The Red Couch

It is a tradition at the White Swan Hotel for all the babies in each adoption group to take a photo on a red couch. Most parents dress their girls in Chinese clothing for the photo. At 3:00 today, all the families who adopted girls from Anhui province gathered by the red couch. The babies were placed on the couch, and it seemed like half instantly started crying. Some rolled around, some threw temper tantrums, some looked around like "what the heck is going on", and one laughed and sucked her thumb . . . Zoe. It was funny to watch.

But even funnier were the parents, grandparents and siblings of the girls, all jumping around waving their arms in the air and yelling their baby's name in a fruitless effort to make them look at the camera and smile. It was hysterical! I think my dad got a few pictures of the parents. I know I got some of it on video. Of course, I'm allowed to joke about this because I was one of those parents.

It's like reality TV for these Chinese girls. Cameras follow them everywhere, capturing almost every giggle, cry and fart. Some of them, I think, are fed up and have begun striking back by saying (in Chinese baby talk, of course) "I'm NOT going to smile for you. I'm NOT! I'm NOT! I'm NOT!"

Here is a photo. Zoe is on the left side of the couch. Molli is sitting next to her. They are the two youngest in the group.



Zoe and Molli on the red couch. Zoe looks like she's crying, but she's really laughing. Molli has really come out of her shell and is more playful and smiley. She and Zoe have also started interacting. For example, last night, Zoe knocked Molli down, then crawled away. Oh well, it's a start!



The lobby of the hotel. Just beautiful. You can walk behind the waterfall and look out over the pond. The pool has a waterfall, too. Since tomorrow is a free day, we'll probably spend some time there, lounging around and splashing in the water.



Zoe laughing while she crawls. I don't have a picture of it yet, but she started walking today. We got her some squeaky shoes, so every step she makes squeaks. I think Zoe was the last in our group to start walking. It's amazing how these girls have developed so quickly now that they are given an opportunity to really eat and exercise as much as they want.



Our family of (gulp) five, all dressed in Chinese clothing. The West Riverside Elementary shirt Doug is wearing is a very popular style here in China. All the local kids are wearing them!



Our adoption group in the lobby of the White Swan. We've traveled with these folks for a couple of weeks now and really feel like we've gotten to know most of them.