a dare devil! They told me to watch out for this one--she likes to explore every where around her. They said they loved her very much and would miss her.

Well, day one with Ava was pretty unreal. She only cried when she got hungry and when we put her down for bed, but other than that, I think she was pretty shut down and in a little shock. When the orphanage director and nanny director brought her out to us, she never cried or got upset, she just looked at us, like who are you crazy people. Scott actually got a smile on the way back to the hotel from the Civil Affairs Office. She slept pretty much all night long, with a few play sessions in the dark. We heard her playing, but she never cried for us to get her and went back to sleep--SWEET! I hope night #2 is just as good. She had a good dinner of rice and congee on night #1, so far, so good.

Well, we made it through day number #2 with Bei Bei and she is doing great. Our adoption was finalized this morning after signing more papers, giving more money, and swearing to take care of her always. We did this at the Civil Affairs Office, the same place we picked her up yesterday. The same folks from the orphanage were there, but she didn't seem to upset to see them. They played with her for a few minutes, but she came back to us with no tears. We went back to the hotel for lunch and a nap and that didn't go so well. We tried to lay her down for a nap and she wanted nothing to do with that. Scott finally got her to lay down on the bed for a little snooze while I went down stairs to do more paperwork and meet with the orphanage folks.

After the nap, we decided to go out and about the island and do some shopping around. Ava did fine riding in the carrier that my buddy Linda let us borrow for this trip--thanks Linda. After shopping we took Ava to the play room at our hotel and she came out of her shell--it was hilarious! They have the same type floor and fenced area that she had in her orphanage, so we think she felt at home there to play. She would run, and I mean run, from Scott, to me, to Emma and back. When she got to us, she would just jump on us and laugh. We wore her out and now she is in the bed--no tears, just an immediate snore! Oh yeah, her new toy and the one she is sleeping with right now--the remote...future TIVO owner I am sure of it!

Thank you so much for all your support, comments, and emails. Tim and Laura, thank you for inspiring us to take this journey. Here are a few more photos of Gotcha Day...