Another Great Day with Hannah Dong En

We have discovered Hannah Dong En is a real girly girl. I predict lots of dresses, dress-up clothes, dolls with clothes, and a kitchen set in her future. I only packed one dress for her, but hadn't put it on her yet because the button to close it in the back fell off. Yesterday, she found the dress in her suitcase, and even though she was already dressed, wanted to put it on immediately. After she did, she looked in the mirror and smiled from ear to ear. Then she ran to show Baba how pretty she looked. She also looked at me questioningly and pointed to her legs and to the pants she'd been wearing. She wasn't sure if her legs were supposed to be bare. After I assured her it was okay, she beamed again and danced all over the room.

She is always trying to put her clothes on the Winnie the Pooh doll we sent her before our arrival. (As an aside, we got back everything we sent to her. We don't think anyone went over the photo album with her in any detail.) And she loves purses or anything resembling a purse such as our passport holders.

She sings a lot. Yesterday, we ate at an outdoor café. She and I sat at a table, and Jay and Ben went in to get food. As we waited, she sat on my lap, leaned back against me and sang little songs to herself while gently kicking her leg in time to the music. After awhile, she asked where Baba (Dada) was. I told her Baba was in the café getting food. She went back to singing, but changed all the words of the song to "Baba, baba, baba, baba…"

There are 4 other families in our travel group. All of them are adopting special needs kids. They are all such precious children and it has been like watching a miracle to see each of them open up and bond with their new parents.

One little girl with cleft lip and palate has particularly touched my heart. She is 12 months old, and I would be surprised if she weighed more than 10 pounds. She is so tiny. Her hands and feet look like a newborn's. Her parents brought the smallest shoes they could find in the U.S., but they just fall right off of her. The back of her head is flat. It is apparent, she spent most of her time lying in a crib. But the changes in her already are amazing. Her Mama and Baba love her so much. Every time we see them they are showering her with kisses. She smiles and smiles and smiles. Her eyes are so bright now. I just can't wait to see a picture of her in a year or two after her lip is repaired and she has had lots of love and good nutrition. It's like she's been in a holding pattern just waiting for her life to start. Now that it has, she is soaking everything in and enjoying every second of it.
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One picture failed to upload to the previous post, but now we've added it. (Hannah in the play area at the Civil Affairs Office: See below.)

We'll post more photos later.