Shay always wakes up a little reserved. I wish I knew what she was thinking. I know she is trying to process all of this and it's in these moments especially that I wish I knew Mandarin so I could talk to her about what she is feeling. Amazingly, it doesn't take long at all for the huge smile to appear though and usually a few brothers and a sister have a lot to do with that! She is just amazing and so brave. I can't believe how much she seems to trust us already.
This morning, the girls played in the playroom until it was time to meet Laura to head to the civil affairs office again. There we picked up her adoption certificate and headed to the notary's office. We spent about 1/2 hour there reviewing our paperwork and double checking everything for accuracy. Then we were issued several documents and the China portion of the adoption was complete!
The crazy traffic in Chengdu!
We then went to a snack street which is like a food court with numerous choices of foods to eat.
Next, we went to the Bamboo park, a place where the local people go to exercise, play games, dance, etc.
Views along the way!
Hey! There's a panda climbing the building!!
Entering the Bamboo Park
We came back to the hotel, swam, and then got some dinner from the hotel restaurant. Shay gets mad occasionally and will crumple her face at us and grunt, but that's been about the extent of her grumpiness! She will push our hands away if we try to take something from her or will ignore us if she doesn't want to do what we say, but can be persuaded differently pretty easily. She has voluntarily given both John and I kisses and lots of hugs, and I know I've said it before, but she just has the sweetest spirit. While we were getting dressed after swimming, a mom came in and went way ahead of her toddler son. The little boy burst into tears and Shay was so concerned and instantly jumped into protective mode. It was the sweetest thing to witness. She is going to be such a great big sister. We can tell she really likes Emily, but watching that today showed me how caring she is. Oh, my. I just love this girl!!!
I know it sounds like I'm only writing good things about Shay, but honestly, she's been really easy so far! It's just been BUSY!! Right now she and Emily are running through the apartment laughing and giggling as loud as can be (sorry to those in rooms around and below us!) It's hard to correct her because she just laughs and repeats us and makes us laugh. She is giggling and saying "Shay, no more. Shay, no more", which is what she heard her daddy telling her about running and putting a sticky lollipop on his arm!
She just asked us "You hungry? You hungry?" That usually means she is hungry. Her voice is so cute! And she is mimicking John like a parrot right now in between fits of giggles. The noise level in the Dunkle household just went up several notches, I'm afraid.
I need to start packing things up for tomorrow. Packing for 6 and organizing everything for the plane takes awhile! We will really miss our guide, Laura. She has been awesome and is so helpful.
It's been another great day. Thank you, Lord, for blessing us with our wonderful family. We are so grateful! Happy Thanksgiving from China!
Love reading your updates and seeing the pics, Janice. It makes me so sentimental for our time in China. The food looks great in Chengdu!! Glad you're having an easy time with Shay - sounds like they prepared her well - good for the orphanage staff! Praying for healthy and safe travels the rest of the way. Can't wait for the GZ pics!! :)
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