Meet Eli. This handsome young gentleman is three months old, and has been with us for almost a month. He only weighed in at 2.8 kg when he arrived, and he has severe heart condition.
Sweet little Charlotte is even tinier, weighing only 2.5 kg when she arrived last week, aged six weeks. She will need heart and GI surgery.
These precious little ones are already so loved here, with many willing arms to hold them. They will have surgery when they are a little bigger and stronger, and plenty of tender care.
Eli and Charlotte are adorable and cuddly...but there isn't too much that we can write about them at this stage. They like taking naps, drinking milk, being held, taking naps, watching what goes on, and drinking some more milk.
Charlotte seems to mostly have a contented, even cheerful, expression on her face, but when baby Eli arrived and we first posted pictures of him on Facebook, several people said that he looked sad. While we agree that he did seem to have sorrow in his eyes, many babies don't even begin to give 'social smiles' until they are two months old, so for him not to be smiling for pictures yet is not too unusual.
Our most recent new arrival is Judah. He is six years old. He really did look sad in his first pictures. Sad, and confused, and somewhat suspicious.
He'd had a long journey to Beijing, with bad weather causing delays. He was suddenly away from everything he'd ever known, away from the orphanage where he'd lived his whole six years. His familiar caregivers were gone, replaced by strangers who couldn't understand his dialect.
Are you ready to see a series of pictures that will gladden your heart, and beautifully demonstrate that love really does grow here?
Judah is interested, but still slightly suspicious...
Look, look - a little smile!
Laughter!
After spending a few days in isolation to make sure he didn't have anything infectious, Judah was ready to move downstairs and start getting to know his new friends and carers. He's doing really well. The other kids are all very impressed by this big grown-up boy and how he gets around despite his orthopedic issues. His speech is well-developed and he chatters with the older girls, like Cora Jo and Lucy, but they have trouble understanding him because of how he speaks (like a very strong regional accent). The good news is that he does seem to be able to understand the nannies without too much difficulty.
It's a privilege to welcome Eli, Charlotte and Judah to New Day. We are so glad that we get to love them and help them, and see the difference that will be made in their lives.
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