Kathleen - chubby like Gus-Gus (the chubby mouse on Cinderella), a messy Marvin
Kimmer - a good little boy, but not so little; he definitely has a throwing arm; he's got a sense of independence
Amy - likes to get tickled and likes to tease; ALL BOY; has a sense of adventure
Last night Jonathan and Kathleen compared feet. He is almost the same size as her, except he is EXTRA wide. Kathleen sweetly gave him a kiss goodnight and said, "I love my little brother." She has been very gracious, understanding and helpful with him (and us). She loves her "house" (hotel room) and likes to go exploring on the streets of Nanchang, which we are loving! Lots of fun little shops with some great finds. Looking forward to exploring more after nap time. The weather has cooperated - even though we packed for cool, rainy weather. Our hotel room has been warmer than the outside. Our guide notified us matter-of-factly that they turn off the air conditioner at midnight. How kind of them! Even little Jonathan was sweating in his sleep!
Today we finalized the adoption by going to the Civil Affairs office, filling our more paperwork (and we will have more to do when we get home!), had our "family" picture taken for our Certificate of Adoption, passport applied for (Jonathan's), and Notary visited. Now, we explore Nanchang and visit the great revolutionary sights. Nanchang is home to the Communist revolution in China. It remains a stronghold for communism and foreigners, except for adoption, rarely come here for some reason.
We are praying for Jonathan's transition. He is obviously grieving the loss of the family he has known since he was two months old. Last night, he woke up at 4AM and looked at me from his crib, giving me a look that said, "Man, I thought the dream of you strange people was over." He never really fell back asleep, but just lay there and then in our bed with us. He has shown no visible signs of grief, but I'm sure he's experiencing it. Jonathan was found at a police station (Yuan Station - hence "Yuan" in his name). The orphanage and doctors assumed he was about 5 weeks old. He was placed in a home on the orphanage grounds. The couple, hired by the orphanage, lives in an apartment on the orphanage grounds and takes care of several children. We hope to take them to lunch later this week and thank them for taking care of Jonathan.
Jonathan likes the Chinese foam books I bought in Beijing and brought from home. He launches all toys, so we just let him have the books for now. I told Kimmer we are going to have to find some good activities to keep the boy active. This morning at breakfast we found out that Jonathan has skills like a chipmunk. I was feeding him and he was feeding himself. I noticed he was chewing a lot and I told him to say, "Ahhh." He did and then proceeded to produce a handful of food for me. Now I keep reminding him to chew, swallow and drink. He's doing better now. We'll see how tomorrow's breakfast goes!
You are more than welcome email us. We are unable to access the blog from China. We are posting via email. Hearing news from back home is always nice! Thank you for your continued prayers. Things are going so smoothly! Even getting our laundry done was easy (and cheaper than the hotel).
Looking forward to seeing what the rest of the day has in store for us!
