This morning we left Beijing and headed to Jiangxi...Kamdynn's Province! We had a smooth flight and were met at the airport by Mary, our new guide. We all got on the bus (there are 3 other families with us) and Mary told us that the hotel was about an hour away and that our babies were in the lobby waiting for us! We were originally told if our flight was on-time we'd have a few hours to get situated before we would meet our babies. Well, that wasn't the case and all 4 baby girls arrived at the hotel before us. After hearing that the emotion set in and I began to cry (tears of joy, of course)...I just couldn't believe the moment we'd been waiting for was finally here. I started to panic because the toy I was going to give to her was in my suitcase at the bottom of the suitcase pile. When we pulled up to the hotel I recognized the Orphanage director through the windows and saw him holding Kamdynn...but I wasn't ready...I needed that toy! Mary ran inside and asked the Orphanage director if he could go upstairs (where the other 3 babies were) to wait for us so that we could have time to find the toy and get the cameras ready. We quickly found the toy and within minutes we were all in an elevator and seconds later we had our girls in our arms...it all happened so quickly and it was a priceless moment. Kamdynn came to me without crying and she remained very calm. When I tried to pass her to Kevin, she began to cry and was not to sure about him. When he gave her back to me she calmed down and then she reached for the orphanage director. It was easy to see that she really trusted him. The lady that also came to deliver Kamdynn was a little emotional and clearly loved Kamdynn. We are certain that she was in good care and are thankful for that. They had her dressed in a cute dress with a matching hat and her hair is long enough for bows-yeah!
We came back to our room and had a little over an hour to spend with her. We learned quickly that she likes to eat and she ate an entire Mum-Mum (rice bar). She let Kevin feed her, but did not want to sit on his lap and she wanted me to stay close. We were able to Skype with the boys and they were both glued to the computer and Kaleb kept saying "hi Kamdynn" and Konner said "I love her." They wanted to know if we could come home tomorrow. It was sweet moment. After our short time in our hotel room, we were off to the Civil Affairs office. We had to cross a very busy street to get to the building...people do not stop for pedestrians here...it is scary, so we were thankful we all made it safely. The second we stepped outside we saw Kamdynn's first true smile...she really likes being outside. When we got to the office the orphanage director was there waiting for us to sign some paperwork and pay the adoption fees. We also had to complete an interview where we were asked why we wanted to adopt from China and if we promised to never abandon her. Kamdynn started to "come out of her shell" a little and was smiling and being silly. I think being around her orphanage family made her more comfortable and it was fun to see. I think we will see more of that side of her soon.
After our time at the Civil Affairs office, we headed back to the hotel for some more bonding time. I could tell that Kamdynn was very tired so I laid her in the crib and she put her thumb in her mouth and was out in seconds...just like that! She woke up a little out of sorts but warmed up to me right away and continued to keep her eye on Kevin. She needs some more time to warm up to him, but I know she will be a Daddy's girl before to long!
After her nap I gave her a bath and she didn't seem to love it, but she didn't cry. We got her dressed in her jammies and played bubbles and ate some pizza (she liked the pizza crust). I tried to get her to crawl and she does not know how, so we will be working on that. She walks pretty good if you hold her hand. We have a lot more to learn about our little girl and we are enjoying every second of it...she is truly an amazing blessing and we are so grateful that God chose us to be her parents. This is an experience that will change us for the better forever...it is hard to even find the words to describe it. Happy GOTCHA day Kamdynn!
6 comments:
I have been chekcing all day to see when they post would come! She is amazing!!! What a dream come true. We had a fun time with the boys last night - Max and Kaleb are BEST friends and were planning a sleep over:) so cute. Keep letting us know what is going on, we love the details.
What and AMAZING day and and AMAZING little girl. She is yours now, to love and cherish and hold forever. What a blessing God had for you, He knew all along that this day was coming....and that is sooooo cool! love you Steph, Kev, Konner, Kaleb and Kamdynn
Oh Stephanie what a inspiring blog you have but most importantly what a wonderful Mom you are and Kevin a Dad. You two have the most precious hearts to open your arms and welcome your beautiful daughter into your lives. I love to see how God works his plan through the people he has chosen to do his work. I enjoyed reading your wonderful news and looking at your pictures was an added bonus. God Bless to you all. And Happy Gotcha Day Kamdynn You are one special girl! With many blessing , Nicole and the rest of the Strouts family (Kent, Katelyn, Kenzie, KJ, and Kourtney)
Hooray! so happy for you guys. Looks like everything is going smoothly. Emma can't crawl either. You will see shy when you go visit the orphange. I don't think they had belly time at all. we are working on this now. Don't worry about while you in china. keep her happy and works on the motor skills when you get home. also if you have a hard time getting her to sleep tonight. try just putting her in the crib with her bottle. that worked for us. i think that is what they did in the orpahnge. she is beautiful, can't wait to follow the rest of the journey!
Hi Kevin, this is Ryan, Danielle's husband. I have read your blog. Our Emma bonded to us right away equally. I think an important part of that was the fact that we tried non-stop to make her and every thing she did our focus. I want to say that we were in her face the whole time but that sounds bad, we weren't overbearing. I just remember holding her as much as my arms and back would allow, having her sit on our lap while we ate. High-chairs as convenient as they are distance you from your baby. Try that during food time.
Play with her when all you want to do was drink a soda and lay down. Muster up all your energy and give it to her. I know the feeling of being the one on the side line. After we returned and I went back to work I got a bit of a cold shoulder from Emma, its natural I guess.
Any chance you have to have direct contact with her is key. Change those diapers, greet her in the morning.
One thing I did was spend daddy time with Emma. After bath time I would put lotion on her, get her diaper on, get her into pajamas and do all that by myself while Danielle was in the other room. We would play, and it helped in the bonding.
Play, laugh and enjoy China while you can. You may be dying to get back but the time you have with her to focus on her soley is so great. There are times I wish we could go back and catch the buffet on the 2nd floor.
Good luck Kevin and make that baby laugh.
Ryan
Sweet pictures. LynnD celebrates Gotcha Day every year with her twins. They do something special as a family.
So glad the wait is over and you can now focus on bonding, getting home, and continuing to bond as an entire family.
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