He is Officially and Legally Ours!

Well, now I must say that having four children with one being a newly adopted son keeps a gal (and pal, aka Mike) quite busy! We both thought we would write earlier to log yesterday's events but that didn't happen this morning nor during the day. I just got Magnus to sleep after a lengthy bedtime ritual. Yep, he already has me wrapped around that tiny lil finger! I'll try to recap the day and then Mike will upload pics and hopefully the video of Magnus belly laughing with the girls. We had a whole bunch of that goodness today but we will have to wait to write about that fun. Our outing was ridiculously amazing with breathtaking views!

Two nights ago, I was up with Mags multiple times throughout the night and ended up with 3 hours of sleep. Watch out, that's not good for anyone around when this mama doesn't get legit sleep! It was a big day because we would no longer be guardians of Magnus. He would become our son legally though he had been our son since the day we saw his face on September 4th. After a couple gulps of Pepsi (see how bad my problem is?!), I was ready to take on the day. I had to wake Magnus up while the other Duff team members made their way into our room from the other one. Though we doubled the cost, we thought it was important to have 2 rooms in case Magnus grieved at night which is common in adoptions. We are happy to report that we really don't need that other room but will probably keep it the remaining days for the comfort of big beds for everyone. We went downstairs to have breakfast which is so beyond delicious. Western foods and Chinese foods alike. I'm no buffet girl but I can get used to this goodness! Magnus went to town and ate a full plate of fruit, pot stickers, a hard boiled egg, sausage, and much more! This tiny thing is going to eat us out of house and home once we return! The girls were asked to have their picture taken with multiple people again. They're kinda over it, ha!

We met our guide, Elsie, in the lobby for a full morning of appointments. First up, to make our adoption official and no longer be Magnus' guardians but his parents! You see, in Chinese adoptions, you take custody of your child for 24 hours and are allowed to change your mind and not proceed with finalizing the adoption. That was not an option for us. So we went to the provincial office and signed our names with a red stamped fingerprint. It was a momentous occasion! Magnus also had an adorable passport photo taken along with a couple of family shots at the office. We were headed to the next office of the notary to attest to our documents. We didn't think we would make it that far as our driver is a very angry and aggressive fella. It seems that all drivers are aggressive here but ours is super duper angry and then take it up 10 more notches! Nuff said! We arrived at the office but didn't realize that we would be interviewed here about our intentions for adopting Magnus. I know it's hard to believe that I didn't cry at all when we met Magnus but I tried so hard and made it through dry-eyed. The same can't be said for the interview. I lost it when she asked if we were satisfied with him and if we promise to protect, love and take care of him forever. Whoowee, that hit hard! We passed with flying colors and were off to our final destination. We were jolted right, we were jolted left, we were jolted right again and somehow didn't crash on our way to another government office for passports. It was rather painless and we were quickly on our way back to the hotel. Everyone did well, especially Magnus who clung onto me for dear life.

This day was our first real glimpse into the attention we will receive as people were bewildered that this white lady was holding a Chinese son. Many stares. Many, many stares. We ordered room service and settled in for naps and some movie time. After Magnus' 3 1/2 hour nap while the girls played with their new friends, we just relaxed and played together on the floor. This is when the best moment occured and Magnus laughed until he almost couldn't breathe! Being a heart baby, we have to be careful not to have him overly upset or excited until we get him to Children's Hospital. Eliza had fallen asleep curled up in a chair so it was only Juliette and Anya who had him rolling, screaming and having the time of his life. Though having our girls here has been a lot of work, that one big moment made all of it worth it!! Magnus has really opened up and is slowly letting us in. It is quite beautitul to experience and impossible to put into words!

Here I am again with my eyes closing and crazy words somehow appearing in this post. I better close down, get some rest and gear up for another morning of seeing Magnus' city. We will hopefully write soon about today's events as they were all so fun!

Here are the only photos I have on my phone from today because I have none from yesterday. We have lots on Mike's phone and our cameras which he will add tomorrow (cause I know that's what y'all really want to see! :) ).

With love from our family to yours,

Officially and Legally Duff Family of SIX!!