Wow... Just, wow!

Well, it's now 6:30 am on the 27th in China and we're just waking up - at least Jason and I are (crazy jet lag!) Amanda is passed out asleep next to me (I grabbed her to cuddle when we woke up) so I have a few moments to replay yesterday's events. After a leisurely morning of hitting the Friendship Market (a giant mall with HIGH end stores like Cartier, Gucci, etc., and a supermarket on the 4th floor!) and having a delicious Chinese meal of fried rice, vermicelli and tea, it was FINALLY time to get Amanda at 2:00! I'd been expecting many (as in, 30-40) families to be at the Civil Affairs Office, also waiting for their children, but surprisingly (I guess because we're here at Christmas!) there were only 6 other families. We barely had a moment to sit down before it was time for her to walk into the room and become ours! I caught a glimpse of her through the doorway curtains and had to hold back the tears of joy - she's beautiful!!! Then she came out to us and we were even more blown away. She gave us each shy smiles and stood for a few moments, wary of what was going on. But then I gave her a doll and she was all smiles from then on. We only sat and chatted with the orphanage director for a few moments, but she was able to give us much more than I'd hoped. Amanda had been attending the new "Sunshine Preschool" in the orphanage, so she gave us many samples of her "artwork", as well as a really sweet, wonderful letter from her teacher - something I think she'll come to treasure. It was certainly more than I'd expected to know about her time in the orphanage.
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> Our trip back to the hotel with her in my lap (no carseats here) was smooth as she looked out the window, pointing at everything and just talking away (no idea what she was saying, but she's very verbal!) She walked into the hotel holding Jason's hand looking at everything in total awe (and confusion, I'm sure!) Once we got into the room, we began to see her real personality - she's amazing! She's so very curious, exploring everything - not in a haphazard way, but with great attention to details. And once she sees something she wants, she makes a beeline for it, grabs it and won't let go (short of us prying it out of her fingers - very typical 3-year-old!) Amanda LOVES to draw and color. We probably spent well over 2 hours just sitting on the floor coloring and playing with the markers and crayons. Who knew markers could be so entertaining?? And our favorite thing we've learned about her so far - she LOVES to laugh! She has a a great big belly laugh that gets her going so much that she often will fall over when she's dying of laughter! We've found so many ways to get her laughing: making faces, tickling, playing silly games with the markers - just about anything as it doesn't take much! 
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> Finally it was bedtime, which went quite well. She almost cried as we laid her down in the crib/bed at the foot of our bed. But Jason and I stood/sat right beside her with our hands on her chest and forehead, she began to suck her thumb and then went right to sleep! We all had a very big day yesterday, so we all slept very well. Overall it was an incredibly smooth first day. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers - they worked!!!