June 29th ~ Benjamin is offically ours & HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEITH!

Boy, what a day it has been so far...Woke up this morning to skyping with Grandma, Aunt Lisa, Annabelle, and Scott Joe at 7AM China time! It was truly a glorious moment. Annabelle could not stop saying HI to Benjamin...as he just sat there taking it all in....

So far things have been going very well. He hasn't cried (expect when getting reprimanded) and he has both bonded to Keith and I the same. Seriously. He goes & responds to Keith and well as me. From what we understand, he was probably in a room of over 400 children at one time and did not get a lot of attention...so having us giving him all the love, attention, and affection that he needs when he needs it...makes the transition very easy. He is truly one funny little guy and we "think" he is going to be the passive one in the family. He loves making silly faces, eats everything & anything, sleeps very well, no bottle still, and is one happy camper ~ seriously! We truly have been truly blessed with every adoption so far.

There are other parents in our group where the babies are just crying...and crying...and crying and there is nothing they can do. We have never experienced any of this {with Francesca, Annabelle and Benjamin} and my heart is totally going out to each and every one of them (the parents and the children) as they struggle with all these emotions & new surroundings.

It is amazing and now having done this 3 times does not make us an expert by any means but it does make you more prepared for anything that can happen.

I know you are all probably a little interested in what is going on {medically} with Benjamin and there are a few issues that we were never made aware of (and are concerned about)...

1st - We "think" he has bi-lateral undesended testicles. Just from the look and feel of things - they are not there (but it might have something to do with his surgery so we'll find out once we come home and visit the doctor)

2nd - His belly button is very distorted. Can't really explain it but after seeing Francesca's "outtie" belly button - his is very different.

3rd - His chest bone in the center is really sticking out (if that is making any sense)....another issues we will talk to the doctor about when we got home.

4th - His bowels are crazy but having two children adopted previously with mega-colons - this is the least of our concerns.

now onto some good news...

Today we officially became the legal parents of Benjamin James Zi Leonard (and I do have the photo to prove i)t! And within a few minutes of posting this entry, we will be heading out to Zhengzhou Lotus market for some shoes and some clothes seeing how mostly everything I packed for him is just way too big (I am thinking he is wearing a size 4 shoe and 18 month size clothing).

Benjamin does love his trucks & cars ~ our typical boy! And is also loving the mini battery operated fans I brought along (to cool us off in this crazy heat here)

And after all this time I still can't believe he is finally ours!

"You were so right Mom, Grandma has been watching over him from Heaven and she did organize the perfect "Forever Family Day" for us! We could not have asked for a more perfect day (yesterday) and even today! She is sending us some many blessing (which I knew she would).

Keith LOVED all the birthday cards he has received. He did get a bit emotional today when he opened Ma's birthday card because there was one name missing... and it really hit him hard.

As for our Annabelle ~ We loved seeing you this morning and can't wait for our chat tomorrow! LOVE YOU ALL THE WAY TO THE MOON AND BACK!

As for Keith's Birthday, Yisha (our guide) has planned for a cake to be delivered to our room some time around 5PM and after supper tonight, we are headed to the hotel's upscale Cigar Room (without the kiddos) for our first and probably only Cuban Cigar (OK when will we ever get a chance to smoke a Cuban Cigar again lol)!

So that's about it for now! I know my family has been worried about me ~ seeing how I was so sick the last two times we were in China, but I am doing really well this time ~ sick wise. As for the sleeping ~ I am not sleeping all that well (waking up about 2-3AM and can't fall back to sleep) but other than that I am doing fine...Again Love & Miss you all!

Tomorrow is a "free day" for us which we all are so looking forward to. And today I actually went exploring the city of Zhengzhou by myself! Keith was extemely nervous and didn't want me to go but after assuring him that I had my official name tag {given to us by Yisha c/o CCAI} with all my much needed information on it {both in English and Chinese} he was OK with letting me go and I did have a nice time ~ just missed my mom being with me...

OK that's about it for today ~ enjoy the photos!!!!!