More Paperwork and the First of Sightseeing

Progress continues to be made. Tian prefers us to all others, including our Chinese guide, her associates, and the orphanage teacher. However, he is clearly a Daddy's boy! Yesterday on his own, he kissed Daddy. I was blessed with a hug. Today our guide decided to ask him to kiss me. I did not understand what she said to him until he reached up for me and landed a sweet kiss on my cheek. This is one amazing kid who will surely steal many hearts.   Each time we go to a restaurant, Tian is doted over. He receives compliments for his appearance, his behavior, and how well he eats from everyone. What proud parents we are. He has even had a waitress follow him out of the restaurant and give him kisses. Yesterday, he leaned his two foot tall body against the door and said, "Come on!" His first English words were greeted with our immediate laughter and encouragement. Within a few minutes, he pointed to the refrigerator and said something that sounded very much like its name. As he woke this morning, he said, "Morning Baba," to Chris (Baba is Daddy). Then they wrestled for a long time while I tried to sneak in a few more minutes of sleep. Chris and I continue to wake during the early morning hours. We are dreading the jet lag and time change combination when we return home.   Tuesday was filled with a visit to the Forbidden City and an afternoon stroll. Chris was wrapped up in the history of the Ming and Ting Dynasties, while I listened, took pictures, and enjoyed a lot of people-watching. After dinner, we ventured out on the Wang Fu Jing Street and were overcome by the crowds, avid salespeople, and commercialization. Tian was absolutely spent because of all of the activity. We were too.   Every moment today has been invested in completing more paperwork. We now possess all of the documents that state that Tian is ours and a part of our family. What a feeling it is to hold these papers! We spent several hours with other adoptive families. It was a blessing to share in the various stories from each family. The family we asked prayers for has received clearance to complete their adoption. Each of the children we met today is such a joy. It is my prayer that more people will consider adoption.   I thank God that He adopted me, and I thank God that he continues to bless us and others through this adoption. Things are great because you keep lifting us in your prayers. Thank you!   ****We apologize that we can't update the blog as often as we'd like. I am going to try to post a few more pictures in upcoming posts.