I thought I was done with paperwork!

Anna had a great first night.  After her bottle, she went right to bed.  She stirred a little before 5, so I just brought her to bed with us.  She is still very wary.  She is eating and drinking great, and we are still hoping it won't be long before she opens up.  She had a couple of crying episodes today that just broke my heart.  The first just came on sort of sudden although I could tell it was clouding up inside her.  It was a sobbing cry for about 1 minute and then it was gone.  Another time, her face clouded over and a single tear ran down her cheek.  Then, this evening, we were eating pizza and breadsticks.  She was chewing on a breadstick and dropped some on the floor.  She picked it up and I instinctively said, "no, no, it's dirty" and took it from her.  Even though she still had some in her mouth, she started crying and sobbing.  I knew food could be a touchy subject, but I didn't even think of it happening like that!  I hugged her and got out her sippy cup and all was okay in her little world again.

We had to start out early this morning to beat the mad rush of adoptive parents at the Jiangxi Province Registration Center.  We had paperwork to fill out and sign and we had to seal it with our thumbprint and Anna's footprint.  We are the only family with our agency and guide in Jiangxi, so we were able to work it out to head over early.  Other families are with big groups and have a tour bus to take them around to appointments.  The registration center is on the 26th floor of an office building in the downtown area.  The 26th floor is pretty sparse with the exception of a big waiting room with lots of furniture.  They are used to processing many families.  Today, there were supposed to be 40 families processed through.  We had to get a (not so flattering) family picture to put on her adoption decree.  Since I have not been sleeping well and not been able to get my curling iron to plug in, I feel like I'm in the newborn mom mode, except the sleeping is not Anna's fault, it's still the time change.  We left there to go across town to the notaries office, where they asked the same questions again, and then had us sign a paper that I guess she then notarized.

We ventured out for lunch on our own today to a restaurant suggested by our guide.  He said they have picture menus you can order from...well those pictures didn't help a lot.  I was thinking we were going to have to leave so I didn't order something really disgusting when another customer came over to translate for me.  We ended up with garlic beef, rice, and rice cakes.  We also picked up some snacks for the room.  The crackers with green beans on them were not a hit with us, but Anna likes them.  We also got raisins with a spicy aftertaste, mango juice, coke, chips ahoy, and oreos.

 This afternoon, we had to go to the police station to get Anna's picture for her passport.  Afterwards, we stopped to see China's version of Walmart.  Similar in some ways, but way different in others.  We actually had to make our way to the exit sooner than I had planned because the smell in the market area was way too overwhelming for Joshua and Caleb.  I would have liked to explore a little more, but it's still just a Walmart.

 We got back to the hotel and ate pizza in the play room.  Anna sat down on the floor and played with stacking cups for about an hour.  It was really fun to watch.  She was very intent on stacking them and turning them over.  Another family brought in their little girl and she sat across from Anna.  We gave their little girl one cup, and Anna handed over two more on her own.  It was really sweet.  We took her back to the room and gave her a bath.  She still had no reaction and let me bathe her and get her ready for bed.  Matt gave her a bottle, and she is sound asleep in the crib next to me as I type.  The other boys are all asleep, so I better join them as they may be up early in the morning. 

I wanted to add a little more about our hotel and Nanchang for anyone traveling soon.  We are staying at the Jin Feng hotel.  A nice hotel in its day, a little dated and worn out, but okay for what we need.  They had a baby tub, a crib, and a stroller waiting in the room.  There is a play room on the 11th floor which just has an open space for the kids to burn off some energy and parents to visit.  The breakfast buffet is huge, but most of it is Chinese food.  We are doing well on scrambled eggs and bacon.  Nanchang should be called the windy city.  It was supposed to get to high 70s today, but the wind kept it really cool and not much fun to be out and about in.  I can't get a feel from our guide if the wind is normal or not.  It is very cloudy, and again, I can't tell if that is the weather or pollution.  I would love to see the sun and have a nice day to get out and about.

Tomorrow we do a little sightseeing and have the afternoon free.  Good night from China!