Day 5 – Daddy Smiles and Family Firsts

After one day with Hannah, it is clear that she loves her Baba!  Today started with us waking up at 4am (again!) and waiting for Hannah to wake.  There we sat in the dark trying to find something to do.  Finally, Matt decided to get up and take a shower.  The only problem was that we had turned the “master switch” for the lights off before we went to bed, and we didn’t want to turn it on for fear of waking Hannah.  This meant showering by the light of our 1 LED night light we had plugged into the bathroom.  Thankfully the outlet in the bathroom was still working!

We finally woke Hannah up at 8am.  What a blessing that she slept so well!  After getting her dressed, we made our way to the breakfast buffet.  There she ate congee, yogurt and a banana.  Hannah ate very well …. when Matt was at the table.  As soon as he left to get her more food, she put on her pouty face and wanted nothing to do with mom.

At 9:30 we met our guide, Lisa, in the lobby.  We headed over to the Civil Affairs office to arrange and pay for our orphanage visit.  This time it was not raining (blessing!) and we tried out the Ergo carrier.  Thank you Thuong for letting us borrow it!  Since Hannah wouldn’t let mom hold her, must less carry her, Matt got to strap up.  We’ll let you all know that we safely made it across the street and didn’t even have a near-miss this time.  After the Civil Affairs office, we purchased train tickets to travel to Hannah’s city Shangrao. 

Next up, a trip to the two-story Wal-Mart a few blocks up the road!  This was most likely Hannah’s first trip to a store.  She loved riding in the cart and pointing at all the buys.  Of course, she convinced us to buy a few of the things that looked good to her.  She was very excited about her flavored milk and mini buns.  We purchased some supplies along with some souvenirs.

The Wal-Mart was located in a large building with other stores.  We made our way to the basement to eat lunch at a chain dumpling restaurant.  Hannah enjoyed her snacks (Matt said they tasted like animal crackers) from Wal-Mart along with some pork dumplings.  Matt ate chicken dumplings and pork dumplings.  Deanna ate Kung Pao Chicken with peanuts and white rice.  Matt exclaimed that it was a victory because we found something that mom would eat!

After many hours out around town, we headed back to the hotel for naps and laundry time.  Hannah woke up around 3 and played ball (sounds like “pee cho”) in the hotel room with baba.  I was so tired that I didn’t even wake up when Hannah was jumping on the bed right next to me (so Matt says) or when she was screaming with laughter and delight.

Matt finally woke me up from my nap around 5 and our crew headed to the tennis court located on the roof of the 6^th floor.  There we played more with the ball we purchased.  Hannah certainly has a way to show her feelings, wants, and desires.  She makes it clear when she is not happy.  No worries, Baba to the rescue!  All is well when Matt can cheer her up.  I am not worried.  I know that it is very common for children to bond with one parent initially.  I am thankful for the few times that Hannah allowed me to hold her and play with her.  We are so thankful that Matt is able to be here to ease Hannah's transition.

We enjoyed dinner at the hotel restaurant and then headed to bed early.  We wanted to be well rested for our visit to Hannah’s orphanage.  Please pray for her heart while we visit the home she has known for almost three years.  We know that this visit will be difficult for her and us.