Hello! Gotcha Day!

Greetings from Nanchang!

After much internet finangling, we managed to get through to blogspot. Yes, Owen is finally here!

We arrived in Nanchang on Sunday (that would be Sat 12 hours earlier for all of you) at 2:00. After racing to the bank to cash our travellers cheques, we received the call that Owen (Nian Ke) was in the lobby. So there he was, with one of the nannies from FengCheng. He was scared and not too interested in coming with us. After Rae-Lynn warmed him up a bit with some goldfish crackers, we managed to get away. The first night was a hard one with much crying, but after a bath and a good sleep, Nian Ke decided we were ok. He is accepting of all of us, but greatly prefers Dad, much to Dad's delight.

What can we tell you about Owen? Well first off, his lip repair has not been done, so it is a bit of a challenge feeding him. Messy! He is very resourceful, LOVES to eat, and has figured out how to eat and drink everything. He drinks from a cup, pees on command in the toilet (wow), and has a very infectious laugh. He loves anything remotely mechanical, cars, trucks you name it. He is a very big eater and gets very mad if you don't get him his food right away. He has a sweet tooth and love cookies. He is little bit chunky, with a toddler belly, and not much hair. He has big eyes and round cheeks and is very active. Lucky us, he sleeps all night and takes regular naps. He likes to take baths and really likes putting things in and out of cups. He mimics us alot and is very smart. Already he is figuring out some english, starting with "ta", which is not really English is it?!

His adjustment is good so far. Today he saw a picture of his foster mother and headed for the door, wanting to go home, which was heartbreaking to see. He is mostly happy and laughing but has moments of sadness and needs comforting.
As predicted, the first 3 days in China were "labour" for us. We are operating on not much sleep. Jetlag is a toughie this time, particularily on Rae-Lynn, who is having a hard time behaving on a different time zone. We flew into Beijing on Sat, slept for one night (or not, as Rae-Lynn was jumping on the bed at 2:30 am) and then had to repack and go again to Nanchang. The Gloria in Nanchang is as we remember, trying hard to be western but still very Chinese. Rooster feet in the breakfast buffet, and a cockroach or 2 appearing in the bathroom (seriously, ew). Now that all of the adoption excitement is over with, we are getting caught up on our sleep and doing our best to enjoy Nanchang. For our travel group's refer