Settling in at the Crowne Plaza

Spent the day in at our home away from home at the Crowne Plaza. Little man had quite a few meltdowns yesterday which he is very entitled to do. He is so weary of any changes, so we stayed put in the hotel. Today went much better, only a few meltdowns and they didn't last too long. Breakfast went really smooth, too. He enjoyed two eggs, noodles, congee, fruit, Chinese like Cheerios, carrots, bok choy and some toast. He would of stayed the whole morning eating if we would have let him. Matthew had his first ketchup today too and seems to enjoy it as much as his cousin Leland. He was delicately picking up the fries and dipping them. He would have made Jeff's grandpa Big Frank proud today, Matthew made himself a tasty dish of crumpled up Pringles, Asian Pears and hard boiled eggs. He grabbed a spoon and fed himself, we didn't realize he could do this. He may not share any of our genetic material, but boy does he remind us of so many family members.

You can tell food has not been abundantly available for him. He is happiest to have a piece of food in his hand, both hands preferably. When he has tasty cookie, he will savor it taking the tiniest bites. He picks up any crumb on the floor. For the first time today, he actually threw some pieces of carrot on the ground - usually he does not waste one bit. He cannot give you back his bottle unless every drop is gone. He happily slurped down his chinese cough medicine - and it seems to be working. All of our babies seem to be dealing with some type of cough and respiratory issues. One went to the hospital tonight with what sounded like croup, please keep them all in your prayers.

Huihui is just starting to verbalize a little bit, its in there waiting to come out. When Jeff left for a meeting, I asked him where Baba went and he pointed to the door. Matthew gave us his first kisses today too. He loves to come and run into your arms to be picked up. His hugs aren't "tight" yet though but are getting better. He wont have anything to do with anyone else, his allegiance is with mama and baba. The hotel has a playroom that looks eerily like Matthew's orphanage playroom, he didn't want any part of it. I almost bought those same foam mat puzzle pieces for the corner of our dining room floor to make it more familiar for him, good thing I didn't!

Bath time has moved from a thirty second speed wash, to standing in the water for a few minutes, to squatting and finally sitting and playing today. We have gone rogue and have decided to dress him in only a single layer. We know the Chinese are worried about their babies' health, but it isn't good to be soaked in sweat either. Our guess is that no one would ever come up to give us advice on Matthew. This sweet lovable boy is very much discriminated against here. We have had heard similar stories here from other adoptive parents who have children with special needs that make them look "different".

This kid is amazing in so many ways and it is a fantastic feeling to be earning the right to be his parents. We want to thank you all for the prayers, we certainly have felt a lot of peace. We miss Shelby and Robbie so much and can't wait for them to meet their little brother.