We have her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We have her—and I can’t wait to bring her home to meet everyone. She was brought to us by her foster family late Monday afternoon. It was very emotional for us all when they left the hotel. Even her little foster brother who is 9 was crying as he kissed her goodbye. She is one loved little girl. I had always joked about her sleeping through the first time she was brought to us when she was just 11 weeks old. She slept through it all and woke up with us and just smiled and smiled. I was always saying she wouldn’t sleep through it this time. Well, she did fall asleep before the foster family left, but then when she woke up this time she was not smiling! We had a rough first night as she cried for almost 3 hours straight. However, at some point in the middle of the night when she woke up, she started just looking us over. Then, by Tuesday, the second day, she was much better. She still had her moments, but was giving us some smiles and playing with us. I also must confess that at least at this point she is clearly a daddy’s girl. She wants Chris to hold her all the time.

We also took the entire foster family including one cousin and an aunt out to dinner last night. This was such a special time as we were able to celebrate Emeline’s birthday all together. Karina, Emeline’s foster mom, also gave us a gorgeous pink blanket that she made by hand for Emeline. Emeline was going from person to person eating off their plates and drinking their drinks. I was also able to ask some more questions about things that Emeline likes and dislikes. I was very nervous that Emeline would be upset after we left, but she went right to sleep when we got back to the hotel. We will be visiting the foster family in their home on Saturday as well.

Now about Emeline…she is very social. She waves at people even when they are not waving at her. She just started walking...the foster family says she had started walking 4 days earlier, but she just takes a couple of steps. She especially loves children and other babies. She also loves to dance, and according to her foster sister likes to dance to High School Musical Music. She just starts dancing when she hears music. She also loves Barney (yikes!) . She is a very good eater. Her diet consists mostly of beans, bananas and eggs for breakfast and dinner. She eats whatever you eat for lunch in baby size bites. She also still takes a bottle with vitamin enriched milk several times a day and during the night. She NEVER likes to be alone. She loves baths and to swim. She also sleeps with us and likes to try to take over the entire bed. She also has 2 baby dolls that she will periodically rock, pat and kiss. This is so sweet. Oh, and she can roll a ball back and forth. She also says the names of her foster sisters. She likes her shoes—but not to wear them. She prefers to use them as a chew toy. She is very sweet and gives hugs and if you are very, very fortunate you might get a kiss.

Lastly, our big US Embassy appointment is early Friday morning, so please keep us in your prayers. We look forward to seeing many of you soon!