July 7, 2005
It's Official
9:00 pm -
The orphanage said that Tyler was heavy sleeper and they were not lying. He
slept through the night sound and content. We finally woke him up at 6:30 so we
could feed him. He probably would have slept for another hour.
Today was
another exciting day but not one we can really express in pictures. We returned
to the Civil Affairs Bureau in Guangzhou around 10 am to get all the adoption
registration paper work notarized to legalize the adoption. Although the
paperwork was boring and uneventful, the reality is that China has officially
handed over one of their own to the both of us. Once we were finished at the
Bureau, we went to the police station to get the adoption registration on
public record.
Tyler is
officially part of our family! The final step to the adoption process will take
place next week as we visit the American Consulate to get Tyler's Visa. This
will allow Tyler to return home with us on the 15th.
We spent
the rest of the day at the hotel getting more acquainted with Tyler. Alana was
able to get caught up on some sleep when I tool Tyler to the hotel's playroom
for children called the Swan Room. The rest of the afternoon was spent shopping
and walking around Shamian Island (which is where the hotel is located).
Shamian Island is pretty amazing as its economy relies heavily on international
visitors who are adopting Chinese babies. The White Swan hotel for example is
pretty much booked year round with American families who are adopting children
from all parts of China. The reason for the attraction, as it turns out, is the
American Consulate is located on the Island and the consulate visit is the last
stop to complete the adoption process (the baby's visa). This hotel totally
caters to the adopting parents and so do the local businesses. The proprietors
stand out side of their stores and just gloat on the babies of parents walking
by in order to try and lure them into their stores to buy baby supplies, clothes,
toys, etc. It is free enterprise at its best..... in a communist country? At
least the entrepreneurial spirit is there and the drive to do what it takes to
make visitors part with their money!
We had a
wonderful day with Tyler as we tried to get to know him better. He is still a
little unsure of what is going on but he was more responsive to us today.
Toward the later part of the day, he became really 'clingy' and did not want us
to put him down for a second or else he would cry (by the way, he has a great
set of lungs). We could not figure out why he was so upset until we went out
for dinner later that night. It turns out that he had not 'pooped' for the last
day and a half and he finally let it loose during dinner. Alana was entertained
by the various faces he made while relieving himself. Unfortunately, he did not
have a camera to captured some of his silly expressions while he took care of
business. Anyway, after he finished this event, he was much happier and more
playful the rest of the night.
At 5:30 pm,
the adoption group went out to dinner at a local Chinese restaurant and then
celebrated one of the baby's first birthday. We then returned to the hotel and
gave Tyler his first bath (since he has been with us), fed him and put him down
to bed at roughly 8:30 pm. Below are some pictures of Tyler's last hour before
going to bed.
Other
important news: we found out today that we were given permission to visit
Tyler's orphanage next week (probably Tuesday). We will now be able to see
where he spent his life before meeting us. Yes, we will take and post pictures
of this event next Tuesday.
As promised
yesterday, below is more information on Tyler (and, don't forget to view the
pictures below):
1) Tyler now weighs 22.5 LBS
2) He has two bottom teeth and
four upper front teeth
3) He sleeps roughly 14
hours/day
4) His daily sleep schedule is:
9:30 pm - 6:00 am, 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm nap time
5) Feeding hours are: 6:30am,
10:30 am, 2:30 pm, 6:30 pm and 9:30 pm
6) He sleeps on his back most
of the time, some times on his tummy
7) He likes to be bathed
(although this is yet to be experienced)
8) He like 'tickling' games
9) He gets mad if someone takes
his toys
10) When get upset, to calm him
down either pick him up, give him toys, give him food (like his dad) or speak
to him in gentle voice.
11) The director of the
orphanage named him Jian Cheng
12) His best friend's name was
Hai Xian
13) He was never injured and
was never seriously ill
14) Tyler was born with a little 'pin head' size hole in his outer ear. It is not noticeable unless you are looking for it nor does it affect him in anyway.
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Who says Tyler likes to take baths? |
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Tyler feels much better after his bath |
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Tyler eats dinner before calling it a day |
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Sweet dreams baby Tyler! |
