Day 3

Today was a really good day. Debbie and I started very early with Bishnu picking us up a bit before 7am and we got in some good touristing. We visited two sites – a major Hindu temple complex (Pashupatinath) and the big Buddhist Stupa that’s in all the Nepal tourism ads (Boudhanath). It was nice to get out and see some things, but my mind is totally on Tara so I was distracted. I didn’t even bring my camera (luckily Debbie is a major shutter bug !).

Then we were off to the orphanage. We spent the time together outside again and Tara came right out and to me, which was nice. I pulled out a baggy of cheerios (this was a switch from the goldfish from the first couple days) and she took a few and mulled them around in her hands for awhile before deciding to try and then she gobbled them up. We had 2 very successful play activities. The first was a book courtesy of Amy – it’s a cardboard book with a toy duck (like the bathtub ones) stuck in it and when you push it in it squeaks. Needless to say Tara went crazy over this. She kept pushing and squeaking it over and over – and over and over. I have an even better understanding now of why parents remove batteries from noisy toys – but she was so joyous I was able to put up with it (for today!). The other total success was the bubbles. I picked them up at the store yesterday (along with an expensive, yet cheaply made, stroller!!!) and Tara went crazy! Debbie, Tara and I stood up and I started to blow and she just chased them down – giggling and straight out laughing. It was such a joy to see. I did a lot of the bubble blowing, she did some and was pretty good (though I didn’t let her hold the bottle – good advice Amy) and I even got Debbie blowing some in pictures with her new niece. It was a really wonderful morning.

I also had my first failure in my mother duties! I took her to go to the bathroom. She uses the squat toilet, which I’m familiar with from my travels. So we pulled down her pants and she squatted right away. Problem is, I either didn’t get her pants far enough down or her angle right and she basically pee’d on herself. Not my best moment when I had to go to the caregivers and ask for a new pair of pants. I’m really hoping she doesn’t remember my first attempt to meet her bodily needs!

Tomorrow is adoption day under the Nepal government. Can't wait to update you on the news that she is officially my daughter. Then it's just about fighting our own US government to get her a visa to let me take her home! To prepare for this we needed to get 6 passport size photos of Tara so at the end of our morning with her we went to a local photo shop. Before we went, the caregivers changed her clothes from the standard-issue pajama type outfit seen in all her photos thus far to a very sleek (ha) track suit with the insignia of the children's home! Very stylish. I can't wait to dress her in the clothes I brought tomorrow!