The Bravest Boy I Know

   

We ended our Family Day with a sweet, sleeping boy. But oh the journey it was to get to this moment...

     We woke up in anticipation at 5:30AM (and also from going to bed early) and had to endure a LONG wait until 2:20PM when we'd head to the Civil Affairs office. It was really hard to wait and I've never had such an overactive bladder. I think I went to the bathroom about 300 times!
     Our group of 3 families met Susan, our guide, in the lobby with anxious hearts and arms full of special items. We hopped into a large van and made the trek downtown. Traffic was insane. I literally thought we were going to be in an accident every couple minutes. People driving down the wrong side, cutting in front of our big van, hitting potholes in the road every 100 feet...it was enough to make you sick. Our driver was a total rock star though and brought us to our meeting spot in one piece! And Susan talked to all of us the entire way and it really calmed my nerves. She's been such a blessing!
     We learned part way through the trip that we were actually NOT meeting at the Civil Affairs office but rather an apartment. We had to get special permission to enter back into the complex. Admittedly, it was a bit scary...or perhaps just not what I expected. Here's a view of our walk in to meet Josiah.

     As soon as we walked into the apartment building, you could hear crying. We walked into the room and the first couple met their precious girl. We continued on into the room and saw Josiah and our other friends' son... sitting on either side of a nanny...on a couch. Josiah had been visibly upset already.

     I picked him up and he immediately started crying. This was not at all a surprise to me or to Eric...but you still can't fully prepare for this moment until it's here. He seemed to cry forever as we calmly spoke to him "Mama loves you" and "Baba loves you" in Chinese. It was a heartbreaking moment because you knew you were changing his whole world in the blink of an eye. 

     Eric was a total SuperDad and listened to all of my suggestions on what to pull out of our bag of goodies. We learned very quickly that our boy is a foodie. He's not the greatest eater...but he is a picker. He loves to graze on food...for long periods of time. He held that first cookie so tightly! And he stopped crying! Annnnd when he started crying again...we handed him another! At one time, he was holding 5 cookies! But we didn't care...he wasn't crying and seemed to feel safe.

     We sat down on the floor and pulled out the infamous stacking cups. These were pure magic! We learned very quickly that our boy is a PLAYER. He LOVES to play. We played with these cups nearly the entire time we were there. His fine motor skills are impressive and he knows how to put them inside one of another...and when it doesn't fit...he tries again with a different cup! Our boy is smart!

     After we finished paperwork, it was time to head back to the hotel. Eric quickly tried to gather all of our things as I held Josiah. As we walked out the door, Susan motioned for Eric and I to come back so his nannies could take some pictures of us. They had been standing outside since the room was crowded and there were quite a few tears being shed. You could tell that they loved our son so much. Josiah fought back tears and walked with us bravely to the van. This is when I became so overcome with emotion. To see him want to cry, but not...not like he had just an hour before...it was so difficult. I was amazed at how brave he was in that moment...at just 16 months old.

     The van ride back was equally as bumpy... except now I had to worry about protecting Josiah. Car seats...not in China. Josiah seemed exhausted, probably moreso emotionally...and he fell asleep on the way back.

     We came back to the hotel and Susan took the Dads to Wal-Mart to get some necessities like bottles. They were gone a while and I was nervous about how Josiah and I would do. He really likes Eric!! He has gone to him several times! God totally covered me though during this time alone and I learned that our boy can SMILE and LAUGH. He even has this cute little sigh that he does while he's playing. It sounds just like Emmaline!

     Once Eric returned from the store, he went BACK down to the lobby to complete some paperwork for tomorrow. He was seriously amazing! He didn't return to the room until after 7:15PM...so it had been a long day. Plus, we sort of forgot to eat lunch so we were both hurting pretty bad. 

     We ordered room service, fed Josiah some congee and tried a bottle. We're definitely going to need to work on figuring out his eating habits. He wanted nothing to do with a bottle...but does like to sip from a grown up water bottle. We put his formula milk in one even and he took several sips...but not what we would expect from a "baby." Josiah did love the french fries that came with my club sandwich though! He is a lot like Emmaline in that he seems to love big people food. I'm praying we can continue to comfort him and get him to eat for us.

     Bedtime was a sad time...he didn't cry...but he wimpered. They had told us we could just lay him down in his crib. That was not happening! He became very scared! We set him in between Eric and I and he sniffled himself to sleep. His hands were very fidgety so I gave him his toy bird (that he brought from the orphanage) and a yellow stacking cup. He soon fell asleep with both items in his hand.

     (Sigh.) It has been a long day, friends! There were plenty of highs today...but I don't want to forget the lows. They are equally important for us to remember and understand as we work to bond and love on Josiah. I'm exhausted in many ways, but I had to get these thoughts down. We appreciate so many of you that have been praying for us. We felt them today and would covet them over the next week and a half. Thank you, thank you! 

                 Goodnight from the 3 of us!