7/24/06 (Monday) Wei Long, at Last

We're in love with this little boy! He's precious. So little and cute and full of life. And such personality. He never meets a stranger.

We entered the Civil Affairs office about 3:30pm. And he was there waiting for us on the 7th floor. He let me give him a great big wonderful hug, and had the sweetest smile for me. He is much smaller than I expected. Only the pajamas I brought will fit him, none of the other clothes.

While Jeri and her family spent time with the translator and Wei Fu's nannie, Wei Long and the girls chased each other around the Civil Affairs office, hiding behind the chairs and under the tables. They were quiet with their first game of Hide and Seek, but Wei Long would aim a pretend gun at them and shoot them when he found them. We looked over the photo album I had sent him, and he already knew who we all were. He showed me with pantomine that the wanted to go swimming, and I told him yes, as soon as we could.

We came back to the hotel and the children played with bubbles. The room was awash in huge bubbles. They had a great time with them.

At 6pm we went to supper in our hotel. There is a revolving restaurant on the 29th floor of this hotel. Wei Long was fascinated with the view from the windows. He was so grown up at supper. There was a very large buffet, and he quietly pointed to the dishes he wanted to try, and held up his palm for the ones he wasn't interested in. He ate a lot of food for such a small boy. (Julia turned over a glass of water on Adam). He talked nicely with Mei's parents who joined our group for supper. And surprise, he uses a knife, fork, and spoon very nicely. He refuses to use chopsticks. He was eating the shrimp, shell and all, until I showed him how to peel them. But he learns quickly and was very neat in his table manners.

Then, the children discovered that there was ice cream! Wei Long was so excited because he said he has never had ice cream before. He pointed to what we thougth was chocolate, and they gave him a nice scoop in a bowl. He took his first bite and shuddered. He made that face that people usually make when they eat something very sour. We all laughed and laughed. But he kept eating bravely and told us it was very cold. Finally, someone else tasted the ice cream and it wasnt chocolate at all! It was a very bitter coffee ice cream. So, Jeri let Wei Long try a bite of vanilla and a huge smile lit up his little face. He loved it.

Mei's mom took him to the buffet to get his own dish of vanilla, and he came back with a beautiful scoop of ice cream with a marshmallow for a nose and two cookies for ears. It looked like a little bunny. He scooped up the nose onto his spoon and insisted on giving this first big bite to his mommie. What a sweet little boy. He has completely captured his mommie's heart by being so sweet to her. He will hold her hand and guide her around, showing her things. He is so affectionate with his new family. He gives us lots of hugs and even kisses in the privacy of our room. He has learned Julia and Lisa's names, but sometimes calls them er mei and san mei or just jie jie.

The girls played with him and they watched tv til bedtime. He didn't want to go to bed, but was so tired. So, after a quick bath (taken all by himself) we went to bed around 10 pm. He let his mommie sleep with him and we slept soundly til about 5 am.

So, after a dream of a first day, I don't know what to expect. Lisa and Julia are so glad to have this little guy as a brother, and I feel so priviledged to have him in our family. He's a wonderful little boy.