Wednesday....

I didnt have time to update this yesterday as our little guy was keeping us nice and busy. Now I'm trying to play catch-up here...

Yesterday started with Surenda picking us up at 10.30am where we drove to meet Rashid at the doctors office where Surehka had taken him for his immigration medical. He was all dressed up in the clothes that we'd chosen for him the night before. Surekha gave us a bag containing the shirt and cars and photo album that we had sent over with Sue. In the bag was also an album that she had made for Rashid. I took a look at the first page and got all teary-eyed so had to stuff it back in the bag. Surekha was being so very brave but it was easy to see how sad she was. She started walking off before we even had him in the car and I'm sure she was having a wee cry too.

The consulate was a mad-house and the security was over the top. Luckily having J and his US Passport saw them treat us pretty nicely. We had to wait in 3 seperate lines, but they were all incredibly short compared to the lines that everyone else was waiting in. The fun really started when they told us that we had filled out an old version of one of the pieces of paper, so that had to be redone. Then they told us that everyone was busy and to come back tomorrow! Vijay wasn't having that for even a second and made it clear that we WOULD be seen today. After some flash negotiating it was decided that we would come back at 2.30pm. Our interview was amazingly short and very public. We stood in front of a glass window where the agent asked us how we had found out about our child, whether or not the conditions at the orphanage were good, how much the adoption had cost, did anyone try to ask us for extra money, and was the child healthy. After answering all the questions he spoke briefly with Rashid in Hindi, and then told us to come back at 11am tomorrow (today) for the visa. As we left I was looking at the mountain of paperwork we had been asked to bring ... out of it all he asked for THREE pages! I dragged a phonebooks worth of info halfway across the planet and now I get to drag it all home again. Of course its much better to have it and not need it than vice versa.

By the time we were done at the consulate we were all pretty tired. We came back to the hotel where the doormen all bowed to Rashid as he walked in. We tried to give him a rest but he wasn't having one bit of it. He showed off some more by singing the alphabet and counting in English. He's big into mimicking what we say word for word, and when I said something that made J laugh Rashid joined in with a hearty HA HA HA. There is never a dull moment with this boy! We gave up on a nap and decided to go to the restaraunt and have dinner instead. Rashid settled on chicken pizza. This child can EAT. I have no idea where he puts it as he is so tiny. The waiters here have been just amazing and made a big fuss of him, and also did a lot of translating for us. After ice-cream for desert we came back up to the room. I'd been a little worried about how he would handle having a bath, as he's used to the bucket and ladle, but I'd worried for nothing. He had a blast and soaked everything in the bathroom, including me. Then he decided that the bath wasn't enough water so insisted we turn on the shower too. Between the bath and the shower he was in seventh heaven and I was very amazed at his lack of fear.

Bedtime came and we left the TV on and I lay down with him. He was happy enough, but clearly not wanting to go to sleep. After about 20 minute of laying there he turned to me and gave me 3 kisses and then held onto me really tight ... he was asleep instantly. I waited until I was sure he was completely out before trying to move even an inch. All night he kept chasing me around the bed making sure I was still close. He woke me twice ... once to pee, and once for a drink of water. There were no tears, or anything else that I'd worried might happen our first few nights together.