onto nanjing

we boarded the high speed railway in shanghai to nanjing, traveling 303 km as we sped through the jiangsu province countryside. strange to be passing through pearl's hometown of suzhou before officially meeting her. wondering if she is still there or on a similar train herself on the way to the province capital city to meet us? interesting to see various farming fields & villages as we will spend most of our time in china in major metropolitan areas.

(this is a little something that i wish to remember:  the look of an expectant mother on the final leg of her journey to her long awaited daughter.  not too sure if this is the look of calm, nervousness, reflection, or just a last opportunity to quietly observe the beauty of the country before the wonderful chaos that is about to ensue...  and then the realization that this momma is being toyed with by the invasive camera!)

when we arrive in jiangsu, we are met by our guide, savor, and have time for a quick bite to eat at the british coffeehouse, costa. then it is off to the provincial office for our meeting with pearl. as our car pulls through the gates, there is a little one standing on the front steps, having just arrived herself. she is so tiny, perhaps an 18 mo old baby on her way to meet her own parents. when we gather our things and proceed up the steps, i see that she is wearing a pink silk bow in her hair... very cute, something i would pick out & oddly similar to one I sent our pearl 6 months prior. it is at that point that it hit me... this baby was OUR baby! not the big 3 year old that I was expecting... she was oh so petite and frail! i have somewhat petite hands myself, and when i form a circle by touching my index finger to my thumb, her bicep fits neatly within. my two hands together forming a circle can envelop her entire waist!  a whopping 20 lbs this 3 year old is... the weight of a typical 1 year old back home. she says hello to us, even repeats "momma" & "baba" (father) under her nannies encouragement.

and all is well given the toys and snacks we and her nanny dutifully prepared, until the separation from all she has ever known sets in...  poor thing cried and cried during the paperwork portion of this initial meeting, photography for her adoption, and the departure of her beloved nanny and teacher.  we did all we knew to do as 4th time around parents to quell her sadness, only to determine the one thing that would do the trick... take her outside (this worked for all 3 of my little ones, everytime).

... sweet pearl was able to gather her composure after her brief interlude out of doors (really, was i allowed to just walk out the door with her with nothing yet finalized?  not too sure that was protocol, but a momma's gotta do what she knows best... plus i left baba peter inside with all the officials as collateral).  with a quick stop off at the local store for supplies on the way back to our hotel, some play and discovery with all the gifts we had brought, a hearty supper with an ice cream interlude, and a calming bath in the amazing tub,  our little miss finally found her groove and settled in, sleeping like an angel...

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