Notorization and Registration, and Stuck To Mummy!

Nevin slept very sound through the entire evening- whimpering only once when he wedged himself width-wise in his crib. I turned him around and never heard from him throughout the rest of the night.  I had to wake him so he could meet his big brother and big sister on Skype!  Dylan was thrilled and truly excited to see Nevin, especially after talking and preparing for his arrival since May.  It was so good to his beautiful face and that charming and adorable smile. It did tug at my heart, as did speaking to my little miss, Heather, and hearing her say "I want you Mummy!"  Now that we have our Little Inner Mongolian Prince, all we want to do is get on that plane and take him home.

Today began with an early start. I was up at 5am, eager to shower and prepare Nevin's paperwork and baby things for the busy morning ahead doing MORE PAPERWORK! I feel bad for all the trees we've axed-- hopefully recycled paper was used. After I Skyped our family (the internet is playing some havoc with the video at times, but at least we can hear), we stuffed our new son in an outfit he may wear one or two more times, and headed down for breakfast.  He enjoyed sitting in the highchair, which gave Mummy a break as Nevin has made it perfectly clear that Mummy is currently his favourite person in the world and wants me to carry him constantly. The Peanut Shell Sling is a must have commodity for a bigger baby or toddler.  And he loves being in it.  It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't so darn hot and if our drivers had air conditioning in their vehicles.  The locals are quite used to this climate--evident by their wardrobe-- no shorts, and many of them wear black pants or shirts and long sleeves!

Nevin ate a good range of foods.  We did get a schedule translated into English for us regarding his routine.  And most of his meals were noodles, milk, juice, water.  So, this morning I decided to offer some yogurt with peaches, millet con gee with warm soya milk (its like a porridge) some soft bits of potato, noodles, watermelon and oranges.  He ate from everything I offered, but really loved the con gee and yogurt.  The breakfast buffet has plenty of Chinese vegetables prepared in a fashion we are used to for dinner.

We had just minutes to meet our guide in the lobby and ventured to the Shangrila hotel for tonnes of paperwork and official document signing, finger printing and Nevin's foot printing.  During the proceedings, the children mingled only slightly, and surprised me in that matter.  I thought they would be drawn to each other, but they all clung on to their new families.  They were even stand-offish, especially Nevin, with the Nannies.  I thought that they would be reaching for them. But it was the exact opposite.  It was at that point I had realized Nevin was certainly bonding with us, and wanted to stay in my arms.

I asked our guide to translate Nevin's name.  Although his Chinese name is written Yang Yumeng, it actually has a different meaning written in Chinese characters.  It was then one of the Nannys  came over and told us she was the one that named Nevin.  I became very emotional, especially after our guide translated for us that this Nanny loved him very much.  She said one part of his name represents the year of his birth which was the year of the ox. The other part indicates new growth of spring grass to provide nourishment for growth and a prosperous life.  Again, the tsunami came, as I was unprepared for the emotional impact it had on me.  We exchanged email addresses and she requested that we send along an update every once in awhile, and invited us to return for a visit when he is older.

After we signed many more documents and were interviewed by one of the officials, he shook our hands and the adoption became final.  We were the last family in the room.  Nevin had fallen asleep in my arms, and the air conditioning was turned off.  I was sweating like a farmer. As we were gathering our things, Nevin's Nanny came and presented us with a Chinese ornament from the orphanage, a beautifully scripted document in Chinese calligraphy for the orphanage donation, and a jade pendant with an ox carving on a red neck lace with some delicate beading as a gift from the Nannies.  Again with the tsunami!

At that time, it was getting close to Nevin's lunch.  We headed back to our hotel and fed Nevin some fortified baby cereal with fruit and he was ready for a nap.  However, he wanted to fall asleep in Mummy's arms, as he's decided he's quite comfortable and secure with his Mummy.  I do love to see him reach for me, but I may have to visit the hotel masseuse to make it through the rest of the trip.

Tomorrow, we are headed to the Inner Mongolian Museum.  I am hoping I can send David up to the shopping centre for a stroller first. Although at this point, I doubt Nevin will even want to go in the stroller.  Maybe Daddy can buy Mummy a stroller that I can sit in and he can push us both around!

It was discussed earlier today among our families if we wanted to accept an invitation to visit the orphanage in Baotou.  The drive is 2 hours, and none of us wanted to make the trip without a car seat for our kids.  The drive is long, hot, and certainly not safe.  We politely declined the offer.

When we return with Nevin, Dylan and Heather for a homeland visit, Nevin will have the option if he would like to see where he spent the first 16 months of his life.  I'm sure it will be emotional, but he did have Nannies here that cared for him.