Eight years ago today we began the day as a family of two waiting for this cutie.
Glenn was the calmer of the two.
I could barely contain myself. As soon as we reached the municipal offices to meet our Ning Fu Hong we were ushered upstairs to an empty room as the sound of children’s crying wafted down the hall.  That is when I lost it. My baby was so very close. It was all about to come true. After 6 and a half years of marriage we were about to become parents for the first time. Glenn still held it together as you can see.
Names were called. Nannies began bringing in babies. Cameras flashing. Videos rolling. Tears both happy (parents) and sad/scared (babies) being shed. Then there she was with her full head of hair and the sweatshirt we had sent over. She didn’t cry, she stared. Looking back she was so very stressed. For much of the day her body was tense, she wouldn’t make eye contact, scanned the room everytime a baby cried, barely touched the bottle. What really broke the ice was when the room service arrived. Then she was totally into us…well, really the food if I am being honest.
Here are a few more glimpses of that first day:
Did I mention that we learned she could crawl on that first day?
Tonight we will look through her photo album or watch video of that day 8 years ago. We will talk about how scared she must have been even though we were so excited and make the connection to her experience with Elspeth’s Gotcha Day. Tomorrow though, we celebrate with dinner out (her choice) and photos. In China, the adoption of a child is not finalized until after a 24 hour “Harmonious” period. As awesome as those first 24 hours were, the next day when all of the forms were finally signed and it was all legal and no one could seperate our family was when it was real. No sadness then, only joy. For Katrine, knowing that there is a day which marks when our family could never be torn apart is a big thing. It gives her security amidst all of her pervious losses. Eight years ago, we celebrated by going for a walk in the nearby People’s Park. (Yes, you can see how scared and stressed Katrine was in the photo with Glenn.)
This is how Katrine views her Gotchaversary and Forever Family Days.
