Day 5--It's Official - Getting to Know Jadon

Today started with another trip back to the Civil Affairs office to complete our appointment/interview with the notary (like a judge here)and a civil affairs officer. Jadon charmed the pants off both of them. The interview questions were simple and over in no time. We signed papers and he became officially our son in the eyes of both the Chinese and the United States governments. Yeah!!!!!!

After our brief appointment we had the rest of the day free. We spent some time in the hotel room doing laundry while Jadon and Andrew played Trouble. Jadon has beaten every single one of us in every game he has played. How can one child pop so many sixes?

When Jadon started going stir crazy we went to McDonald's for lunch and then took a walk to a nearby park. Jadon (as well as the rest of us) thoroughly enjoyed that until Jadon developed a blister on his ankle due to putting his shoes on with no socks. This brought a very dramatic display of anguish from our little guy. After riding on Daddy's shoulders everything was fine again. He has expressed several times that he is "happy."

After some rest upon our return to the hotel we all went down to the pool for a swim. Jadon has demonstrated a love of water as he has asked for a bath both days. The pool was a slightly different story at first. He wasn't sure what to think. As time went by his trust level seemed to grow and grow. He even managed to put his face in the water several times, eventually blowing bubbles. He's even warmed up to Pop Tarts and Goldfish crackers which he vehemently denied at first.

We've been told that it may take up to a week to start to see a child's real personality. I think Jadon wears his on his sleeve generally. He is very friendly, greeting just about everyone we meet. He also seems to love to share. We purchased some chewing gum (jasmine flower flavored, I think) which he has shared with us and others from our travel group...over and over again. He has a very independent streak and knows what he likes. His appetite is good but he hasn't gorged himself at all.

He is still coughing quite a bit so please keep praying for him. Our guide called the orphanage director this morning at our request to find out what was up with him. We were told that he was fine until they brought him to Guangzhou. He was up coughing a bit in the middle of the night last night and coughs even as I am writing this (although I think he's asleep). I am hoping he sleeps better tonight (a lack of sleep is not a good thing when dealing with a child as active as Jadon--although Andrew has been a tremendous help). He was pretty tired and seems a lot more relaxed this evening.

Tomorrow should be another relatively relaxed day. We will apply for Jadon's passport in the afternoon followed by a trip to Pizza Hut, but that's really the only thing on the agenda. Please pray we all sleep well tonight.