Thanks so much for visiting us during our journey, Charles, Terri, Dalen and Annalei!
March 19, 2006 Gotcha Day!
STOP!! DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER! DALEN HAS A NEW BABY SISTER!! SCROLL DOWN NOW! BABY PICTURES BELOW!!!!!! WHOOO_HOOOOO!!!!
OK, are you back? How cool is that? Congratulations to Dalen (big brother!) and all Grandma's, Grandpa's, Aunt's, Uncle's, Cousin's and all extended grandparent's, Aunt's, Uncle's, cousin's. What a wonderful, beautiful baby girl! Isn't she just great!
OK, you know me, let's rewind 12 hours and "tell the story": We awoke at 4 am this morning when Terri's "water" broke (very similar to when Dalen was born). Terri, as with Dalen, insisted that she shower, do her hair and put her make up on. Finally at 6 am we headed out for the "delivery room". It was quite a lengthy trip, we did not arrive until after 11 am (flew to Guangzhou - 3 hour flight and, just in case you were wondering, there was no need for a doggy bag this time!). Once there Terri was in "labor" for over 4 hours. It was not a hard labor, but a very anxious and nerve racking wait. Finally, at 3:42 pm, Annalei was delivered into our world! WOW!! What a precious little gift we have received.
Let me tell you about what we call "Gotcha Day". After arriving at the White Swan Hotel, we had several administrative duties to perform. Copies, on Chinese paper, of important documents, etc. At 3:00 pm, all 10 of our adoptive families boarded the bus to head to the Civil affairs office. Once there we were led into a waiting room. It was an anxious time. Everyone was trying to make small talk while we waited, but obviously we were all having a difficult time controlling our excitement. Shortly, Shiyan, our Guangzhou guide, came into our room and announced that the babies were coming. Everyone stood up, turned on their video cameras and waited for their baby to be announced. One by one each child was brought into the room, their name was announced and their new parents held them for the first. From the time the first child was brought in, there was not a dry eye in the room. It was such an exhilarating experience. We have three couples in our group who are parents for the first time. It was especially neat to see their reaction to becoming first time parents. As each new family was brought together, Terri and I anxiously awaited Annalei's arrival. Finally, after all the other families were united, they brought Annalei to us. I guess it's true what they say - they do save the best for last! She is absolutely beautiful. She went to Terri with no reservation, as if she's known her mother all along. She was bright eyed and quiet. Very observant of her surroundings. In no time she was smiling and sucking on her fingers. She is really great. Actually all the babies were very good. Very little crying and most were happy. After a while we were able to ask a few questions to Annalei's caretaker. We did not get much information because there are so many children in the orphanage, but we did find out her nickname was "Ah-Ying!". It was interesting to watch the caretakers in the room. Many of them conversed around Annalei. We are not sure if was a "favorite" or what for sure, but obviously she was precious to them as I am sure all of them are. After a while we all boarded the bus and headed back for the White Swan. Once back we all went to our respective rooms to bond with our new family members. We laid Annalei on the bed and started to play with her to see where she is developmentally. She is really not bad for a 9 month old. Maybe a little behind, but she has great strength in her hands and her legs (kind of got those gymnast legs. Terri is so proud). After a while she started giggling and laughing with us, she is making a few noises - sounds an awful lot like dad to me! She rolled over for us and held her head up high. We are so lucky that we have been blessed with such a healthy, precious little girl. We are definitely blessed with this little gift from God! After an hour or so we decided to attempt a bath. We were not sure how this was going to go since she has probably never been in water before. We filled the sink with warm water, peeled off her diaper, immersed her in the water and waited for the worse. Well - she loved it. She started splashing and playing with her feet. She just thoroughly enjoyed her bath. Again I believe we have been so blessed with this child. She is wonderful. After the bath we got her dressed and went into the corridor on our floor to have a pizza party with some of the other families. While eating, we gave Annalei her first bottle and wow does she have an appetite. After dinner I had to head downstairs to fill out some paper work while mom and Annalei laid on the bed. While I was gone Annalei fell asleep and has been sleeping soundly since. We will see if we can make it through a full night with out waking.
Before I go, we just want to thank everyone for their tremendous support. Since we have been in China we have received in excess of a hundred emails from family, friends, some old friends not heard from for a long time and some new friends. Thank you so much for the support! Sorry we have not been able to reply to them all, but we have read them and are very touched by your comments. Until tomorrow, thank you.
