Photos / Our Day in Wuhan

PHOTOS!! These are:
1. Hannah and I with our guide Jordan outside the Civil Affairs Office just after completing the adoption yesterday.
2. Hannah and I with Director Li outside her orphanage
3. Hannah enjoying a raspberry smoothie at Pizza hut


We've had a really fun day. This morning, Hannah woke up around 6:00. She played in the hotel room for a while, and about 7:30 we headed downstairs for breakfast. After breakfast, we played some more upstairs and then decided to take a walk. We walked around the city, once again playing "Frogger" when crossing the street. We turned a different direction today, and found a small amusement park. No one spoke English, but we managed to communicate that Hannah wanted to play and they managed to communicate that it would cost us 5 yuan (which is just over 50 cents). So, we paid and let her play a while. Then, we went to pizza hut for lunch. She ate the pizza okay, but loved the raspberry smoothie there. We walked back to the hotel, and she took a nap. She is getting much better at going to sleep without screaming. And I can't really blame her for fighting sleep. After all, her life has changed dramatically and somewhere in that head she must wonder if things will be different again when she wakes up. Tonight when I put her to bed, she did not cry, but had to be holding my hand until she was asleep. She would open her eyes every few minutes to make sure I was still there.

After her nap, we met Jordan (guide) to go to the Hubei Provincial Museum. It was interesting, but Hannah was a bit restless. Museums aren't on most 2 year olds "top fun things to do list". :-) But she hung in there, and we wanted to learn some about her birth city. They did have some really amazing old bells, and they gave a concert on a replica of them. Hannah thouroughly enjoyed the concert for the first 15 minutes. She listened intently and would begin the applause as soon as the performers finished. Of course at one point, she decided to sing along with the performers. I thought it was funny - not sure how funny it was to some of the people around us. :-) I took her out for the last 5 minutes because she was becoming a bit loud. But, I thought she overall did great. We played outside the museum a few minutes, then headed back to the hotel.
When we got back, we had a snack of some type of boiled rice wrapped in leaves. Our guide had made it for us and told us it was a traditional food for the Dragon Boat Festival which is going on right now.
Then, we headed to the pool. There was a small kids' play area and Hannah enjoyed splashing. She loves the water! We played in the hotel a while and ate dinner (for Hannah some more boiled rice and a boiled egg - also brought to us by our guide. It's another traditional Dragon Boat Festival food. Beth and I had peanut butter sandwhiches. Although we did try the rice earlier and it was good). After supper, we walked to the Carrefour to buy some more batteries for our camera. I picked up some DVD's for Hannah for $1 - $3, and Beth picked out a toy phone for her so she would have a toy with buttons. She LOVES to press buttons on everthing! As we were leaving, we spotten a play area so we stopped. Hannah had a little meltdown at first, but then livened up and enjoyed playing. I can't wait for y'all to meet her - she will keep you laughing. There is so much personality in that little girl!. Her tantrums / meltdowns are decreasing in intensity. Now, she will cry for just a minute and then stop. She is responding to directions better, and when she is upset she is more willing to let me comfort her. Today, she wanted me to hold her several times, which she has not until this point. Until today, she would run give me a quick hug - but did not want to be picked up. She only wanted picked up if there was a purpose - such as enabling her to see something better. But several times today she wanted to be held just to be held. Also, at the pool, I was sitting behind her at one point watching her play. She was happily throwing the ball to Beth and splashing. But at one point, she stopped turned around and screamed "MAMA" looking for me. As soon as I waved to her, she returned to playing.
I know that there will continue to be attachment things to work on, but I really think she is showing a healthy beginning to that.

Hannah is alseep now and we are all good. I am enjoying this city, but also looking forward to moving on to Guangzhou. Tomorrow we are doing some more touring, and I'm sure playing.
Thank you for your prayers. As I watch Hannah play, or smile, or sleep, or sing, or even cry at times - I am aware of how incredibily blessed I am. God has truly, truly done more than I can think or imagine!!
And it's still only just beginning!
love, DeEtte