Now officially Danielle's parents.

Sorry no pictures to post today. More technical problems. (Actually calling it a technical problem may be a little misleading since the problem is that I let the camera battery run down without recharging it.) Anyway, should be able to put on more pictures again tomorrow.

Sharon and Danielle are both sleeping after a long day of being joined at the hip--literally. Danielle understandably has been clinging to Sharon quite a bit. (It's got to be a pretty overwhelming experience for Danielle to have her whole world changed in a day.) Sharon really enjoyed today and is making up for lost time in the bonding department. Worried if this continues however, since Sharon has had back problems in the past and Danielle is not exactly light. I'll be able to help out soon but, for now, young Danielle remains unsure of what to think about this guy who hangs out with her mom. (We've been told that it is very common for the children to bond strongly with one new parent and spurn the other for several days.) In fact, as I am writing this, Danielle has just woken up and refused to even let Dad give her a bottle. Please remember Sharon in your thoughts in the next few days.

Speaking of Danielle's eating, she is eating absolutely none of the stuff that we were told "all of the children like." Instead, she has been devouring table food at the hotel's Chinese restaurant (not the one where all the foreigners eat)--and not just the bland stuff either. The sauce on the pork we had for lunch had pretty good "kick" to it, and she ate quite a bit. They say that girls from Hunan province are China's "spice girls" because the food here is supposed to be the country's spiciest and the girls are reputed to be the most hot-tempered. We'll find out soon re: the latter.

Went back to the Office of Civil Affairs today to make the adoption "official" in the eyes of the PRC government. Not much more adoption "business" to do in Changsha. In fact, tomorrow is a free day on the schedule. We need it.

Danielle's cough resolving today. Should be gone in a couple of days.

While Sharon and Danielle were here at the hotel, I got to go to the orphanage. Was a profound experience to see where and how and by whom her care has been given in the past few months. A lot to say re: this, but I'm running out of steam and it's after midnight. Suffice it to say this: it is clear that she has been loved and treated well. I think there's even good reason to think that she has been a favorite among the staff there! She's easily the cutest in my opinion.