Thanks so much for visiting us during our journey, Jim, Vickie, Amber, Anagrace and Austin!
Please email us.......
March 12 - 13, 2006 March 13 - Gotcha Day!
Hi All,
Sorry I missed a few days posting. We've not had internet access so once we finally did I spent most of my time downloading pictures.
We flew from Beijing to Nanjing on Sunday. This was our eighth flight and now our 5th hotel since we left the US on March 3rd. Needless to say, we're ready to be settled in for a few days. Our flight went perfect and our bags made it safely, all of those prayers are working--thank you so much!!
Sunday night was not a good night for sleep, at least not for me (Vickie). I tossed and turned all night and hardly slept at all. I kept having really strange dreams, just like I did the last month that I was pregnant for Amber. I knew that the time was getting close for us to get Austin.
We met our guide after breakfast and drove to the civil affairs office. We were early so the office had not yet opened. It is very cold here in Nanjing (but warmer than Beijing). Even though we were able to stand outside the hall of the Civil Affairs office, it was still frigid as they do not heat the hallways of their buildings (saving energy). Finally a staff member arrived to open the office for us. They flipped on the 2 heaters and we were warming up in no time. The office that we were in processes international adoptions and marriages--kinda weird, huh? I'm posting a picture that was hanging on the wall outside of the C.A. office.
Anyway the room was lined with windows overlooking the driveway outside so we kept our eyes glued watching for Austin to arrive. They were due to get there at 9:00 a.m. 9:00 came and still no baby. Our guide told us that they would be arriving in a van. At 9:10 a van drove up. The windows were tinted so we couldn't see who was inside. Finally the door slide open, out stepped a woman and then she reached into the van. Out came a baby boy all bundled up with thick pants (you could tell he was layered), and a big thick winter coat with his hood closed tightly. Down the walkway he came holding onto the woman's hand. His nood was fastened so tight that his little, well big, cheeks were bulging out. It was our Austin!! And boy was he cute!!!
The walked into the C.A. office and immediately turned back towards the woman not wanting to come in. We were holding our breath, not knowing what he would do next. The woman turned him around so he could see us and then pointed to Jim (who was filming at the moment). Austin looked at him and said, Bah Bah (daddy in Chinese). My heart just melted. Our little boys first words. The woman couldn't get him to take any steps towards us so crouched down and slowly moved towards him. He had a very serious look on his face and we were all expecting him to burst into tears any moment. Once I got to him the woman patted Austin on the back and said mama. I reached out my arms and slowly started to pick him up, trying not to scare him too bad. He looked at me and then looked at the woman then looked around the room and that was it. I continued to hold him while asking the woman about his daily schedule then I had to fill out some papers so I handed him off to Jim--still no tears. Jim and Amber started getting out the toys and the snacks that we had brought him. He immediately wanted Amber to open the bag of snacks. Then the chowing down began. He clutched onto that bag of teddy grams and had a death grip on it for over an hour! The boy is huge! His hands remind me of Adam's hand when he was little. They are big and very thick. His body is rock solid, I cannot even begin to guess how much he weighs. All I know is my back was hurting before we even left the C.A. office. After we signed some papers we had to go upstairs to have our family picture taken for the adoption certificate. Once we were done there we were ready to leave. We loaded up into the van and still no tears. I saved him on the seat beside me and reached down to hold his hand. He just sat there holding tight onto my finger as he watched out the window.
Since we were so close by to his finding location, we decided to drive there next so we could take some pictures. Austin was found outside of a Pharmacy on the south end of town, just a block from the hospital. Our guide said that the woman from the orphanage told her that they assume that his mother gave birth at the hospital and then left him outside the pharmacy afterwards. The pharmacy was on a very busy street and the area of town was very nice. This is comforting to know because it means that Austin should have been found quickly. By time we were half way to the pharmacy Austin's eyes started to look a little droopy so I decided to put him on my lap. He laid his head on my chest and was sound asleep within just a few minutes.
Once we arrived back at the hotel we went up to our room and our guide talked to Austin about what was going to happen next. She told him that she was going to leave and that he was going to stay there with us. She showed him where the bathroom was and instructed him that if he needed to use it that he was to get his bah bah's hand and take him there. He then spoke something in Chinese and our guide told Jim, he says he needs to go now. So daddy and son had their first bathroom experience. Jim had to peel off his quilted pants, a pair of stockings, a pair of split pants, and finally a pair of underwear (note to the Buds, he had on girl panties and this was the final straw for Amber-ha!!). Jim sat him down and the rest is history! It's hard to believe that this baby is already potty trained. We're keeping pull ups on him just in case of any accidents, but I have a feeling that we're not going to need them.
We then went down for lunch and that was interesting as well. He wanted to eat everything that we put infront of him. He loved the french fries, but was very cautious at first. I posted a picture of this, the expression on his face was priceless as he tried to figure out what on earth the thing was that he was holding.
We went back up to the room as it was past his nap time. I closed the curtains, laid him down then laid down beside him, gave him a kiss on the cheek and within a few minutes he was sound asleep. He took a 2 hour nap, afterwards he was ready to go at it again.
He loves all of the toys that we brought for him. I brought a little turtle backpack and he gathers all of his toys up and puts them in there. He tries to hold everything at once for fear that someone is going to take his things. If he dares to leave something laying he'll turn back to check on it several time just to make sure it is still there. At the orphanage I'm sure it was every man for himself and once you let go of something it's fair game for someone else to have.
Austin smiles all the times! He is a very happy little boy and full of life. He minds us when we tell him no (it didn't take long for him to understand this word). He loves to play, and for being in the orphanage all of his life he is very affectionate. Unlike Anagrace, he loves to have you hold him and cuddle with him. His cheeks are so big and soft, I'll cuddle him real tight while giving him lots of kisses on his cheek and he just smiles from ear to ear. Even when I let you, he'll lean back towards me wanting me to hold him again. By the end of the day I was able to give me my first kiss on the cheek. He is simply amazing!!
What a wonderful first day we have had and we know that it is only because of all of the people who have been praying for him. He has yet to cry, only smiles and hugs. He seems to really enjoy being with us. He calls me mama, Jim bah bah, and Amber gei gei (big sister). We are having the time of our lives and are enjoying this one on one time with him. While it has been so hard to not have Anagrace with us and we miss her so much that it hurts, we know that we made the best decision for both of our children. Anagrace continues to do just great, but please continue to keep her in her prayers.
Well I have got to be signing off and try to get these pictures downloaded for everyone. The internet is very slow here, so I'll do my best to get them to all of you.
Thank you so much for all of your prayers, please keep the emails coming, they mean so much to us.
