GOTCHA!

THE BUILDING WHERE WE MET SAM
OUR FIRST GLIMPSE..

OH MY GOODNESS!

THE MOMENT I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR!

COULD NOT BE SWEETER!MORE PICTURES

TRIP TO WALMART AFTER WE MET HIM...TO GET FORMULA!RIDING LIKE HE IS A PROFESSIONAL WALMART SHOPPER

SO VERY TIRED...ITS BEEN A VERY BIG DAY

Good Morning! I put the pictures up first because I know that is really why you are checking the blog today! But, I am going to document gotcha day here as well!

At about 10:10 this morning, Amy called us from downstairs and said she was ready for us to come meet her. We went downstairs and she said that Mr. Xie had just called her and said that he and Sam had just arrived at the government office. So, we all piled into the van and drove the 15 minutes across town to get our boy. The office is in the middle of town, and very nondescript. It is just a plain building. We went up the elevator and when we walked out into the hall, there was an entrance to one room. We walked into that room, and there was the other couple from the Netherlands and their little boy, and then there was one other man whose back was to us, and he was holding a baby and pointing out things out the window. Of course we knew it was Sam! When he turned around, there was no mistake- Sam looks just like his pictures! I immediately started crying, but not Sam! He didn't cry the whole time we were there! (Actually, he still hasn't!) We showed the official who came out our paperwork, and then Mr. Xie told Sam "This is mama" and handed him over to me. I expected him to cry at this moment, but Sam just grabbed a piece of my hair and laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world! He was smaller than I expected even though he had on multiple layers of smoke-laden clothing. They had ridden the 3 hour trip from the orphanage in a van this morning, and Sam's hair was sticking up on one side. He is congested, skinny, has a cut on his head, has excema all over, and he is the most beautiful baby in the world! Mr. Xie was so very nice. He answered multiple questions about what he knew of Sam's history. I found out Sam was named by a lady doctor in the orphanage, among other things. He described him as being a quiet content baby. Amy asked if we might be able to visit the orphanage. We know it is about 3 hours away by car. He said we could take the fast train on Wednesday, and that he would love to have us visit. (The train ride is only about 30 minutes!) He even said that he would arrange for a car to pick us up from the train station, and that he would arrange for us to go visit Sam's finding place. Amy will of course go with us to translate! We thanked him and Amy asked if the orphanage needed anything. He said that they needed diapers and formula in the small sizes. It is customary to take a gift to the orphanage, so that will be our gift.

We left the government office and Amy took us to the local Wal-Mart. Really. It was a Wal-Mart! We purchased the orphanage gifts, and the Nestle formula which Sam is used to drinking. We also purchased some diapers, and some rice cereal- cod and apple flavor. EWWW. Technically, we are in the 24 hour harmonius period, where we are foster parents to Sam. We are supposed to be determining whether we like our baby and want to adopt him. OK. Yes, we do, and yes, we do! We will go back to the same office tomorrow to fill out the paperwork and officially adopt him.

Sam seems like a very docile baby so far. He has made his little baby sounds, and smiled. He has not cried yet, and after we got back to the hotel, he took a nap. He is super cute! 12 month clothes are a little big on him, and looking at him, I feel like he is quite thin. He does seem a little bit behind where Lily was at gotcha day, but that is to be expected. He is very cuddly. He bears weight on his legs, but does not appear to be near walking. He can probably pull up, but I don't think he has the muscle tone to do a whole lot more than that. He is so precious, and we had such a wonderful gotcha day! Jackson and Sam have just woken up from their naps, so we will go seek out some dinner, and then give Sam his first bath.

Thank you all for the prayers- so far he has allowed both John and myself to hold him and feed him, and we are thankful! I will add more soon, but right now I have a sweet baby waiting on me!

Blessings-

Meredith