Day 7 with Samuel!

And 12 hours till we meet Benjamin. Benjamin is from an orphanage that rarely gives updates. The pictures and info we have on him are 14 months old. And at his age, turning 18 months on Tuesday, he has changed a lot. We don’t know if we will recognize him or not. I know that doesn’t matter, but I would really have loved just one picture during our wait. And for some reason it makes me more nervous meeting him. But I have been nervous before each gotcha day.

Today was spent traveling to Benjamin’s city. We left our hotel around 10am and arrived in Kunming around 5pm. Our hotel was a short drive and is in downtown Kunming. We walked to a Carrie Four, similar to Walmart, and got some water and snacks. It really cooled off fast and was chilly when we walked back. We saw a lot of people out and about, some dancing in open areas and others setting up things to sell, most homemade. Also, there were a few musicians w/a donation bucket near by. And everywhere we go, people stop in their tracks (including one van that was driving down the street and stopped traffic) just to check out the foreigners with so many Chinese children. People want to know what is wrong with Samuel’s leg (amniotic banding) and also with his hands and Mercy’s hands. We really never know what to say, except they were born that way. And all this is done either thru our son the interpreter, or our guide, and if neither are available then we do our best to use sign language. Basically its me pretending to be pregnant. But one lady thought I gave birth to Mercy when I did this – our guide came and was able to explain to her. Then she, as most do, gave me the thumps up. Just wish they knew we were the ones that need to give a thumbs up to the Chinese govt for letting us adopt these precious little ones.

Samuel continues to do well. He is really preferring David, and then me next. He prefers to only be held by us, and play with his brothers and sisters and sometimes throws a huge fit if one of them pick him up. He is getting more and more animated and is quiet most of the time, but then will let out these random happy screams that are piercing. Then he laughs at himself, which of course makes us laugh. He is super cute. He went on his first airplane ride today and did great. He was either eating or sleeping. When we got to our new room, he took all his toys, opened the closet door and put them neatly on a shelf. Just like his sister Joy, and brother Daniel. He is so CUTE!!!!

We took very few pictures today since it was mostly spent traveling so a couple of them are from yesterday.