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GOTCHA DAY!
The day began early for us. We had a wake-up call at our hotel in Beijing scheduled for 4:30am. We were both so anxious with anticipation that we were up at 3:30am. We packed up our things and went to the airport for a 7:30am flight to Lanzhou. The flight was an experience in itself. Everything at the airport was in Chinese and most of the communication during the flight was in Chinese. I kept watching the Chinese passengers' faces to see what their reaction was so I'd know how to react!
We landed in Lanzhou and took a 45 minute bus ride to our hotel in the city. The highway from the airport to the city of Lanzhou was only built last year! This is a very rural area and MUCH less developed than Beijing! There aren't many tourist sites in the area so they don't get many visitors....our bus load of Americans are quite a sight for the locals, and they look & point in amazement, always friendly though. The area is very mountainous and arrid, and that is about it!
We were on a mission. We got to the hotel and set up "house". We got everything ready for Allyson and unpacked all of our stuff. Our meeting time was to be 3:00pm in a conference room upstairs. Well by 2:10pm we couldn't stand it anymore. We left our room and went to find our other families who were in the hall also anxious with anticipation. I would say the group is split evenly between first time parents and those getting their second or third child. So we all went looking around to see what we could find. I decided to probe our agency rep to find out if the babies were already in the hotel. She said that they left Pingliang City (about 4-5 hours away) at 6:00am that morning to make the trip, and that they were at another local hotel waiting to come over at 3:00pm. So once we had that information, we staked out the front drive to wait for the babies to arrive with their nannies. I can't tell you how emotional it was when the buses pulled up and the babies came out of the car. The babies were more than a picture, they were here in person. We had traveled halfway around the world to meet her and she was there right in front of us. I'm crying just thinking about it again....
Then we raced upstairs to get to the meeting room where they would be handed to us. We were fourth in line from our group. I tell you it was an amazing experience just seeing her in person and getting to hold her, hug her and kiss her all over!
 We took her back to our room for a little while before we went back and met with the Orphanage Director and the nannies that cared for the babies. When we got her to the room, she cried a little bit....the softest and saddest cry. We both knew this was difficult for her and consoled her. Then we went back only 15 minutes later to meet the nanny and the Orphanage Director that cared for Allyson. This was really nice to ask questions and meet the caregivers. They gave Allyson a small present that we will certainly treasure. We took pictures with Allyson, our family and the nanny and then with the Director. One hour later, we had to leave the hotel with the babies and go to a nearby photo studio to have their passport photos taken to start the adoption process. So it was a whirlwind to say the least. We changed Allyson's clothes as she was dirty and sweaty from the long drive she had made that day. We tried to feed her, but she wasn't ready. We had our pictures made and that went well. We actually got to play with her a little while we waited. By 6:00pm we were back at the hotel and ready to get to know each other and take it easy. We gave Allyson a bath in the sink that she didn't like at all. She is healthy overall....no scabies or lice! She has a little bit of a belly and a few small rolls, but we'll need to "fatten" her up a bit! :-) She is tiny....her little hand is about the size of my finger! We put her in soft pj's and then I tried feeding her again. I changed bottles to match the style the orphanage used and "voila", it worked....she downed 8 ounces! Yippee....
 She slept well in her crib and at 5:00am Mike and I were both awake wondering when she was going to get up. She made the slightest little movement and we were both so excited and got her up. She likely would've gone back to sleep, but we were ready to play with her again.
 She is able to sit up fairly well and she grasps toys. She's not been able to put cheerios into her mouth to eat and she rolls over front to back but not the other way. We know she'll catch up soon....especially when she meets her big sister who can show her how to do things! The good news is that we get to experience all of these developmental milestones with her! Sunday, May 7th, was truly a day to remember for our family. We became a family of four with the addition of the most precious little angel you could ever imagine. Thank you for keeping our family in your prayers. God has truly blessed us with another angel and is continuing to give Ashlyn peace and comfort as she waits patiently for us to come home!
Love,
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