Mark and I were up at 4am (apparently our body clocks think that is when we are supposed to wake up). Tossed and turned for a couple of hours until Bennett informed us there was a 7 on the clock (okay, really a 5:30a, but he was not going back to sleep). Up, showered, dressed and down for breakfast.. I didn't think I could eat anything - I was so nervous. Mark brought over a fried egg, killed the way I like it. Unfortunately the chef had poured worchestshire sauce on it and one whiff had me green.. Ummm, toast and jelly for me please! and a cup of awful coffee .Bennett was excited that there was french toast with syrup and bacon and a kids play area.
After breakfast, we had extra time to kill, so we spent it nervously deciding what exactly to pack in the backpack and my purse.. M&M's? Skittles? gum drops? lolly pops? stuffed rabbit? puppets? magna doodle? Pacing the room didn't help, Bennett just wanted to GO NOW!
Finally it was 10am and time to head down to meet our guide Michael and head over to the CCAA office. A quick 10 minute drive over where Michael briefed us on what to expect and what paperwork we would need to complete.
More waiting around in the CCAA office. There were many families, but we knew that 3 families (including us) were all adopting from the same orphanage. We met one family (Sheri and Ben) in Beijing. The other family (Erica and Ken) came over and introduced themselves. Sheri and her husband arrived shortly afterwards and we got to take a "ladies" photo. It came out great and I am so glad that we were able to share this day with them.
One van pulled up and everyone ran to the window. Our guide said, nope - not your kids.. So we relaxed.. a bit... No sooner did Mark decide to take a potty break did the guide say - they are pulling up NOW! So like the good wife I am, I holler into the men's room.. "Mark, hurry up - they are here!!"
It was like a hollywood star was arriving (and yes, these kids are stars!) We all ran into the hall with cameras and camcorders to see the orphanage director, Ms. Tang, walk in with Olivia and April. Jett was not far behind. We were waving and calling to April - no acknowledgement at all. Then we were all ushered into a back room where we could meet and spend time with the kids. When she walked in, April was quiet and looking around.. not crying (yet). As soon as we got to the back room, the tears and whimpering started. She wanted no part of the toys or snacks we packed (though Bennett was happy to offer them to her). I picked her up and held her - she was so scared.. Poor thing - they got the kids up very early and drove for several hours. She just cried and cried. Nothing we did seem to soothe her. She went to both Mark and I easily and hung on while we were holding her, but just kept whimpering if not sobbing (but we were very happy since
letting us hold her and not pulling away is a great sign). Though as soon as she saw Ms. Tang or one of the other nannies, she would reach for one of them and start crying harder.
I want to say that while all of this way happening around him, Bennett was great. He kept asking if he was being a good brother. He offered April every snack we had and kept trying to give her her bunny (they have matching bunnies). He was patting her back and wanted to know why she was crying. We were at the CCAA office for 2 hours and he was on his best behavior (We are still both stunned - happpily but STUNNED - at how good he was then and all day; not being the center of attention, all the confusion, all the crying, having to be in that room and then the hotel room for long hours, etc.). We had worked on preparing him, but this also exceeded our realistic hopes.
We had a chance to ask Ms. Tang some questions and have our picture taken with her and the other nannies. She is such a wonderful woman. She brought a backpack for April that had a dress we had sent her earlier in the summer and two photo albums. One was an album we sent, the other was pictures of the orphange and April, alone and with friends, through the years. What a special gift to have! We also found out that we will be able to visit the orphange on Wed (not a simple process or cheap, but the key is we got permission, which has been very hard to obtain for any orphanage in China for the last 6 months due to H1N1 concerns).
April sat on Mark's lap in the van ride back to the hotel. She was quiet, but had stopped crying and almost fell asleep. Mark carried her up to the room and as soon as we got there, she started crying again. We hope she didn't think that she was going to have to live in a hotel room! She cried for another hour or so and was not consolable. Bennett watched the end of a movie on the DVD player and she was semi interested, but not enough to move towards it. She climbed on my lap and yawned. I hoped that she might take a nap so I started rocking her. Sure enough, the crying faded and her eyes slowly closed.. She did have the death grip on me though. Every time she would fall asleep and her head would slip down, the arms got tighter around my neck. Mark propped up some pillows on the bed and I was able to ease myself into a semi reclining position and let her sleep on top of me.
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