Monday, December
9, 2013
GOTCHA DAY!
We finally made it! We woke up to a beautiful
morning in Nanjing. The nerves and anticipation were almost
unbearable. We drove to the civil affairs office in the
morning...and there he was. He was sitting on his caretakers lap
and I couldn't believe he was right there in front of us. The
guide told us that they had done the best they could to prepare
him for his new parents and for what was about to happen, but
because he is so young, they said expect him to be sad for quite
awhile. They also said that he had recently come down with a
pretty bad cough and cold and so he wasn't feeling very well on
top of it all. For all that he was dealing with, Kaden did
incredibly well. We were told to go pick him up and take him
from the caretaker right away, otherwise it would be much harder
at the end for him. We scooped him up and started playing with
some toys and he did well. When he got a little fussy, Jason
just carried him around and pointed at pictures of birds that
were on the wall and he really bonded with Jason (which we were
so excited about...we weren't sure how he would feel about a man
because all his caretakers were women).
After some paperwork and pictures, they sent us on our way. It
was a surreal feeling as we walked out of the building with him
in our arms. There truly is no way to describe it. Jason and I
just kind of looked at each other in disbelief and started
trying to do what parents do. Our guide took us to a store to
buy supplies we needed (diapers, bottles, etc.). He's a lot
smaller than I anticipated...so I'm glad we brought a few 18
month old clothes.
After shopping, we went back to the hotel and Kaden got to take
a nap after his big morning (as did his daddy!). Then we got to
give him a bottle and have some snuggle time. Then we got to see
Kaden's true personality come out when we started playing with
the toys. He's a total goof ball! He LOVES playing with stacking
cups and the little different shapes that fit into a box. He
likes to knock down the towers we build...and he cracks himself
up. He also loved playing with his beach ball and he has a
favorite toy from the orphanage that he brought...an orange
circular plastic donut (one from those stacking toys)...anytime
he's upset, we just hand him that toy and he relaxes. After
playing for a while and just getting to know each other, we went
for a walk and picked up some dinner. So daddy had dinner duty
and let me tell you, as long as this kid has food or toys he
seems pretty happy- and his favorite new thing...Cheerios (what
would parents do without these miraculous little circles!?)
So to end the night, Kaden had a bath (loves splashing the
water), a bottle, and together we read Goodnight Gorilla and
Goodnight Moon. As we're sitting here writing this, we are
watching our sweet son lie in his crib and just thanking God for
this amazing blessing in our lives. |
Gotcha day morning- view from our hotel room
Kaden using his crib for the first time
Snuggle time with Mommy
Dinner time with Daddy
Going for a walk |
