Tuesday, June 24, 2008

We took our first plane ride with Philip, and he did very well. He stayed in his seat without becoming upset. He was very busy throughout the entire flight and quite loud at times, but he didn’t become upset. That was good because we had been worried about flying with him less than twenty-four hours after receiving him.

We flew to Zhengzhou, the capital city of his province. Tomorrow we go to the Civil Affairs Bureau of Henan Province to complete our adoption registration. The next day we will go to a different office to complete the notarization process. After that it is off to Guangzhou to stay at the famous White Swan Hotel for the remaining time. Our hotel here is nice. It is a 5-star hotel but the tv doesn’t work! That’s ok because we have our own entertainment!

Philip had a minor meltdown early this evening. We ordered in room service because Philip is having a little tummy trouble. We ordered traditional Chinese for him thinking that was what he wanted, and we ordered a hamburger and fries for us. When dinner came, he didn’t want very much of his dinner but wanted the fries that were almost gone from our plate. We gave him the remaining fries, but he simply didn’t understand that there were no more. He sat on my lap and cried, but it wasn’t a mad or frustrated cry. It was a sad and slow cry. It seemed to be more from the events of the past two days instead of from the lack of French fries. It broke our hearts. We just held him for awhile and then gave him some of our hamburger.

It’s hard knowing that Philip doesn’t understand what is happening. He really loved living at the Philip Hayden Foundation, and they really loved him. He doesn’t know how much we all love him yet or what a terrific life he will have living with his forever family. One day he will understand, but for now we are just two strange people who took him away from all that he has ever known and loved.

Philip is so sweet and loving. He is playful and loves to joke. Today he got quite a kick out of himself by calling Kevin Mama. He belly-laughed for a long time. Philip also seems to think things through by watching someone else do something. He seems to play hard and sleep hard. He is a fun little boy. We can hardly wait to bring him home.