I'm one bleary-eyed son-ov-a-gun. I'll start with the statement of WE GOT OUR EME! But then let me back up.
We woke up and got downstairs at 8:30am for breakfast with 2 other families. Joe and Xiaohong (now spelled correctly I think. Pronounced Shou-Hong) and David and Valerie. We were all full of nervous energy as we'd see our little girls for the first time. We enjoyed the breakfast buffet and I especially enjoyed many cups of breakfast tea. Good ole english breakfast tea. Sue me. I can't be brave every day and eat new stuff.
We loaded up onto our charter bus and headed to the registration office about 15 minutes away. I collected everyone's cameras as I wanted Erin and I to film and photo as much as possible so the families could just enjoy their little ones. We entered a large, not very warm room and each family was pacing around, looking out the windows as the individual orphanages would be bringing their baby any moment.
Joe and Xiaohong got their little one first. I filmed and welled up of course (i'm such a wuss, heh). I mean, what a sight. Those of you with kids, imagine seeing your child for the first time when they're 1 or 2. Especially after waiting so long. ugh... Their little one cried a bit but was soon calm and playing and it seemed to go so very well.
Ross and Ann's little one was next. She was a little chunk! We of course took lots of video and pics and i tried to spend some good time filming and shooting their other adopted girl who is now 3 so she'd still feel special. Not sure she noticed, ha!
David and Valerie's little girl was the last to come. They were going crazy waiting, and then she was there. She was a bit older, closer to 2 years old. They swooped her up and loved on her like there was no tomorrow. Their little one ate it up and was as happy as could be (with bouts of crying too, as they all had).
Another thing that struck me, though it wasn't unexpected, was the emotions of the orphanage workers and caregivers. They truly loved these kids. I was so happy and heart-warmed to see that. I hit me very hard. I took the time to thank God for them and asked Him to bless them big, big. You have to have a big heart, I think to do what they do and them for them to be happy to see a child placed. Incredible.
Well it seemed to Erin and I that it was taking forever (of course, ha!). But we all packed up (I got to help one of the couples through their first diaper change! Whodathunk that I'd know more on that subject than ANYone?). And we got into the bus and headed back to the hotel. Erin and I were told on the way that Eme would be there in 40 minutes and we had time to move to a bigger hotel room that was ready for us.
We did so quickly with the help of the great hotel staff and were pacing outside the elevator doors watching for the numbers to go from 1 to 4. All the other families joined us with their and my camera in one hand and their babies in the other. It felt like a press event and you all know how much Erin and I love being in front of the camera. As we stared at the numbers Eme and her caregivers came around the corner from another direction.
The first thing i noticed was here eyes looking everywhere. Then I saw that her lip had been repaired! We didn't think that had been done at all but there it was, one brand new upper lip! My jaw on the floor at that point, they handed her to Erin. No crying, no fussing, Eme just went. She was so bundled up in 1800 layers of thick stuff that it was like holding a carnival prize. But get this, in China the babies wear split pants. Basically pants that are split down the middle so the kids can squat and pee or whatever. Now-a-days they wear diapers and split pants. Not sure how that works but it is how it is. Her cheeks were red from the cold. All 4 of her cheeks. :)
My emotions were slightly in check as the cameras (all 5 or so of them) were pointed at us but it certainly didn't diminish the experience as it was a group thing and a family thing all at the same time. I hope the pictures and this journal help to include you all too.
Erin and I eventually took Eme to our room and shooed everyone off to theirs and swapped out Eme's clothes and played and tried our first bottle which she didn't like much (barely an ounce). Chalk that up to a new brand and so much going on. We orded pizza from the hotel restaurant (which I thought was awesome, and again no judging). and we took turns trying to feed her drop by drop.
We then had to meet with Rita and the others to fill out some paperwork (yup it never stops) and then back to the room. But then we got a call from Rita to meet her in the lobby to go to the photomat to get pics taken. I had forgotten that the other couples had theirs done at the registration office but we had to do it this way. We bundled Eme in her pink bear suit (so. dang. cute) and were off. Didn't know it was 7 or 8 blocks one way and 2 the next. Eme and I had some great bonding time as I held her the whole way. I had stern daddy face to any car that tried to get in our pedestrian way. Don't mess with a daddy who's carrying his pink bear. What i thought was going to be a 15 min deal was really an hour. Eme didn't mind tho.
Back to the hotel again we tried another bottle which she did much better on. 4 ounces, woot! then we went downstairs to meet the others for supper. Erin got the caesar salad which turned out to be a chef salad with caesar dressing. She enjoyed it. I got (please .... no judging again....) a cheeseburger, fries and a pot of breakfast tea. I was thrilled. Eme shared her puffs with Joe and Xiaohong's little one and in return got some of Joe's rice porridge which she loved. First 'solid' food y'all. It's a small one but a milestone nonetheless. She was perfect at the table. So content.
Erin took her up to the room while I finished my tea with the others. I joined her and we bathed her which went pretty well. She cried the hardest we had seen her cry while we dressed her. She's not a fan of being naked baby. She was fine after her pjs were on. One more bottle 2 or 3 ounces at most but that's ok because she at a bit of porridge and then we prayed and put her down. Her crib is on my side of the bed so she stared at me while we got ready and laid down for the night at around 8pm.
I fell asleep quickly. She's very quiet except for her coughing. I'm attributing it to her palate issue and she probably has a lot of congestion. If it get's worse we have some antibiotics, but we'll cross that bridge, etc etc etc. The tea's caffeine woke me up around 1:00am ish and here I am blogging. That's still 5 hours for me and not bad. I'll nap when she does today to make up the difference. I'm liking the quiet time and it's good for me.
My friend John Z. just messaged me on facebook and we've been chatting. He and his wife started this adoption journey with us years ago and it was so great to have a chance to talk to him today. Can't wait to see them when we return home. We both have great families and are extra blessed to have a great 'extended' family in Lima to go home to.
So now we just have a few appointments, paperwork, and more appointments, a few flights, some sightseeing, lots of bottles, diapers, baths and skype calls before we're home. The number of pics yesterday took a dive I know. Most of the pics I took were of others that I don't want to post and today I think we'll do some swapping so I can post more of the actual gotcha moments. I'll try to take lots of pics of Eme today but you'll understand if I put the camera down just to squeeze her, right? You would squeeze here if you were here too. She's squeezy.
Please keep on the prayer schedule in my blog from several days ago. There's lots of hoops and hurdles left. I'm sure Jack is being great but Erin's folks are surely tired by now. I would be, he's a handful in ANY situation! And the first 24 hours were great with Eme, day 2 could hold anything. I'm not expecting anything but your prayers and God's provision have seen us this far and surely will see us home.
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