It would take a day to encapsulate in words what we experienced today. The only surprise is the lack of tears. I’m sure they will come in a flood later, when I fully comprehend what’s happening.
Our group arrived at a government facility to receive our children around 10 AM. We spent time figuring out who could film what and got increasingly excited as each baby arrived from their home province. Penelope arrived and had no problem sitting with Jenn and I on the couch. We were able to take our family photo without incident, something other families were not so fortunate with.
The two orphanage officials who brought Penelope were very friendly, getting pictures of us with her and smiling, telling Penelope Jenn and I were Mama and Baba.
Back at the hotel we sat in the hotel room and watched Penelope grab everything, offer it to us, and put Cheerios in her mouth at a steady clip. Diaper changes were a struggle, Penelope screaming and crying the whole time. Jenn realized later she was upset we were trying to put her to bed. When she placed a diaper on her standing up later in the evening there wasn’t a peep.
Jenn went to fill out more paperwork, leaving Penelope and I to traverse the halls, her making sure every light fixture was secured to the wall. EVERY light fixture. She was perturbed if I skipped one.
Later that evening we ate dinner in the hotel (no WAY were we going out tonight). You’ve already gotten a sample of that experience.
Afterwards I went to Wal-Mart to get water, shoes for Penelope, plastic bags (you can’t flush the toilet paper and neither of us are keen on throwing soiled TP in the trash to get ripe), and fruit for tomorrow.
While I was away Penelope was in a state, screaming and crying about everything. Bath time? Screaming. A great duo down the hall helped Jenn with bathing Penelope. Standing up in the tub and pouring water over her was the key. Going to bed was the final melt down of the night. The paperwork we received said she goes to bed easily, so maybe she was just concerned about all the fun and food coming to an end.
Here are two more photos from the many taken today.
Tomorrow is our trip to her hometown to fill out more paperwork.
