Amelie's Adoption Page
On Monday, August 6th, 2007 we woke up early knowing
that we would need to prepare to meet Amelie Yu Ping.  
This is the day we've been anticipating for over 18
months.  We couldn't be more ready, yet there was still so
much left to th unknown.  Was she well cared for?  Would
she be scared?  Would she cry?  How long will it take for
her to accept us?   How will we react?

"Are we going to China?" Travers asked.  I'm not sure
where he thinks we've been the last few days. The night
before he practiced his introductions.  He wanted to be
sure she knows who we are.

At 10:30 AM, after a quick breakfast, all of the families met
in the lobby before boarding a bus for the Civil Affairs
Office.  With multiple cameras in hand, we recorded the
15 minute bus ride.  We will be thankful we did since no
one was really focused on what our guides were saying.  
We all had only one thing on our mind,... that we will be
meeting our daughters in a few minutes.  

When we arrived, we took one last look at each other
before going up the elevator to the 3rd floor.  When the
doors opened, it was complete pandemonium.  There was
no order; a small lobby was filled with families, agency
guides, orphanage personnel, and dozens of crying
babies. It was dimly lit and it was 100 degrees.   I waited
for someone to tell me what to do.  Heather ran around
like a kid in an Easter egg hunt, bobbing and weaving,
looking for a child that resembled the pictures we have
been carrying.  I tried to video or photograph our
exchange, but captured the floor and the backs of
people's heads.  In the chaos, the guides were confused
on who got Gu and who got Yu.  

We had the chance to hold them for a few minutes before
they made us return them to their caregivers.  I guess we
were supposed to wait for something more ceremonious,
but in the rush the Mom's got anxious.  They needed to
confirm that our passports matched their paperwork
before they would let us leave with our child.  Officially,
they would not be our children until Tuesday morning,
when all of the paperwork will be signed.   This gave us
time to get to know each other.

Amelie is a beautiful little girl. She is extremely timid and is
frightened of big scary Dad.  Apparently, none of the men
at the orphanage held her, the result of an unfortunate
Chinese male cultural trait.  On the other hand, she
bonded immediately with Heather and will not let Heather
leave her sight without shrieking.  She eats constantly and
seems to love most table food.  Like Travers did, she
loves Congee (rice porridge), steamed eggs, and
steamed buns.  We are introducing her to new solid foods,
but will not change her formula until we get back to the
U.S.  She sleeps very well.  

She came from a poor orphanage, but appears to have
been in good care.  Nonetheless, she is much weaker
than we expected, and will benefit from improved nutrition
and Heather's tough-love physical therapy.  She needs a
lot of our love and we are all ready to give her all that we
have.  We can't wait to bring her home.

On Monday night everyone slept well.  Amelie only woke
up once for a bottle, but had no problem going back to
sleep.  On Tuesday at 8:30 A.M. we boarded a bus to
return to the Civil Affairs Office to make our adoption
official.  Amelie's caregivers were there to say goodbye.  
Some of them were obviously sad.  Amelie is bonding so
well with Heather, that in one instance she rejected her
main caregiver.  They were glad to see that.  

Pictures of the new families were taken, gifts and
donations were exchanged,  and fingerprints and baby
footprints were recorded.   With our donation, combined
with Mimi's, the orphanage asked if we would mind if they
purchased a laptop.  We didn't, and it was presented to
them at the Civil Affairs Office.  

When it was over, everyone was exhausted.  Travers got
a second wind when we re-boarded the bus. He couldn't
believe he could stand up with out any seat belt.