First morning

Day 1 wasn't so bad. We ordered in room service. Brennyn took one look at the crib and we realized that wasn't going to happen. She woke up screaming at one point but we got her back asleep eventually.

However, she woke up that morning, took one look at the two of us and the screaming really started.
Somehow, we all got dressed and stumbled to the buffet for breakfast. Blair and I quickly realized that Brennyn was a food hoarder. She ate all the food on her plate in 2 seconds and started screaming for more. We could not feed her fast enough.
I still do not know how she didn't choke! It was really alarming.
I've read books on it, but you cannot understand until you see it happen first hand.

Again, we managed to eat some food before we had to go back to the civil affairs office for more paperwork.
There were some nannies from Brennyn's CWI waiting for us. They had a silver bracelet for Brennyn and said that they were keeping one as well.

I won't go into detail about the civil affairs, but again the warm fuzzy feeling was not there. It was like we were just another family, adopting another child, paying our fee.

We returned to the hotel for a few hours and made the fatal mistake of taking Brennyn to Wal-Mart in a stroller. Brennyn started screaming (this girl has a great set of lungs). People were staring, but my concern was for Brennyn. We ran back to the hotel and eventually she fell asleep. Unfortunately, we had to return to the civil affairs office yet again.

We get Brennyn into the van (still screaming) and I am blinking back tears myself. Brennyn is not acting like a 2 year old at all. She has regressed, and Blair and I were worried.

This is where I begin to really like my guide. Sure, she knew nothing about adoption, but she made me feel okay! Her words of encouragement were reassuring.

My agency rep. also was a life saver. We had e-mailed her asking about Brennyn's behaviour. Yes, I had read books on toddler adoption and done my research, but it still shocks you when it is happening to you. My child was grieving!
She didn't speak, just screamed. She didn't make eye contact. When we asked the nanny about language we were told "they just don't have time to teach the kids language skills. She is only 2, so she won't speak yet".

I did discover that Brennyn loved the outdoors. As long as she was in the backpack, she was happy. That backpack was a lifesaver! Brennyn still loves to be outside, she loves the park, going for walks, anything outdoors!