Day 5 Nanjing/Suzhou

Today was the day that we officially became Jack Yintao's parents.  They asked us if we still wanted to adopt him (Um, YES!), we signed the forms, put our fingerprints on our signatures, and we are now the parents of FOUR children.

(Yikes.)

Anyway, after wrapping up that business in lightning-fast speed (while the Civil Affairs office was packed this time), we headed off for the train station.  The express train to Suzhou only took an hour and twenty minutes, and was very nice and comfortable.  I sat next to a young woman who works as a cosmetologist in Nanjing.  She was surprised to hear that an American family would come all the way to China to adopt a baby:) She was very nice and shared her berries with Jack.

We got off the train, found our guide, and made our way to the area where our hotel is - just across from the Lingering Garden.  Back in 2008, this was one of our favorite spots in Suzhou.  After a quick and really delicious lunch (fried rice, sweet and sour chicken, shrimp, bok choy, and what tasted just like lake potatoes) at a tiny place right across from the garden, we headed over.  It was just as beautiful and peaceful as I remembered it... that is until my children arrived.  We then proceeded to say, "Stop climbing that rock! No don't jump!  Please stop running.  Do not shout. And Walkwalkwalkwalkwalkwalk," about a million times.

Tim carried Jack in a pack on his back, and despite the heat, he nodded off.  Eventually he woke up, and we sat down to listen to a Chinese opera performance.  That's when Jack proceeded to show us his dance moves.  Over and over again he would raise his arms above his head and move his hands around, like he had practiced that move a million times.  We figure he maybe listened to this traditional music at the SWI, and they taught the tiny ones these moves.  I really don't know, but it was about the cutest thing I had ever seen.  Tim tried to get it on video, so maybe once we are home we can post it. 

After dinner we came back to the room, and after a bath Jack crashed in the bed.  He will sleep with us tonight, so pray that he doesn't kick me all night.  Last night he slept until about 4am, and then we put him in bed with us.  After that he tried to lay across me or roll me out of bed the rest of the night.  Needless to say I have been awake since 4. 

He is very much still a baby, much more so at 19 months than Kate was when we met her at 23 months.  He can walk, but is not sure-footed.  He can pick things up with his fingers, but not without some effort. 

We are seeing more and more of his personality coming out.  His smile looks very much like his mad face, but he makes different noises.  He is very strong-willed (which is only to be expected in our family of strong-willed people), is funny, and still wants to be held by someone who is standing up.  I wonder what we will see out of him tomorrow.

In other news, Kate is loving being here.  Tomorrow is the day we return to the orphanage, and I wonder how she (and Jack) will process that visit. 

(And one last photo for Blair.  The prettiest recycling bin I have ever seen:)