Oct 15th Update

This is the craziest thing I have ever done. Who spends a whole year doing so much paperwork I must have killed a few rainforests and then ends up on the other side of the world picking up the most perfect little boy they will forever call their son? Me!!! I still can't believe it is real. I keep thinking...am I dreaming? No, I am in China and I have the perfect little boy in my arms all day and night. Yesterday we started our day by skyping my kids back home and he loves to talk to them. Then we met our group for our appointments. First we went for the medical appointment. He got his photo taken then we went into another waiting room for adoptive families only. We waited for such a long time. (Suggestion - bring lots of toys to each of these appointments and bring a new one they haven't seen yet to the longer ones like this to keep their attention. Also, bring snacks and water. Most are around lunch time so we brought a Gerber diced apples dish and he loved it better than just Gerber puffs). These appointments are so very hard on the kids. They are long and they get overwhelmed, tired, and hungry. Prepare for them!!!! Then it finally came time for the TB test, medical check up, height and weight check and for them to see the ENT. He did great for the medical check up but then we went in the line for the TB and when the child in front of him came out screaming he started screaming and clung to me. It is HARD!!! I stood outside the door and heard him scream the whole time. It ripped my heart out (Suggestion - Step away a little bit to save your heart from breaking). Then they brought him out and were about to drop him. He couldn't jump in my arms fast enough. That made my heart smile. Then we were rushed to the height and weight station without having time to console our little ones. After that we were rushed to the ENT. He checked out fine!!! After all of the families were done we headed back to the hotel ( 3 hours later). The smaller agencies with less families were in and out in no time but we had 8 families and had to wait for each one to get done. Once we got to the hotel we got lunch, ate and had to head back downstairs for the next appointment. We restocked his back pack with some new toys we haven't shown him yet. We drove a few minutes to the police station and it was pretty quick compared to every other appointment but by this time every child was done! I brought out the little packs of playdough I had brought since there were tiny tables for each family to sit at. He loved it. It kept his attention the whole time. We just switched colors and he thought it was great. We were back to the hotel about 5pm so we went to the local store (5 blocks away and always packed) to pick up another package of wipes (we use them a lot for cleaning so pack a few packs even if your child isn't in diapers). Then on our way back to the hotel we stopped at the Italian Restaurant for dinner. It really wasn't Italian, it was ran by Chinese people, it had Mexican and Chinese food on the menu and we got poor service. They all just kept walking by looking at us with the most awful looks because we were white with a little Chinese boy. It felt like they were mad at us for taking one of their children! So, we left, went back to the hotel did baths, lotion, pajamas and bed! It was a crazy busy day. Today I get to go to the orphanage. I wrestled with this decision for so many weeks before I traveled. I didn't want him to go there and be upset that I was returning him, or go there and he want his nannies and not me, or that he would regress with bonding, or who knows what else went through my head. After spending a few days with him and knowing how bonded he is to me I decided to go to his orphanage and his finding spot. He is great in the car so I am not worried about the hour long trip to his orphanage but I am still worried about his little heart when we go there. Please pray for his heart to be full and his trip to be closure for him.
He calls me mama, loves to lean in for kisses all the time, pushes his cheek to my lips, he laughs all of the time, he can repeat all of the kids names back home and LOVES to look at his picture books with them in it (Suggestion - bring some picture books of everyone), he is fully potty trained and tells me when he has to go (he just turned 3 at the end of August), he eats great but will spit out food if he doesn't like it (he loved the white part of the hard boiled egg but spits out the yolk every time), he travels great, he knows when we go bye-bye he goes in mommy's Boba pouch and he prefers it that way. If we go outside and he is not in the pouch he panics, starts to squirm and get upset and squeeze me tight so we ask him if he wants in pouch and he yanks at it. If we are in the hotel room and we say "let's go bye bye" then he will grab the pouch and bring it to mama. He feels so safe and holds me. When we walk he constantly grabs my hands while he is in his pouch and just holds them. When he sleeps he has to cuddle with me or hold me to make sure he knows I am here. Of course, all of this I love. He does have some sensory issues so when he gets overwhelmed he runs and laughs and throws things but we just redirect and he calms down. He does not like chaos and stressful situations (like appointments). He loves when I say "Mama kisses" and he gives kisses (of course I love that too). My boy is so smart that he can count to 5  in Chinese and English. His orphanage worked with him on this I'm sure. He even holds up his fingers when he says it. He tries to copy words. He has picture cards with the picture on the front and the Chinese and English words on the back. He can match up all of the cards that we brought and we clap and cheer for him every time. He is a sweet, loving spirited boy with lots of character and the best part is...HE'S MINE!!! Brennan AsaMing Jachin Barrett