This morning, we officially adopted Ashling at the Office of Civil Affiars. It was quick interview and a ton of forms.  The real highlight for the govt people was seeing Connor- we showed them pictures of them when we adopted him 4 years ago.

After the adoption, we decided to go explore the city. It was a beautiful spring day and less polluted then we have ever seen before here. We left the “5th avenue” area we are staying in, got 2 strollers, and went for a long walk through the real city. It’s such a huge city and so many different sites and smells. The traffic situation is pure chaos- don’t know how we crossed some of those roads. We had an amazing meal at a restaurant by using google translator and asking the staff to pick for us.

Keira continued to be amazing and allowed everyone to take selfies of her. She was stopped everywhere she went. Ashling sat in her stroller and took it all in. We learned yesterday that Ashling has been in a small orphanage that has no outside space. She probably has only been outside a handful of times when volunteers took the kids out for special occasions. So hard to comprehend.  It’s hard to imagine what’s going through  her head. She is really doing better we could have imagined.

Thankfully, she is getting along with Connor now- turns out she thought he could speak Chinese and was ignoring her. Connor and Keira are proud siblings trying to make her happy. She was much quieter today and I think she is processing everything and accepting that this is permanent. She still loves to give hugs and kisses to us.

Finished the night at  German beer hall for a few drinks with some new friends. Perfect end. A day we will never forget.