Caroline and her Mommy!

Today was GOTCHA DAY for Caroline Hope Kelley! We immediately recognized her among the other children meeting their new families at the civil affairs office. Her head had been shaved, so she looked just like she did in the first photo we received from our agency back in April. She has sharp, observant eyes, a good sense of humor, and she's just beautiful. The orphanage director quickly handed her over to us and we were on our way back to the hotel. It was so quick that it hardly seemed real.

Since we didn't know her schedule and were preoccupied with paperwork back at the hotel, we missed her lunch and were late with her nap. By the time we realized why she was screaming her head off, she was so worked up that nothing would please her. In desperation, we laid her in her crib, where she immediately popped her thumb in her mouth and drifted quickly off to sleep...for three hours! Let's hope the sleep pattern continues! :)

When she awoke, her daddy fed her some rice cereal, nutri-grain bar, and cheerios. (Cheerios are clearly her new favorite food!) Then Annie donned a swimsuit and lured Caroline into the bathtub for some playtime. Caroline was very stinky-smelling when we met her, so we were thrilled to get her in the tub! She sat in Annie's lap and played with water toys for about an hour.

Excited big sister Annie and Caroline!

Apparently, Caroline had corrective surgery on her colostomy very recently...probably around the time Ben had surgery about a month ago. Her scar is pretty nasty, but Ben massaged it with vitamin E - the same treatment he is using on his own arm. Hopefully her surgery did the trick and she will have no further problems.

As I type, she is talking on her play cell phone and "typing" on the computer. She's all smiles and loves showing off for everyone. She has let everyone hold her and loves attention. It's been a while since we've had a "busy bee" at our house, but I think we have one now!

The bee is buzzing for some mommy time, so I'll sign off. Thank you all for your encouragement and prayers!

PS - Temps hit 110 degrees today in Changsha!

Happy girl!