Gotcha Day!

The experience was a whirlwind. We rode a bus through the crazy crowded streets of Guangzhou and then walked about a block to the Provincial Civil Affairs Office. I think it’s a common sight – 20-30 Americans on their way to pick up a baby - but it felt pretty odd. Once inside, we went to the 8th floor and into a big room with couches around the outer walls and a big open floor in the middle. There was a playroom on one side and the babies were already there, shielded by a thin curtain. The other agency groups were already there and some were getting to know their babies already. When it was our group’s turn, we quickly planned to trade cameras and then chaos began. One baby was brought out at a time and the parents names were called out, alphabetical I think but we weren’t paying much attention to anything except each baby as they were carried into the room. One at a time, our new friends were handed their daughter and each moment was incredibly special to watch. We watched one little girl who is 6 and here with her parents cry when she saw her baby sister.

When Emerson was brought out, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. In fact, I didn’t move forward for a few seconds – Brian was the first to hold her and she smiled big smiles when he took her into his arms. He handed her to me pretty quickly and I got a smile too.

She looks very much like the pictures we got from August, of course totally adorable and perfect.

She was awake and very calm for about 30 minutes and then she and almost all the other babies crashed. They rode a bus for 3 hours that day from Yangxi to Guangzhou and were understandably a bit tired. She slept in my arms for another hour in the adoption center while we took care of some important business (namely, providing a donation to the orphanage) and then all the way back to the hotel on the bus.

We had about 10 minutes to talk to one of the Nannies from the Orphanage. We had some questions prepared but probably didn’t ask near enough. We know which of her Yangxi sisters she had been sleeping next to – Ava – and also confirmed that she has never seen a dog or a cat (uh oh, she’s in for a big surprise).

I can safely say that “gotcha moment” in the government building in Guangzhou China will be among the most memorable and best of my life.