Monday, September 1,
2014
GOTCHA DAY!
"I prayed
for this child, and the Lord had granted me what I asked of
him." ~Samuel 1:27
Our day started not too well in the breakfast room of our hotel.
However, it improved dramatically when we found a beautiful
Starbucks about a 5-minute walk away from our hotel. It was an
anxious morning waiting for our 2 pm appointment to meet
Juliette. As we were about to leave for our appointment,
Caroline lost her second bottom tooth! Which means the Tooth
Fairy is visiting China tonight. On our way back from Starbucks,
we bumped into another American family. It appeared they were as
excited to see us as we were to see them! We talked for about a
half hour in the lobby, and found out they were from Arizona and
this was their sixth adoption. Apparently they eat at Lucy's
most nights at 6 pm. So we're thinking if all goes well
tomorrow, maybe we will go to Lucy's at 6 pm also! Then we will
have someone to chat with.
When we got to the Civil Affairs building Juliette was already
waiting for us. The Vice Director and a Caretaker had brought
her, and it was far quieter than we remembered it being when we
were here 5 years ago. Our guide said that around the time we
were here last, there were just under a thousand adoptions that
year. This year, however, there have been only around 300. We
were correct about the people we saw in Beijing and on our
flight, they were there today to pick up their babies too!
Juliette did very well, she seemed a little upset at the Civil
Affairs building, and on the car ride back to the hotel, but she
was very alert and aware of her surroundings. It didn't take
long after returning to the hotel for her to fall asleep. Upon
waking up, she was very hungry, so while we ate Pizza Hut pizza,
Juliette had formula mixed with rice cereal. After which, she
seemed quite content to play on the bed with Caroline before and
after her bath. Bath-time was a breeze, and there was really no
fussing at all.
At this point, we have all managed to get her to laugh and
giggle, and we are hoping that this is a good indication of her
personality and disposition. She seems like a happy baby, which
we are all very grateful for. There are braces in her future for
her little front teeth, because she sucks on her bottom lip! I
think we'll shop for a binky when we get home! Caroline fell
asleep on the bed while playing with Juliette around 11 pm and
Juliette fell asleep beside her soon after.
It is now 11:45 and Ryan and daddy have fallen asleep as well,
though not in the correct beds! We have a 9 am appointment at
the Civil Affairs office to finalize the adoption, and after
that our day is pretty free. We might visit the brand new mall
across the street from Shamian Island because it is wonderfully
air conditioned and the temperature here is in the 90s with 90%
humidity. We are melting!
Goodnight from Guangzhou! |
Our breakfast for the rest of the trip!
Looks like the tooth fairy has to travel
to China tonight to
leave Yuan!
Caroline's first glimpse of her baby sister
Daddy holds Juliette for the first time
The big sister is willing to share, off to a good start! |
