Lia Kate's Gotcha Day

Today was Gotcha Day and we are now the proud parents of a beautiful little girl! She is so adorable ... the pictures don't do her justice. Today was such a big day for her ... here is the whole story.

We were the first set of parents to arrive at the Guangdong Civil Affairs Building today at 2:30. There were 14 families receiving children and we were all getting our babies at the same time. Guess who was the last to get their baby? Yep, it was us. All the children came out one by one to meet their families, but Lia Kate's bus was held up in traffic. It was really awesome, though, to see families created while we waited. We were able to take pictures and video of our friends Brandon and Laurie when they met their daughter, YaYa.

Lia Kate has had quite a day ... she left her orphanage this morning and took a long-distance bus with a nanny and the assistant orphanage director all the way (6+ hours) to Guangzhou. They finally arrived at the Civil Affairs Building where we were waiting and almost immediately put her in our arms. The sweet girl had no clue what was happening. She did not cry but kept giving us the frowny-I'm-not-going-to-cry face. She really tried to hold it together. We gave her sweet potato puffs and baby mum mums to distract her and she ate them well. We got the chance to sit down with the Asst. Orphanage Director and get all of the answers to the questions we had. We even found out that this woman is who named her. Also found out that Lia Kate has had a crib mate all this time and that child is still at the orphanage. This may be the first night they are sleeping apart.

Anyway, Lia Kate has short black hair that sticks straight up! She came to us dressed in 4+ layers of clothes so it was hard to tell how big she was at first. She is small but not as small as I thought she might be ... she is wearing about 12-month size clothes and she is almost 17 months. She has big brown eyes and long, straight eyelashes, and she has an outie belly-button like Britton. She is cutting her one-year molars right now and only one of them is in. I don't think I've ever mentioned this before, but her Chinese name is Lian Jia Jing and her nickname is "Jing Jing," but it is pronounced "Gang Gang" as that is the Cantonese pronunciation.

After we left the Civil Affairs Building, we went straight to the large-Wal-Mart-type store and bought formula and food for her. Yes, children here are usually on a bottle until they are 3 or so. That would make most American pediatricians cringe, but it is good for helping her bond with us. The supermarket was so busy and loud and bright that even Danny and I were totally overwhelmed ... I'm sure it was just way too much in one day for her.

After that, we went back to the hotel. Lia Kate started to cry a couple of times in the van, but always stopped just short of it. Danny and I are hoping she'll begin crying and start getting some of her sadness and confusion out. So far, she hasn't really done that. Danny went downstairs to do paperwork with our guide and Lia Kate and I sat on the bed in the hotel room and I fed her more puffs and mum mums. She has refused her bottle and any other food so far. Periodically, she would start crying, but would stop as soon as I picked her up. She is most content so far to be held by me with her head laying on my shoulder.

The most serene I have seen her all day is when I was Skyping with my mom tonight. She just sat there, mesmerized by the video screen and watched until finally her eyelids were too heavy to stay open. She is sleeping peacefully now in her little crib that is right next to my side of the bed. They say she is a deep sleeper and sleeps through the night ... we shall see. It is 9:30 p.m. here and we are all exhausted. Exhausted and joyful. I'll write more tomorrow!Waiting for Lia Kate

With new friends Laurie and Brandon, who also got their daughter with us today.

First look at each other! She was bundled up in at least four layers and was burning up when we got her.

First family pic

Lia Kate ("Jing Jing") is a very sad baby girl.

Finally asleep in the van... for a minute at least! Don't you love our carseat?