First Trip to the Zoo! And Jiliang's Progress

********************Photos coming soon******************************

It was such a beautiful day yesterday. We went to the zoo with Grandma Harvey. Jiliang enjoys the outdoors so much. Going into the zoo buildings, however, scared Jiliang so much. She cried and clung to me. In the new children's building, T.J. wanted to check everything out. She could not wait to get out of there. We ran into some friends at the Children's area, but she didn't allow much time to talk.
Since I have not left her side, since I received her in February, I am pretty in tune with what is going on with her. I could tell that she is still afraid that she is going to be taken away from me. I think that she was whisked away from her orphanage right out of her sleep, because the staff had to drive from Gaoyou to Nanjing, which is a 3 hour drive. They arrived early, so I am assuming that they pulled her out of bed before her wake time, wet down her hair, stuck a hat on her, and seated her on the bus to endure a long bus ride - with an unbeknownst destination to her. How scary. It is hard to say if she ever left the orphanage at all, other than going for doctor's visits. I do want to say that I am sure that she ate some snacks on the way to Nanjing. I do know that they took very good care of her needs.
I know that they told her that she was getting a new Mom, Dad and Big Brother, because she recognized me - from the fear on her face when she laid eyes on me upon entering the Civil Affairs lobby - and she did recall T.J. and Baba (Scott) in the photos that I brought to China. The orphanage staff also confirmed that they told her about her new family.
One thing that I have learned about children is that their concept of time is not developed. She may have understood that she was going to meet us, but did not really have any idea of how and when that was going to occur. Even if her caretaker in China said goodbye the day before, I am sure that did not fully comprehend how her life was going to change. Thankfully, my bonding experience with her in China was beautiful and quick to develop. I couldn't have asked for a more amazing attachment to her. Now that I know and understand, we can communicate exceptionally well, even with a language barrier. I thank God for those two amazing weeks with her in China.
She developed a good bond with Scott (Baba) within the first few days of being home. After Scott returned to work, she did not understand where he was going. After he returned home from a shift, she would run to her closet and hide. She was very confused about his coming and going to work, and unexpected returns; and I believe that she started to question if he was a permanent fixture in this house. We even joked that she might have thought he was a maintenance man around here, that slept in Mom's room; because he was working a lot. Any time someone entered our house, she feared that they might take her away from her new home. She started to feel that way with Scott.
After visiting his fire station last week, she has attached him to a place and a job. She no longer hides in the closet, for she knows that he is her Baba and now smiles when he comes home from work. She is becoming accustomed to our family routines.
As for the zoo, she smiled more than ever when we got in the car to go home. She did have a nice time, but there was this underlying anxiety of what might lie ahead of each corner of the zoo. I know that the next trip will be more exciting for her, because she will understand that I am not venturing into a building to give her away to someone. She will be able to relax a little more and say, "Yeah, I've done this before. We have fun, play, laugh, see some animals and GO HOME."
Hopefully, with lots of love and opportunities to prove that she is never leaving our family, she will be able to relax and enjoy days like these. She is such a happy, sweet and loving presence in our home, and we enjoy every new adventure with her. We feel so lucky to have her in our lives. Big Brother, T.J. will vouch for that as well. She is very loved!
Jill :)