More paperwork

First, we want to thank everyone for your encouraging comments. We really look forward to reading them every day and they make us feel less isolated here. We had a pretty good night's rest, especially Naomi. She slept just as long as we were told to expect -- 8:30 pm to 7:30 am! Unfortunately, Roger and I were awake at 3:30 and couldn't really get back to sleep. We crash early every evening and wake up way too early. Can't seem to get the hang of China time. Naomi has been waking up pretty pleasantly each time. Smiles are rare, but she is very curious and watching all of us closely. She is a real explorer and hates to be held when she'd rather be cruising and checking out her environment.

We had a nice breakfast then a two hour meeting to sign a lot of adoption papers. These papers mean that now Naomi is completely under our control, not the orphanage's. (What we signed yesterday only granted temporary custody.) We had to put our fingerprints over each signature and Naomi also had to give a handprint. She was happy to get her hand in the ink, since she had been trying to get at it already. We also had to repeat all the basic facts about ourselves and our reasons for adopting Naomi. The orphanage officials were friendly, however they were not the China Care people. We also had to visit a government security office to get pictures taken of Naomi. (See picture of the imposing building.) The ladies working there liked to talk to the babies.

We will go to Baotou on Sunday and visit China Care and the foster family, just as we hoped. Tomorrow at 3 we will visit the "Authentic Mongolian Souvenir Factory" to pick up some traditional clothes and mementos for Naomi. In the morning we hope to walk to a local park. On Saturday, we will visit the scenic grasslands.