Today we visited Lord Bao's Compound. Pictures are attached. Not really any news to report other than today was better than yesterday, which was better than the day before...
Ah! That's the other sweetie at the orphanage who was very vivacious and bouncy! Please, please make sure we all stay connected.. give her our information so that we can share the photos and videos we took of their daughter. We showed your blog photos to Violet (Chun Xiao) and she proceeded to name your daughter and the other girl too.
I also want to tell you that if Cora weren't crying and grieving I would be worried. It's a normal part of the attachment process and it's classic and expected. Violet cries sometimes in the evening, has had moments of naughtiness and 'checks out' from time to time -- the vacant blank frozen stare that comes from being overwhelmed or upset or just plain freaked out. It will lessen and then heighten and then lessen again as you transition your family this next year or so. Without grieving, there is no attachment - so although it's difficult and sometimes debilitating -- it's ultimately what you want to see from your daughter. As time passes, she'll really cling to you and let you love her up when she's experiencing these moments.
Also, we had our guide explain to our daughter that we chose an American name for her so that she could recognize it. The first week we called her by her Chinese name, Chun Xiao. Then, during our second week in China. I combined her name into one long one -- VioletChunXiao -- and I said it all at once.
Once we reached home, everyone knew her as Violet anyway, so we dropped off the last part of her name and now call her Violet. She responds to it without any problems.
I also made sure to ask the guide if she liked her American name (which she did) -- and that we thought her Chinese name was beautiful as well.
We just know that Americans would butcher her Chinese name every time they tried to say it -- so I wanted to save her from that train wreck!
So, it's off to Guangzhou for you! You'll enjoy that city very much -- it's pretty easy to get around. Grab a hotel business card and keep it on you -- when you need to take a taxi somewhere - and you need to get back to your hotel, just show them the card! Taxi rides are very cheap! Enjoy!
Ah! That's the other sweetie at the orphanage who was very vivacious and bouncy! Please, please make sure we all stay connected.. give her our information so that we can share the photos and videos we took of their daughter. We showed your blog photos to Violet (Chun Xiao) and she proceeded to name your daughter and the other girl too.
ReplyDeleteI also want to tell you that if Cora weren't crying and grieving I would be worried. It's a normal part of the attachment process and it's classic and expected. Violet cries sometimes in the evening, has had moments of naughtiness and 'checks out' from time to time -- the vacant blank frozen stare that comes from being overwhelmed or upset or just plain freaked out. It will lessen and then heighten and then lessen again as you transition your family this next year or so. Without grieving, there is no attachment - so although it's difficult and sometimes debilitating -- it's ultimately what you want to see from your daughter. As time passes, she'll really cling to you and let you love her up when she's experiencing these moments.
Also, we had our guide explain to our daughter that we chose an American name for her so that she could recognize it. The first week we called her by her Chinese name, Chun Xiao. Then, during our second week in China. I combined her name into one long one -- VioletChunXiao -- and I said it all at once.
Once we reached home, everyone knew her as Violet anyway, so we dropped off the last part of her name and now call her Violet. She responds to it without any problems.
I also made sure to ask the guide if she liked her American name (which she did) -- and that we thought her Chinese name was beautiful as well.
We just know that Americans would butcher her Chinese name every time they tried to say it -- so I wanted to save her from that train wreck!
So, it's off to Guangzhou for you! You'll enjoy that city very much -- it's pretty easy to get around. Grab a hotel business card and keep it on you -- when you need to take a taxi somewhere - and you need to get back to your hotel, just show them the card! Taxi rides are very cheap! Enjoy!
-Natasha