Gotcha Day! Meet Malia Parrish

This morning could not have gone better. We made our way to the Civil Affairs office with our guide Amy, and Malia was waiting for us in the lobby with the Huaihua orphanage staff. She looks great. She's active, very responsive, healthy, and an all around good lookin' kid. She does cry pretty well, but for the right reasons..............when hungry and tired for example. Otherwise, she is very content & inquisitive.....even with a mommy & daddy she does not know well. We are back at the hotel now having a nap after a long morning of playing, eating, and adjusting. The cleft looks about what we expected. Bilateral lip & palate, minor on the right and more significant on the left. No lip repair done given that she is being adopted so young at 10 months.

The staff was wonderful, and we learned a lot. She can eat solid foods, and we'll be feeding her rice, soup, & eggs in addition to formula. Steamed eggs are her favorite. She sleeps 9 hours a night and naps at noon. She is very active and has a "temper" when her demands are not met. No history of illness or infections. A solid eater in spite of the cleft (the baby fat confirms). She was taken care of by one woman........her nanny.......from the time of her arrival until yesterday. The nanny could not make the trip to Changsha, but we do have an undeveloped picture of her. Dianne earlier sent a care package to the orphanage with a camera, and we'll get to develop those photos and see the nanny, orphange, & Malia this past spring.

So we are all breathing a huge sigh of relief here. Everything is gonna be a-ok.