Day 8 - A wonderful night

Today was just a wonderful day for the Adkins family here in Taiwan. We had always heard from other adoptive families that when you get your child it will amaze you the ways they fit right into your family. That became very obvious today... we've got a little stinker on our hands. Claire has a fantastic sense of humor and it was on full display today. She was silly all day long.

This morning we went to the National Memorial Hall for a photo shoot we had arranged before we left for Taiwan. We found a local english speaking photographer on Google and he took some family portraits. I'm not sure if we gave him much to work with... Connor had a meltdown (yep, not the toddler we've had for 5 days... the 6 year old we've had since birth) and we had a rough time getting the kids to smile and look in the general direction of the camera. Hopefully something good will come of it.

After that we headed back to the room for lunch and then naptime. We were craving pizza so we asked the front desk if there was anywhere to get pizza in the area. Turns out there was a Pizza Hut and they delivered... 30 minutes later the Adkins family ripped into a large pepperoni pizza in a manner which resembled something you might see on Animal Planet. Best. Pizza. Ever. I hate Pizza Hut too so that's really saying something!

During Claire's nap I went back to AIT to pick up Claire's visa and immigration documents. They come in a sealed envelope and we have to leave them sealed until we get to immigration in San Francisco. I don't know why but I feel like a secret agent delivering these sealed documents. Such mystery and intrigue! I need a fedora.

After nap time we had grand plans to go to the Taipei zoo. Unfortunately when we arrived at the zoo they were closing up for the day... Connor was NOT happy at all. I underestimated his desire to see Pandas. So, we piled into a taxi and went back to the Taipei 101 area and just walked around for awhile. We had Starbucks and a snack from Mister Donut and then walked around the New York, New York mall. We had dinner at an American style restaurant and Claire was just fabulous. She sat in her booster seat the entire meal, ate like a champ, and was in a great mood. One of her favorite games to play with me is to offer me a bite of food (tonight it was french fries) and when I reach out to accept it she snatches it away and eats it herself. She cracks herself up with this and does it again and again. I have to admit, it is pretty funny.

After we made it back to the hotel, the real fun began. Bath time up until tonight had been basically a form of torture. We would put Claire in the tub or the shower and she would scream, thrash, and I'm pretty sure curse in Chinese at us. The past couple of nights had been slightly better... she would scream for a little while and then calm down for the end of it. Well, tonight she saw Connor in the tub and actually went to him and climbed in with him. She stayed in for a good 30 minutes laughing and playing... she didn't want to get out! It was a huge change from the previous few nights and we have no idea what changed. She was so funny... she was splashing us with water, dumping water on Connor's head... all the funny things kids do in the tub. She is such a joy.

Another unpleasant part of our time together has been teeth brushing time. You would not believe the blood-curdling howls that can come out of this child! Each time Jessica would brush she acted like we were ripping her toenails out or something. The only silver lining is that it's easy to brush teeth when someone is screaming. Tonight was a different story... she let Jessica do it and seemed to enjoy it. Afterwards she does the cutest little thing... she comes to Connor and I and breathes in our faces so we can smell her fresh breath. You would have to see it but it's adorable.

Oh yeah, she also peed in the potty 2 different times tonight. They told us she was NOT potty trained but it became obvious to us very quickly that she was ready for it. She lets us know immediately after she goes in her diaper and she wants it changed immediately. We figured any kid who can do that ought to be going in the potty. Tonight we were at the mall and Connor had to go so Jessica asked Claire if she needed to go to (Nee-yow nee-yow is how you say pee-pee in Chinese) and Claire nodded. Jessica took her in and put her on the seat and off she went. Exciting stuff, right?

Then tonight at the hotel she did it again. Afterwards, in what can only be described as a classic display of the phenomenon known as "two steps forward, one step back", she peed in the floor of our hotel room.

It's now 11:00 PM here in Taiwan and everyone is sound asleep. Connor had been sleeping on a couch every night but tonight he decided to sleep in the bed with Mommy and Claire. Claire was so excited that Connor was sleeping next to her... she loves to play with his hair and she ran her fingers through his hair until he fell asleep. As soon as Connor was asleep, Claire closed her eyes and fell asleep too.

Today was a good day. It still seems surreal that she is really ours. We know that we still have a lot of work ahead of us... as well as she's doing there are certain to be many, many challenges but we can't help but be encouraged. Each day brings a few small victories and she already feels like she belongs in our family 100%. Her personality is eerily similar to Connor's... they both like to entertain people and both love to make you laugh. They're also both very sweet natured and caring... it seriously is a little freaky how much alike they are. We are just in love with our little girl and getting to know her a little better each day has been such a joy. We can't wait to get home so everyone can meet her. You guys are just going to love her!