Day 2, It's official!

It is day 2 & how our life has changed. Enter Hudson: full of energy, happy, charismatic, used to getting his way, & stubborn. It was a long first day. He is a solid little boy, holding him is much different than holding Ravenna. He is well proportioned & very strong (especially his left hand). We think he has done well considering all the changes. He did whimper a little as he was going to sleep last night. I think that is normal though. He is a very happy little boy, and he is also used to calling the shots. From what we can tell, it looks like he ran the show in his foster family home. Ivan said this is sometimes normal, since the children are mainly being raised by the mother & the father isn't around as much. In the Chinese culture little boys are highly regarded, especially due to the one child policy. This is the one thing we are having a tough time with. We will slowly have to make some changes in this department. For now we are just getting use to one another.

We went to the Civil Affairs office & signed a bunch of papers, gave our fingerprints, & it is now official, Hudson is now our son and we are thrilled.

Then Ivan and our nice driver took us to see the Yellow Crane Tower, which was 700 years old. It was built to teach calligraphy & has no religious affiliation. It has a gorgeous vantage point from its spot on a hill in the middle of town. You could see the local orphanage from the 5th floor as well as the Yangtze River. It was a perfect day, about 72 degrees. We also learned the Three Gorges Dam is about a 5 day boat ride up the Yangtze....maybe next time.

Today we found out his nick name is "Wenzie", meaning mosquito.....maybe cause he buzzes around so much. He calls himself "Wenzie" when he sees pictures of himself. So we are going back & forth from "Wenzie" to Hudson. He hasn't grasped onto the fact Hudson is his new name, unless he is ignoring us....which very well could be. He loves the cars & little dinosaurs we brought him, which is great since he is easy to entertain.

He just woke up from his nap & we plan to go the park later. We will come back for dinner, bath & then bed time. Stephan & I are really not finding much to eat here, thank goodness for the Power Bars (thanks mom).

Tomorrow we are meeting Ivan at 2:30 to go to the orphanage to meet some other waiting children. I know some families are very anxious to see those pictures. I hope our Internet at the hotel will cooperate & I will be able to post asap. The Internet here has been very temper mental & I am still unable to view our blog & the comments. Thank you to everyone who has left them. We should be able to have better access when we get to Guangzhou on Friday. Looking forward to a change of venue & to get home. We miss Ravenna so much. Loves & kisses to her for us!

Playing with his "Phonics" phone, he loves to dance to the music.

Checking out the fountain at our hotel.

Showing off one of his dinosaurs.

Our official family picture at the Civil Affairs office.

Hudson wanting to sit in his own chair, by him self.

Calling for mama at the entrance of the Yellow Crane Tower.

Giving mama a little impromtu kiss, with the Yellow Crane Tower in the background.