The First Night

Where were we?

Oh yes, Joshua commandeered the camera and had great fun.
The first thing I noticed when I saw him was that he was smaller than I had imagined. The second thing I noticed after oohing and aahing over his light up sandals was that his second toe is longer than his big toe. Weird, I know. But a mother must count fingers and toes.

The orphanage was so kind to bring most of his gifts he had received and sent some school work, new shoes, and a bag of snacks, which he clearly enjoys, and other toys and things. After we left the Civil Affairs office, we went to have our family photo taken. The women in the shop noticed Joshua's breathing and said we were very kind to adopt him. We headed back to the hotel and let him explore the room and showed him where his clothes and toys were. When he was hungry we gave him the choice to ride in the stroller or walk and he was very happy to climb in the stroller, as long as he could still work the elevator, that is. :)

Joshua's first request was to have a hamburger for dinner. He settled for a chicken burger, not sure he knew the difference, from KFC. This kid can EAT. He devoured his chicken burger and most of his fries.
Then he finished my rice.After we got back to the room, he took a shower. All I will say is that he is NOT shy. We skyped with home and everyone got to say hi to each other. He had his yogurt before bed, brushed his teeth and fell asleep around 9:00 or so in Daddy's bed. Happy to report that he slept better than we did. His breathing is very rapid and shallow and it takes a worried Mother and Father 's heart some getting used to. We need to learn what is normal and what is distress.

We all woke up around 6:00 and Joshua just grinned and grinned. He soon discovered Connect 4. I guess there is a similar game here that we will look for tomorrow with a grid and round pieces except you have to get 5 in a row.
When he went for the snacks in his bag, we knew it was time to head down for breakfast. Did I mention this boy can eat? I showed him all the different choices and he clearly knew what he wanted. He had a fried egg, french toast, bacon, and noodles. He didn't want any juice and only drank milk to humor me. At one point he wanted more noodles. I wanted him to finish the egg and eat a little bit more french toast so I pushed a little pile over to one side and asked him to finish. The little negotiator took some from the pile and pushed it back over to the other side. I brought a little back and we were both satisfied. He ate it. I got him some more noodles. Who needs language anyway. Just kidding.Joshua has the camera again. He figured out how to take pictures and review them in about 10 seconds flat.
Two servers were curious about our family. First, they asked if Joshua spoke only English then they asked if he was our friend's son. We said that he was our son. That took a little explaining. They both approved and the young man said Joshua was very lucky to go to America. They were super sweet.
Breakfast is over. We are working on "all done" in English. Off to meet our guide and run some errands. Today is the big Adoption day when Joshua will become a Peterson.