It's Official!

Noah is ours.  Today we received our official adoption certificate.  It was an emotional moment.  All of our lives changed forever.  Amazing.

Noah opened up a little more today.  Yesterday he was a little withdrawn, often crying and rarely smiling.  He was nearly glued to Mama and really didn't play at all.  Today we saw that gorgeous smile that we hadn't experienced since his referral pictures.  He played ball with Micah and a friend at the registration office, laughing and giggling the whole time. He and Micah played with toys under the desk after bath.  It was fun to see the brothers interact.  Micah knows that Noah is his brother and has a clear idea of how he expects a brother to behave.  Noah still doesn't know what to make of Micah, this older boy who wants to tell him what to do and how to act. 

Today we visited the registration office again to finalize the adoption. Then we went to the notary office to have our signatures witnessed.  Even though the notary office was up six flights of un-air conditioned stairs, the whole experience was easy and well-organized.  

After lunch, Noah (and Mama) napped.  Then we took a trip to the Lotus Center to pick up a few necessary supplies.  Noah has been wearing shoes that are several sizes too small, so shoes were on the list.  We also needed diapers and a thermos for carrying hot water for mixing formula on the road.  We let each boy pick out a toy.  Micah chose a remote control Cadillac SUV ("Mama, it's just like Kai's!").  Noah picked a Fisher-Price turtle that says numbers and shape names in Chinese and English.  He loved pressing the buttons and hearing the sounds. 

Tonight we ate dinner in our room.  We ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on something called French bread loaves, and ate oatmeal and grits.  My new little guy loves cheese grits!  He refused formula after his morning bottle and ate table food and drank OJ or water the rest of the day.

I must get to bed.  Tomorrow we will visit the Shaolin Temple (inspiration for the Kung Fu series).