Officially "Official"

Today we became a family of four. And the sky was blue!

Ty slept until 8:00 this morning....Tony and I didn't fare so well. I slept rock solid for 2 whole hours and awoke and would have sworn it was morning. And my body proceeded to act like it was morning - and I got very little sleep after that. Tony and I talked from about 1:30 until 3:30 in the morning - and then eventually fell asleep again for a couple of hours. I didn't nap today....but I think Tony snuck a few winks during the "official" proceedings.

When Ty woke up - he did so with purpose. He ran to the backpack that had the things he brought with him. He found the photo album of his foster family and then began frantically searching through it. I had not gone through his things very well yet - since he was 8, we didn't want to intrude too much. After several pages - he carefully checked to make sure no pictures were missing and we went through them together and he told us who everyone was. I was thrilled that we had these photos. After finding these and showing us - he was happy and content.


While I showered, Ty and Tony put together lego race cars - and when I got out of the shower there was a well-constructed ramp with a track of playing cards for the cars to traverse. Great fun! He pulled out the Lincoln Logs after that and built a little cabin and called it "Alabama." At one point, one of us moved on the bed - and the cabin tumbled some and Ty said "ohhhhhhhh Alabama!" with such concern. We got out the white board and drew the floor plan of our home. He really liked this and understood clearly what we were doing. He was glad his room was beside Jie Jie's room. He was also surprised that we had two cars. And we looked those up online and showed him what they looked like.

The breakfast buffet was a pretty good thing! He was so excited that someone was there to make noodle soup with exactly what he wanted on it. And that meant - a TON of spice! Red pepper flakes were flying!

Back to the room for more playing. He told us all about Ultraman and posed us in Ultraman positions. And he loves to take pictures of us (usually doing incredibly goofy things - all carefully posed.) When he held the camera up to take my photo (while I was in my very best Ultraman pose) he said "Yi Ar San - UltraMommy!" We started laughing so hard that we couldn't even take the picture then - but did eventually get it. I don't think I remotely resemble Ultraman. Tony on the other hand....well we all know he is definitely an Ultraman!

He put together a puzzle of the US we sent him and pointed out Alabama. The pieces on the puzzle were all numbered in pencil by someone and appeared to be played with quite a bit!

We snacked a little and then met our guide at 2:00. We hopped into the van and headed to an official building. Driving in Guiyang is like watching a demolition derby in slow motion. Although no one gets hit. I am sure that I almost sucked all of the air out of the vehicle twice as we narrowly avoided hitting a bicycle and a bus. When we arrived at the building - the doors were locked. (very brief moment of panic) - but as the guide was on the cell phone, Ty assured us it would be ok. And it was- we had to walk down the block a bit and then up 6 flights of stairs. We were fine - but Ty had a hard time with this. His hips definitely keep him from lifting his legs very high. I know he was exhausted because he got slower and slower - but never asked for help or complained. He held Tony's hand the whole way.

We made it to our room - and waited and waited. Ty played with a sticker book of rockets and we waited, laughed, and waited more. Michael pulled out the photos he had picked up from the two cameras we had sent Ty. We looked them over and there are some wonderful pictures! There are pictures of Ty's entire class at school, pictures of his two best friends with him, pictures of his teacher. There were more pictures of his foster family - and he was happy to have the pictures and wanted to be sure the pictures were coming to America with him. We assured him and then he went to all of the officials in the room to share his photos! Not shy at all!


At last - the proceedings began and we carefully filled out our paperwork and when it was time to make our thumbprints, Ty wanted to take photos of this. He was so excited and was eager to ink up his entire hand and lay it on the document. When we were all done he leaped out of his chair and said "Erd ze!" This means "Son!" He hugged Tony and I both and whispered that he loved us in our ears. It was an immensely joyful time for everyone. Another family was hustled in and we chatted for a couple of moments and then moved on. Ty didn't recognize their daughter.

And it's not everyday you get a family - so a celebratory trip to Wal-Mart (can you believe it) yielded some shoes, socks, Ultraman action figures, Ultraman videos and army men. And he selected a book that are stories between a Daddy and Son. Talk about a happy boy!

Meanwhile back at the ranch - we relaxed with Ultraman (our theme today) and the army guys. I forgot to mention the act that should get us nominated for "Horribly inept parent" award. Remember the Gameboy that he loved....well, we fried it in the wall socket. It was the only piece of electronic equipment that needed a converter. We explained it to him and he asked if he could get another one in America and we assured him we would. I think he has missed it a couple of times and we apologized and he sweetly tells us - it is ok.

We ate in tonight. Tony and I ate completely recognizable bowls of ramen noodles. On the other hand, I am not really sure what Ty ate. He ate a dish that was sent by his foster mother that he loves...but honestly, it looked like moistened twigs with a lot of spice. Any ideas? He mixed it with a spicy soup and had a wonderful time. He poured himself a Pepsi and tried to convince me it was grape juice! Another good laugh on that one. We let him drink a bit of it.


He wrote his ABC's and asked how to spell his new name. All day today he has referred to himself as "Ty." He likes it!!! Tony took him to the pool and he loved that....wrapped up the day with some tub time with Ultraman. Jumped into the Harley Davidson PJ's and hit the sack. Tony wasn't far behind....

And that leaves me - skyping with our daughter and my mom and also my best friend...who just miraculously happens to be in China adopting her son Kelly. They are up in Beijing, but we will meet in Guangzhou on Friday. Our appointments at the consulate are on the exact same day!!! Now - I add the photos - which is really all that we want to see anyway, right??

Hugs to all! Caity, have fun at the State Horse Show. Keep it in perspective and enjoy your buddies, your MaeMae and Bayla. We miss you - but are so proud of you. Your brother hopes he can talk to you tomorrow! We love you!