A little more info while she sleeps...

The day had been so very long.  Minutes clicked away slower than ever before.  

We got a call that she'd be about an hour and a half later than what we expected. She had flown in around 9:00 from Luoyang, and they wanted to bathe her and get her 'ready' to meet us.  So, she screamed upon meeting the nanny from her original orphanage, and then got used to her.  Four hours later, we arrived!

We signed paperwork and got all of our items situated.  Our guide, Grace, is very helpful.  She's been doing this job for eight years.

Suddenly there she was.  She took my breath away!  The moment of meeting her was so incredible even though she was scared of us and cried.  I don't blame her!  It felt like a significant moment.  She got hot, so the cool wipes on her face soothed her.  Kyle blew some bubbles and, she liked that!  She's so incredibly brave to let us comfort her even a little bit.  How scary to open your heart again to someone new.  We learned quickly to give her space so that she didn't feel pressure!  It was so cute though, because she'd sneak peeks at me and then quickly look away like she never tried looking.  She liked looking at Kyle, but she was scared to be held by him.  She has probably not been around men, as the nannies are all women.  We tried being nonchalant like we were looking at other stuff, and that was when she was the most calm.  No pressure on me, please!!

She calmed pretty easily at the adoption center, and we got in and out of there quickly!  That is a good thing, because there are a lot of scared and crying babies in there which increased her anxiety.  Our guide and driver took us to a supermarket.  It was very overwhelming to us, but we just kept following our guide.  There were different levels, SO many things, and escalators!  She wasn't sure about the escalator.  She's not been many places, so this was an adventure!  She was pretty silent during the whole trip, and my arms felt like they'd fall off!  It was also very hot in there.  The people were so kind.

After getting allllll of the items we could possibly need, we went with our guide back to the hotel room and had to sign a million more papers.  Kyle took notes and translated info about her routine with the guide.  He also prepped her bottle.  I was so ready for our guide to leave at that point even though she's so helpful.  I just wanted to be alone as a family.  She took a bottle and then got sleepy.  When she was sleepy, she also seemed terrified.  She would only sleep on me, and she would wake herself with a little scared cry every once in a while.  

We got to Skype both of our parents which was awesome but hard.  She was exhausted at that point and hearing all of the English was frightening.  It was so amazing to share the moment though.  We love you guys!  That was unforgettable!

We ordered some pizza, and we finally had her asleep on the bed at 9:00, but my arm was stuck under her!  I decided just to eat the pizza laying down.  Eventually my arm got free, and then Kyle soothed her back to sleep with pats.  

It's 2:40 AM now, and we both woke up just to stare at her for a while.  

She's sleeping so soundly right in the middle of us.  I need to go back to sleep, but I wanted to remember the details of this beautiful, monumental day in our lives.  

Waiting with a red bean green tea frappuccino:

A few before pics:

Outfit she came to us in: