Welcome Maya Mong Wise!

We were picked up by the taxi at 7am this morning to take us to the orphanage. Of course, Matt and I had been awake off and on since 3:30am. It took about an hour to get there. We spent an hour at the orphanage before going to the Director of Justice for the paperwork to be signed.We were picked up by the taxi at 7am this morning to take us to the orphanage. Of course, Matt and I had been awake off and on since 3:30am. It took about an hour to get there. We spent an hour at the orphanage before going to the Director of Justice for the paperwork to be signed.

Maya Mong began crying the minute she saw us and continued off and on for about an hour. It was kind of heart wrenching. I already knew I was going to be crying the whole time just like I did through my whole wedding ceremony. Even Matt was crying! It was a very emotional time for the three of us.

This photo was taken at the Director of Justice's building while we were waiting. That's Elizabeth, Kiet is on her lap and Blaine is her 13yo. Kiet is a very mellow, easy going guy. He hardly cried all morning, acted as if he had been with the Curry family his whole life.

But even while she cried, she would cling to us. She wants to be held pretty much all the time. Here is a rare photo of her with her feet touching the ground.

Oops, I forgot to flip the picture again. This was taken when we first got back to our hotel room.

I think I kind of overwhelmed her with all the new toys. She ended up carrying that green lego block all the way to the market and back. Everyone at the market was so kind to us. Helping us find formula, a bottle and rice porridge. I am not talking about a regular supermarket. This is one of those huge market places where there are hundreds of stalls all hawking their wares. The lady that sold bottles recommended one that she thought was the kind they are used to at the orphanage. Our friends Stacey and Corey who picked up their daughter recently told us that Autumn would only take her formula from the bottle she got at the orphanage. Although I would rather she learn to drink from a sippy cup, we can't afford any weight loss and this is not the time to be forcing her to learn new skills!

We went to the market to buy her the brand of formula she is used to drinking. They did not give us a bottle so I assumed she could drink from a sippy cup. But she did not seem to know what to do with a sippy cup. We gave her sips of water from the cap of the bottle all morning but half of it would end up on her. She also eats very slowly. She ate one tiny 2 inch banana in the time that her friend Kiet chowed down two. An hour after lunch we discovered she still had pieces of chicken in her mouth that she had squirreled away!

By dinner time she seemed much more comfortable with Matt and me. Matt has already gotten about FIVE little smiles out her her and one giggle! After dinner we came back to the hotel room. Now time for the dreaded Elimite application (scabies medicine). I was afraid she would scream if we tried to take her clothes off. I had changed her diaper twice but now it was time for "the full mounty". We just took our time, pretending to give her a massage and she tolerated it pretty well. Then she drank 3 ounces from her bottle and fell asleep at 7:20pm. After an hour she woke up and drank 3 more ounces. She is sleeping restlessly now. I think because she is still itchy. One time when she woke up, she began sucking her thumb! I noticed a scar on one of her thumbs earlier that I assumed was a burn or something. How did I miss the thumb sucker pad?
I guess she is a closet thumb sucker. She never once sucked her thumb all morning with all the grieving, or all afternoon while we subjected her to one new thing after another!

We were able to catch the boys on line when we first got back from the orphanage. They were supposed to be in bed but as soon as they heard our voices they came bouncing to the computer, full of laughter and smiles. They could see Maya on the computer so they really hammed it up for her. Chris kept holding things up for her to see and saying things like "This is a telephone." Riley gave her a lesson in how to make "armpit farts". It was very sweet the way they were so excited to see her and gave her the typical goofy Wise family welcome.

Tomorrow morning she gets her first bath and then new clothes! Thanks to Jennifer Dye, she has so many outfits to choose from! I am so glad I brought the 9-12 months clothes instead of the 12-18 months clothes (Thanks again to Stacey and Corey for giving us good advice!).