A FEW MORE GOTCHA DETAILS!

[This post was sent when Brenda woke up the day after gotcha day.] Sarah, Lan Lan is sleeping. She did very well. She is super smart and super duper skinny! She did look sad at bedtime but is trying not to let me see her sad side. She picked up tic tac toe quickly and can color like a pro. The cigarette smoke here is very bad. Our non smoking room has two ash trays and matches everywhere? Very strong smoke smell in the room. I am having a hard time with the smoke but will be okay until the 3rd when we head to Guangzhoug. Lan Lan sounds like she has a cold and it sounds like she really needs to cough but does not cough too much. I will see what the doctor has to say when he comes later today. She has a back pack full of school books and things. She has lots of hidden treasures from her foster mom, bracelets and a necklace etc. You can tell her FM really loves her. She has a photo album with her pictures and pictures of some other children.
Recap of Gotcha- My guide Evelyn called me that she was here and would be right up. I knew they were here already because there are two families with another agency getting babies and I heard them in the hallway but stayed in my room waiting my turn. They knocked on the door and when I opened it , there she was with Evelyn and about five other people. She smiled but looked a little nervous. They came in the room and she sat on the bed next to me. She said hello in English and the guide said she has been learning some English. She had a very sweet and shy smile. The guide had me show her the photo albums and translated Ba Ba, Mei Mei (little sister) Gu Gu (big brothers) etc. She went over the pictures over and over saying who was who. She smiled a lot looking at the pictures. I had the guide tell her Ba Ba and Mei Mei stayed home getting ready for her. I gave her a little bear and also a small purse from Cintya and Nick. I also showed her a few other small toys and she smiled shyly. The orphanage director and others smiled a lot. They said she is very smart and loves school and has a lot of friends. The guide asked her if she had any questions for me and she said no. The other people quietly left while we were looking at the pictures. She did okay with that. The guide asked her is she wanted to take a shower and pick out some new clothes and she said yes. The guide showed her how to use the shower and she and I left her in the bathroom. The guide reassured me she was fine and she did take a shower and then called to us to help her get dressed. This all happenedd so fast before I could take pictures so all the pictures are after the shower. She did not look so skinny in her clothes when she arrived but that is because she had a very heavy coat, two thick shirts and two pairs of very heavy pants on. After she shower I noticed she is VERY VERY skinny. I am guessing she is only 50-52 pounds. She seems to be a tiny bit taller than Manon. They did recently cut her hair but it is in a cute little bob. I am sure Ron loves her hairdo! The guide did a lot of translating and she seemed very happy. The guide said she would show us how to get to the hotel restaurant, help us order and then leave us alone. The restaurant workers knew I just received her and spoke to her a lot in Mandarin. She ate very well and smiled a lot. She ordered a cola right away. She is a chop stick pro and tried to teach me how to use them. The waitress ended up bringing me a fork! I will keep trying! We went back to our room and she held my hand while we walked. In the room we colored and played tick tac toe. The guide called to see how we were and I said we were fine. She agreed it would be good to not come back to the room tonight so we could get to know each other without a translator. She said she would come to our room at 10:30am but to call her if I needed. We are managing very well alone. We watched Mulan in Mandarin together. I figured she had enough English for a while and next time we watch it we can watch it in English. We were laying next to each other on the bed and she held my hand a lot. She seems comfortable with me. After the movie we got our PJ's on, had a little snack and a drink and went to bed. She seems to get warm very easily just like Manon does. She is still asleep but it is only 4am (I think). We will go to breakfast at 8am and then meet with Evelyn at 10:30 to do the needed paperwork and get the fees together. Evelyn checked with the the orphanage director and they did receive our orphanage fee that was wired and I can pay the other fees in US money. I have to get the gifts for the officials ready. We have to go to the notary office around 2pm to make the adoption official etc. We are going to Walmart after that. I am hoping to just rest and hang out together. I am keeping things calm and simple. We will try to skype after she gets up this am if we can. I am going to try to get a little more sleep amid will update later.