On the Road Again ~ Steph

The last 24 to 30 hours since the last blog post has gone so much better.  Li Lin settled after a bath last night, had a very good sleep and woke up in a good mood.  She asked Sara for another bath before we headed downstairs for breakfast.  After breakfast, as we were headed upstairs, Evie and her dad (the other adopting family) were in the lobby playing games.  Since Hudson has hit it off so well with her, he and Logan asked if they could stay and play while we went upstairs to pack.  Li Lin was upset that her ge ge were not going to be with her and started a bit of a fit, asking particularly for da ge ge (big older brother) Logan.  Rykauna went down to get Logan and when he came into the room, Li Lin settled, even though she was not directly playing with him.

Hudson and his buddy Evie at the airport in Wuhan

For the rest of the morning and early afternoon, Li Lin played around in the room, by herself or with the other kids as Sara and I tried to pick up after the 5 day hurricane.  That hotel room will not be the same after us! 

We had to return to the Civic Affairs Office (the location of Gotcha Day and the formal adoption).  Seeing as Li Lin’s response to the place was not positive either time, Sara was able to stay downstairs as we picked up the official copies of the Adoption Certificate and Li Lin’s Chinese passport.  Then it was about 1 hour’s drive to the airport in Wuhan.

After getting our boarding passes, checking our luggage and going through security, we were reading to board our flight to Beijing and say goodbye to Wuhan.  It was an epic moment for Li Lin, though she was completely oblivious to it.  In the last few days, she has left behind her foster family, her hometown, her county, and now her province.  Within the next week, she will be leaving her country of birth, China behind.  Big changes for a little girl!

Last parting view of Wuhan on the way to the airport

  Li Lin started acting up a bit during the one hour delay as we sat in the plane at the gate.  We went through all of the snacks, toys, books and tricks before we were even up in the air.  We can’t really blame Li Lin for getting fussy; the air in the plane was hot, humid and stale.  The air conditioning doesn’t work well until the plane is moving, and so we sat in air that was likely in the high 30s and about 80 to 90% humidity!  During takeoff, Li Lin clung to mama and was an absolute wonder the rest of the way.  We arrived in Beijing at about 9:40pm.  We joined several other families waiting for us and we boarded the coach, picked up several other families at two other terminals and all showed up at the Presidential Plaza Hotel, along with all of our luggage.  We got into the room and waited, and waited, for our luggage to appear so we could change and get to bed.  We gave up.  After a bath, Li Lin crawled into bed wrapped in a terry cloth housecoat provided by the hotel.  The other kids all fell asleep with their clothes on.  I just answered the door to our luggage getting delivered a few minutes ago at 12:30am!  Hint for other s travelling... pack pyjamas in your carry on for the flight from the provincial capital to Beijing so you can get to bed earlier!  (Though since our travel group is 18 families, I’m sure it’s usually faster and smoother.)

Li Lin catching a ride at the Beijing airport on the way to the bus

One thing we’ve notice about Li Lin is that she is becoming more and more bonded to the kids –which is a good thing, and a bad thing.  She has been wanting them over baba for a while, but today was even wanting her siblings over mama.  We have appreciated having the kids around and helping Li Lin settle.  She definitely has an understanding of the nuclear family.  Whenever she gets snacks of any sort, she is quick to hand some to each of her siblings.  She asks where her siblings are if they leave without her.  However, one of the problems is her dependence on them when she is upset or wanting something.  She needs to realize that her mama and baba will provide for her and fulfil her needs.  This is something we will have to be particularly aware of in the next little while.  The challenge is – she gets upset if we insist on doing something for her that she wants a sibling to do for her.  So it’s a balance between meeting her needs and making her happy, versus building the attachment to the right caregivers.  We hope we can strike the right balance.

Our gorgeous girl does NOT like getting her picture taken.  Having a hard time getting good shots!

 Tomorrow is Canadian Visa picture day for Li Lin, more paperwork (yeah!  Though I think this is the final piece), a group picture (with a WIDE angle lens - we will be the 6 little dots on the far left) and then the afternoon at the Summer Palace, I believe.  Better get some sleep.