Gotcha Day

Honey let's have bull frogs for dinner

they are on sale.

Hmmm....Hmmm Chicken Feet

(Don't forget to spit out the toenails)

Guizhou Center of Adoption Affairs

Lila with our guide Michael

Not Happy!

From left to right: Adoption Affairs Office Manager,

Orphanage Director, Aubree and Foster Mother

Official Adoption Photo

Emotionally and physically exhausted

The first smile

Enjoying her Disney princess cell phone

Everything is going to be fine

The Internet connection is not the best in Guiyang so some of the pictures didn't upload very well, but hopefully you can get the picture. :)

It was Monday 29^th and we awoke knowing the big day had arrived. We had to wait for our guide Michael to pick us up at 2pm, so we decided to do a little exploring. We stopped in a very nice baby shop on the same block as our hotel and then made our way to a multi-level department store. It was very modern and resembled a large department store in the US. We noticed there was a grocery store in the basement of the building so we made our way down there. This grocery store was very clean and very nice, which served as a stark contrast to our experience at Wal-Mart the day before. We wandered through the store to become familiar with what they had to offer. We saw some very interesting things offered like live bullfrogs, entire pig legs and a variety of chicken feet. Lila took some pictures but she was finally scolded by one of the ladies behind the counter so we felt we had worn out our welcome and decided to head back to the hotel.

At 2pm we met Michael and a driver who drove us to the Guizhou Center for Adoption Affairs. It was a small office and we entered and took a seat on a sofa and anxiously waited for Michael to tell us what would happen next. We were a little early for our appointment so we completed a few documents including one which was basically a 24 hour temporary custody agreement that would allow us to take Aubree with us overnight as we had to return to complete the permanent adoption paperwork the next day. Michael let us know that Aubree was in the building and the foster parents along with the orphanage director were with her. There was also a small boy waiting with a Chinese woman in the office and shortly after we arrived an American woman entered the office with her guide. She was there to adopt the little boy and we later learned she was from Loveland Colorado and this was her second adoption. I prepared the camcorder so I could capture Aubree’s arrival. The moment arrived and she entered the office and Aubree immediately began crying as she could sense some major change was about to happen. The foster mother sat on the sofa between Lila and me while holding Aubree on her lap. Her foster mother was very nice and Michael helped interpret for us so we could ask questions regarding Aubree and her schedule, habits and preferences. The foster mother had brought some items such as a photo album of some of the other children that were in her home that Aubree had grown to know. She provided a bottle and explained this was the only bottle Aubree would drink from (something we later learned was not so) as well as a bag of formula and rice cereal she said was preferred. The foster mother slipped me a note quite discreetly and I just quietly tucked it in my pocket. I suspected it was her address or contact information and later confirmed that it was. She had to be discreet because the law and the rules of the orphanage do not allow for the adoptive parents and foster parents to remain in direct contact. Aubree pretty much cried (very loudly at times) for most of the time but eventually the foster mother was instructed to leave and she handed Aubree to Lila. It was obvious the foster mother was attached to Aubree and vice versa. She was shedding a few tears on her way out. Within a few minutes of her leaving Aubree stopped crying and it was obvious she found comfort in Lila’s arms. Michael then said it was time to go back to the hotel so we climbed in our van and headed back. Aubree fell asleep during the ride back so getting her back to our room was peaceful.

Once back to the room we laid her on the bed and let her sleep until she woke up on her own. Lila took off her shoes and socks, which to our surprise had notes in them as well from the foster mother. I told Lila about the note that was slipped to me and she said one was slipped to her as well. We decided we will pass pictures back to the foster mother as Aubree grows up but only through Holt International and not directly. When she woke up she did not cry unless I came close to her. She was very scared of me and only wanted to be held by Lila. I made a run back to Wal-Mart with Michael to pick up some supplies and to find more toys for her. When I returned Lila and her were playing with toys and Aubree was very much enjoying the Gerber puffs that we brought along on the trip. Aubree would cry if I got too close and even would start to pout if I looked at her too long. If you are familiar with the movie Madagascar, it reminded me of when the lemurs threw the little baby lemur out in front of the Lion and his friends in the movie. We found out that none of the clothes we brought fit but not for the reason others and told us. We brought 12 month old clothes and they did not fit…too small…Aubree not only has a round little face but she is a little chunk. We decided to venture out with her to buy a couple of outfits at the baby store we had visited the day before. The ladies in the store were very helpful but they did not speak any English. Aubree would cry if any of them tried to get close to her as well, something that made me feel a little better. We ended up buying two really cute outfits and headed back to the room. We fed Aubree and she dozed off again, so Lila tried to put her in the crib that was provided by the hotel. Aubree woke up and made it clear she wanted Lila to hold her, so the two of them fell asleep on the bed with the baby lying on mom’s chest. Lila and I had not had a chance to eat anything for dinner but we realized our day was done, so we all went to bed. Eventually, we were able to put Aubree in the crib and she slept all night (Yeah!). This was the end of the first day of the rest of her life and all was well.