Today’s journal entry is dedicated to Alexis Marie…We woke up with the anticipation of meeting our daughter for the first time and knowing this was going to be the beginning of a wonderful journey into parenthood. While waiting for her arrival we spent the day with our host Peter (from International Family Services) making sure we had all the last minute details in place including a shopping trip to the Wal-Mart Superstore. It was an experience to include the massive crowds and shopping carts that you can push forwards, backwards and side to side… a great invention to maneuver through the crowds.
After the shopping adventure, Mom and Dad came back for a last minute nap before we made our way to the CAB office (government agency) where we were to meet Alexis. The “GOTCHA DAY”, where every child is passed onto their new family, was to be a special moment and one that we knew we would remember for the rest of our lives. We arrived at the office building knowing that we, and many other parents to be, would walk into a room full of children and care givers, and our lives would never be the same. Once we entered the room and a few documents were checked, we had Alexis in our arms. While we were thoroughly expecting her to cry and be shocked at the sight of us, we quickly realized this would not be the case. Within minutes, she was smiling and seemed genuinely happy to be with us. This obviously made things a little easier for the two of us, who up until this point could not have imagined how wonderful this experience was going to be!
We are now wrapping things up for the evening while trying to get Alexis to go down for the night. This, we are finding, is easier said than done because she seems to want to keep playing. Oh well, kind of hard to complain as we hear the baby in the next room crying, the same one that cried at the CAB office when we were there. By the way, for those of you that are interested, we successfully changed our first diaper this afternoon. While this may seem non-eventful, it was an initiation of sorts for us!
I think we now realize what it means to be truly blessed and realize how lucky we are! Thanks again to all and we promise to share additional photos of Alexis throughout the remainder of our trip. We would also like to thank everyone that has added to the on-line journal and sent us e-mails, the messages have added greatly to our time here in China.
Love,
Kevin, Rachelle & Alexis
A mother’s first encounter
Kevin definitely has a way with her
Alexis taking a once over of her new parents
Honestly she loves the Chinese cookies
Quality time
It took a little help from Peter to get her through the first feeding
