As I write this at 8:50pm local time, Emily seems to be asleep (despite assurances from the orphanage that all the kids go to bed at 10:30 pm every night).

We got her today at 3pm at the Guangzhou Civil Affairs Office. Chaos, with at least 35 families in a big room waiting to meet their children. And a weird moment where you can see your child in another room but can't go in to get her yet. Lots of crying . . . by parents : ). Kids are mostly overwhelmed, and they fluctuate between stony silence and extreme unhappiness.

Emily was carried to us by the director of her orphanage, who traveled eight hours by bus with her, a few nannies and 5 other babies of approximately the same age. She is beautiful and sweet. We are thrilled to be her parents.

Emily is doing quite well. Her transition has not been terribly traumatic. She cries periodically, but we are able to console her easily. She is eating solid food, but she does not yet feed herself. She received solid food and formula at the orphanage, but we're avoiding formula now as no western brands are available. She can stand unassisted, and takes a few wobbly steps, but for now she much prefers to be held, mostly by Ellen. She does not make many sounds yet beyond crying and the occasional giggle (but see below). She enjoys very basic games like peek-a-boo and patty cake and drop-the-item-and-watch-Dad-pick-it-up. She may have a little cold, but there is no fever.

Her attention span is excellent. She played with one toy with Ellen for 40 minutes straight. She is also attentive when read to (we spent a long time on The Very Hungry Caterpillar tonight). She watched a half hour of Elmo's greatest hits in rapt attention (I swear I heard her say "Elmo" toward the end. That would be her first English word. Ellen is not so sure.)

It is now 9pm local time, and she is surely asleep. Woohooo! Here's hoping for more of that. Can't wait to get to know her better tomorrow. We wanted to post some pictures tonight, but the camera is in the room where Emily is sleeping and I don't want to risk waking her up. Tomorrow we will apply for her Chinese passport, but otherwise we will have lots of free time.