Day #5: Zheng Qiu Yun is now Autumn Qiu Yun Gresh

I was greeted this morning by the sweetest and biggest smile accompanied by a very clear, very English "Good Morning!" After Qiu Yun excitedly decided which of her new clothes to wear, Bob spent the early hours of the morning teaching her Tic Tac Toe!

After a quick breakfast we were whisked off to multiple government buildings to complete our Chinese paperwork. We were delighted to see our orphanage manager at our first stop: the Civil Affairs office. He was quick to express his surprise at the big smile our new daughter was wearing today. He said that she has never been considered expressive because she rarely smiled and when she did it was usually because she was coaxed. I think that will never be the case again. Today our adoption was made final and Zheng Qiu Yun legally became Autumn Qiu Yun Gresh.

After a few hours of rest and English coaching we headed out to shop. Autumn greeted our translator Lisa (whom she loves) with her first English sentence, "We go to shopping." Not grammatically superior, but certainly adorable! We bought her just a few basic items such as pajamas, sneakers, socks and another pair of pants. The entire time she was more concerned that we buy something for Lexi than for her. She is very sweet and generous. We tried to buy her more than we did, but she knows what she likes. (See the photo in which Bob caught her telling us "No, I don't like it." Oh, and don't miss the one of the happy boys waiting in yet another store!)

Now! We thought you might like to hear from Autumn. She sends this greeting and if you send one back on this blog, I'll be happy to read it to her.

"Hello. I am Zheng Qiu Yun. My new name is Autumn Gresh. I am very happy now. And excited. Not as excited as yesterday. I will see you soon."

P.S. While shopping, Bob was interviewed by the local chamber of commerce to promote the benefits of shopping locally. I guess he looked kind of local!