It was finally THE day!!! We woke up and went downstairs for our first of many breakfasts in the hotel. We sat next to other families, and it was fun getting to know some of the people in our travel group. The Hilton breakfast is amazing! So many yummy choices- amazing fruit, crispy bacon, croissants, pancakes, omelets- you name it and they have it!
Then we headed back up to get ready, and met our group at 9:30 in the lobby! We all boarded the bus (we were all meeting our kids that morning- 10 kids were about to have families!!!) So it was very exciting! The ride to the government office was only a few minutes away, and before we knew it we were walking in!
As we walked, our guide Yisha told us that the Zhengzhou SWI children were already there, so we knew Kai was there waiting for us! We handed off our cameras to another family and walked in! We spotted him quickly- he was SO big! He was with another little guy just walking around some of the toys they have in the room. Our guide Rita motioned us over to the orphanage director, and he got Kai (ZiJin) to come toward us. He started to cry, so I picked him up, but of course that made it worse! So, for the next 10 minutes or so, Trey and I tag teamed trying to console him. We finally won him over with a sucker and a cookie snack the guide told us to buy at the store. After he calmed down, we were able to sit with him and play, and his personality really started to come out. He is a funny dude!! We were in the office close to 3 hours waiting for everyone to meet their child. It was so special watching some families be united- just makes me tear up even thinking about it! Kai did great and never got upset again. Around 12:30 we all boarded the bus and headed back to the hotel, but our group had grown by 9! (one family’s child was late and had to meet us at the hotel, but it would soon be 10!).
Trey had to go downstairs for paperwork, so Kai and I went upstairs to our room! The first thing he did was point to the bath, so I decided to give it a try. He LOVED it! He was so happy playing with the toys we brought and a washcloth. I got some big smiles and laughs!
When Trey got back, we walked over to Starbucks and got sandwiches to eat in our room, because we had to do more paperwork at 3pm in the hotel. I stayed with Kai in our room, and we just played! He was so easy-going and overall happy! He would sometimes say a word or two in Mandarin, but of course I had no idea what he was saying. The last update we got said that he was potty trained, so I did learn those words so I would know if he needed to go! Then Kai and I went downstairs to finish paperwork- we had to put our thumb prints and Kai’s hand print in red ink on the papers- it was starting to feel official!!
Then we met up with some other families in the lobby to venture out to our first restaurant in Zhengzhou! We decide on a noodle place recommended by the guides, and it was yummy! We had beef noodles, fried rice, and green onion pancakes. Have you had these? We get them all the time at Chinese restaurants in Dallas. Our kids LOVE them (and me too!). They are hard to explain, but dipped in soy sauce, they are amazing!
We had fun getting to know two other families in our group- and one family’s new daughter was in the same room with Kai when he was in the New Hope floor of the orphanage! That is where he lived from 0-18 months, so a long time! It is special that we will always have that bond with this family and Kai can always know one of his friends from China!
We headed back to the hotel, changed Kai into pajamas (which he hates, by the way! Yes, pajamas. He can’t stand it! I don’t know why!), fed him a bottle, and he fell asleep quickly in his crib on his own. I tried to hold him, but I could tell he was tired and just wanted to be in bed. We thought, wow! How amazing! He is going to sleep great!
Well, after about 45 minutes of sleep, sweet boy woke up every 10-15 minutes crying. We could tell his tummy was upset, and we weren’t sure if it was from the formula (we tried to buy what they were feeding him but who knows if we got the right one) or from the new foods he had throughout the day. His paperwork said he was eating everything- apples, steamed bun, veggies, etc, but he ate his weight in fried rice for dinner, so we knew it may be upsetting him. After hours of being uncomfortable, he finally fell asleep at 4, and slept until 6. As soon as he woke up, he had a HUGE BLOWOUT SITUATION in the bathroom, and we knew we were right and that his tummy was so upset! He felt much better after that, so we were so thankful! He was back to his happy self.
What a day. Oh sweet Kai, we were so happy to finally have you in our arms!! You are just the sweetest, most handsome little guy and we can’t wait to bring you home to your siblings. Clemens, Party of SIX, here we come!