We have our daughter!

Hi All!
((We are going to post our pics on Flicker because we can't seem to get our pictures on blogger or FB while we are here...coming soon..))

We had the most amazing day. We woke up this morning, had our usual enormous buffet breakfast, and then got on our bus to go to the government building where we would meet our children. There are 16 families adopting in our group -- the kids range in age from 4 to Ellie's age, 14 months (she is the youngest one). When our bus arrived, 2 children were already there with their ayis. It was overwhelming to watch these families unite. One family has an especially amazing story: they had met their son when they adopted their first daughter one year ago. He was in her daughter's orphanage and was her good friend. He has an especially gregarious and flirty personality, so they never forgot him. Then, in all of their daughter's pictures from the orphanage, they found him sitting or standing next to her. They decided to look into adopting him, but they knew it was a long shot. It is very hard to find a specific child in the system. But they found him with the first agency they checked. Then, an even bigger hurdle to jump was getting the agency to allow them to adopt him, because they had not started any paperwork yet. Normally, agencies try to match children with families who can adopt them the soonest. But, due to his severe special needs (dwarfism and spina bifida) there were no other families interested in pursuing his adoption. So, they were matched with him! And when they united today, the little boy and his new sister remembered each other from the orphanage! It was so sweet to see them hug each other and start playing.

We waited for a long time for the group from Ellie's orphanage to arrive. It is a 3 hour drive, and apparently the van broke down on the way and they had to change cars. When she was finally carried out of the van by her caretaker, I recognized her right away. She was handed to me and was quite happy. Amazing! Most of the other kids were screaming and crying. Ellie was bundled up in so many layers and a yellow snowsuit on top -- she looked like a yellow snowman! And it is unusually warm here -- about 65 degrees F. Nicholas was so super excited to see her -- he kept saying "Wow! She is so cute! " and hugging her over and over again. And Ellie was nonplussed. She just kept eating a cracker and looking at us, like "what's up with all of you, oooh-ing and ahh-ing and taking pictures?!" She let John hold her (which is not always the case for some new adoptive dads. These kids are mostly taken care of by women and some have only seen men at the doctor's office). John even got her first smile by making a silly face.

We hung out in the Civil Affairs Office for some time, as other families awaited their children's arrivals. In that time, Ellie was very happy. I got her to laugh by lean her back and then picking her up and kissing her. She has the best smile! She is really so beautiful, even with her pretty severe cleft. She has a big smile and bright eyes. She is not quite as big as the agency told us: I bet they weighed her with her 4 layers of clothing on! She looks more like 9 months rather than 14. She is crawling and standing while holding on to beds and tables etc. She has even taken a few wobbly steps.

This kid is an eater! She loves the Gerber Puffs. I regret that I did not bring more than the 3 containers I packed. She ate half of one on the bus ride home. Then she downed 1 1/2 bottles in the hotel room. We tried to put her down for a nap but she would not sleep. She just stood up and looked over the edge and cooed and giggled. We are suckers -- we tried for an hour and then gave up. Now she is crawling all over the room, playing with stacking cups and Nicholas' little army men (not putting them in her mouth!). She is so happy and content! She loves to be ticked. She has a great laugh and makes terrific eye contact. She also has a temper -- she is not happy with me when I tell her no.

Of course, we are thinking this might just be the honeymoon period and this all might hit her soon. But, for right now , everything is much better than we expected.

Nicholas is a little sick. He threw up on the bus ride home -- I think he might have drunk some water here or perhaps he has a stomach bug. I hope that's not it because I don't want Ellie to start vomiting too.

OK, off to play with Ellie! I promise to post the link to our flicker pics soon. Sorry if any typos -- not time to proofread!

Sam xxoo