3/15/11 - Day 6: Adoption Day

Today we went to CCAA office to finalize our adoption in the eyes of the Chinese government. We will not be able to fly home with Carter until we complete the U.S. part of the process, which we will do in Guangzhou next week after we receive Carter's Chinese passport and other papers from today later this week.

Carter is really coming out of his shell and interacting with us. He slept until 6 a.m. which surprised us. We'll see if he has a repeat performance.

We started the day with a bath. Carter was fine with this until mama tried to wash his hair. He then gave the universal "All Done" sign by screaming and trying to climb out of the tub. Once dried off, all was forgiven and many "I LOVE!!!!! YOU GUYS!!!!" were heard as he blissfully chowed through the breakfast buffet. He got more excited with each plate that was put in front of him, but made it clear that slow service or ANY waiting was NOT ACCEPTABLE. Aside from this minor glitch, he could not have been happier.

On the way to breakfast Bennett & April wanted to hold his hand, sit next to him, choose his breakfast items, etc. They are really being good big brothers and sisters. Carter has apparently decided Bennett is okay but he is not sure about April. We'll work on that. April is suffering from not enough mommy time and that is not helping matters.

Carter has decided that unlimited drinks are a great change. This has led to his sippy cup replacing a stuffed animal as his companion of choice throughout the day and while sleeping.

We had an aborted nap attempt after lunch. He was great until he realized what was coming next. He quickly calmed down after being removed from his crib, but never really fell asleep for more then 10 minutes.

When daddy was doing errands and some paperwork, mommy got to play with Carter and observe his personality and behavior. Mommy enjoyed this uninterrupted alone time. Bennett and April enjoyed their Dairy Queen time with Grandma and Grandpa, who helped out again.

Even though Carter does not talk, he has been communicating his needs to us. For example, while Mark was carrying him, he raised his head and started pushing his finger in and out of his mouth and pointing to what he wants to eat. This blew us away. Mommy thinks he has said mama but there is no documented proof and the rest of us just smile at each claim.

Carter is smiling a lot now and playing with his trucks. He interacts with April and Bennett, exhibits a lot of curiosity, and pays attention to what is going on around him. He was not happy on the way to dinner, but his smile lit up the restaurant when we sat down at the table and he realized we were going to be eating again.

Daddy gets the Survivor Award today for assisting the extended poop by Bennett on the squatty potty during dinner. Enough said.

Bennett and April are having a sleep over with Grandma and Grandpa again. This is great for us and a huge help. Plus Bennett, who has finally learned to love sleeping, would NOT have liked the 1st hour of sleep to the strident sounds of Carter crying.